An extensive survey of over 200 executives has revealed that passengers who manage to get a taxi in most of the major Australian cities end up having very bad experiences, with drivers being impolite, not knowing what they are doing and the taxis are generally dirty or lack air conditioning.

Overall, 74% of all the surveyors said that they were highly dissatisfied with the country's taxis, and have called on authorities to look into this.

According to the Tourism and Transport Forum, the survey has effectively managed to reveal that taxis are failing Australian cities and the Federal Government should seriously look into an overhaul of the taxi industry.

Respondents who said that the taxis are clean and comfortable and driven by polite drivers were only a handful.

"Also knowledge of where people are going was a common complaint that pops up, and in certain cities capacity issues, the simple ability to catch a cab - Canberra being the prime example," said Brett Gale, the Executive Director of TTF.

Perth and Canberra have been ranked as the cities where the situation is the worst.