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Interestingly I have the opposite experience in Melbourne, Aus. I used to stand/walk/chase down empty cabs trying to get home but none would stop or just say things like "not far enough" or "i'm not going that way". This was true even at cab ranks.

Now I stand waiting for an Uber for a few minutes and 1. it turns up 2. they never complain about distance or direction and 3. I get home safely.

I do however mostly avoid crazy surcharge periods.

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I used to stand/walk/chase down empty cabs trying to get home but none would stop

Not sure about Australia, but in many parts of Europe it's uncommon stopping a cab by waving your hand while standing by the street. Some even charge higher fees if used this way. A common way is to order it by phone or app and wait for notification that it has arrived.

Same here in Melbourne. Tried to get a cab from cbd to office last week. Thought it would be easy to get a cab as so many around. Nope. None would stop. Uber it was, arrived a few minutes later (and $13.50 vs usual $25 for cab).

Work Christmas party last week used a cab app as Uber was surging to ~2x. Did have to offer a $10 tip in the cab app to get one to accept.

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