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

[ElQueso]

Damn - sometimes it becomes increasingly difficult to make statements of personal opinions without catching chaff!

I happen to agree completely with Ceviche on the difficulty of the buses. I've bought a Guia-T (for my wife) and looked at it and it didn't make much sense. I suspect that had I really tried, I could have figured it out and been just fine after some time, but I didn't want to. Without putting words in Ceviche's mouth, I suspect his condition is probably similar, given that he writes clearly and intelligently enough and not knowing him personally...

I've lived 90% of my life in places that don't depend much on mass transportation. I've rarely ridden a bus in my life (except for a school bus, until I made it to high school and drove myself or hitched rides with friends who had cars). I've always depended either on walking or driving.

I don't quite share his lack of desire to share cabs (depending on the situation. There are some folks I absolutely refuse to enter a cab with, but for reasons relating to that specific person). However, we're all different and to make him feel bad because he enjoys his personal space (which I do 100% understand) and his desire to avoid complications related to obligations (which I can sympathize with in other situations, but which I don't, personally, share related to sharing cabs) seems to me to be unnecessary picking.

We all have our little foibles, our little issues with understanding the world and things that are hard for one to learn and easy for others, for whatever reason. When we're forthright enough to share those with other people, I'd hope the other people could be a little more understanding.

Can't we all just get along?

 

[Iznogud]

i thought it was a joke also.

what type of response is that? Trying to be intimidating?

I have no problem meeting you.

Ill sow what a real man looks like and how he fights you freak

Please, 'splain who invited you?

Let's just agree to dissagree.
This is not a place where you come to pick a fight. Specially if it's not yours. Stick to your Muai Thai instructors for sparring, will ya?

 

[PhilipDT]

I've bought a Guia-T (for my wife) and looked at it and it didn't make much sense.

It's ridiculous. Try this instead http://www.viaja-facil.com/.

 

[ElQueso]

It's ridiculous. Try this instead http://www.viaja-facil.com/.

Very nice, easy to use. If I'd known about these sites (another one my wife now uses is comoviajo.com, but I think the link you posted is easier to use) before I got my car I might have been a little more open to public transportation. Maybe. Heh.

I bought my car because I was moving out to the suburbs at the time. I'd never considered having a car here prior to that because of what I considered to be the insanity of drivers here. In fact, when I moved back into the city I had decided to sell my car as kind of a default feeling left over from living in the city before. I had driven into the city many times while living near Tortuguitas and had become accustomed to driving, but still hadn't seriously considered keeping it. By sheer luck the apartment I rented had a parking space with it and I figured I could take my time selling it. Finally, I realized that driving here really isn't such a big deal once you become accustomed to the lack of driving skills prevalent here.

Now, I'd never give up a car unless I was forced to by circumstance. I take my sister-in-law to school in the mornings, drive her to her various extracurricular activities, take my wife to work and English lessons at times, help out my older sister-in-law bringing stuff she needs to and from the restaurant where's she's the head cook, drive my brother-in-law out to Tigre where he lives when he gets caught at work too late, drive out to Unicenter, Dot Baires, Walmart, Pilar, etc, whenever I feel like it without worrying about how I'm going to carry things with me, worry about strikes by union workers like bus drivers and train conductors (well, I still have to deal with the strikes that cut off main streets like last week when 9 de Julio at 25 de Mayo and Entre Rios/Callao at the congress building was cut off simultaneously for the afternoon!), etc.

I understand people's desires, various though they may be, to take public transport. I'm just one of those who avoids it like the plague whenever I can.

 

[citygirl]

El Queso - so funny how different people are! I can't imagine anything worse than having a car in the city and in fact curse every time I have to go into Capital with it. I inevitably wind up leaving it at my suegra's apt when I get into town and just run all my errands via subte/bus and then go back and pick it up. The hassle of driving from place to place and either paying 20 pesos an hour for parking or trying to find a parking place on the street/worrying about it getting stolen - ughhhhh....

I have no love for the car and if we didn't live where we live, I would never have one. But I lived in NYC/Boston for most of my life and therefore lived quite happily without a car or just had a car to use for weekends away/etc. Just what you're accustomed to I guess

 

[EricM]

I think that anyone who wants to take a taxi should be prepared to pay for it, and not expect others to. He should have said "I'm going anyway, don't worry about it I'll get it" and you could join in at your option and not share the cost or say good night and take your bus. (At least that's what I would do).

 

[ticktock]

I do apologize if I offended anyone. I personally thought the response was slightly passive aggressive and meant to intimidate.

I suppose it depends upon how one would read it; similar to my response.

People may always not agree; so is life, but trying to intimidate others who do not share the same point of view or crack a joke at ones expense is a trait I often found characteristic of bullies.

I am not saying that Ceviche is in anyway a bully, I am saying that his response to the poster could be construed as such and I responded in turn in a passive aggressive manner.

Like for like!

 

[ticktock]

Iznogud - I will keep to my profession as you suggest and in future refrain from any further outbursts which could possibly upset the applecart that is baexpats.org

 

[Ceviche]

I think that anyone who wants to take a taxi should be prepared to pay for it, and not expect others to. He should have said "I'm going anyway, don't worry about it I'll get it" and you could join in at your option and not share the cost or say good night and take your bus. (At least that's what I would do).

EricM, thanks for your post. Thats actually what I really meant to express. I guess, I elaborated it too much making it unfortunately sound like a "Joke".

 

[ticktock]

It seems everyone is friends again!

Taxi's on me