taxi or uber in Sydney

[Princeandstella]

Is it better to get an Uber or a taxi to White Bay cruise terminal?  There will be three of us with three large suitcases. 

 

How much should a taxi cost? I have heard of them taking a longer route which costs more?  Is it true if you ask them to go through Redfern it's a little cheaper?  

 

Will an Uber be cheaper?

[Aus Traveller]

With three people and three large suitcases, you might need a larger taxi unless you are prepared to have a case on someone's lap in the back seat. I don't know if Uber have larger vehicles. We have paid $55 to $60 for a taxi to White Bay.

[GUT2407]

Hard to say about cost as you don’t say where from

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

Hard to say about cost as you don’t say where from

You are correct to make that comment. I assumed they would be travelling from the airport, but that ain't necessarily so.

[Princeandstella]

From Sydney domestic airport sorry

[GUT2407]

20 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

You are correct to make that comment. I assumed they would be travelling from the airport, but that ain't necessarily so.

My first thought was from the city, probably because I like to get to Sydney the day prior to embarkation 

[GUT2407]

15 minutes ago, Princeandstella said:

From Sydney domestic airport sorry

In that case I’d budget around $60 for a taxi.

 

not really a Uber user, I’m not sure I you can ask for a station wagon/mini van with them but you’ll probably need one.

[matamanoa]

Our recent experience with taking a taxi from Sydney airport to a CBD hotel was that we ended up paying much more than we had anticipated.  We arrived on a Sat., so traffic was less than a busy weekday and hailed a cab from the airport.  Because we were new to Sydney we trusted that the cab driver would take the most direct route.  He, in fact, told us that he would not take the tunnel as it was too busy, so we ended up going by side streets.  Needless to say, some of those side streets were extremely slow and we ended up at our hotel with a fare reading $70 which was almost twice what we had been led to believe that it would cost for such a trip.  We felt cheated but paid our fare and will know better for next time.

 

Barb

[ilikeanswers]

I looked through the Uber App a few times to see the prices for a ride to the airport from where I live and I found the prices to be either the same as a taxi or sometimes more expensive and these were just the UberX prices. I don't think Uber is as good value in Sydney as it might be elsewhere. 

[The_Big_M]

Sydney has higher prices than other Australian cities for uberx. It gets the business there so they don't discount as much as others.

 

With that number of people/cases, you'd need to order an UberXL if you wanted to use them, otherwise you'll often get a small size car so would have to put 2 cases on your laps - not comfortable at all. Given the organisation at the airport, I'd just get a taxi there which will be simplest, and likely a similar price if not cheaper than xl.

[Brisbane41]

Taxis are safer, they are regulated for fatigue management, uber is not which is proving to be a big problem and a recent criminal charge highlighted this where an uber driver was found guilty for causing the death of a passenger who left the vehicle into the oncoming path of a bus and got run over. It turned out the uber driver was fatigued and had worked excessive hours to make the money needed to survive. The problem with the platform is that it allows drivers to work excessive hours that other transport workers are legally not allowed to work otherwise they would lose their MOT accreditation to drive passengers.

[Princeandstella]

Sounds like a taxi is the way to go and hopefully we can score a station wagon.

[Aus Traveller]

21 minutes ago, Princeandstella said:

Sounds like a taxi is the way to go and hopefully we can score a station wagon.

The taxi rank at the airport has a marshall organising the allocation of taxis. He will see that you need a larger vehicle, or if not, just ask for one. You might have to stand aside for a few minutes and let people who can fit into smaller vehicles go ahead of you, but you won't have any problems getting a larger vehicle.