A man who fell asleep in a taxi home from an airport was shocked and angry when he woke up after an hour’s journey with a fare of $468.
The passenger was so shocked that he filmed himself questioning the driver about the amount and posted the video to his TikTok account.
Ryan, as he is known on social media, traveled from Melbourne Airport to Berwick, 75 km away, a journey that would normally cost around $160 at most.
But Ryan’s fare was nearly three times that, and he wanted answers, so he confronted the cab driver about the seemingly outrageous price.
“I’m just taking you from the airport. There’s tolls on the way, there’s a highway,’ the driver said. ‘I’m a new taxi driver. I just know what the meter says, how are you going to pay buddy?’
A man who fell asleep in a taxi home from an airport was shocked and angry when he woke up after an hour’s journey with a fare of $468
Ryan kept trying to get an explanation for why his fare was $468 after he “fallen asleep for 20-30 minutes.”
“Buddy stop complaining about me okay. I’m a taxi driver, not a bank manager,’ the driver replied defensively.
But the passenger was not ready to give in and sought a compromise. “I don’t normally complain, but how do we fix this?” he asked.
“Buddy, how about you pay the money and see what this is tomorrow,” the taxi driver replied aggressively.
When Ryan objected to the driver’s tone, he got an apology, but no price reduction – instead the price went even higher.
When he pulled out his card to pay, the reader now said the price was $486.72, not $468 — an extra $18.72 on top of the already astronomical rate.
A Google map shows the journey made possible by Ryan’s taxi, which cost three times the usual price
The extra top-up could have been booking fees, taxes and a credit card surcharge, but Ryan doubted it, saying, “You put more on it.”
“Buddy, please give me your card,” the driver replied.
The now-deleted video, captioned “never fall asleep in a taxi,” prompted many to express their disgust in the comments.
‘He saw a vulnerable person and took his chance. I couldn’t restrain myself in anger!’ said one.
“I would have gotten him to take me to the police station,” said another.
Others said it would make them look at other transportation options. “It’s like an ad for Uber,” one poster wrote.
Others were outraged at how rude the driver was. “The way the taxi driver talks to you for asking reasonable questions is disgraceful,” said one.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Victorian Taxi Association (VTA), but a spokesperson there said it no longer applies to Melbourne metro taxis, only to rural and regional Victoria.
The VTA suggested contacting Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria (CPVV), but a spokesperson there said it has no oversight over fares, it deals with safety-related issues.
When Ryan objected to the driver’s tone, he got an apology, but no price reduction – instead the price went even higher (pictured)
The CPVV spokesperson said Ryan would have to take up the matter with the taxi company if he wanted to make a complaint about the price and the driver.
Taximeters can be manually changed to add additional fares, although Daily Mail Australia does not suggest this was done in this case.
Vouchers include additional taxi charges such as booking fees and levies as one price on ‘extras’.
Ryan has been contacted for comment on this story.
