Do taxi drivers prey on tourists?

April 18, 2012

It happened again to Peter Lawton last week. He got scammed by another cab driver, he says.

He’d caught a taxi to the airport in San Jose, Costa Rica. When he arrived, Lawton, who is from Albuquerque, N.M., didn’t bother counting the change.

“I trusted the driver,” he says. “I was screwed for about $12.”

Verifying he had the correct change would have required calculating the exchange rate between the Costa Rican colón, which is worth about 20 cents, and the greenbacks with which he’d paid the driver. But Lawton says he was tired and just wanted to get on the plane.

Do taxi drivers prey on tourists? The question is bound to offend the cab drivers who in their spare time love to troll sites like this one. Welcome, fellas. And no, I’m not talking about you. You care enough about your industry’s reputation to post a comment here. I wish there were more like you out there.

I’m talking about the other cab drivers, like the one Lawton encountered in Buenos Aires a few years ago — again, on his way to the airport.

“The cabby seemed pleasant and quoted me a 135 peso fare,” he says. “It was a long drive. When we arrived it was dark.”

Lawton handed him 200 pesos and asked for a 50-note. But when he tried to buy dinner with it, he saw that it was counterfeit note.

Scammed!

(Incidentally, Lawton says the rip-offs don’t just happen south of the border. He says he was snookered for an extra $10 by a New York cabbie as a youth when his parents put him in a tax to the airport. The driver gave him a “scenic” tour of Manhattan, which he hadn’t asked for.)

Today’s taxi scams are more subtle. Instead of charging city rates, they’ll switch the meter to more expensive suburban rates when you’re not looking. The mastermind behind one such scam, accused of defrauding more than 2,500 passengers of $11,690, was arrested last year in New York. It was reportedly the biggest taxi-cheating ring in history.

“I’m tired of the rip-offs,” Lawton told me.

Me too.

Like Lawton, I’ve had my own taxi troubles in the past. The most notable one: I was fired as a columnist years ago for defending cab drivers’ rights to not pick up passengers in a dangerous neighborhood. (My politically-correct editor thought I was out of line. We had a little disagreement, and I got the pink slip. Her loss.)

I’m also on the record as taking a dim view of the opportunistic taxi operators at Newark airport, who charge a flat rate for rides into New York — cash only. If you don’t have the $64, no worries. There’s an ATM with a hefty surcharge conveniently located next to the stand.

Can you say “rip-off”?

Fortunately, I discovered an app for my iPhone called GroundLink, which offers a car service for roughly the same price as a cab, and I’ve never looked back.

Taxi scams can take many forms. One of the most common ones is the “per person” charge. That’s where you agree on one price, but when you get to your destination, the driver changes his rate because the initial quote was based on just one passenger. A little misunderstanding. Language barriers can make this one easier to pull off.

Other taxi shenanigans include the ones Lawton experienced — the “scenic” ride and the wrong-change scam. And finally, the driver can simply change the price, jacking up your rate from a reasonable fare to a few hundred dollars. Since you’re in a foreign country, they assume you’ll pay without questioning. (Often, visitors do, fearful they might face a caning after spending a weekend in a Third World prison.)

Actually, there are easy ways to avoid getting taken by a taxi driver. If the cab doesn’t use a meter, agree on a fare before you step into the vehicle, and make sure you ask if it’s per person or for the whole group. Use your smartphone to route your map, and if the driver veers off course, say something.

Pay with a credit card or with your cell phone. (In Frankfurt, Germany, you can use cell phone micropayments to settle up.) If you can’t do that, then use exact change to avoid the possibility of receiving bogus currency.

And most important, never keep your luggage in the trunk. If you have a disagreement with the driver, he’ll keep your personal belonging hostage until you pay up.

ClareClare

10+ years ago I stayed at a 5-star in Mexico City, and every morning I took a hotel cab into the city center, and later took a “normal” cab back to the hotel. The “hotel cab” was actually a hotel employee with a hotel-owned car, and it cost about 5 times as much as the “normal” cab did.

BUT during the period when I was there, another American tourist was killed when he got into a fake “normal” cab (robbery was evidently the motive). This was why at least back then, the hotel-cab mark-up was totally worth it!
1pop

a “hot” scam in Israel a few years ago was giving change in “old” sheckels, after the country changed to NIS…
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HMW3OTJSBDWWRKIEKEKWWM7BEA bc

You could have all got on the metro right in the airport and been downtown too for the cost of one of those taxis. Sometimes after a long haul flight the last thing you want to do is juggle with luggage on the Metro. I know Madrid so well now it doesn’t bother me.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HMW3OTJSBDWWRKIEKEKWWM7BEA bc

See, this is what I’m always afraid of…I always wait to pay until I get my bag. If they ask for payment I tell them my wallet is in my suitcase and get out with them and then pay them when they hand over my bag.
TonyA_says

