Taxi tariff card

capt_mahajan

1USD is approx 40.5 rupees now.

Lacha

thanks....so is the yellow and black taxi the cheapest?

steven_ber

Expensive.

Available at the airport and CST station (probably at other big train stations).

You go to the pre-paid booth (should be run by the police I think) and ask for a fare to wherever, you pay and are given a receipt with the number plate of a taxi, then someone will show you to the correct taxi (and expect a small tip), make sure you check the number plate, you show the driver the receipt, but DO NOT hand it over, the driver takes you to your destination and only then do you hand him the receipt, he then takes the receipt back to the pre-paid kiosk (or maybe somewhere else) and gets the money for the journey (minus a service charge by the kiosk).

The charges for pre-pay are quite high, but still the best rates a tourist will get.

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Lacha

Thanks Steven Ber....very helpful. i am only going to mumbai and i will be in the colaba area but i will want to visit other parts of mumbai as well and this info is useful. i was told that the city tour is just half day....u know about prices for those?? are there specific people who do those tours

aadil

Steven: I thought you had a good hold over the taxi drivers in Mumbai after all your trips down here. Did not realise you were gypped too!!! It so happens that sometimes the ingenious ways they use to dupe foreigners or even unsuspecting local passengers is that they have a separate card for looting you and the card shows the proper fare for the smaller meter readings but an inflated one for the higher meter readings. So you think you are paying the right fare according to the tariff card when infact you are being duped royally!!! Also never fix the fare for the place you wish to go to but instead ask for the rough estimate of how much it will be to a certain place and then ask the driver to take you there but use the meter and pay according to the tariff conversion card. It should be almost similar prices or else he is taking you for a ride. Best is to ask the locals what the fare will be for a certain destination and then see how much he is overcharging when he gives you an estimate.

Lacha: There are whole day city tours run by TPH or Neeta Travels in Mumbai which are the most famous. Not many tourist attractions that are actually shown in these trips so be prepared for that as many of the places will be shown from the bus itself!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

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steven_ber

I wonder if we ever get used to taxi drivers anywhere in the world, there will always be a minority who try to scam people, and as soon as we work out the scams, new scams begin.

It's strange, sitting at home I find myself smiling when I think of some of the tricks, but on holiday they drive me nuts.

aadil

I remember a taxi driver in Manchester when I was searching for an address in a small suburb of the city and the driver took a wrong turn so he shut the meter for the distance that he took the wrong turn and put it back on when he had returned to the right road, now that is what you call an honest driver!!! And he still charged me how much he had told me it would approximately be for the distance even though he did not know exactly where the place was located. Really appreciated his gesture and wish every taxi driver in the world would be like him!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

steven_ber

Yes, he is well known, his name is John, he lives in Moss Side in Manchester.

Sorry, English humour.

aadil

I quite like the English (and their) humour!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

Lacha

Thanks... i contacted an agent in india..he gave me a price of Rs3000 for 2 people

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LACHA

shashank.aggarwal

Please elaborate what exactly is he offering ?

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Lacha

this is wat he said:

Thanks for your mail. We can organise your city tours at bombay. The cost
for one day city tour at bombay with Indica car a/c is Rs. 3000/-

Places to See : Mumbai (Bombay) : Chowpaty Beach, Gateway, Colaba
Causeway, prince whales musuem, University & High court, Marine drive,
Hanging Garden, Tower of silence, Juhu Beach, Elephanta Cave.

shashank.aggarwal

Seems to be expensive..Indica with an AC goes for Rs.600-700 for 8 hours OR 80 kilometers...

By these standards the tour should not be more than Rs.1000, and people local to Mumbai would be able to guide you better..

Any by the all those places listed above..have you shortlisted them after research of they are part of deal offered by agent..?

These are my recommendations..

1. Prince Wales Museum
2. Elephanta Cave

These places would be good for you..and Marine drive is not a spot..its a road where people spend their evenings with their friends and loved ones..

Marine drive along with Juhu beach would be good spots for people watching...

Lacha

so i am kind of being ripped off. i read sumthing on this forum about the elephanta caves.....sumthing about it not being worth it. these places are part of the deal. i noticed that most of the places offered by the agents are the same. wat do u recommend i do when i get there? shoudl i contact an agent or will a taxi driver do?

shashank.aggarwal

Unfortunately unlike Delhi, Mumbai is a city with not much tourist value..

I have been several times and found myself short of places to visit other than movies, malls OR bars..

The best way would be to refer to the other tourists experience and checkout the places you would like to see...

after that instead of asking the agents for the sightseeing tours..just ask them for a car to be booked for a day...then you will not sound the first time tourist and in that car you can go to places you have shortlisted..