A day up the mountain,
already sorted.Sassafras & Dandenong Ranges taxis to Melbourne Airport.
A booked driver, a fixed fare you see before you pay, and a clean hybrid — up to Sassafras for the tearooms and the gardens, or down to the airport and the city. No winding mountain roads to drive, no nominated driver, no app roulette.
~500 m up the ridgeline
A saddle just south of Mount Dandenong's peak.
Miss Marple's Tearoom
Devonshire teas in a Tudor cottage.
The famous gardens
Alfred Nicholas, the Rhododendron Gardens, Cloudehill.
Sherbrooke Forest
Mountain Ash, fern gullies & lyrebirds.
CPVV-licensed
Commercial passenger vehicle accredited
Fixed fares
Set before you book · no surge
Cabcharge accepted
Alongside card & cash
~90% hybrid / electric
Tesla & Lexus hybrids
Booked drivers
Assigned, not dispatch-and-hope
1300 012 018
Or book online in under a minute
The fare you see is the fare you pay.
You see it first
Enter pickup and drop-off. Your price is set and shown before you book — tolls and GST included.
It doesn't move
No surge, no meter creep up the mountain or down EastLink. The fare you see is the fare you pay — agreed before you leave, both ways.
You're matched, not gambled
A real driver is assigned to your trip — not auto-dispatched and hoped for.
The picture everyone has of the Dandenongs.
Sassafras sits about 500 metres up, on a saddle along the ridgeline a few kilometres south of Mount Dandenong’s peak, named for the sassafras trees that grew in its gully. Melburnians have been driving up for the day since the 1800s — for the tearooms, the antique and craft shops, the English-style cottage gardens and the cool fern forest.
It’s a tiny village — only about 970 residents — but a giant of a destination, with Miss Marple’s Tearoom, the famous gardens and Sherbrooke Forest on its doorstep. That shapes this page: it’s mostly about getting up here comfortably, and getting the locals down the hill when they need to. ME CABS does both on a fixed fare.
“A tiny village of 970 — and a day-trip destination Melbourne has driven up to since the 1800s.”
- ~500 m
- Up the ridgeline
- 970
- Village residents
- 1800s
- Day-trips since
- 3787
- Knox & Yarra Ranges
There’s a particular calm to a day in the hills when you’re not the one driving the winding roads — and a particular calm in knowing the car is already booked for the trip home. It’s booked. It’s a fixed price. It’s a clean, quiet car. Your ride is sorted — see you soon.
The whole journey, going right.
Five steps from booking to arrival — a fixed fare, a confirmation in writing, and a driver who meets you, up the mountain or down.
- 1
Book
Online in under a minute, by phone, or on WhatsApp. Fixed fare shown up front.
- 2
Confirm
You get a booking reference and driver details. Track it from your account.
- 3
Pickup
A booked driver meets you — at home in Melbourne, at the village, the gardens, or a tearoom.
- 4
Ride
Clean hybrid, known price, no meter anxiety on the mountain roads or down EastLink.
- 5
Arrive
Pay the fare you were quoted. Receipt to your account. Done.
The railway never came up the ridge — so don’t drive it yourself.
The Belgrave line runs along the foothills below — the nearest stations are Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave — and from there it’s winding road the rest of the way up. For most people, getting to Sassafras means a car, and the roads are narrow, dark and twisting after a long lunch. That’s exactly where a booked car earns its keep.
The day out.
Brought up for the tearooms and gardens, collected when you're ready — no one stuck as designated driver.
The celebration.
A long lunch or a function at a mountain restaurant — everyone home safely.
The resident airport run.
Door to terminal, no pre-dawn drive down the hill to a station.
The hospital trip.
Down to Angliss or Knox Private, and the late night home up the dark roads.
The winery day.
Over the top to a Yarra Valley cellar door, with a driver who isn't one of your group.
The late night home.
Up the dark, twisting roads after a long lunch — booked, fixed, safe.
That’s the job ME CABS does here — the safe, fixed-fare way up and down a mountain the train never reached.
Our anchor on the ridge — and the suburbs that lead up to it.
The same fixed-fare service runs across the mountain villages and the gateway suburbs below.
Sassafras spans the City of Knox and the Shire of Yarra Ranges — the Knox gateway suburbs that lead up to it have their own pages: The Basin, Ferntree Gully and Boronia. See the Knox council page for the full picture.
The longest run in the series — so the early start matters most.
Sassafras → the airport
Roughly 62 km, about an hour off-peak — down the mountain, then EastLink and CityLink to Tullamarine. It’s the longest run in our series, so the early start and the buffer matter most here. Flight watched, fixed fare set before you book. No pre-dawn surge.
