Tipping the taxi dudes in Cali

miamimike says on Sep 26, 2008, 13:46:

I wouldn't leave them any Tip! The Tip will be built into the fare since you are a Gringo, they will double the price as it is! LOL This is what the Taxistas expect --to jack your fare up twice what a Colombian will pay! Make sure you have some small bills and change as when you hand them a 20 Mil Note, their favorite ploy is "Don't you have anything smaller, I have NO change" Prepare yourself!

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Sonny says on Sep 26, 2008, 13:56:

watch the meter, it should start off with $1800 pesos and go from there. The last time I went to Cali it cost me $20.00 USD

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Desi1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Sep 26, 2008, 13:56:

The taxi dudes in Cali are not expecting any tip. Don't get them started now!
Just round it up to nearest thousand.
(Last time I was in Cali the fare was 45 thou Col pesos, I think, from the airport to the city. Perhaps more now.)

A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi

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cali_brahh says on Sep 26, 2008, 14:02:

So when I arrive I should negotiate with the drivers, or say get me to x location for 45mil pesos...

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miamimike says on Sep 26, 2008, 14:05:

Ask inside the Airport what the Legit fare is from the Airport to where you are going!

Avatar Legend: Bush "If any of you Reporters are wondering, it was a Size 10"

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Desi1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Sep 26, 2008, 14:10:

Yes, ask inside the airport as the fare is bound to have increased since then and then they probably have different set fares to different points like Intercontinental Hotel in the North or the hotels in the South.

A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi

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BushLawyer says on Sep 26, 2008, 15:07:

If you ask, the cab driver should confirm: From the airport to the bridge = 32,000 Pesos. From the bridge onward, the meter gets turned on and starts to tick. Depending on where you're going it could easily run you 40 to 45,000 Pesos.

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bigtexas1974 says on Sep 26, 2008, 17:32:

Never tip and never negotiate a price off the meter unless you are a local and know the routes. Meter price is the price, period. No tip even if asked for one. I even wait for my moneda.

"Sex is one of the most wholesome, beautiful, and natural experiences money can buy." - Steve Martin "You don't appreciate a lot of stuff in school until you get a little older. Little things, like getting spanked every day by a middle aged woman."

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jmb161 says on Sep 26, 2008, 19:51:

"If you ask, the cab driver should confirm: From the airport to the bridge = 32,000 Pesos. From the bridge onward, the meter gets turned on and starts to tick. Depending on where you're going it could easily run you 40 to 45,000 Pesos."

So it is actually standard that it costs 32,000 pesos from the bridge to the airport? I thought when that happened the driver was trying to scam me.

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gimmedub says on Sep 26, 2008, 20:00:

no tipping please and thanks! If the cab doesn't have a meter negotiate the fare up front!

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BushLawyer says on Sep 26, 2008, 21:17:

"So it is actually standard that it costs 32,000 pesos from the bridge to the airport? I thought when that happened the driver was trying to scam me".

I've done this at least half a dozen times in as many months this year, and all cab drivers give the same answer when the question is asked, so I take it that that is indeed the official rule. And I could pass for a Colombiano if I had to, so I don't think they were all taking me for a ride because I'm a foreigner (figuratively speaking).

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papiChulo says on Sep 27, 2008, 06:24:

I always round up to the nearset mil pesos with taxis and the like and most of the time taxisitas round down to the nearest mill for me.

I hate being weighed down my chump change anyway.

avoid the unhappy and the unlucky

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NCMike says on Sep 27, 2008, 09:30:

45000 sounds about right. That's more or less what I paid to and from the airport to Granada. The problem I had with taxis wasn't to and from the airport, but within the city. A couple of them tried to bull$hit me that there was construction going on for the new bus system, they had to go blocks and blocks out of the way, etc. I wouldn't have known the difference a couple of years or so ago, but I've been to Cali at least 5 times now and know my way around pretty well. From Chipichape to Granada especially isn't very complicated!!

Most of the hotels have taxi services they recommend. I would say call your hotel and ask for a phone number or they may even dispatch a taxi to the airport and have one waiting for you with a little sign and your name. The problem at the airport is that the drivers are like wolves competing for your business. Not just the drivers... you have to watch for those that want to take your bags to the taxi to try to get a tip from you!! Sometimes you can't tell who is the driver, and who is just trying to get a tip to help with the luggage. And the taxis are right there, there is no distance from the baggage claim to the taxi line to speak of.

