Worse Taxi Service From Airport

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    fu2u2UK
    Participant

    I like to open a discussion with all of you concerning taxi experience into the city from the airport.
    Some of my views:

    1st time arriving at Pudong Airport China. Taxi did not put on metre and when we arrived near the hotel asked for 1000 RMB, I asked him to drive into the hotel, but he would not. I proceeded to not pay him but demanded for him to drive into the hotel. Eventually he just left.

    Bangkok Thailand. The taxi drivers never have change, always ask for money for all the tolls, never have receipts. Now I carry small change.

    Singapore How very plesent, helpful, one of the best taxis I have ever been in .

    Look forward to your experiences


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    For the prices of taxi’s in BKK, I can live with the problems of always having to carry small change and writing my own reciept. If you are ending up at a hotel, just hand the money to the hotel door man and he will ensure you get your change.

    One tip that works for me is to learn how to talk to a taxi driver in his own language. In BKK for example, I always ask somebody to tell me the soi number I am going to in Thai – as well as the words for left, right and stop! Again, laying out in advance for the tolls is not a problem, at least you know they have to be paid.

    In Cambodia, just accept the taxi drivers will try and rip you off, even when you pay in advance. You need to stand your ground and snort louder than the driver.

    Hong Kong / Singapore, probably the best taxi drivers I have ever used.


    Binman62
    Participant

    Martyn’s…..agree entirely. Singapore and HKG are fantastic.

    like you I also consider the actual price and in Indonesia taking a taxi for the day at an agreed rate is often superb value.

    Sadly my worst experiences anywhere have been in London and black hackney carriages at LHR…..Vile…..such that I simply will not use them…ever again.

    Always book private cars however in recent years the price of valet parking is such that it is often cheaper than taxis.


    Stowage222
    Participant

    BKK – I’ve never had problems with Taxi’s there. If you don’t want to pay the tolls then use the normal roads – not recommended though. The tolls are not so expensive to be an issue although always ask for your change after the driver has paid. Taxis are nevertheless great value in Bangkok

    Ditto Seoul AND the drivers wear white gloves!

    Worst value taxi ever taken was in Nassau.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    I find taking taxis in the USA very poor value. Generally always better asking for a lift from a friend or collegue or getting a hire car. If you don’t tip correctly, be ready for abuse from the driver.


    Daytripper
    Participant

    Any ‘short season’ holiday resort, where taxi drivers have to earn their money during a limited part of the year. Taxis generally go from A to B at a minimum twice the legal limit. One such example is Palma Mallorca, where I’ve had some scary rides from airport to city centre.


    navnov11
    Participant

    Taxis in Japan are awesome as well.. What’s more… The driver opens the door for you!


    capetonianm
    Participant

    You must have been in the cheapskate taxis because in the ones I used the doors open automatically with a hydraulic arm! I’d agree they are the best, the drivers wear white gloves.

    Worst taxi ride i’ve had in Europe anyway was in Madrid where I refused to pay the driver the extortionate amount he asked – he’d refused to put the meter on – from the airport to my flat, and wanted about 10 times the normal rate. He pinned me up against a wall and I thought my last moment had come when these two huge men appeared from the shadows and pushed him into the gutter and kicked the crap out of him.

    Turned out that they were the ‘pimps’ for the hookers who used to solicit on the opposite corner and because they knew I was l always civil to them when I walked past and gave them a handful of change for a coffee, they looked after me.


    navnov11
    Participant

    Sorry, I meant driver opens the door for you (with an hydraulic arm)!


    Deleted_User
    Participant

    In North Africa, how many times have I heard ‘Comme vous voulez’ or ‘As you like’. It does my head in.

    Athens has a good system in place where you pay a fixed fare of €35 to anywhere in the centre, slightly more to Piraeus.


    azidane
    Participant

    In general I would say the taxi drivers in Sing/HKG are some of the best ones, although language barriers can be more of a problem in HKG. The least value for taxis I have ever used I believe to be in Amsterdam, on my last trip there I must have caught the driver on at least 3 occasions take a very long route resulting in fares of approx 20-25 Euros for what should have been 10-15 Euros and the outright rudest and dishonest drivers I have come across are in Marrakech, Cairo and Mumbai in no specific order


    NTarrant
    Participant

    Wouldn’t agree about HKG, four of use two taxi’s from the cruise terminal to hotel on HKG island, we had to change taxi’s and were charged a high amount, can’t remember what and was told we didn’t have to pay the next taxi which they put us in. Of course arrive at the hotel and the taxi drivers wanted their money. Conciege sorted it out but still had to pay.

    Generally I try to avoid taxi’s at all costs, considering you are paying for a premuim service usually it is awful. Our local taxi company has tried to improve the image of taxi;s by putting all drivers in shirts, ties, epaulets and they look smart, have had customer care training and the cars are clean.


    BeckyBoop
    Participant

    Tokyo is supposed to be one of the worst as it is very expensive regardless of how long the journey

    Some of my friends once did a runner when the driver tried to over charge them in Budapest.

    Taxis can be cheap if you are sharing as a group.

    At work now we generally use small local taxi/executive car firms as much as possible instead of chauffeured cars because of the cost


    IanFromHKG
    Participant

    NTarrant, I am astonished at your experience in HK. The only thing I can think of is that you got a Kowloon taxi who didn’t want to go to HK Island – but they will still go if you hold your ground (although, in fairness, you have to know the rules to understand that). My experience is that HK taxis *always* use the meter, *never* expect a tip, and are knowledgeable about the destinations although you may need someone to tell you the address in Cantonese.

    BeckyBoop, Tokyo taxis aren’t that desperately expensive on a per-mile basis – but that is rather the key. Tokyo is a very sprawling city so the charge can be quite high IF you are going a long distance – which is why going between Central Tokyo and Narita Airport is just plain daft (and hideously expensive), it is one helluva long way. Perhaps that is what you were thinking of

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