Last month, I found myself stranded at Melbourne Airport after my sister forgot she was supposed to pick me up. Classic Jess move, honestly. After the initial frustration wore off, I remembered how much the local taxi scene has evolved since I moved away from Sunbury three years ago. What used to be a hassle has become surprisingly straightforward in 2025.

So, for anyone living in or visiting Sunbury who might need to grab a cab, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about booking taxis here in 2025. Trust me, it’s way easier than it used to be!

The Old Days vs. Now

Remember when booking a taxi meant calling a dispatcher, waiting on hold forever, and then having absolutely no idea when your cab might actually show up? Those days are thankfully behind us.

When I lived in Sunbury back in 2022, I’d always build in an extra 30 minutes of buffer time when booking a cab to the airport because reliability was… questionable at best. But things have changed dramatically.

The local taxi industry has really stepped up its game, partly due to competition and partly due to some smart modernization. These days, getting a cab in Sunbury is pretty painless, even during peak hours.

Booking Methods That Actually Work

Phone Booking – Still Reliable in 2025

Despite all the technological advances, sometimes you just can’t beat picking up the phone. Sunbury Taxi Cabs has maintained their excellent phone service, which I appreciate as someone who sometimes prefers talking to a real person.

Their dispatchers know the area incredibly well. Last week when I was visiting my parents, I called for a cab and mentioned I was near “the old community center” – without missing a beat, the dispatcher knew exactly where I was, even though that building was renamed two years ago!

The direct phone booking method is especially useful for:

• Advance bookings (like those early morning airport runs)
• Multi-stop journeys
• When you need to specify special requirements

Booking Kiosks – The New Addition

One of the innovations I noticed on my recent visit was the installation of taxi booking kiosks around town. There’s one at the train station, another at Sunbury Square Shopping Centre, and I spotted a third outside the medical center.

These touchscreen kiosks are super intuitive. You just enter your pickup location (or select “I’m here now”), destination, and number of passengers. The system gives you an estimated fare and arrival time, then you confirm your booking. The kiosk prints a small receipt with your booking reference and cab number.

The best part? The accuracy. When the kiosk said my taxi would arrive in 7 minutes, it pulled up in exactly 6 minutes and 45 seconds. I was impressed!

Text-to-Book Services

This one has become my personal favorite. Most of the local taxi services now offer text booking, where you simply send your pickup address and time to their booking number. Within moments, you receive a confirmation text with your driver’s estimated arrival time.

For regular routes, like my parents’ house to the train station, you can just text something like “regular ride to station” if you’ve used the service before, and they’ll know exactly what you mean.

The text service even sends you updates if there’s going to be a delay, which has saved me from standing out in the rain more than once.

Tips From a Local (Well, Former Local)

After using Sunbury cabs regularly during my recent extended visit, I’ve picked up a few insider tips:

Timing Matters

The taxi situation in Sunbury still follows predictable patterns. Weekday mornings between 7:30-8:30 AM are the busiest, as are Friday and Saturday evenings. During these peak times, I’d recommend booking at least 30 minutes in advance.

Mid-afternoon on weekdays seems to be the sweet spot for quick pickups. Last Tuesday, I decided on a whim to visit an old friend, sent a text-booking at 2:15 PM, and had a cab outside by 2:22 PM.

Location Specifics Help Enormously

Being specific about your location makes a huge difference. Instead of just giving an address, I’ve found it helpful to add details like “I’m outside the red brick building” or “waiting at the north entrance.”

This simple addition has saved me from the frustrating experience of watching my taxi drive right past me because the driver was looking at the wrong side of a large building.

Building Relationships Still Works

One thing I love about smaller communities like Sunbury is that the personal touch still matters. After using the same taxi service a few times during my visit, drivers started recognizing me. By my fourth ride, the driver greeted me by name and already knew my parents’ address when I just said, “heading home.”

This kind of personalized service is something you rarely find in bigger cities, and it’s one of the many reasons I miss living in Sunbury sometimes.

Looking Forward

The taxi services in Sunbury have managed to modernize without losing their community-focused approach. They’ve embraced new technologies while maintaining the personal connections that make small-town services special.

From what I’ve heard from local drivers, there are plans to expand services even further in late 2025, particularly focusing on connecting outlying neighborhoods to the town center and train station.

So whether you’re a local resident who occasionally needs a ride, a regular commuter, or just visiting family like me, rest assured that grabbing a cab in Sunbury has become one of the easier parts of getting around in 2025. Gone are the days of uncertainty and long waits – these days, Sunbury cabs are running like clockwork, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Now if only I could convince my sister to set a reminder when she’s supposed to pick me up from the airport!