Here is the service I used last from my apartahotel in Granada: Javier Antonio Rincon G.
cel. 300 618.5686, 316 481.8732. Try the 316 # first. As far as the tipping, they are probably right that you don't have to. But I ususally did for airport rides, but just a little. If the fare was 38000 I gave them 40000. If it was 42000 I'd give them 45000. We're only talking a dollar or so. You speak Spanish? If not, get someone to call this guy for you. As for rides around town, it is safer to call down to the desk at your hotel and ask them to call a taxi for you. They arrive pretty fast, sometimes less than 5 mins depending where you stay. They will tell you a number (clave, or codigo) that you will need to tell the taxi driver. When you come back, look for the authorized taxis. Almost every major shopping center has place where taxis cue up, and you get a little paper from someone that directs you to a particular taxi. I still take taxis off the street sometimes, but if I have the option, I prefer an autroizado.

Good luck and enjoy Cali.

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diducky says on Sep 27, 2008, 14:54:

we dont tipp taxis in colombia

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BillBigD says on Sep 27, 2008, 15:04:

Always paid $40k, deal done up front.

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ujay says on Sep 27, 2008, 15:09:

i give them a tip all the time,3.30 number 6 at doncaster

http://www.jukelightning.com

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Desi1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Sep 27, 2008, 15:18:

Jorge, my main tile layer, construction worker, maestro de obra also drives a taxi, especially at peak hours. he says: "Doña Desi, why don't you buy a couple of these old junks and put them to work? You can make good money and the investment is not big. When I turn in at night, I have to have hand over 70 000 pesos and the car has to be tanked. The rest I can keep. How much will that be?"
Two cars like that produce 140 000 a day minus repairs and taxes. How much does the driver make? (if he doesn't own the car). Say he gets 20 trips a day ranging from 1800 to 45 000 so he only makes some profit on the longer trips, like to and fro from the airport. Just a couple of trips to Alfonso Bonilla and he makes enought money to pay the rent of the vehicle for the day.

It's still just above 20 bucks so big deal for your gringos. Pay up and let the guy make his wages.

A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi

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billyb says on Sep 27, 2008, 21:38:

"It's still just above 20 bucks so big deal for your gringos. Pay up and let the guy make his wages."

Amen, but i hope you mean foreigners in general, because although you have cheapskate gringos galore, they tend to be, on average, more generous than the average euro.

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papiChulo says on Sep 27, 2008, 23:06:

"Amen, but i hope you mean foreigners in general, because although you have cheapskate gringos galore, they tend to be, on average, more generous than the average euro."

amen to that billyb... I mean some are good guys but chichipatos????

and they make euros?

avoid the unhappy and the unlucky

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cali_brahh says on Sep 28, 2008, 10:16:

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Robert Jorge says on Sep 28, 2008, 12:47:

Besides an occasional round up of a couple hundred pesos, I never tipped taxistas. Except if they helped unload groceries and brought them to the apartment door. But generally, no propina.

He who farts in church, sits in his own pew.

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lanegrapaisa says on Sep 28, 2008, 13:43:

I usually tip if the guy was nice to me, what's a couple of thousand pesos? you do something nice and it comes back to you, so I say tip away hon!

oh that cement is just, it's there for the weight, dear

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lanegrapaisa says on Sep 28, 2008, 13:45:

.

oh that cement is just, it's there for the weight, dear

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cali_brahh says on Sep 28, 2008, 21:15:

I gave him 2000 pesos propina! - the dude was cool. I love love love arriving in colombia to smell the fresh air from them cali mountains along with the spanish radio.

The only thing I got irked was when the dudes who insist on opoening my cab door (I'm a new yorker. No ayuda ok!) So I gave em 100 pesos. Then they bitched saying "mucho dinero!" Kiss my grinogo ass! :)

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pedro (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 29, 2008, 06:27:

cali_brahh says on Oct 8, 2008, 19:49:

please elaborate on where you get the airport bus..........because im getting sick of paying 40,000 pesos for a cab ride.

actually yes i saw that (the toll booth), I am sure that cost is added into the 40,000 pesos i pay to the airport each time i go to cali and back. The cab driver I had was a cool cool cool dude, gave him 6,000 propina because he woke up at 400 just to take me to the airport.

I could not believe it, but when i left for the airport it was freaking 430 in the morning and I see, about 6 miles out on the highway, homeless dudes just standing in the middle of the highway, wandering aimlessly......

or the table of 5 cab drivers playing poker, at 430 on a sunday morning! weird.......

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ujay says on Oct 8, 2008, 19:55:

40.000 is cheap,im sick of getting to new york and having to pay 80 to 100 bucks to get from airport to hotel.

http://www.jukelightning.com

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cali_brahh says on Oct 10, 2008, 17:57:

take the m125 bus to the 4-5-6 line. 2 bucks

and what hotel are you staying at? the normal rate is 25-40$ to the airport.

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