jerryg
3/10/2017 16:01 EST
My wife and I took a taxi from Laureles to Envigado...the price was 21,250p. The problem in Envigado the driver got lost. I had google maps running and the driver refused to look at it and we were going in circles with the meter running. The ride should have been about 15000p. I gave him 20000 and he threatened to call the police...what happens to a gringo in this case...he was totally wrong in this case.
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Bobfrozen1
3/10/2017 16:47 EST
One of the first things I noted in Medellin were the taxi drivers get lost a lot. Sometimes when I complained they would reduce the fare sometimes not. In the end its not worth the couple of extra dollars and hassle.
So now I use Tappsi. It works kind of like Uber. I have the app on my phone and i input my location and destination. Of course the driver has GPS on his app so no problem what the route is. Its actually very safe and secure, much better than using a taxi off the street.
Download the app and give it a try I think you will like ti.
Saves me a ton of heartache.
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cccmedia
3/10/2017 16:58 EST
Bob's right -- pay the man the two dollars.
You don't know how big a jackpot you'd be getting into as a Gringo when you start making a police case -- a.k.a. "a federal case" -- out of a few coins.
Chalk it up to learning and experience. The cops know nobody's going to court over two dollars by pressing charges in a case where there were no injuries.
Don't anger taxi drivers who have to put up with 'porquería' almost every hour of every shift. They're on edge to begin with. Don't push them over it.
Your guy was probably doing the best he knew how .. and realized he'd get even more confused trying to work with GPS while driving.
In a two-d0llar dispute, live by the NBA motto...
No blood, no foul.
cccmedia
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Andresen
3/10/2017 17:06 EST
Yes, i've had taxi drivers get lost or more often take the long way around. For example, i live in Envigado and the last time i took a taxi to El Tesoro CC the only way the driver knew how to get there was first to drive through all the Avenida Poblado traffic and then in line up with the other cars to go up Calle 10. Other drivers in the past have turned at Campestre or Calle 4 Sur (by Starbucks) to shorten the ride. Sometimes it happens, you just have to gut it out.
I don't have a smartphone but when my brother was here we used Uber and often you could see the drivers were nearby but they couldn't seem to find us. And i understand if you cancel the request you still have to pay for the ride. Ah, life in the big city!
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geoffbob
3/10/2017 17:09 EST
The (50 or so) taxi drivers I've had have nearly always impressed me with their intricate knowledge of Medellin's streets and their courtesy. I guess I've been lucky.
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Kee
3/10/2017 20:16 EST
I'm still getting used to cab drivers in Armenia, who will occasionally round down a fare to make it even, and if you try to round up the money you give them they will almost chase you down and give you money back if it's more than 500 pesos.
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Bobfrozen1
3/10/2017 20:27 EST
Same in Medellin. In fact I left my iphone in a cab one day. The cab driver brought it back to me an hour later. Needless to say mucho propina for him.
For the most part the taxi drivers are honest and hardworking paisas.
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Patricio
3/11/2017 14:57 EST
For 40 cents extra I would have enjoyed new scenery and chalked it up as a Colombian experience and avoided.an issue
I usually tip a little if the driver is pleasant and seems to try his best, same in restaurants, except corrientazos., never there.
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Patricio
3/11/2017 14:57 EST
For 40 cents extra I would have enjoyed new scenery and chalked it up as a Colombian experience and avoided.an issue
I usually tip a little if the driver is pleasant and seems to try his best, same in restaurants, except corrientazos., never there.
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cccmedia
3/11/2017 15:31 EST
'Corrientazo' means electric shock.
No wonder Patricio isn't tipping at those electric-shock places.
cccmedia
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Patricio
3/11/2017 16:01 EST
For 40 cents extra I would have enjoyed new scenery and chalked it up as a Colombian experience and avoided.an issue
I usually tip a little if the driver is pleasant and seems to try his best, same in restaurants, except corrientazos., never there.
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WhoaNellie
3/11/2017 16:30 EST
"Corrientazo" is a colombianismo meaning a set lunch. You may also hear almuerzo ejecutivo which is the same thing, a lunch served quickly for a low price because it's fixed menu.
