How to take a Taxi

Getting around using a taxi

The odds are good, if you've travelled to other lands, you've used cabs for your journeys at some point. Generally, this paper deals with problem taxi riders. It' s really difficult to put a percent on the "bad" taxi driver I used on my journeys around the globe because every nation is different and it's those "bad" driver that really stands out in your head.

I would say that if I had to pick a number, maybe 20-30% of the taxi riders I've used around the globe have tried to draw something shadowy on me (usually the pricing is associated with it and it really does vary from state to state). There are many taxi riders in the same corn that I have used all over the globe and that I have no complaint about.

Taximeters are usually calculated on the basis of distances and times. If you are seated in circulation, for example, you can see that the counter increases the rate further, regardless of whether you are on the move or not. At the beginning of your journey, the taximeter is usually already adjusted to a certain level - such as the default 1 or 2 kilometre rate.

Please be aware that not all taxi riders have counters fitted in their cars. Below are some issues I encountered when using taxi transport. One, many taxi riders don't even have counters. However, some taxi riders, such as in Bangkok as a whole, can easily decline to use their counters in the event of horrible transport.

However, mostly an explanation for not using the gauge is that the rider is trying to defraud you for additional cash. It is a frequent issue that taxis have counters but do not use them. Drivers' reasons are enough, my measuring device doesn't work, cars are so poor that I won't use my measuring device, and it's cheap for you if I don't use my measuring device!

If you are travelling somewhere, try to get an impression from your passengers of the costs of taking a taxi in a particular town. When you have an idea about taxi driver in a particular town before you start traveling, this gives you the brains to deal with them when you actually need to use their service.

When you are in an area where taxi riders have counters and a taxi rider is refusing to use his counter, try to find one that uses it. They can be in a town where taxi riders simply don't have counters in their vehicles, like most taxi riders in parts of Peru or Middle America among others.

All you have to do in this case is negotiate with each taxi rider and determine the fare before departure. Remember that many taxi riders who welcome you after leaving an aircraft at an aerodrome or coach terminal will often try to give you shameless rates.

You should also urgently consider leaving the check-in area and marking a taxi rider on the busiest avenues. Your rates will probably be more representative of taxi riders in the area. Also, keep in mind that if you are in an area with many cabs, it is simple to negotiate, as if a taxi rider does not want to take you at a certain rate, perhaps there is another rider who does.

Incorrect communication is one of the greatest difficulties when using a taxi. It is not inappropriate for you and the chauffeur to repeatedly quote the negotiated rate. I saw taxi riders turn on the counter at the beginning of a journey, then uncover it at some point during the journey and "accidentally" turn it off when uncovering.

Always keep an eye on the counter and know how much it says. Once or twice we reached an agreement with the taxi drivers on a fare for a journey so that we could get into the vehicle. Drivers can say that they need more cash, or they can come up with an explanation why they need more cash (i.e. poor transport, a tolling charge, a closed street, pretending they didn't understand you when you both initially came to an agreement on the cost - etc.).

Here you have to tell the chauffeur to stop the vehicle, that you have to get out and that you no longer need his service. When the rider knows something in advance that will cause his ticket price to rise, he has to tell you - right at the beginning, if you both are in agreement about the ticket price.

I was in a situation where taxi driver refused to talk - or pretended not to talk English after first talking to me in English. It can be a tough one because you probably won't know if the pretext for additional cash is a good one or not. Our wisdom is that this is usually a fake pretext.

Excuses for more cash are that the taxi rider will enter a place that is usually used by local transport, such as an aerodrome, railway terminal or coach terminal, and go through a door where he will receive a pass or sheet of papers. I' ve seen where the taxi goes through a gate, gets the tickets, gets out of the gates and never makes a payment, but then it still tries to tell the passengers that they owed more than the counter says because it cost them every single turn they go in and out of the gates.

A taxi drove us far outside an aerodrome (where there are no entrance fees) and then told us that there was an additional "public transport charge". Have you any clue how far you want it to go to your guest house or your motel?

In this way, when your taxi rider begins to drive in a circle or to drive a really round stretch, you will have an inkling of what is going on! A few cabs (typically in the west ) stand at an international airports and only let you take the first taxi in line. I was in a situation where I got into extreme hot fights with taxiers.

After speaking to a taxi cabbie who gave me wrong information about a transport issue I had, I left and then came back 10 min later just to have one of the cabbie who insulted me for returning. It' s quite a pleasure to have a companion on the job when taxi riders are queued, but if there is no companion, I have noticed that things are collapsing and it is free for all taxi riders.

Note that taxi riders sometimes levy an extra cost if you use their service at uneven times, such as very early in the morning or very late at night. Please note that taxi riders may levy an extra cost if you use their service at any time. It is best to immediately reconfirm with the chauffeur if you take a taxi during these uneven times.

There' s a good possibility that not every taxi rider knows how to get to his precise location, especially if he is in a big town and is not on his way to a known location. When they don't know and there are many cabs around it, it is always better to find a taxi rider who will tell you that he knows.

