I'm pretty sure that it doesn't matter what country you go to, taxi drivers will screw you. Fundamentally, there is such an asymmetry of information that the drivers can simply take your money and drive away.
In my case, I was jetting around the city last week looking for a flat. Stepping out of my office, I flagged a taxi and asked him to take me to 16th street (don't get too excited, it's not like in NY where all the streets have numbers and letters, there is only one street in Bombay with a number).
The taxi driver hummed and hawed, and eventually decided that, although it was far, he could take me for 300 rupees. I accepted and it was indeed a long drive, on the highway, and past the suburbs. He eventually got me there.
Walking around my office yesterday (looking to buy a corkscrew - impossible to find in this city), I stumbled on the 16th street flat. It was a 5 minute walk from my office. The journey would probably should have cost me 15 rupees.
From now on, I'm only taking rickshaws.
1 comment:
That's a little bit embarrassing. What I did in Senegal was make sure that I asked colleagues how to get to places, and how much I should pay, before getting into a taxi. That way, you know the most efficient way to get there.
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