Guide to Uber Taxi trips

What is Uber Taxi?

We updated our vehicle eligibility requirements to allow taxi vehicles within Victoria and New South Wales, giving taxi drivers the ability to complete both Taxi and rideshare trips with Uber.

As a driver of a taxi vehicle using the Uber app, there are two ways to earn:

1. Trips requested through the Uber app
2. Uber Taxi

For trips requested through the Uber app, riders can select the “Taxi” option to directly request a taxi vehicle as their ride. They can also request other Uber products (UberX, Assist, Uber XL, etc) and have the opportunity to be matched with a taxi vehicle. To accept these types of trips, taxi drivers need to go online using the Uber app and wait to be matched with a trip. Rates for these trips will be shown within the app and can only be paid for using in-app payment methods.

“Uber Taxi”, on the other hand, is currently only available in select areas within Victoria and operates like a traditional taxi service where drivers are able to pick up passengers from taxi ranks and street hail. These trips cannot be accessed via the Uber driver app and only taxi vehicles that have been outfitted with taxi meters through an appointment with Net-Cabs can complete these types of trips.

Uber Taxi rates and fees differ from the booked trips you’re used to. For an overview of Uber Taxi rates, please refer to the information below:

DAY RATES (9am to 5pm)

• Flagfall: $4.85
• Distance (charge/km): $1.878
• Time (charge min): $0.658

OVERNIGHT RATES (5pm to 9am excluding peak)

• Flagfall: $6.05
• Distance (charge/km): $2.088
• Time (charge min): $0.731

PEAK RATES (10am to 4am Friday & Saturday night)

• Flagfall: $7.20
• Distance (charge/km): $2.299
• Time (charge min): $0.805

DISCLAIMER: Distance charges apply when vehicle speed is above 21km/h. Time charges apply when vehicle speed is below 21km/h.

Final fares are regulated by the taximeter installed in each vehicle and cannot be manually modified.

Riders of Uber Taxi trips can choose to pay their final fare in the form of cash or card payments. Card payments will be deposited to your nominated bank account on the next business day following the trip.

Accepting cash trips

You will be able to keep the cash you receive from Uber Taxi riders, and Uber will deduct the Service Fee from your total daily earnings. All tolls charged to you over the course of the trip route will be added to the total fare amount shown on the taximeter at the end of the trip.

We recognise that handling cash is not something that’s been done before in your city, so here are a few tips to help make your experience with cash trips smoother:

• Always carry a good mix of small bills in case the rider isn’t prepared with their exact fare amount.
• Before starting the trip, you can strike up a conversation with the rider regarding their preferred payment method. If necessary, offer to stop near an ATM if they prefer to pay in cash but might not have enough on hand.
• In cases where the rider might not have enough cash to pay for the trip, offer to process a credit or debit card payment instead.
• You might not want to carry too much cash in your car if you’ve taken several cash trips in a day or week. Try to deposit any large sums you’ve earned over the course of several rides.
• Keep cash out of sight and, when providing change at the end of a trip, only show the least amount of cash you have on yourself.
• Remember that it’s against Uber’s Terms and Conditions to ask for more than the final fare amount. This may cause riders to feel uncomfortable or pressured into paying additional amounts, which may lead to potential disputes or confrontations.

Uber Taxi payment statements

Uber Taxi cash and card earnings including service fees will now be included in your weekly payment statements. For more information, please visit the link below.

Need help?

If you’d like to report an issue encountered with an Uber Taxi trip, you can submit the form below and we’ll look into things for you.