A dodgy taxi company has been banned from Sydney Airport just weeks after set fares were brought in to stop scammer drivers from ripping off customers.
Apex Cabs, which is based in the immigrant-majority suburb of Bankstown in the city’s southwest and has about 250 vehicles, is now prohibited from accessing the airport’s passenger terminals for two years, the NSW Taxi Council told 2GB, saying the ban sent a “clear message”.
The company lists an Indian-born director and has dozens of one-star reviews about airport pickups online, with complaints ranging from overcharging and poor customer service, to rudeness, aggression, and feeling unsafe.
NSW Taxi Council CEO Nick Abrahim said it was the first time a company had been banned, and that more action would be taken if needed to “stamp out” the widespread scamming of airport passengers by Sydney taxi companies.
“If people are not going to be prepared to do the right thing and play by the rules, I’m sorry, your time is up,” he said, adding that Apex Cabs was banned because they refused to cooperate with the airport or respond to reports and complaints.
Mr Abrahim said there were also concerns about taxi providers “phoenixing” – creating new companies to get around bans, revealing that some “overnight re-badge their vehicles, the same cars, same drivers, reappearing under a different brand”.
The ban comes after the state government and Sydney Airport brought in flat-rate taxi fares to stop drivers – the vast majority of whom are immigrants – from ripping off arrivals on a grand scale.
“The NSW Point to Point Commission has received frequent complaints of taxi drivers taking advantage of first-time arrivals to Sydney, with hotel concierges livid to find out their guests have been slugged wildly overpriced fares of more than $150 for the 13km trip,” the transport minister said in a statement.
“The practice of overcharging and refusing to use meters has even led to drivers touting for business inside the arrivals hall at the airport.”
The $60 fixed-fare from the airport to the CBD will begin with a 12-month trial from November 3.
The ban comes just months after the Victorian government launched a crackdown on driver behaviour in the state’s taxi and rideshare sector.
The move was made in response to a series of shocking incidents, including the case of predatory Indian 13cabs driver Jarnail Singh, who pleaded guilty last December to 499 charges, including fraud, overcharging, and assaulting disabled passengers.
Header image: Left, an Apex Cabs driver who allegedly over (Product Review. Right, an enforcement officer at the airport (NSW Taxi Council).