The airport → Sassafras
Land, clear the gate, and your booked driver is already arranged. We track the flight, so a delay doesn’t cost you the car. Ride home up the mountain for the price you were quoted — no scramble at the rank.
Also served: Avalon (AVV) transfers on the same fixed-fare basis.
The difference is booked-driver certainty.
| When you want… | ME CABS | Rideshare app | Hail / rank taxi |
|---|---|---|---|
| A price you can trust | Fixed, shown before booking | Surges without warning | Metered — unknown till arrival |
| A car that turns up at 4am | Booked & assigned ahead | Depends who's online | Pot luck at the rank |
| Cabcharge accepted | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| A clean hybrid / EV | ~90% of the fleet | Whatever arrives | Whatever arrives |
| Maxi / group & a day out | Booked to suit | Limited | Limited |
A village built on visitors — so the work is the group day.
In a village built on visitors, the recurring work is group travel: a maxi for a birthday or a hens’ day doing the tearooms and gardens, a club or social outing up the mountain, or a function transfer to a restaurant or wedding venue — everyone arriving together and getting home safely on one fixed fare. Cabcharge is accepted on every trip, alongside card and cash, with a fixed fare shown before you book and no card fee on Cabcharge — plus accessible vehicles for those who need them.
What we’re booked for
- A maxi for a birthday or hens' day on the mountain
- A club or social outing up to the tearooms & gardens
- Function transfers to a restaurant or wedding venue
- Everyone arriving together, home safely, one fixed fare
- Cabcharge accepted, alongside card & cash
- Accessible & mobility vehicles on request
The hospitals are down the hill — so a booked car matters.
From Sassafras the nearest hospitals are down the mountain: Angliss (Upper Ferntree Gully) is closest, with Knox Private (Wantirna) and Maroondah (Ringwood East) a bit further. For appointments, day procedures, discharge pickups and visiting family — especially from a hill village with no station — a booked, fixed-fare car removes the two hardest parts: timing and uncertainty.
- Book ahead for an appointment time — the car is there, not hoped for.
- Discharge pickup when you're ready, door to door, no platform or stairs.
- Wheelchair-accessible and mobility-friendly vehicles on request.
- Quiet, clean hybrids — easier on anyone who isn't feeling well.
A day in the Dandenongs — we bring people to it.
Sassafras is a destination, not a dormitory suburb. ME CABS brings you up, drops you in the heart of it, and collects you when you’re ready — one fixed fare, no parking, no driving the hill roads.
Tea, antiques & the Village Green
Start in Sassafras itself: Miss Marple’s Tearoom in its Tudor cottage for a Devonshire tea, the antique and craft shops, the bookshops and lolly shops, the Village Green. A few minutes on, Olinda adds more galleries and cafes.
Sherbrooke, the gardens & SkyHigh
Then the rest of the mountain: the Alfred Nicholas and Rhododendron Gardens, Cloudehill, the fern gullies and Mountain Ash of Sherbrooke Forest, and the panorama from SkyHigh — or carry on to a Yarra Valley winery, with a safe trip home at the end.
We’ll build the day around you — a driver who isn’t one of your group, and a safe trip home at the end.
Choose by how many people and bags.
Flex
Sedan for the everyday Sassafras ride — a couple up for tea, the airport, appointments.
Plus
Premium comfort or extra luggage — that bit of space.
Group
Maxi for a group day up the mountain, a hens' day, a function, airport runs.
Fleet note
About 9 in 10 ME CABS cars are hybrid or electric — primarily Tesla and Lexus hybrids — plus wheelchair-accessible and mobility vehicles on request.
A number, not a slogan.
Sassafras sits inside one of Melbourne’s great green lungs — the Dandenong Ranges National Park, Sherbrooke Forest, the Mountain Ash and fern gullies, the famous gardens. Our fleet fits right in: about 90% hybrid and electric, so the standard ride is simply the cleaner, quieter one — a fitting way to arrive at a mountain forest. No badge, no lecture, just the default. Run your trip and see the real estimated emissions versus an older cab.
Curious before you book? Run the trip and see.
Carbon Savings Calculator
See how much CO₂ you save by choosing ME CABS over a petrol car
Illustrative of the journeys we want to feature — real, named, consented Sassafras stories will replace these before launch.
The day out
SassafrasEight of us for mum's birthday — tea at Miss Marple's and a wander through the gardens. ME CABS drove us up and home. One fixed price, nobody stuck driving the hill roads.
The function
SassafrasA long lunch at a mountain restaurant, a maxi up and a maxi back. Everyone relaxed, everyone home safe.
The resident run
SassafrasNo station up here, and an early flight. Booked the night before, driver at the door, fixed fare down to the terminal.
Sassafras day-trip, Dandenongs & airport questions, answered.
Can’t find what you’re after? Call the Melbourne dispatch on 1300 012 018.