Taxi drivers charge $30 for 1.5km trip

A taxi ride between terminals at Auckland Airport costs $30. Photo / Herald on Sunday

It could be the most expensive taxi fare in New Zealand. The cost of travelling the 1.5km between the international and domestic terminals at Auckland Airport is $30.

When we hired a cab, our driver completed the trip in three minutes, making the charge 16 cents a second.

The whopping fee is $16 more expensive than the cheapest Air New Zealand Grabaseat flight advertised on the same day - a $14 trip from Auckland to Wanganui. The most expensive Grabaseat flight, from Auckland to Christchurch, was only $19 more than the taxi fare.

We spoke to drivers from five firms: Alert Taxis, Auckland Citicab, North Shore Taxis, Auckland Co-Op Taxis and Discount Taxis. All said the $30 charge was necessary to cover their costs. Alert driver Nav Sharma said it covered airport parking tolls and time in the queue for passengers.

"For me to come all the way to the front of the line it can take three hours, and then if someone only wants to go to the next terminal I'd only get a very short fare - just a few dollars," he said. "This way I get paid for my time spent waiting, which works out to be around $10 an hour for us."

Auckland Citicab driver Jagmeet Singh said drivers always tell passengers who want a taxi to the other terminal about alternative options.

"We tell them it's only a 15-minute walk or there is a free bus that can take them whenever," he said.

Other drivers waited at the airport for "big fares" - "But things are not good for us at the moment," said Singh. "... we are competing with the Park 'n' Rides and free buses which shuttle people to and from the airport. It's not such a lucrative business."

New Zealand Taxi Federation executive director Tim Reddish said companies could charge more than $30 - and wouldn't be breaking any laws providing they advertised the rate. "Taxis can charge whatever they like as long as it's printed on the registered fare schedule on the side of the car."

He said the flat rate could also be imposed on passengers who wanted to go to a hotel near the airport.

"It's basically a fare for short journeys, because they have to have a reasonable reason to head to the back of the queue again," said Reddish.

"Some of those drivers will wait hours to pick someone up at the airport - it's the most unpopular route for most of them."