Taxi anyone?

caslug says on Dec 4, 2004, 17:16:

taxi ride should cost no more than.. 20,000 pesos...

Beside, when you exit the airport, the taxi stand is to your right. You tell where you need to go (or give them the address) they give you a "receipt" with an amount, that amount is the MOST you will pay. You give that receipt to the cab driver.

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Atrevido (☼Travelguide writer) says on Dec 4, 2004, 17:37:

kernow62 says on Dec 4, 2004, 18:27:

Mario there is no requirement.

In fact I never have been to either the US or UK embassies in Bogotá, never needed to. If it makes you feel safer you could go I suppose.

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isaactraveler says on Dec 4, 2004, 19:06:

haha Mario they wont really be throwing themselves at you. That was more literal than factual.

Make your best impression first (sans jewelry).

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utopiacowboy says on Dec 5, 2004, 10:12:

Geez, Mario, those comments about women throwing themselves at you should not be taken literally. Yes, you will get female interest but you will not see any panties dropping - at least not outside your room! BTW, the airports in Bogota are in the city.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Gerbil says on Dec 5, 2004, 15:42:

20,000 pesos?

I paid 17,000 and I was ripped off.
Of course, it depends where you wish to end up in the city :)
There's no possible 'fixed' price, and taxi drivers do have the luxury that a nice slow run from the airport may well run off the edge of their pricing sheet so they will try to be cheeky. Not much you can do about that. I'll be getting buses from now on...

Barry
www.theburrow.co.uk

Barry www.theburrow.co.uk

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caslug says on Dec 5, 2004, 16:11:

airport taxi I paid 16K to goto zona rosa i don't remember if that incl a 2k tip or 2k tip was in addition. Main point is that the taxi stand will GIVE you a receipt that is the the MAX amount you need to pay, so even if the taxi guy goes slow, gets lost, it doesn't matter. Actually my taxi guy did get lost.

I put 20k, as the high limit not as the average.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Dec 5, 2004, 16:51:

Geez, The difference between 17,000 and 20,000 is about a buck on a whopping 8 dollar fare. If you're so freaked out about getting "taken" by a cabbie who makes, if lucky, $20 (US) a day, you're gonna have a tense stay in Colombia. You should be much more worried about getting literally robbed by a bootleg cab than getting shystered by a legit one.

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Gerbil says on Dec 5, 2004, 17:19:

If you think in terms of US dollars, then feel free to be ripped off left, right and center.

While I agree the actual monetary difference is minimal, it's both the principle of the thing and the fact that all those little attempts to get extra money off the foreigner soon add up if you intend to spend any reasonable amount of time here.

I spent my first few months living here wondering why Nato was always arguing over the small amounts (taxis are the most common example), then finally I 'got it', and now won't tolerate it myself.

Barry
www.theburrow.co.uk

Barry www.theburrow.co.uk

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Gerbil says on Dec 5, 2004, 17:22:

"I put 20k, as the high limit not as the average."

My apologies for interpreting that wrong.

Barry
www.theburrow.co.uk

Barry www.theburrow.co.uk

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ACBlessing says on Dec 5, 2004, 18:05:

Also... They charge a little more for suitcases and more people don't they? I paid about 12K pesos (around 4 bucks)

Alex Blessing, Spokane, WA, USA
alex at acblessing.com
www.acblessing.com

Just plain poor

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caslug says on Dec 5, 2004, 18:07:

foreigner being ripped off.. is a common gripe i hear from many expats in COL. A gringo in Cali told me how even the "businesses" like the phone, gas, electric, etc., business would nickle&dime him to death with his bills. So he use to have to call and complain to get them to correct the amount, usually very small amounts. After a while, he simple gave up when he realize that he was spending hours on the phone or standing in line to correct the equivalent of $1-5 USD. He just chalked those price fluxuation as cost of doing business and moved on.

Having a local trusted person fight your battle is obviously a way to go, but to try to do it yourself ALL the time will just stress you out.

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ACBlessing says on Dec 5, 2004, 18:10:

The chart There is a chart usually hanging behind the passenger seat that you can readily view. The chart is a matrix that correlates the number on the little counter on his dash with with the price in pesos.

I.e. The little digital counter reads 45 and you check the chart and see that it'll cost 12,500 pesos. (I'm guessing that figure for example only)



Alex Blessing, Spokane, WA, USA
alex at acblessing.com
www.acblessing.com

Just plain poor

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ACBlessing says on Dec 5, 2004, 18:33:

They're not so bad I've taken Bogota taxis more times than I can count and for the most part the drivers have been honest. The only time I had a problem, and it was my fault for not noticing, was when I took a cab to across town and didn't even check to see that the meter was on and as it turned out, he didn't even have a meter to begin with.

When I got to my destination, a the same route I had taken many times, the driver insisted on twice the amount I usually pay. I argued this with him for about 10 minutes and finally settled for 1.5 times I usually paid just to get out of that mess. I was pissed!

Moral: Always check to see if there is a meter to begin with and make sure it is running when you begin your trip.



Alex Blessing, Spokane, WA, USA
alex at acblessing.com
www.acblessing.com

Just plain poor

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Mr. Hollywood says on Dec 5, 2004, 18:50:

Gerbil, you miss my point "If you think in terms of US dollars, then feel free to be ripped off left, right and center."

You're missing my point. I don't just let dishonest people rip me off, either. But here we've got some guy worrying days to weeks in advance that he MIGHT get a dishonest cab driver. And asking us to give him guesstimates instead of just asking the cab driver. Give me a friggin' break! What's next? A question about the fair price of mineral water in the hotel mini-bar?

Here's everything you need to know about taking cabs in Colombia: It's always better to call one than hail one in the street (for safety). Make sure the meter is on when you start the ride and check the fare chart at the end. Finally, in towns like Cartagena where there are no meters in the cab, always discuss the fare before getting in.

What caslug says about utilities is true, but it's not just for gringos. There's a lot of deliberate "incompetence" that always seems to work in the utilities favor. And because most of them are monopolies here, the customer has very little choice but to keep right on paying bills, even when they include wrong charges.

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Lionheart says on Dec 5, 2004, 19:02:

deliberate "incompetence" sounds like the USA to me ... try get a bill corrected with a phone company here ... if you don't pay first you get cut off; some utility companies are the same.

Concerning taxis check out the thread we had about a week ago, lot of helpful tips there.

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