Etiquette. You Take A Taxi, I Take The Bus. Who Pays What?

[shoush]

it reminds me of when i have friends from different counties visiting for a couple weeks, they're on vacation, a short vacation, so they want to eat out, drink out and take taxis instead of public transportation all the time! understandable because they want to enjoy 100% their 2 week vacation but I on the other hand, am making pesos and cannot afford those luxuries! you also don't want them to invite you all the time! sometimes, you just gotta say, can't do it!

 

[Rich One]

Like el Queso I never ride the subway or bus system. Only walk and occasionally hail a cab. Hate crowds. However to catch the Buquebus use the 152 bus, for $1,20, to save the $80 peso fare RT...!!

 

[El chabon]

The whole perception on this forum that everyone lives on the "blue rate" is getting really OLD. It's really starting to make me want to say STFU Expats.

A lot of us don't live on blue rate, or just don't earn that much that it doesn't matter, we're still going to be tight on money, so saving 33 pesos by taking the bus instead of a cab makes a difference -- do that both ways and you've saved enough for a couple of drinks at the bar.

Not every expats has either money abroad hè is willing to spend and/or earns in dollars. Expats earning in peso's Will most likely also spend there pesos instead of there dollars abroad

Living à year in BA Will cost you something like 20-30k in dollars, not everybody has that lying around or earns that kind of money in dollars

 

[Montauk_Project]

If you are asking for cultural rules, because the person is Argentine you can
1) say you are taking the bus. if he is a good friend he will wait with you and then get in a cab.
2) ask if you can split (you should have paid closer to 15)
3) ask if he can drop you off because you are short on cash
If a friend of mine has no cash or doesn´t want to pay, I will offer them a ride in cab (since the prices have gone up I now take taxis about once a month) or even plan in advance to take the bus to Palermo (I live in San Telmo) and then all of us will split the ride back home since getting on a bus at 3am is not fun.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

I don't know if "customary" is important in this case. It seems that the issue is that you felt "weird" saying so long. Perhaps the answer is to examine what you were thinking subconsciously those mili-seconds before you made the decision to hop in the cab (and then paid part of your friend's fare). Did you think your friend would think you were being cheap?

Personally, I take the buses and subways all the time. It's the first time in my life that I haven't had car and/or truck / insurance / gas / maintenance / garage payments and I love that the bus is only $1.25AR. Blue rate, light blue rate, orange rate, purple rate. Don't matter a lick. I hated the bus when I first got here. Now I know most of the system by heart and can get anywhere in CABA by bus. I take a taxi once in a blue moon if it's really late or in a bad area.

Wifey wants us to get a car. I look at the money piling up in my account where "Auto Expense" used to be. Hahahahaha. No way!

 

[nlaruccia]

If you're friend is Argentine they would definitely understand your need to take a bus instead of a taxi. You could have just told them that you were going a different direction then they were, taken the bus, and they wouldn't have questioned it. My friends know that I don't or can't spend on taxis and don't bother me about it......then again, those that don't have cars take buses as well. And those with cars are usually a gentleman and offer to drive whoever is on the driver's way home. To turn this around, sometimes I joke with my friend's that "waste" their money on taxis because they don't want to arrive late to meet me.

 

[Ceviche]

I have faced this situation many times in recent months. I normally take 4-5 cab rides a day. My legs are usually too sore doing squats to think of walking many blocks! My problem starts when people want to share the cab. I just hate it! I am neither looking to save some money and neither I want to assist 'friends" in saving money. I don't want to sound mean, but i prefer my private space. When a buddy says "Hey, lets share the ride!" I am normally speechless/ tongue tied. I never say "No". But I hate it.

The reasons I hate it :

1. Some times they pay more than half making me feel guilty.

2. Some times they pay less than half making me feel cheated

3. Some times taxi takes a detour to drop them first and I feel my valuable time is wasted

4. Some chica buddy just do not offer to contribute and I feel taken for a ride.

5. Some chica buddy do offer to pay half, but i feel obliged to say "No" and act chivalrious!

6. Sometimes, if I am getting down first , its hard if I do not have change making me obliged to hand over more or less than half making me feel mad or guilty either way.

Long story, short, I dislike sharing cab rides but hardly ever refuse for sake of good manners.

P.S : I have yet to understand the bus system in 5 yrs!

 

[sleslie23]

Ceviche, no offense, but it sounds like you have a few issues. Still you are honest about what you want and if you can afford it, more power to you.

That said, you will never understand the bus system if you don't use it. I didn't take a bus for the first 2 years I lived here. Once I started going to the same place several times a week, I figured out the routes. After that, a few more, and now it's just second nature. Often the buses are faster than a taxi. And when they are not crowded are IMHO better. I've never been on a bus that reeks of smoke, the driver tried to take a longer route, or talked incessantly about the dumbest shit possible.

 

[shoush]

or a taxi driver that began masterbating! see thread: beware of the stinky taxi
one of my worst experiences here!

Ceviche, no offense, but it sounds like you have a few issues. Still you are honest about what you want and if you can afford it, more power to you.

That said, you will never understand the bus system if you don't use it. I didn't take a bus for the first 2 years I lived here. Once I started going to the same place several times a week, I figured out the routes. After that, a few more, and now it's just second nature. Often the buses are faster than a taxi. And when they are not crowded are IMHO better. I've never been on a bus that reeks of smoke, the driver tried to take a longer route, or talked incessantly about the dumbest shit possible.

 

[ElQueso]

The whole perception on this forum that everyone lives on the "blue rate" is getting really OLD. It's really starting to make me want to say STFU Expats.

That assumption most definitely was not made by myself. I made a comment about my personal situation, explaining why I, personally, don't like to take public transportation and that for me a taxi ride on occasion is not much of a problem FOR ME and other expats (but not all) Believe me, there are many, many, many expats, be.they short, medium or long term, who dislike public transportation. I'm sure there are many, many, many expats who also depend on local income, and I said nothing about them.

I also commented that my alternative to taking public transportation (when I don't drive or I'm not in a big hurry) is walking, which is even cheaper than the fare on bus or subte...

I was even very understanding about the situation and the awkward feeling the OP had about feeling almost forced to share the cab. If I was the other person in that situation, as someone else mentioned, i would have just offered to pay the fare since I would ride the cab anyway, if I was insistent on having my friend as company on the trip back.

Geez

I do understand the issues with earning in local pesos. Not only my wife's family is extremely dependent on such cost-saving measures, but I have many Argentine friends and acquaintances, as well as some expat friends, who are entirely dependent on local currency. As mentioned previously in another thread, I feel a deep sympathy for those who are dependent in this manner and certainly don't mean to make light of such a situation.