Taxi scammers operating in regional WA continue gouging passengers

Unsuspecting taxi passengers are being charged exorbitant fares by scammers operating in regional WA, with young women in particular danger of being targeted. Multiple cases have been reported of drivers demanding outrageous fees from young women traveling around Bunbury on weekends and in the evenings. In one example a woman was charged $80 for a fare from Bunbury to Millbridge — a trip of just 12km that should usually be less than $40. In another case, four young women who were traveling in the same taxi described their driver as “being quite aggressive” when charging them $50 each at their destination. Bunbury Taxis director Navdeep Kumar believed the taxis, which have limited signage, were traveling from Perth to take advantage of local passengers. Mr Kumar said his business had been receiving an increasing number of complaints over the past few weeks from passengers mistaking the cabs for his drivers. “Some of the people are saying that they are trying to get young girls on the higher fares,” he said. “We have already complained to the department (of transport) and have again today.” He urged people to be wary of taxis that had unfamiliar or small signage and to report any incidents to the Department of Transport. The business director believed the taxis had meters and were sometimes using PayID to receive payments. “They are letting us down (because) when something happens like this then people say it is Bunbury Taxis doing it when it is not,” he said. “They have very small stickers on the side of the doors and that is all, which is very much not visible and people think they are Bunbury Taxis, but we have signage all around.” Mr Kumar said on Saturday night he followed one of the taxis after he spotted the driver with his window down trying to solicit fares. “He pulled into the taxi rank to try to get two girls from there and I beeped my horn and he took off,” he said. Police confirmed that people who experienced issues with taxis such as overcharging should report to the Department of Transport. Anyone who has experienced the taxi scam can contact the Department of Transport and make a report by emailing ondemandtransport@transport.wa.gov.au.