Traveling with Princesses :-)
Jeanne_in_NE

It was 40 euros in 2008 – and boy, was THAT the fastest I’ve ever been driven to the airport! I figure they get by on quantity – faster they dump someone who knows what the flat rate is, the faster they can pick up another customer.
TonyA_says

I was in Israel when they changed currencies from lira to old shekel (1980). The bellboys and taxi drivers thought I was very “generous”. Stupid me. Note this is not the new shekel (circa 1985).
Carchar

How does one get scammed at Newark Airport? There is a taxi stand booth where you prepay your fare according to listed fare zones. When you get into the taxi, you copy down the driver’s name and licence number onto your fare receipt. When you arrive at your destination, scenic route taken or not, you don’t owe anything. A tip is at your discretion. There is a $5 service charge for using a credit card at the booth.

One time, a driver was forced to overshoot my fare zone by a good distance in order to u-turn to where my car was parked. I knew that had to happen and gave him an extra large tip for it. He was so appreciative, he took me to my car in the lot and stayed there until I was in my car and on my way. (It was very late at night, too late to take my regular shuttle van.)

In Rio de Janeiro, I asked the driver of a metered taxi, hailed on the street, to take me to the airport hotel. I knew it was rush hour and was very surprised when there was no traffic. Well, he took me to the Airport Hotel, to me, an honest mistake. I told him I wanted to go to the hotel attached to the airport. We not only got stuck in rush hour traffic, we sat still, not moving, due to a tie-up, for an hour and a half. Two hours later, we arrived at my hotel. I think the driver was just as unhappy as I was, but I took out my Portuguese dictionary, and we spent the time trying to communicate with small talk. When I paid him, I told him to keep the change, normal tipping in Brazil. He said, “Really? Thank you.” He did not expect that gratuity after our ultra long journey and his error. I know that my fare was reasonable because, despite the stationary time, I paid less than my prearranged, prepaid, non-metered taxi ride from the airport into the city.

I guess I just believe that the bad apples are in the minority.
http://profile.yahoo.com/4RHJRCHJE7CEDZHELYWROELORE Angela

It happened to us in Lisbon when going from the airport to the Holiday Inn Express, 10 minutes away. The taxi added an extra charge for luggage. We complained to the front desk and they were very sympathetic and said they were aware of the scam and trying to do something about it. When we took a taxi from the hotel into downtown Lisbon that afternoon one of the desk people came to the taxi and made sure that we were to be dropped off where we wanted and pay what was on the meter (plus tip).
DavidYoung2

Here’s another tip. We were in Rome a couple years ago and learned this trick:

When the cab dropped us off at the hotel, we collected our luggage and asked the front desk clerk if the 60 euro the cabbie wanted was fair. He said no and came out to help. After a heated conversation with the cab driver, the clerk asked us for 35 euro which we gave to the clerk. He then told us to go into the lobby. We watched as they argued in Italian, but after a short while the cab driver took the 35 euro. The clerk came back into the lobby and kind of shrugged and said, “sorry about that” and then checked us in.
BobChi

It’s one reason I avoid taxis as much as possible. It would be interesting if I ever saw a travel advisory in a guidebook or website that said, “Taxis in this place are always honest. You don’t have to worry about it.” At many airports there’s a counter where you can buy a ticket and use it for taxi fare. No money changes hands with the driver. A few weeks ago, a guy approached me in the airport wanting to offer me a taxi ride. I always avoid those guys. I went to the ticket booth and bought a ticket. The clerk pointed at the guy who had approached me: “He’s the driver.” Oh, well. At least I then knew he was legit, not one of the fly-by-night parasites that plague so many airports. At hotels, I normally ask the desk to call a cab for me and ask them what the fare is. On the street, if there’s no meter, I ask the fare before I get in. If there’s a meter, I insist on it being used.
http://flyicarusfly.com/ Fly, Icarus, Fly

I think that’s a good idea when you’re taking a taxi with the hotel as a starting point. But if you’ve already agreed on a price with the taxi driver, it’s kind of lame to now get someone else to try to negotiate on that price after he’s already provided the service. The time for negotiation is before you get into the cab, otherwise, it could get ugly. When I make hotel arrangements, I normally ask how much a cab is from wherever I’m coming from. I’m sure the airport info desk would be able to supply a ballpark taxi rate as well.
AUSSIEtraveller

Are we taking about USD$12 ? Not even real money.

In Australian no one wanted to be taxi drivers. Where the minimum wage for an adult is about AUD$15 to $20 (about USD$16 to $21), we imported 1000′s of Indians & Pakistanis from Punjab state, gave them work visas & sent them off to work.

They earn probably AUD$5-$7 an hour, without tips (Australians generally don’t tip, as our minimum wages & salaries are generally so high, at least compared to minimum wage in the good old USA.

If I was earning $5-$7 an hour, I’d be looking at anyway I could to bump that up.

