HOTEL TAXI CARTELS: How cabbies are sidestepping ranks for lucrative airport fares

For decades, some taxi drivers have found ways to secure the most lucrative fares, bypassing the traditional airport ranks. This practice, once managed through handshake agreements and the slip of a banknote, has now evolved with the advent of technology.

In the past, drivers would form discreet partnerships with hotel concierges, paying for the privilege of being first in line for high-value airport trips. This arrangement meant that while one driver enjoyed a lucrative fare, the taxi waiting at the official rank was often left with shorter, less profitable journeys.

Today, the system hasn’t gone away, it has simply adapted. With WhatsApp and similar messaging platforms, drivers are now in direct communication with some hotel staff, ensuring that the best jobs continue to be allocated to a select few at a select few venues. The taxi at the rank still loses out, but the mechanism has become more streamlined.

These groups, which operate quietly but effectively, ensure a steady stream of airport runs for those involved, leaving others to pick up the less desirable fares.

Social media discussions among drivers have highlighted which hotels play by the rules and which ones maintain these behind-the-scenes arrangements. In some cases it is not hidden at all, with the same vehicles parked outside the same hotels loading vast amounts of luggage up in full view of the hapless cabbie on the rank.

The key questions remain: should the industry tolerate this practice? Are the licensing authorities doing enough to address the issue? And where does this leave the ethics of a system that seemingly prioritises bungs over fairness?

This modern form of the taxi cartel raises important considerations for the trade and regulators.