SIMON O’CONNOR/Stuff
New Plymouth Taxis chairman Richard Morse is one of the smiling native cabbies within the metropolis – however he says “rogue” drivers journey from outdoors the area when concert events are on and cost extreme quantities.
New Plymouth taxi drivers are warning concertgoers to watch out after experiences of out-of-town cabbies fleecing individuals of a whole lot of {dollars} after the L.A.B live performance.
The phrase amongst drivers is that “rogue taxi drivers” charged somebody $250 from the Bowl of Brooklands to Waitara – a visit that may usually value about $70 – after the gig on Saturday, January 8.
Another concertgoer was charged $104 from the Bowl to Spotswood, and the costs have been at the very least 4 occasions greater than native corporations.
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New Plymouth Taxis chairman Richard Morse, and one other driver who didn’t need to be named, at the moment are attempting to teach the public on what to search for to verify they don’t find yourself with these identical drivers after the Synthony live performance on the Bowl on February 5.
“We’re trying to tell people, you have to be aware of this,” Morse stated. “The big thing, look for the local logo on the door or phone numbers.
“And make sure you are aware of what you’re going to be charged at the start of the ride.”
This isn’t the primary time issues have been raised concerning the out-of-town drivers overcharging live performance goers – Morse and a motel supervisor despatched out a warning after final yr’s L.A.B. gig.
The metropolis has 4 native cab corporations: New Plymouth Taxis, Energy City Cabs, TET Taxis and Call A Cab.
There are additionally rideshare choices like Uber on the town, too, however they need to be ordered through the app, not hailed down on the aspect of the street.
Morse stated there have been about 20 “rogue taxis” within the metropolis on that Saturday night time which he thought have been Uber drivers from out of city, who have been working independently of the app and “slapping a top light on” their automotive that stated taxi.
“It’s just like a nightmare,” Morse stated. “We [local companies] look after the people of Taranaki. We want this place to be safe.”
He understood, as a result of a change of laws that allowed rideshare corporations like Uber to function, the drivers weren’t doing something unlawful.
“It’s something we’re going to have to live with.”
However, he stated there was a “grey area” and he had tons of issues, together with the drivers not displaying metres or their ID, not agreeing on costs with individuals earlier than the trip, and never handing out receipts or displaying QR codes.
He’d additionally heard some drivers obtained aggressive when questioned on pricing.
Morse stated native taxi corporations didn’t put up costs in busy occasions, which was one other signal a hailed-down taxi was not legit.
Another native cabdriver, who didn’t need to be named, stated he was at a petroleum station when he watched a driver place a light-weight on prime of his automotive, and magnets on the doorways.
“Putting taxi on the outside of their car makes my blood boil,” he stated. “They do this every concert that we have. They come here for ripe pickings.”
Plus, they cost “usurious fees”.
He mirrored Morse’s recommendation to test for the native firm names on the cab earlier than leaping in.
“Support the local services,” he stated. “Let me remind people here that taxis do not charge surge prices, only Uber do that. Taxis run on a flat rate tariff at all times.”
He stated he normally makes as much as $800 on a live performance night time, however made lower than $600 after L.A.B.
“They took money from our local industry.”