Taxi Fares

Are Australian taxis expensive ? Here's a table of taxi fare rates from a selection of US, Australian and a couple of European cities, converted to kilometres and Aussie dollars...

UPDATE : AVERAGE TRIPS - 24 US Cities 8.1 klms ($17.87); Sydney 7 klms ($17.33)

UPDATE 2 : Big Mac Index indicates Australian cabs more expensive than US cabs

US CITIES :	Flag Fall (start)	Distance Rate (per klm)	Waiting Time (per minute)
Chicago	$3.01	$1.50	$0.44
Houston	$3.35	$1.55	$0.44
New York	$3.35	$1.67	$0.28
Los Angeles	$2.94	$1.83	$0.54
Oakland	$2.68	$1.99	$0.54
San Jose	$3.35	$2.08	$0.56
San Francisco (current )	$3.68	$1.87	$0.60
Sample Average	$3.19	$1.78	$0.49
AUSTRALIAN CITIES :
Sydney	$2.90	$1.68day/$2.02ngt	$0.72

Perth	$3.20day/$4.60ngt	$1.29	$0.62
Melbourne	$3.10	$1.45	$0.52
Brisbane	$2.50day/$3.80ngt	$1.60	$0.60
Canberra	$3.60	$1.60day/$1.84ngt	$0.67
Hobart	$3.00	$1.47day/$1.76ngt	$0.53
Darwin	$3.80day/$4.50ngt	$1.26day/$1.54ngt	$0.73
Sample Average	$3.12day/$4.30ngt	$1.48day/$1.79ngt	$0.63
OTHER CITIES :
London	$5.47	$8.49 1st klm day $9.11 1st klm ngt
Paris	$3.36	$1.19day/$1.78ngt	$0.73

* Many jurisdictions have surcharges such as airport fares, additional passengers, temporary fuel surcharges, flat fares to specific destinations, peak fares, senior discounts, etc. not included in comparisons.

Sources : San Fransisco Comparative Taxi Survey; Sydney; Perth; Melbourne; Brisbane; Canberra; Hobart; Darwin; London; Paris

Comments

[Yobbo]

You only quote the London prices for black cabs I assume, not minicabs?

Black cabs are the equivalent of Limos. Everyone who isn't rich takes minicabs.

[Yobbo]

Adrian: The point is that the US is much less sprawled than Australia.

They might have a slightly higher per kilometre rate, but Chicago and New York are much smaller than Perth or Sydney. Your average Taxi fare there is about $20, as opposed to $30-35 in Perth or Sydney.

So the journey would take about the same amount of time but be much cheaper.

[hardened cynic (and long ago cabbie)]

1.The comparison is fallacious so far as it is based on conversion of currency rather than purchasing parity values.

For example, taxis in China are much cheaper than in Australia if you convert the currency, but to local people they are probably about as expensive as taxis are in Australia, if you consider what else the same money would buy in Australia (at least, dealing with ordinary consumer goods and services).

2. Whether or not a taxi is expensive also depends (as one of the comments above impliedly points out) on the average trip rather than the trip per kilometre. That is something like Yobbo's second point above. Example: Beijing is much more spread out than Shanghai, so taxis in Beijing are more expensive, though I think in Shanghai they are more expensive per kilometre.

3.Whether taxis are expensive is not simply determined by whether taxis in one place are expensive in comparison to taxis in another. Whether taxis are expensive depends on how much they cost compared to the amount of money people actually have to spend. For example, again taking China, for urban, middle class chinese, taxis are probably as expensive as taxis are for Australians; but for me, they are inexpensive. Second example, going to the opera is expensive. That was the sense in which, in a previous comment, I meant that taxis are expensive for most people. In part, this is a psychological question rather than a strictly arithmetic question.

Yobbo's point about mini-cabs has some more general implications. The black cab monopoly in London has made the London cabbie a labour aristocrat; the mini cab, which is the transport means of choice for ordinary people (at least, so far as they can make a booking by telephone) has emerged because restrictions on entry into the trade and the number of plates have helped drive the prices for black cabs up beyond the reach of ordinary people or for people undertaking trips other than relatively short street hirings in inner London.

[hardened cynic (and long ago cabbie)]

That's an interesting update Adrian, though I couldn't quite see where you got your figure from at the page you link to.

However, taking my point 1 above into account, and assuming (it's close enough anyway) that you applied the exchange rate aud=.75 USD, then we can get a different figure based on purchasing power parity.

