Granville-based taxi company Premier Cabs have hit back against popular ride-sharing app Uber, after a recent report by consumer group Choice found Uber to be cheaper and more reliable.
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The report found Uber was cheaper than a taxi nine times out of 10, with taxis being 40 per cent more expensive.
While the ride-sharing service is illegal in NSW, with drivers collecting fares from trips in their own private cars, the Choice report found Uber was more reliable, despite taxis showing up quicker due to them being able to be hailed off the street.
Premier Cabs have rubbished the Choice report, saying its fares are higher due to government regulations.
‘‘Regulated taxis are bound by the law to provide fares via the meter, and those costs are set by the government,’’ a spokesman for Premier Cabs said.
‘‘Taxis are therefore not able to adjust their fares to compete on price with illegal ride-sharing services.’’
While Premier Cabs welcomes competition to the taxi industry, its spokesman said such competition had to be ‘‘lawful’’ and ‘‘on a level playing field.’’
The Australian Taxi Industry Association’s chief excecutive, Blair Davies, has also hit back at the report, with ‘‘serious gaps’’ in the consumer-group’s findings.
‘‘It’s skirted issues that should be of paramount importance to the public such as safety and legality, and focused on easy wins such as cost,’’ he said.
While Uber currently only goes as far west as Parramatta in Sydney, a spokesman for Uber says there are future plans to expand the service in western Sydney, although an exact time frame was not giving for the roll out.
Westmead resident Matthew Karstunen uses Uber on a regular basis and says he uses the service due to a mix of price and convenience.
‘‘There’s no cash exchange involved, and that it’s all done through the app is really good, but it does make it even better when the prices are slightly cheaper,’’ he said.
With taxis companies having a long monopoly on the industry, Mr Karstunen said Uber the app represents a big step forward for the industry.
‘‘It’s about time that technology and transport converge and become as easy as the phones that we use,’’ he said.
