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As much as possible, I try to stick to public transportation: buses, subways, etc. But sometimes you just absolutely have to take a taxi. This Forbes Traveler article has some tips on how to avoid scams. It also has a slideshow of The World’s Worst Taxi Rides.
Here are some of my personal tips for taking taxis:
–Try to find an official taxi stand or taxi counter. The taxis there will be official taxis that are regulated by the government, so they’re usually okay. Stay away from “Gypsy” cabs and illegal taxis.
–Hail a moving taxi. Any taxis that are loitering around are more likely to be a rip-off, especially at airports and luxury hotels. A moving taxi is more likely to be a regular one with regular prices.
–Walk into a nice hotel and ask the clerk to call a taxi for you. Or check your guidebook for the phone numbers of reputable cab companies and call one up. It might be more expensive, but your personal safety is worth it.
–Have small bills and spare change. Before a big night out, I try to buy something small from a convenience store or supermarket, to break a big bill. Useful for taxis and for settling the restaurant bill with your friends.
Do you have any taxi horror stories to share? Post them in the comments.
@Backpack Foodie & Kim:...
January 2nd, 2009 at 2:55 am
[...] Here is the original post: » Taxi strategies to beat the scams :: Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts … [...]
January 2nd, 2009 at 11:22 am
Small bills are useful not just because drivers often won’t have correct change! My only taxi scam was in Istanbul: we used a larger bill to pay, and the driver gave us several bills in change. Later, when we tried to spend the bills, we were told they were invalid currency. They were old Turkish lira, and we hadn’t been able to notice the difference…
January 2nd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
In most cities, especially in the developing world, it’s essential to negotiate the price before getting into the taxi. Most taxi’s don’t have working meters or the drivers refuse to use them. Also, it’s important to be sure you’re clear on the currency being discussed. I had one driver in India claim that we agree to a price in Euro’s. After we laughed very hard…we gave him exact change and walked away. Having the right change is a great point, Rolf.
~Gennaro
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:03 pm
If you are familiar with your surroundings and know the shortest route possible, I find it is best to tell the driver the route you wish to take. When I lived in Northern Virginia, I would have to taxi home from the metro at night and I lived a bit off the beaten path, so I always said how to go…needless to say, some won’t listen and I had a driver get lost in 4 different NoVA cities just to get me home. He tried to make me pay the ridiculous fare, and I refused, since I told him the best route. He was also a pedophile who constantly talked about book ideas for 12-13 year old boys.
Other good advice is to read the taxis rules and regulations that should be clearly posted on either the window or the back seat. Familiarize yourself w/the fare rules for extra people, extra stops, etc.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:22 am
in Singapore i found very hard to find taxis on late Friday nights – most of the drivers were heading home – i have to wait 30 minutes until i finally caught a taxi
January 7th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Yes, I have a very vivid Taxi story to tell. I was seven or eight years old at the time and we were traveling on vacation in Australia. We had been living at the time in one of the more remote portions of the Australian outback a small town named Alice Springs. This was roughly 1960 and having been in Alice for almost two years, we were due some quality time away. My dad of course could always fly free on any U.S Airforce plane, as long as he wore his Officers uniform.
So we landed in Melbourne and it was pouring down rain. Our only option was to hop in a local taxi to take us in to town. I have never been so disgusted or angry with anyone in my life as I was with this taxi driver, nor have I ever been so proud to be an American. There we were stuck in traffic with what easily had to be the rudest man in Australia. The driver, upon seeing my dad in full Airforce blues, chose to unload to us on everything in his memory that he didn’t like about Yanks.
My parents had to restrain me! I was yelling back at this man, telling him. “you know what I don’t like about Australians, they smell bad” of course Australians in general are really nice people and no for the most part they don’t smell bad, but I was a kid, and this man had my ire! My parents just ignored him, but I could not. It was the longest hour I have ever spent. If you have never been over seas and had someone dump on you as to why they don’t like Yanks, it is no fun. Years later in France a train conductor attempted to do the same thing, but there was no way that I was going to just sit and listen to him.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
OK. Number 6 is not a Taxi scam and is a story irrelevant to the topic. David Williams should travel some more and get scammed, not argue.
January 24th, 2009 at 12:32 am
There’s the old one where you agree on a price beforehand, climb in, get to your destination and then the price agreed upon suddenly becomes the per person price for the trip.
Or this is a good one, the old misunderestimating….. Agree on a price, then 2,000 kip?? No no no, I said 10,000 kip… etc etc Write down the numbers when negotiating …at least when numbers sound similar. Of course, I don’t want to look like the jerk who doesn’t trust anybody by writing down the prices but, ….
Oh yeah, and when you are a bleary-eyed newbie at 1am in Bangkok airport, don’t, no matter how twinkley his brass buttoned, slightly sea captainy, sweet-assed looking suit the kindly gentleman approaching you is wearing, don’t get out of the line for the official taxis. Unless you want to pay limo prices to get to your hostel but, I wouldn’t know anything about that and I got there in style. haha
All part of the fun. I’ve had some really nice taxi experiences as well.