The passenger fell asleep during the one-hour-long taxi ride and was shocked to wake up to a ridiculous fare that was triple the normal cost
by Thanos Pappas
May 7, 2023 at 20:25
by Thanos Pappas
Taxi fares can be expensive, especially if you’re traveling a long distance from or to the airport. However, nothing prepared an Aussie man from getting charged AU$ 468 (US$ 312) for a 47-mile (75 km) ride from Melbourne Airport to Berwick.
As reported by 7 News, Ryan took the last taxi waiting at the airport to get back home when his flight got delayed. It was kind of late, so he fell asleep for 20-30 minutes during the one-hour-long journey. When he woke up at the destination, he was shocked to see the fare on the taximeter, which was 2.5 times higher than usual. More specifically and according to the automated taxi fare calculators, a ride like this should normally cost anywhere between AU$ 146-161 (US$ 97-107) making the AU$ 468 (US$ 312) an absurd number.
Read: Angry Greek Taxi Drivers Overturn And Smash Uber Cars For Offering Cheaper Rides
Predictably, the customer questioned the fare, but the taxi driver insisted Ryan should pay the full price, claiming he had to pay tolls and use the freeway. The situation became more awkward when the driver’s remarks became more intense and rude: “Buddy stop complaining about me OK… I’m a taxi driver, not a bank manager” adding “How about you pay the money and tomorrow you check what the f*** this is”.
Ryan asked to pay with a card but the driver typed AU$ 486.72 (US$ 324.37) on the POS machine, raising the cost even higher. While this could be attributed to a human error, there is something fishy about the whole situation, the cost of the trip, and the driver’s behavior toward the customer who finally agreed to pay the full price.
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The viral video was uploaded on his TikTok profile @classyryan, gathering 1.4 million views. Comments were turned off, with users of the platform rushing into Ryan’s other videos to talk about the incident. Most criticized the Aussie for paying the price and getting scammed by the taxi driver, others argued that this is why people should use services like Uber instead of regular cabs, while a minority claimed that the video could be fake. What would you do in a situation like this?