For a start, then, change AUD17.87 back into USD, at .75 this is $13.40 for the average US fare.

Then, applying the well-known Big-Mac Index, since a Big Mac in the US is $3.25 (USD) and in Australia (on that table, you may have a more current figure) $3.10 (AUD), then the purchasing power of the AUD is $1.05 (USD).

So the US average taxi trip is $13.40 (just over 4 big macs) and in Big Mac Index USD equivalents, the average Sydney taxi trip is $17.87 (that is, 5.77 Big Macs).

You can leave the dollar figures out of it, of course, and just count in Big Macs, but my guess is that the comparison is still going to be something like 4 BMUs (Mig Mac Units)for the average US fare and 5.5 BMUs for the average Sydney fare. That doesn't make Sydney taxi fares look so cheap.

Of course, if you have to TIP at Macdonalds in the US (I honestly don't know; it seems absurd), then the comparison will be even less favourable, as the average fare will get you even fewer Big Macs in the States. I am assuming that you don't think a tip is necessary at Macdonalds in Sydney.

Of course, the Big Mac comparison is a rough one, though probably better between the US and Australia than between the US and underdeveloped nations, where Macdonalds is an international luxury. On the other hand, it might be an apposite one, at least in relation to teenage girls in the small hours of the morning in either country, feeling a little hungry, and tossing up between having something to eat or paying the taxi fare home....

[hardened cynic (and long ago cabbie)]

Further thoughts.
Perhaps your figure comes from the San Francisco study? If so, then the BMU comparison seems to be about 4.5 for the US, as against, say, 5.5 for Sydney.
Of course, as a rule, I'd rather take a taxi anywhere then eat even one Big Mac, let alone 5.5, so on that basis the average taxi ride looks like a good deal everywhere.

[adrian]

Hardened cynic, the linked figure you refer to is contained in this quote from the Department of Transport media release , "For taxi passengers, the average 7km city journey will rise by 66 cents to $17.13..".

I like your Big Mac Index (I use a cappuccino index) but I'm a too tired to absorb it - can you confirm your sums ? Suffice to say I posted this after Yobbo had previously failed to support his claim that "Taxi drivers in Australia charge higher rates than anywhere else in the world". So for the exercise I'd thought I'd see if his claim could be substantiated. Granted this is not a definitive survey and is limited by available infomation. And by factors which you've indicated.

Oh wait, I see your follow-up comment refers to my US average rate (told you I was tired). I arrived at this figure by totalling then averaging the 'Avg Trip' for the 24 cities.

[adrian]

Okay I get it now. The BMI indicates Sydney cabs, and by extension on the numbers, Australian cabs are more expensive than US cabs. Well done Hardened cynic..).
Now, are they more expensive than anywhere else in the world ? Can the list of world cost of living indexs be used as a pointer ? Do I have time to go through all the data, plus teaching myself basic economics at the same time ? Not today for I've work tonight so it'll have to wait for another day.
Unless in the meantime someone else wants to take it on...(?)

[Yobbo]

The PPP index cynic uses is a good one, but like he says it makes it hard to compare to developing countries like China, Thailand or Indonesia.

A rough guide I use while over there is beers. For example, a stubby of beer in an Australian pub is about $5. A taxi home is about $25.

So a taxi is 5 beers.

In bangkok, a beer in a pub is about 100 baht ($3.30). A taxi ride home is also about 100 baht. 1-1 ratio.

In Hong Kong, the beer costs about $6, the taxi ride $18-20. 3.5-1.

Indonesia (Bali) is about 2 beers per taxi.

The US is probably on a par with Australia here, a beer being around $3 and the taxi around $15. Tips are required for both so I have ignored them in that comparison.

The other thing ro remember is that many other places have alternative to taxis which Australia does not. China has rickshaws or trishaws which are much cheaper than taxis.

Thailand has Songthaews.

Indonesia and most nations in Eastern Europe have no laws against private operators from offering lifts for cash, so you can flag down any car going in your direction and negotiate a fare, and this practice is a common custom in tourist towns.

Japan has a subway that goes everywhere so nobody uses taxis except highly-paid expats. (Similar to London where nobody takes Black Cabs).

Many US cities also have 24-hour public transport (New York Subway, Chicago's El). Australia does not, or in the event that it does have late night suburban trains as in Sydney, they simply don't have enough coverage to be useful for most people.

For example it's impossible not to live within 500m of a subway station in Tokyo or New York. London's Tube also has very comprehensive coverage.