A taxi price comparison

The Herald reports:

A new allows consumers to predict the cost of a taxi fare, accurate to within about $4.

The site, taxifares.co.nz, estimates the cost of a journey between two points on a map, across a range of taxi companies, in five cities – , , , and Dunedin.

A Herald test found that fare estimates provided by the site were between $3.35 less and $2.81 more than actual fare costs in Hamilton and Auckland.

As wait times can't be predicted, it's suggested the website will underestimate fares by $3 to $8.

Auckland traffic was flowing well at the time of the test, with slight congestion on Customs St and Symonds St.

The Herald used companies Discount Taxis (ranked as one of the cheapest on taxifares.co.nz), Auckland Co-op Taxis (ranked as a middle-price) and Sail Taxis (ranked as one of the more expensive).

All estimates by the website were between 86c less and $2.81 more than the actual fare cost. In Auckland, 31 companies are ranked from cheapest to most expensive. Uber estimates are not included.

I've wanted a site like this for ages. While I mainly use Uber now, it is good to be able to see the price differences by firm.

A taxi from my home to the airport (a 20 minute drive, including five minutes of stopping) would be:

  1. Kiwi Cabs $34.68
  2. Green Cabs $34.69
  3. Wgtn Combined $38.77
  4. Harbour City $42.06
  5. Wellington Star $44.86
  6. Capital Cabs $45.51

I always use Combined, so good to see they are relatively well prices. I wonder what Corporate Cabs would cost?

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