New technology to crack down on rogue cabbies

But critics say the rollout doesn’t go far enough to protect the majority of unwitting customers from being overcharged.

Cabcharge’s new technology will directly connect the payment terminal in the vehicle to the meter.

If a taxi has a sticker offering the service, the driver has to comply.

“A seamless experience for passengers where they know they will only have to pay what the metered fare is at the end of the trip,” Cabcharge chief operating officer Gary Becus said.

“There’s no reason for a driver to try and bargain or barter with a passenger.”

The new technology will at first apply only to people using Cabcharge products.

The Victorian state government said penalties were in place for drivers caught price gouging, but industry insiders say enforcing those penalties is where the real difficulty lies.

Rod Barton of the Transport Matters Party said the new technology was a good idea but a “stepping stone” to dealing with broader price gouging.