Warren Quirke: Small Passenger Service Association Executive Director on Auckland taxi firm charging exorbitant fares

An Auckland taxi firm has been accused of exorbitant fares for short trips in metered taxis. 

A pensioner was charged more than $160 for a journey less than 10km after attending a Coldplay concert. 

Multiple complaints have been made over the years and Crown Cabs has built a reputation for taking advantage. 

Small Passenger Service Association Executive Director, Warren Quirke tells Mike Hosking the rule around pricing for independent operators is that a “fee should be agreed prior to the trip commencing.” This is not happening in most cases. 

Quirke believes the legislation allowing room for these exorbitant prices needs tidied up. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A bit of bat grove over the weekend around taxis

(00:01):
and fairs being ripped off. So person jumps into cab
post Coldplay gets charged one hundred and sixty dollars apparently
for a ten k trip. The company in question is
a place called Crown Cabs. Apparently they've got a reputation.
Multiple complaints have been made over the Small Passenger Service
Association Executive director Warren quirkers with us. Warren, very good
morning to you. Mind. These are these ubers, as are

(00:22):
cabs as opposed to Ubers.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well fit to bear what we have now following the
amendments of the Land Transport that in twenty seventeen as
food types of providers of the service. You have your
traditional taxes who are affiliated to taxi companies, the ripped
all brands that you see. You have the ride share
element of course Ubers and the light and then you

(00:46):
have what we call independent taxi operators, some of those
independents who are back and forth between the rideshare platforms
and driving as independents.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
So the problem would be you're coming out of Coldplay,
you're desperate for a cab. One guy in a very
old Japanese import comes by happens to be an independent operator.
You drop in the back next time, you know, next
thing you know, it's one hundred and sixty bucks. Is
that how that works?

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, that's how it does work, and it's not how
it's supposed to work. So the rule around price in
now is that the fairst should be agreed to prior
to the trip to Mensine. And this is what we
find is not happened in most chases like this and
in other cases what we're saying now is are an
intressive tats and mercers or phone app mess which a

(01:35):
set at extraordinary high prices.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Ah, that was my next question. If you if you
get into a cab and and you don't check, of
course because no one does. But if it's set at
you know, six hundred dollars a kilometer and that's a
set rate, and you're you didn't check it, then that
is that on you or not.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
As long as it's advertised, as long as there is
a first schedule in the in the tat sun. That
is quite lere'sure top I for wrote like that, and
this is where we believe a legislation as a native
which at the moments around.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Us need to tidy it up. Warren appreciate time very much.
Warren Quirk Wher's the small Passenger. A Small Passengers Service
Association executive director who knew we had a small passenger services?

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Do you reckon?

Speaker 1 (02:17):
I'd classify as a small passenger or a medium sized
one or a large one largish yeah. For more from
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