Many don’t seem to have heard of the Royal Exhibition Building or the Showgrounds. And often they don’t care.

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Some cabs these days look decrepit, like they’re stolen or have just come from a secondhand car auction for unwanted vehicles.

Years ago, when every cab had to be painted yellow, with uniform patterns and signs on them, I thought it was silly – an unnecessary piece of government intervention – but now I see it worked. It promoted neatness and order.

Without the fixed price or set route that you’ll get on rideshare apps, I’ve been shocked to encounter drivers who seem to get “lost” on purpose.

I once took a cab from the city to an inner suburb, and the driver managed to take me around in circles despite the fact we were travelling to a well-signposted major sports centre.

I soon suspected, after he started meandering aimlessly around Melbourne Zoo and even way off course to Flemington Road, that he was not lost. He didn’t stop to work out where he was, and he kept re-tracing the same roads. He seemed to be merely racking up extra kilometres, to keep the meter going.

More recently, I got into the first cab at a city rank and asked to be taken to an address about three kilometres away. I had an interview that wasn’t near public transport and I was running late.

The driver did that “oh, um, I can’t take you” routine. I’d heard about drivers refusing short fares. I sat there and didn’t budge.

He wasn’t happy. He moaned to his driver mates. Once we got going, he whinged and complained. When we arrived, you can be sure he didn’t say “thanks” or “have a good day”.

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Soon after I had another similar experience: I got in the cab that was first on the rank and named the suburb. The driver sat there, with the meter off and said, “That will be $42, OK?”

While not using a meter and agreeing on a fixed price has been legal since the industry was deregulated in 2017, I suspected his price was a rip-off. I got into another cab, the driver turned the meter on and when we arrived it was just over $25.

Unfortunately, these days it seems that too many interactions are like this in taxis.

I’ve had it. It’s not good enough. I’m not supporting meanness, deceit and unprofessionalism. I deserve better. We all deserve better.

I’ve made the switch to a rideshare service and after six rides, to places from Dandenong to Taylors Hill and St Kilda, it’s been 100 per cent better. The cars are clean, the drivers friendly and they get you to the door in a stress-free way.

I’m not seeing any reason to return to cabs. Maybe one day, if politicians actually deign to take cabs for a week or two, they’ll see that there’s a dire need for change, to bring cabs up to an acceptable standard for passengers.

Taxis, I used to love you, but I’ve fallen out of love. You’ve lost my loyalty, my trust and my respect. Goodbye.

Carolyn Webb is a staff reporter.

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