This is A Travel Article About using Taxis in Travel at a destination
Original Article from my source is here.
http://www.excitingworldtravels.com/taxis-and-taxi-scams-safety-tips/
Taxis and Taxi Scams Safety Tips
I live in a city where it is said that were it not for the Taxis and Taxi Scams Safety Tips, it would be amongst the safest cities in all of South America. Unfortunately, and average of three people are either attacked, robbed, or kidnapped in taxis every week.
Let me tell you a little about taxi scams. There are all kinds of taxi scams. There is the basic scam that is simply you getting charged more as a foreigner. Whether this means a New York taxi taking you for a tour while you are meter, or a Kenyan cab refusing to charge you a local’s rate.Taxis and Taxi Scams Safety Tips
I have stood on the corner hailing cab after cab trying to find a reasonable rate.
Sometimes it works, and sometimes I have to settle. If you are in a city where the taxis run on a meter, you are entirely at their mercy. However, if you are in a city where the prices are negotiable, settle on the price before getting in the taxi. Take a moment to discuss how much they are going to charge you once you have stated your destination. Drivers are more likely to offer you a lower price before you get in the vehicle as opposed to after. Furthermore, all bets are off and you loss nearly all grounds for negotiation upon entering the cab.
Unlawful Cab Drivers
Other taxi scams are more serious and Taxis and Taxi Scams Safety Tips much required to learn. I have had friends get robbed by police when stopped in a taxi. I have known people have been kidnapped, robbed, and sometimes worse. I have personally experienced the terror of a cab ride gone array. I have known women who have woken up naked on the side of the road or in the house of their cabbie from the night before, naked and without money. There have been cases of couples being kidnapped and held for several days until they have effectively emptied their bank accounts. The hold one significant other at gun point Taxis and Taxi Scams Safety Tipswhile the other walks to the ATM to get the maximum daily amount of money. (For the record this is one of the main reasons that I never keep a card on me of any kind.) This process continues for several days until the accounts are emptied. Conditions of holding are, as you can imagine, less than ideal and sometimes involve physical or sexual abuse. Failure to comply can result in death.
So yeah, I’m here to tell you that you should heed the warnings of all who have to offer them. I knew a woman who was robbed in a cab with her boyfriend. She had agreed to share the expense with a total stranger who was in on it. Afterwards she told me me, “You know, if you had told me what happened to you, maybe I would have been more careful and it wouldn’t have happened to me.” This woman had forgotten that I had in fact told her, she was just wasted and insisted on taking a strange cab that particular night.
So I know from experience that most people are going to read this and roll their eyes and walk away with the attitude that it won’t happen to them. To you I can only say, it happened to me, why are you so special?
You aren’t.
How To Avoid Trouble
Here’s how I avoid a repeat.
For starters, don’t take strange cabs. I rarely ever take cabs off of the street. I nearly always call a cab company and wait, and definitely always do this at night. Sure, it’s more expensive, but it’s completely worth it to me. When the cab shows up, I make sure that they give me the name I provided and write down the number before getting it, just to be extra careful.
Taxis and Taxi Scams Safety TipsIf you are taking a cab on the street, which I do occasionally during the day, check all of the numbers. Numbers on the outside and on the inside should match up. The front plates should match the back plates and the company should be lucrative. Credible taxis should also have a radio near the center console to communicate with a dispatcher. Despite having a radio, being from a company that I know, and having numbers that line up, I still take one last precaution. I make a fake phone call. I call a friend and I say, “Hey I am in a cab from __________ company. The number is ___________. I am going to arrive in, (I turn to the driver and ask him directly), _________ minutes. See you soon.” Now they know that someone is waiting for me and I would be missed should I not arrive in a timely manner. The fact that there is actually no one on the other line is completely irrelevant. This not only discourages some serious crimes, it also helps to ensure that you get to where you are going in an expedient manner.
Make Friends
I also recommend forming long lasting relationships with your cabbies should you be in a city for an extended period of time. When I find a cabbie that has charged me a reasonable rate, I always get their personal number. I find that this also saves me money, as they tend to charge me the same rate as locals, and sometimes even less. I have such an amazing relationship with my cabbies that should they stop working before I go home on a night out, they call me the next morning to make sure that I got home okay. One night on my way out of work, one of my cabbies was sitting on the corner, he called out to me, told me that he was passing by and remembered
Taxis and Taxi Scams Safety Tips
I got off of work at that time. It was cold and he had to go pick someone up near my house so he took me home for free.
I can call my guys to take me to the doctor when I am sick or pick up my friend at the airport. I’ve even asked them to take me to run errands and sat in the parking lot of the grocery store drinking wine with them while they cleaned their taxi. I know how many kids they have. I know where they are from. I know how they feel about the weatherand the city. In short, it’s not only like having a private, reasonably priced driver, it’s like having a close friend.
I will admit that these stories are not the typical stories. However, I feel extremely blessed and I believe that when you go looking for good people, you can find them anywhere.
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