Peter Lawton if you can’t afford $12, don’t get a taxi & GET A LIFE !!!
Steve_in_WI

So if stealing $12 doesn’t count as stealing, what amount does? Also, can I see your wallet for a second?
AUSSIEtraveller

the guy gave him USD$. He wasn’t in the USA. What does he expect.
Steve_in_WI

I got scammed by a taxi driver in Houston on a business trip. When I got in the cab, she told me there was a $4.50 surcharge for paying with a credit card – fine, I’m getting reimbursed anyway. I got to my hotel and she tells me the total is $57 or $58 something. I asked her if that was inclusive of everything except the tip, and explicitly asked if the credit card surcharge was included in that amount and she said yes. I signed the receipt and tipped her so the total was $70. I check my credit card a few days later, and guess what – the charge on there is $74.50.
HHNCARRIE

Yes they do. A few years ago, we went to cancun and booked a car beforehand with a huge corporate chain. When we go to the car rental, we suddenly needed a credit card with 1000 limit on it to rent the car (NOT DISCLOSED anywhere.) We didn’t have one so we then needed to take a cab to our hotel 25 miles away. The fare was $80 ONE way for two people. Had we booked hotel transfers with our hotel (which we did to go home) the cost was 28.00 TOTAL. We were completely ripped off and knew it but had no choice.
HHNCARRIE

Yes they do. A few years ago, we went to cancun and booked a car beforehand with a huge corporate chain. When we go to the car rental, we suddenly needed a credit card with 1000 limit on it to rent the car (NOT DISCLOSED anywhere.) We didn’t have one so we then needed to take a cab to our hotel 25 miles away. The fare was $80 ONE way for two people. Had we booked hotel transfers with our hotel (which we did to go home) the cost was 28.00 TOTAL. We were completely ripped off and knew it but had no choice.
HHNCARRIE

Yes they do. A few years ago, we went to cancun and booked a car beforehand with a huge corporate chain. When we go to the car rental, we suddenly needed a credit card with 1000 limit on it to rent the car (NOT DISCLOSED anywhere.) We didn’t have one so we then needed to take a cab to our hotel 25 miles away. The fare was $80 ONE way for two people. Had we booked hotel transfers with our hotel (which we did to go home) the cost was 28.00 TOTAL. We were completely ripped off and knew it but had no choice.
mobiuschic42

Also, I got pick-pocketed on that very subway ride from the Madrid airport to a hotel downtown. Going on the subway with bags and exhausted from a trans-Atlantic flight makes you an ideal target in a city with a lot of that kind of crime.
Miami510

Stories:

1. I use to think I was being “taken for a ride,” in Zurich until I once rented a car and tried to drive myself. Zurich has the most arcane system of one way streets that make it impossible to drive directly from one place to another.

2. After offering a 15% tip to a Bruxelles taxi driver and meticulously counting my change, I found out the next day that the driver had given me old Belgium francs that had been recalled and these were completely useless.

3. I had a street map with me while in a taxi in Rome. I corrected the driver and insisted he take the direct route which I pointed out. He shrugged and obliged. The street turned into a set of stairs; we had to turn around and I let him drive.
maudr

When I was in Italy I handed the cab driver the correct amount and he went around to the back of the cab and returned saying I did not give him enough money. I reluctantly gave him more money because it was my first time in Italy and I wasn’t sure what to do. Next time I will count the money as I put it into his hand. Live and learn.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1353775359 Sonja Galyon-Kamonika

Some taxi companies see tourists as their “bread and butter.”
Many prey on this group. There are some reputable companies.
I am proud to have worked with and for Saddle Up Taxi located in Manville, NJ. Saddle Up Taxi is legitimate and operates with integrity.

Also, 4A Transportation Services is a car service which I am the founder and president. We charge a flat rate, which is all inclusive to all clients.
In addition, our clients receive light refreshments at no additional charge.
Most clients receive Godiva chocolate covered strawberries.
Never, Never will any of our clients be preyed upon or scammed. If our clients are not completely satisfied we offer a 100% money back guarantee.
In addition, we accept all forms of payments. Cash, checks, debit and credit cards are accepted.
For each untrustworthy company; there are probably twenty trustworthy companies. Thank you for allowing me to share with you today.
if you have any questions my email address is or 908-922-4765. Have a marvelous day!
http://twitter.com/renaultusa renaultusa

Great post with enough information.The point of good I really favor in your blog!The great masterpiece with nice and informative post and topic that move me and enlarged my eye line quite a lot. http://www.renaultusa.com
Timon_8

Taxi drivers at the Lisbon airport (I lived in Lisbon for several years) are famous for ripping people off, tourists and natives alike. One of the few effective counter-measures is to insist on a recibo oficial (official receipt), a somewhat complicated form that includes all pertinent information (origin, destination, fare paid). Requesting one alerts the driver to your intention of filing an official complaint and will often rectify the situation immediately.
Pingback: Do you get ripped off by taxis when you travel? - Delta Points

Share: