Taxi Ripoffs

[Aqualung]

Taxi drivers make more money on short trips than on long ones. The "bajada de bandera" is a fixed ammount you pay just for getting in the cab so the driver changing his clients five times between A and B will have earned more money than the one who just carried one passenger.

The "scenic trip" may be a problem at nights but during the daytime the driver just wants to get rid of you as quick as he can. Not knowing the streets is one problem - Any one can get a license to drive a cab in BA - and the other problem is the typical Argentine "I know better than anybody" attitude. I'll take a longer rout because there is less traffic or the traffic lights on such and such street have a shorter red than those on the other streets.

The biggest rip off is to try and charge 50 Pesos for a 5 Peso ride or charge 5 Dollars for a 5 Peso trip.

Another is the fake money trick. (Never get into a cab if you don't have change.)

A very common thing some years back which almost never happens now was for you to take a cab and at the next traffic light two other guys would get in a stick a gun into your ribs. They either made you take them home with you to rob your house or they would take you to an ATM machine and while one stayed in the car with his gun in your side the other would use your card to extract money from your account (And you had better have given them the correct PIN number)

This kind of robbery is not so common now but keep it in mind and keep both the doors locked. Also be ready to bail out of the cab if you see the driver slow down to give the traffic light on the next corner time to turn to red.

[Rock Harders]

Mongers,

It is very important to remember in conducting any sort of business transaction in Argentina, whether it be paying a taxi, buying TV's, real estate, anything- that Argentina is essentially the wild west in that law enforcement will not help you and "anything goes". If somebody here thinks they can get away with ripping you off, they will attempt to do so, simple as that. There are absolutely no standards here regarding integrity, morals, or doing the right thing. In a taxi, if the driver thinks he can get away with overcharging you in some form or another he will do so, whether he thinks he can get away with it because you don't speak spanish, don't know where you are going, or he perceives you as weak and thinks you will do nothing to resist, its all the same.

Suerte,

Dirk Diggler

[BadMan]

Ok, as far as actual Rip-Offs are concerned, I would say I have never had this problem, though whenever you leave Madahos you always get the taxi with no meter, But I just give them 12-15 pesos which is just about the normal rate to and from Madahos and Las Canitas.

Now as far as taxis " taking you for a ride ", this happens about 2 out of 10 times I take a taxi, and note, I take alot more taxi rides than the average resident and have been doing so for quite some time. I know the routes back and forth and I know which are the fastest and which are the slowest since I take many of the same trips on a daily basis. I know after the first 3 minutes in a taxi if he is taking me the long way or the quick way. Many people don't realize that taxi drivers will take you on routes that are specifically designed to add a few pesos to the meter. I don't consider this a rip off, this is more just normal business practice, these taxi drivers have alot of daily overhead: they have to pay the taxi agency fee, they have to pay the taxi rental fee and they have to pay for fuel on a daily basis, so every extra peso counts. I understand this and so 2-3 extra pesos don't really bother me, but I have had some excessive detours and that does bother me, not only does it cost me more but it wastes my time and we all know time is money.

I think what Stray said is the best idea, look at a map first and map out your own fastest route and see if the taxi driver follows it, I bet you 7 out of 10 times they won't, but a good idea is also to tell him where to go step by step. I noticed MCSE doing this on a couple trips and we actually got to the location much faster.

I would say actual RIP-OFFS are very low, I would say about 5% , but creative " scenic " routes are much more common than you would think, I would say between 2-3 out of 10 drivers will try this shit.

Take a map, plan out the fastest route and then tell the driver how to get to the location, step by step. Now for those that are already doing this, don't you think it's funny that you HAVE to do this in the first place? I do.

Bad.

PS, I have also had many drivers that are new to Buenos Aires, they are from other provinces and they don't know how to get from point A to point be very quickly, this happens alot, but I don't count those.

[Jaimito Cartero]

I'd say that I have to ask taxis to turn their meter on at least 15% of the time. As for outright ripoffs (either a fixed meter, refusing to turn the meter on, or trying to say you gave them counterfeit or the wrong bills) I'd say it's about 2-3%.

I try not to take taxis in front of boliches, or in Puerto Madero. The sharks seem to like to hang out here.

[StrayLight]

Sidney says, ''it's AR, man''! AR, a country infamous for it's cheating business practices! C'Mon guys, 53 percent of you are saying these fuks only cheat you once or less in 100 rides?

Well, I can't speak for the rest of the crew, but that's what I'm saying.

And if you really want to get me started on Argentines, I can tell you about how many times porteños went out of their way to make sure I did not get cheated. That's happened to me far more than the one time a taxi driver clearly tried to nick me.

[Daddy Rulz]

Based on the story by DR with his ex, I think I understand why taxi drivers might like taking me more than a local.:-)

We were leaving a hotel (going from there to her house) with luggage so I think he was expecting a longer ride for more money. She did all the talking though not me, so he couldn't have thought it was anything but Argies in the cab.

[Easy Go]

Based on the story by DR with his ex, I think I understand why taxi drivers might like taking me more than a local.:-)

[Hunt99]

A lot of drivers don't know where addresses are in Buenos Aires, but that's better than I have experienced in DC, where one time the driver didn't know where Georgetown University was.

[Daddy Rulz]

Not more than 5%. Usually not turning on the meter.

I didn't think of the times that they don't turn on the meter for a short haul from caberet to hotel, but then again I don't get ripped off with that. When they say it's for a propina I give them 2 pesos instead of the 10 or 20 they expect. Unless I feel it's an honest mistake (not coming from a caberet with a hooker in the car) then I give them an appropriate amount. So I don't think of this as a ripoff because they, not I, lose.

I've had a few complain about the 2 pesos until I ask them if they would rather I pay what's on the meter.

[Hunt99]

Not more than 5%. Usually not turning on the meter.

[El Perro]

My experiences are more like those of Straylight. I've been in BsAs a total of about 15 months and have used taxis alot, though increasingly I use colectivos. I have never had a "bad" experience, though maybe 2 or 3 times I noted that a slightly slower route was taken. On one occasion I am sure there was a fast meter. I always hail a cab, and the worst cab experience I have had was with a cabbie that I phoned for. Bored me to death with piquetero talk all the way to EZE in a cab that seemed to be on the verge of falling apart the entire time. To reference Stray again, it definitely helps to give cross streets, and I usually exit the cab at the cross street rather than the exact address. That also cuts down on the number of people who know where you live.

[Daddy Rulz]

My experiances have been more like Straylights and less like Badboy, however I use public transportation so much more than taxis. Only once did I ever have a driver go out of his way and he really went out of his way. From Callao why Santa Fe going to Cabildo why LaCroze He went by way of Libratador through Belgrano, about 15 pesos out of our way.

Funny part was my Ex was in the cab with me. She was born here and has lived here all of her life so it wasn't a tourist thing. She kept asking him where he was going and He kept saying it was a faster way. They were fighting like crazy with Him telling her it wasn't a longer route when it so obviously was. When we got to Her place She deducted the 15 pesos, threw His money on the ground and called His Mother a *****. He said He would call a cop and She told him her apartment number and said go ahead just send them up.

[StrayLight]

I've been living (or virtually living) here for almost a year, and I've rarely had a problem with taxis (although the more I'm here, the more I use the colectivos)

Generally, before I flag one down, I try to think about the best route to where I'm going. And then when I flag one, I make sure I'm at a spot that will allow for minimum confusion or misunderstanding. Even if I have to walk a block or two from where I am to make this happen, that's what I do.

Also, if I'm going somewhere new and really don't know the neighborhood that well, I'll look at the map first and tell the taxi to take me to the intersection nearest my destination that will also preclude confusion or misunderstanding. As we get close, if I feel comfortable with the driver, sometimes I'll tell him to continue on to the exact location.

Since I first started coming here in 2004, I've had four taxi "incidents." Two of those were definitely misunderstandings, and the drivers offered not to charge me. One was definitely an attempted rip off. The fourth could have been either. So in short, I don't consider the case of rogue taxi drivers to be much of a problem.

[Easy Go]

I've spent about 30 weeks here over the last 3 years with an average of 1-2 rides per day. My positive experiences are more like 99%. I have to provide directions to more obscure addresses and usually have somebody I can call by cell if I think it is going to get tricky but that's about it. I've never had a serious problem with a driver.

Problem drivers clearly exist so I guess I've just been lucky. I'm guessing it helps that I usually stay in a well-known part of Recoleta or Palermo so there's little opportunity for long diversions on at least half my trips. On trips to places like Vicente Lopez and Avellanada, they seldom have any idea where they are going anyway so they are following my directions. Never had any problems with the money although I never need more than a couple of pesos in change 95% of the time.

The marginal mechanical condition of many vehicles and driving too fast late at night are my biggest complaints.

[BadMan]

I have been taking taxi's in BA for the better part of 6 months, I usually take about 2-3 taxi rides a day at least 4-5 days a week. I would say my knowledge is pretty good in that department. I also speak spanish pretty well. I can usually be mistaken for an Argie, but the minute I start speaking the proper Castellano instead or porteno " voseo ", they know I am not a local. I would say my experiences with taxis have been a 75-25 split, 25 % being bad. I live in Las Canitas, and sometimes drivers like to take me around the whole polo field instead of dipping thru Dorrego, I guess they call it the " scenic " route. It usually will cost me an extra 5-10 minutes and about 5-6 pesos more on the meter. I have also had some " accidentaly " either get the name of the street wrong or they pass the place I am going to " accidentaly " and are forced to do a few circles to get me back, lots of fun when I am going to Hard Rock Cafe on Libertador and they " forget " to turn on Puereydon. The honest ones will turn off the meter when this happens, the crooked ones will let it keep charging.

There are alot of dishonest cab drivers in BA, luckily I know my way around and I can tell when they are taking me for a ride. But for the average toursit, it can sometimes be hard. I think people should be aware that taxi rip offs do happen regularly. But for a 2-3 week tourist, a 100 peso total overcharge during a 3 week stay isn't that bad. But for a local who uses them constantly, we have to be a little more picky. So I can see and understand the differing opinions of El Sid and Punter. My opinion is, if you are a long term BA resident, fuck a taxi, buy a car. If you are a tourist, don't worry about it, you can easily afford the overcharge for 2-3 weeks, but try 6 months of it and it will start to get on your nerves.

Bad