My 10 worst taxi rides and how to avoid each one

         As I’ve alluded to in previous blog posts, getting into taxis in other countries hasn’t always gone well for me. This post will provide a summary of my top 10 worst experiences and how my readers can avoid each scenario. This will countdown backwards down to the worst.

10) The “mini” car – I once arrived at an airport near Victoria Falls, Zambia only to find that the only available taxi was a 2 door really compact car. Since our hostel was only a mile or so down the road, we decided it was a good idea to get a ride. Needless to say, it was a very uncomfortable ride! I couldn't put my feet on the ground based on no legroom whatsoever. I put my knees up on the back of the passenger front seat and endured it. I remember it looking something like this:

How to avoid it: Don’t get in if you are afraid from a safety perspective! Be especially careful about longer taxi rides when a tour operator is involved. Wait to see the taxi before agreeing to ride in it. You might find that the ride is super uncomfortable or has no AC, but when you've already agreed and paid it's much harder to back out.  

 

9) The scary ride – Taxi drivers have apparently desensitized themselves to dangerous driving. One particular taxi ride to and from Katmandu, Nepal, the taxi driver was swerving in and out of traffic, speeding through cross walks and dangerous curves, and using the shoulders to pass other cars. My heart rate would increase each time I thought we’d crash into oncoming traffic. Fortunately, I don’t get motion sickness easily, but that would have been a concern too on the mountain road we were on. I felt a little bit like a kid on a roller coaster.

 

 

How to avoid it: You won’t be able to, unless you can convince your driver to slow down. You can always offer a larger tip for being safer.

8) The non-English speaker – In almost every non-English speaking country, it’s unlikely that you’ll find bilingual taxi drivers without searching for one. This can be an issue if you get dropped off in the wrong location. When I arrived at 2 AM in Dubai, UAE I ended up a few blocks from the lobby of my 12 building hotel. Since my taxi driver's English was deficient, I wasn't able to communicate to him that he should stick around. Fortunately, I survived to blog about it.

         On my most recent trip to Mexico, our driver gave us a tour of the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. Unfortunately, his English was so limited that he wasn’t able to tell us much about well…anything. We were surprised to learn that he’d been giving tours for 10 years, but apparently mostly in Spanish!

How to avoid it: Bring a copy of the address of the destination you are going to in the native language of the country you are in. If you are hiring a taxi for the day, ask to speak with them prior to making the commitment. There is nothing worse than being in a taxi all day with someone you can’t communicate with.  

7) The tourist rate – Invariably, if you look like a tourist and the taxi is not metered, the driver will ask for a high amount compared to what locals are charged. We arrived very late at night to the airport in Papeete, Tahiti and needed to get to our hotel. We didn’t know exactly how far our hotel was, so we negotiated ~$20 for the ride. Two minutes later we were there. The hotel was within walking distance of the airport.

 

How to avoid it: Find a metered taxi or do your homework and find out from the hotel the average taxi cost to the hotel. Many hotels have shuttles if you arrange it in advance.

6) The per person trick – I was travelling with a friend from Petra, Jordan to Aqaba over an hour away. As we went out searching for a taxi, we already knew what it should cost based on previous research on the internet. As we asked someone if they knew where we could find a taxi, a guy volunteered to take us to the city at about 10% less than what we thought it would be. Unfortunately, as we arrived at our destination he informed us that the rate he quoted was per person. Don’t worry, we didn’t pay it.

How to avoid it: Either take a metered taxi or make sure in advance that the rate is for everybody.

5) The detour – This scenario has happened to me multiple times in multiple countries. The taxi driver decides that we are making an unscheduled stop at a souvenir shop. Essentially, he has tourists in his control so he will send business the way of his friends. If we happen to buy anything, the taxi driver gets a cut. Don’t try and talk them out of stopping. Even bus drivers with 40+ passengers are in on this.

How to avoid it: You can’t unless you can persuade the driver that you are running late to catch a plane. You can always buy nothing at the shop, but expect the taxi driver to not be very cheerful the rest of the way.

4) The “I don’t have change” trick – A common mistake made by tourists is to change money at the airport where they receive very large bills. The problem is that dishonest taxi drivers are not going to have change. They will accept the large bill and you’ll either have to make change somewhere or just relent. This has happened a couple times to me.

How to avoid it: Ask for smaller bills at the exchange place and expect to overpay slightly.

3) The fight and lie – This one morning we got out of our hotel in Aqaba, Jordan and there were two taxis waiting outside our hotel. The drivers were standing next to each other and we told them where we needed to go. Both drivers wanted our business, so we stood and waited for them to determine who would take us. What happened next was an altercation. They were standing close, yelling, and looking like they wanted to fight. They finally started a bidding war in our favor! Each driver kept lowering their price until the other driver wouldn’t go any lower. After we finally got into our taxi, the driver reversed course and raised the price back up to what he quoted us in the beginning.

How to avoid it: We were passive about which taxi we wanted, so being proactive in choosing could have made a big difference.

2) The salesman – In one of my longer non-metered taxi rides (from Petra, Jordan to Aqaba - this is the same as #6 above) I learned that the taxi driver was a tour operator. For the entire ride down, I got an earful about the tours that he was offering despite the fact that I told him that my schedule did not permit. We took our unscheduled stop to the souvenir shop and bought nothing. Needless to say, he was pretty upset at the end when we declined his tour operating services and pulled the per person trick on us. The reason why this is #2 on my list is because he used high pressure sales tactics during the more than one hour ride, which aggravated me more than dishonesty at the end of the ride.

How to avoid it: Take a metered taxi or hope for a language barrier

 

1) The combination – On one unforgettable taxi ride, my brother and I needed to get to the Taj Mahal from New Delhi after we missed the morning train. We found a tour operator who had a taxi driver on staff. We prepaid the amount for the ride to the tour operator. Unfortunately, the taxi driver had the world’s worst attitude. As we drove along and ran into traffic, the driver realized that he was in for a long day. Thus, he tried everything to convince us that we didn’t need to go all the way to the Taj Mahal or we'd miss our flight for sure. First, he said that the replica Taj Mahal is the equivalent of going to the real thing and then tried to sell the virtues of other attractions along the way. As I shot down each of his suggestions, he got really angry and overbearing. We got into a shouting match. He finally relented, but told us that we only had 10 minutes to spend at the Taj Mahal or he'd leave without us. We told him to wait and fortunately he did (after an hour). Of course, after all of his fuss we got back to the airport earlier than we could even check in. As we got out of the car, the driver had the gall to hold onto our bags until we tipped him. I deemed him the world’s worst taxi driver. I should have been forewarned by the name of the touring agency as below:

How to avoid it: You sometimes just get a dud. Unless you do your vetting before the trip even starts, you might be leaving it to chance.

 

Conclusions: Taxi rides and drivers can be a potential source of aggravation on trips. Be prepared to be bold with them. Many of them take advantage of tourists, because most are passive. You can choose your own philosophy, but just remember that taxis are merely a means to an end and don't have to ruin your day or trip.