A night out with friends on the Sunshine Coast turned into a terrifying ordeal for Tenayah Moore.
She said she was alone and that it was about 3am when her rideshare car driver pulled over on the side of a major road and demanded cash.
"[He said] unless you pay me more cash, I am not taking you any further," she said.
"He threatened to kick me out on the side of the road.
"I said 'I don't have any cash, but I will run in the house as soon as I get home' and give you cash.
"He said, 'You had better.'"
Ms Moore found $50 cash and gave it to the driver to get him to leave.
That was on top of the $110 fare paid through the app.
"I was scared because he knew where I lived," she said.
Ms Moore's experience is just one of many reported incidents about taxi drivers and rideshare operators in south-east Queensland.
Now state Transport Minister Mark Bailey is promising to crack down on the industry.
"It is illegal, it is absolutely wrong and it is disgraceful behaviour, " he said.
"You get a few people doing the wrong thing — you've got to stomp on it quickly and that is what we will be doing."
'I was just really scared'
Stephanie Mackie and Kelsi Geraghty, both 19, now use a female-only driver services after experiencing uncomfortable trips in rideshares and taxis.
"It makes it feel safer," Ms Mackie said.
She described how after catching a taxi at 2am one of the women was dropped home, leaving the other alone to fend off unwanted comments.
"I was just really scared that he wasn't going to take me home," Ms Mackie said.
"He knows where I live, he knows my information — he could just come back to my house."
'A clear breach'
Uber has urged users to report concerning behaviour through its app so it can take action.
A spokesperson for the rideshare company said it did not tolerate cash demands or threatening behaviour by its drivers.
"Fraudulent activity such as driver-partners encouraging riders to pay cash in exchange for a trip is a clear breach of Uber's community guidelines," they said.
"This kind of behaviour can result in driver-partners permanently losing access to the app.
"Safety is a top priority."
The Ride Share Drivers Association of Australia has condemned the illegal behaviour that has been reported.
President Les Johnson said passengers should report all incidents to police.
"There is no excuse for that kind of behaviour," he said.
The association wants Queensland's Transport Department to work with the rideshare and taxi industries to clean them up.
"Some of the things that I hear that are happening within the industry — I must admit I am not that surprised anymore," Mr Johnson said.
No meters — just cash
Queensland's Taxi Industry Council said it was aware of rogue cab drivers refusing to switch the meter on and instead insisting on cash-only and inflated fares during peak times at hospitality venues, major events and at the airport.
Gold Coast businessman Telly Karadimos said he was asked to pay $40 cash for a four-kilometre trip between the Star Casino and Surfers Paradise.
"I said, 'You're kidding me, man! What are you doing?'" Mr Karadimos.
"And he just drove away."
He said there were 25 taxis waiting at the rank and all were refusing to turn on the meter for a trip.
Mr Karadimos said he then tried to get a rideshare service and was approached by another driver who had just dropped off a passenger.
"I said to him, 'I can't see any Uber stickers or anything,'" he said.
"He said, 'Oh, no, no, no, no. No meters — nothing.'"
Mr Karadimos believed the man was a private operator "driving around looking for people to get money off them".
"It's just wrong," he said.
"It's unacceptable."
Enforcement in 'hotspots'
The Taxi Industry Council has called on the state government to urgently employ more compliance officers to stamp out rogue operators.
It says private citizens are soliciting for rides in places where cabs drivers are refusing to use metres.
Chief executive Blair Davies said he warned of the safety risks that would arise from a deregulated industry seven years ago.
"It is not popular trying to find budget money for compliance officers, but this is not a popularity game — this is about public safety," he said.
"What we don't want to do is have these enforcement officers coming out after an event — we want to prevent bad things happening."
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said it was "aware of an increasing number of complaints of taxi drivers overcharging customers, charging flat fares and refusing to run the meter".
"We take these reports very seriously and have recently increased enforcement efforts in identified hotspots," he said.
The spokesman said drivers and customers could agree on a fare before a trip began, but drivers could not insist on it.
He said the amount could not exceed the maximum of what the fare would have been if it was on the meter.
Any driver found to be overcharging can face fines ranging from $575 to $5,750.