I' ve been wasting so much of my life in cabs that drive around with guys who didn't know exactly where I was going. Another way to handle it is that your target is already downloaded to your Google Maps - in many cases I've led taxi riders to my target in the last few moments by using the routes shown on my mobile to tell them where to go.

Remember that nowadays taxi riders will increasingly put your home adress on their own telephone card, which will certainly eliminate the annoyance of the "old days" of having to find an adress. At times, inexpensive guesthouses or lodges charge taxi riders to bring backpacker to their accommodation. A few of the riders I meet took me particularly energetically to the "best" resort - and one they recommended.

At the end of a journey, the rider informs you that he has a "minimum charge" and gives you a higher rate than indicated on the counter. It' a good suggestion, if you know you are going to make a brief journey, to ask the rider if he has a "minimum fare" *before* you actually undertake to travel.

Please also keep in mind that some taximeters may already be adjusted to a reserve fare (which you will see clearly on the counter to begin the journey) - such as the default fare for 1 or 2 kilometres. Taxidrivers in some jurisdictions will take as many passengers as possible into their cars and then put them down while driving.

I have had a driver tell me that it will only take a few moments and it ends up taking much longer to take off the other guys who are already in the vehicle. Those who are already in the taxi usually have precedence over your destinations and you will have to await their drop-off first.

It is very widespread and may not even be that expensive, but it can be a little inconvenient. Usually this happens when the rider says to you "I don't have change" and tries to compel you to make a higher payment. Several taxi-drivers will claim to have no exchange for that big bill you just gave them, or even no exchange for that not so big bill.

And you can try to have a small coin with you - when you are changing currency, ask for smaller invoices instead of bigger ones, although you need to keep in mind that ATMs usually only issue large invoices. Also, before you even get in the taxi if you have a big bill, ask the taxi drivers if they have cash for your bill.

• Always use the measuring device in the taxi (if available). You can also check whether the taxi cab owner has placed some kind of ID in his windows, an identification number on the side of his vehicle or on his dashboard. Reminding you of this ID can later be particularly useful to identify a taxi rider if you had a serious accident with him or think you had something leave in his vehicle.

If you take your bag(s) with you in the taxi itself, make sure that nothing of value is visible and that you do not have the pockets at your foot near the nearest opening where someone could enter or smash the opening, and try to remove your pocket from the taxi.

• Prepaid cabs have their pros and cons. Normally you will find prepaid cabs at aerodromes. Advance payment of a taxi will save you the trouble and expense of finding a taxi and possibly negotiating the fare - but in our practice pre-paid cabs usually charge more than finding a taxi outside the base area.

Please also be aware that some airports taxi desks impose a "convenience fee" for the organization of your taxi - usually you will find a taxi outside this counter/part of the airports - which does not have this tax - i.e. another floor of the airports or directly in front of the airports. - Sometimes taxi driver, as in parts of Japan, have automatic door opening and closing for you.

When you can bolt and unbolt the locks yourself, it's always a good move to bolt the next one next to you once you're in the taxi. On all my trips around the globe I used only a fistful of cabs in which the chauffeur was a female. In my opinion, taxi driving is a generally masculine dominant occupation all over the globe.

So if you know a country where a good number of taxi riders are female, please let me know. I have seen a much higher proportion of female taxi riders in these special car rides than taxi riders in general with the emergence of car rides such as Uber and Lyft (which I also use).

• The reservation of a taxi for the next day in a guesthouse has its pros and cons. At first of all, you are most likely assured that the taxi will show up, as you are likely to pay more for this package than if you stopped a taxi yourself. If you are in a remote area where there is no local transport, or if you leave the guesthouse at a very uneven time, your taxi may be fine.
• Always take a look at the taxi driver's face and examine the real car - find out how many bumps and/or scrapes there are on the car. - Please be aware that some aerodromes have "special" taxi services which are only intended for the carriage of passenger *from" the aerodrome. However, in these uncommon circumstances, when you try to get a drive from the terminal away from an incoming scheduled taxi, you may be refused a drive.
• Taxi fares for non taximeter jurisdictions are generally higher and higher at so-called "terminal" points - places of major traffic such as airport, railway or coach terminals. - Some New York City cabs aren't as beautiful as some that use an automatic vote to tell you to pick up your things before you leave a cab.

Accustom yourself to doing this EVERYTHING when you take a taxi or a lift - it can spare you a great deal of trouble in the long run. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a boyfriend described how he left his mobile in a taxi. When he realised what had happened, the taxi cabbie had already retreated.

The boyfriend ran after the taxi chauffeur and almost caught him at several traffic lights. However, he then realised that he wouldn't be able to recover, so he asked a motorbike co-pilot for a drive (luckily parking it on the road where the car was chased!) and the motorbike co-pilot was able to recover the taxi rider and our boyfriend was able to recover his number.

Many of the tales of items missing in a taxi end well! - If you' re like me, don't think very quickly when it comes to poor taxi driving conditions - I sometimes upload this to my mobile when I' m willing to use a taxi (especially in places I haven't travelled to yet).

This is an invaluable souvenir of what can go awry when taking a taxi with you. Also I was known to have printed photocopies of this item and sometimes left one in the back seats of cabs after using their service (the one I had trouble with) - to help the next one coming by hopefully reading English!