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WhoaNellie
3/11/2017 16:56 EST
Here is a neat map-based page from El Tiempo showing costs of corrientazos around Colombia:
http://www.eltiempo.com/multimedia/especiales/precio-corrientazo-en-colombia/16706649/1/
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regnatarajan
3/11/2017 17:46 EST
@cccmedia: Great post. I agree 100%. There are enough real problems in life to keep us busy. No need to turn a $2 dispute into something bigger than it is.
@Bobfrozen1: Thanks for the tip on Tappsi! I had never even heard of it. I'm installing it now and will try it tomorrow.
@Andresen: Uber's cancellation fee policy changes every few months. Right now, if you cancel within 5 min of booking, you aren't charged. Uber will also usually refund your trip if you have a legitimate complaint, although I very rarely take advantage of that because, as cccmedia said, these guys are just doing the best they can generally.
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Andresen
3/11/2017 17:55 EST
It's just very discouraging when you're standing there and watching the car you called drive around in circles or otherwise not make any progress towards you. I've never heard of Tappsi either but i added it to my list for when i do get a smartphone.
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regnatarajan
3/11/2017 18:45 EST
Yes, I can't agree more. If the Uber driver I book is obviously taking a ridiculous route to pick me up, or if they are not moving, I phone them right away. You can do that easily through the Uber app. If they don't answer or I don't find them credible, I cancel within the 5 min and book again. Sometimes it's not the driver's fault. This morning, I booked an Uber and the Gods of that service decided that it was a good idea to give the trip to a driver in another town who would have to drive 30 min to take me on a 5000 peso ride. I phoned him and he was very thankful that I agreed to cancel.
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SkyMan
3/12/2017 14:22 EST
Jerry, I had the same thing happen in Quito, Ec. I'd flown in from Miami and landed about 7:00 p.m. and my hotel "driver" did not show up, so I grabbed a taxi...The taxista was an old guy and I asked him if he knew where Puembo, Ec. was(only 15 mins. from airport & I knew that). El Viejo drove around for 35-40 mins. and I asked him(en español) again...if he knew where the hotel was. He answered Sí...10 more mins. of driving around & I spotted a group of 3 trucks in a parking lot & told the taxista to pull in there. He did and I paid a guy $5. USD to lead us to the hotel. After my bag was removed from the taxista's trunk and the bellhop had it, I asked the fare(it was usually about $20. USD at the time). He said $40. so I gave him a twenty & said adios....no incident...he just drove away. The lesson is...that it can happen anytime, in any city...but how it ends is the important thing. Yes, It happened to me in Panama once too...in Santa Ana...with the same result. I call mi taxista in Medellin to set up transportation to and from el aeropuerto, etc.
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Jaybee315
3/13/2017 15:12 EST
The taxista was not totally wrong in this case. What is owed is what's on the meter.
However, as soon as you realized he was lost you could have had him stop, paid the fare and either walk the remaining distance, or get another taxi.
Was there a language barrier? He may not have understood what you wanted to show him. Was there an attitude barrier? Nobody likes a customer telling them how to do their job.
In the end, the price on the meter was less than $2 more than your estimate. Did you feel like you had made a stand by saving yourself enough money to buy a bottle of water?
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jerryg
3/13/2017 17:55 EST
I have my address plugged into google maps and almost always start it because we live in an area most taxi drivers are not familiar with...I always sit in the front seat. This taxi driver refused to look at the directions I had started with google maps...so to answer properly his attitude stunk....it not the money, it is the principle. From Belen to my house is 12000-15000 depending on the time of day. This ended up being 21,500 which is unacceptable. In the end he finally accepted what I was telling him, go right, go left and we finally arrived.
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SkyMan
3/14/2017 13:48 EST
Jaybee...no meters on the taxis at that time at the Quito, Ec. airport.
Enough said.
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SkyMan
3/14/2017 13:53 EST
Jaybee315, no language barrier...Yo hablo expañol. and it was not the price of a bottle of agua...he quoted me $40.00 USD and it's a $20.00 USD fare, as Ecuador uses the American Dollar as it's currency. This happened in Quito, Ec. as I noted in my post.
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