Re: Taxi Drivers - sharp practice

[nikad]

In the past 3 weeks I have had 2 taxi drivers 'not know where they are going' and going for a ride around to boost the fare. Today, we got a taxi from Scalabrini ortiz to the Hipodromo - its a 6 peso ride - he went on the autopista then we asked where he was going and he came off and did a massive detour around the Areoparque to get back to Dorrego. The 6 peso ride turned into 18 pesos.
These are the first times this has happened to me in 3 years - is it a new trend in taxi driving here? I know taxi drivers do this all over the world and clip 10-15% extra. But todays detour was a joke.
We paid - not much choice really - what do locals do in this situation?
My girlfriend (argentinean) said we should just 'suck it up' and the extra money he made will pay for his 'mortaja'.

Noooooooo way! you shouldn´t suck it up! Whenever this happened to me ( not as bad as your 300% more ) I go ¨look, I take cabs everyday, come here pretty often and I know exactly how much this ride costs, either your clock doesnñt work or there is amistake, and if you went the wrong way it is not my fault ¨I just hand him what I know it would cost and get out. Plain and simple! You can also add something like ¨I took the cab with the exact change cos I didn´t have any more money ¨and if things get dark I go: ¨let´s just call a policeman ¨ That makes it
V

 

[Paul_NL]

Make sure you stop in a spot with lot's of people and with police officers and pay what it cost or maybe a little more( like 10 peso in the first case)
If the taxi-clock is running to fast stop with an police officer especially if it's from Prefectura. They actually have a clue

 

[ReemsterCARP]

Last week I had this taxista who put on Tarifa 2 in stead of Tarifa 1, but only realized it at the very end. Since my parents and my little sister were in the cab as well I didn't want to make a scene (nor jeopardize their safety), so i paid a few pesos too many.

Where are the different tarifas for anyway?

 

[daveymanc]

Last week I had this taxista who put on Tarifa 2 in stead of Tarifa 1, but only realized it at the very end. Since my parents and my little sister were in the cab as well I didn't want to make a scene (nor jeopardize their safety), so i paid a few pesos too many.

Where are the different tarifas for anyway?

generally tarifa 2 is for weekends and after a certain time in the evening ...any holidays etc....any normal day is usually tarif 1....
good luck ,,,its normal you should ask how much before you get in they will give you a rough amount generally and it does help if you say its normally x amount is that correct ..YES..

 

[Matty]

Excuse me but what does "sharp practice" mean? Is this a literal translation to a castellano phrase? I have never heard this phrase in english. Thank you for taking the time to translate this for me.
But taxis in general are very good here in BA maybe because I use the radiotaxi all the time, everytime.

 

[RWS]

"Matty" asked:
"Excuse me[,] but what does "sharp practice" mean?"
It is an English expression, common in all English-speaking lands (if a little old-fashioned in some circles in the United States today), to refer in less than a wholly condemnatory manner to dishonest dealing and most especially to dealings that walk on the very edge -- the sharp razor's edge -- between honesty and dishonesty: something an honorable person would never knowingly engage in.

 

[Matty]

Thank you for the explanation, I learned something new today. Thanks RWS.
RadioTaxi, I have the number programmed in my cellphone and anytime I need one, I just call them, and they have not failed me ever, not a single time.

 

[nikad]

Does anyone know of a taxi firm that does accounts? a reputable company with decent roadworthy cars?
A contract cab - I get a rate and pay at the end of the month - that kind of thing?

All radio taxi companies do that Fishface. Some of the most reputable ones are Alo, Premium, El Porteño, Pidalo

 

[tangobob]

I thought I would resurect this one, how about reporting here the numbers of the taxis that rip you off and recomending the ones that don't.
Let's get something useful out of this site instead of just bitching.

 

[ReemsterCARP]

I just hail random cabs in the street, haven't really run into trouble (i guess randomly hailing a cab in NY would be more dangerous).
But if I need to go to Ezeiza or some other place in GBA i usually call
Del Plata Radio Taxi
http://www.delplataradiotaxi.com/
They're reliable, punctual and their drivers are friendly (and the cabs are pretty modern). Also you can order a cab through their website (if you dont feel like calling), or get them to pick up a person from the airport.