Taxis in Mumbai

Merchant

You'll notice that I am talking about foreign tourists, not local Indians, in their complaints against cabbies.

goangoangone

Cabs in Goa are the same. In Cavellossim they are definitely "militant".

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GoanGoan......here

sirensongs

*Exactly*! Yay Merchant!
A crime is being committed, this guy is extorting money from you, do something about it for god's sake. It will not make you (anyone) a racist or neo-colonial to defend yourself...I promise.

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"Why do people go to India to find themselves? India is where you go to lose yourself."
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jivan

I see no problems in him defending himself, I'm just making him aware of couple of pitfalls. What he wishes to do with it is entirely upto his decision, his karma 'simple as that'

Edit :- Merchant, don't know what u mean by 'foreign tourists complaints against cabbies, not local indians' do u think because of u being white, or being of some other nationality the law meaning the police would behave differently? Just for info. the policeman pay heavy bribes to get posts where they can extract from the 'foreign tourists' . This isn't to say that there aren't good cops around but the chances of finding somebody who'll take u'r side in the matter would take some effort. Plz. do remember the fact that both the policeman as well as the driver would be in the same place tomorrow & many-a-times the cabbies give rides to policeman. It's a kind of understanding between them as well as many other things. Each person wants money as well as support.

Vasko

In an ideal world I would gladly be on Merchant's side. Being more pragmatic, I would gladly avoid the police in India - just as jivan suggests is a better solution, especially in the case of a few (hundred) rupees. I've dealt with them once in a case of theft, and it was utterly useless. I don't believe for one second that the police in India is the neutral, "objective" and judicious institution that we expect or want it to be.

Merchant, you pose an interesting question: "My point is just that you wouldn't stand for such treatment at home--why would you put up with it in India?"

The answer lies within the question: because you're not at home, you're in India! Stick to your morals, by all means, but don't expect them to have any real effect in a system built on corruption.

Still, I want my money back, Surinder (see earlier post).

anilkhare

hi,


Before I come to the autorickshaw thing,

Firstly, I am really proud of some one like siren song for her gandhian lifestyle, its tough but gives a sense of not being a burden, I try and do as many tasks as possible and as far as the unemployed scenario, there is a scope to outsource few of our daily chores which we cant manage with work.

Well I have lived in bombay from birth and sometimes felt short changed by cabbies,but mr jivan just stand your ground and irrespective of the union and the corrupt cops u are the winner.

The most likely u are to fleeced at dadar, lokmaniya tilak station or cst, by the waiting cabbies, as they usually fix the meters for a faster reading, hence it is advisable to walk a bit out side the station and hail a cab as there are
few cabbies who just drop a passenger and are movin out.

The second instance is the airport..the best bet for a forienger would be pre paid...cos these cabbies not in the pre paid but waiting in the airport would either ask for more or try and take u on a longer route to extract their pound of flesh and then ask for more money sayin they have been waiting for 12 hours and all that bull crap. Me and my friends have had lot of problems with cabbies but we have stood our ground. Never hail a rick shaw which is moving out of international air port for a longer distance.. cos these guys are the more problematic...my friend has had to wait in the dead of the night arguing sometimes near bandra bridge where the autos have to be changed to taxis..sometimes the fellow auto guys have supported my friend when they have found their own drunk or unreasonable.

Even I always take the cabbie queue from the domestic terminal which is manned by a cop, here dont give in to the cabbie request for extra money.

Unlike the stories of delhi cabbies...I have found them calm once agreed upon a price, this is the major hurdle.

The Banglore cabbies fleece u royally in the night.

Always before you get in to a cab always ask a local how much it would take to reach a certain destination and which way is better, fixed or by the meter.The first local we meet are the airport support staff or fellow passengers. I always follow this rule when I travel around my country for pleasure or work , be it banglore, delhi, kashmir, himachal, pune or any other place. HAving a fair idea of the fare to your destination helps.


Coming back to this scam, it would always help to make sure like ikkuru said spell out u are handing out a five hundred when u do or one hundred when u do so.

Mr. Jivan irrespective however corrupt the cops are ..an erring auto guy is like a god given gift for further slaughtering so 9 out of 10 the cop will be fair to u and take him in to the "kopcha" and give him some "karcha pani "until he doesnt get his "chai pani".

( the last is a bombay lingo where kopcha means corner and karcha pani means pasting and chai pani means bribe.)

jivan

Hi Anil,
First of all I don't like the Mr. as well as Sir thing, I get enough of that in real life so let's move on from there.

Anil,
AFAI can tell u're a native, mumbaitie & even u've acknowledged that at times one feels/knows that one has been short-changed by cabbies. One of the things that I've mentioned is time. More often than not, at least for foreign nationals/guests who're coming to the country, the flights land at night & one is tired & irritable. On top of that is the customs & god only helps if while checking out somebody wants something or the other. AFAIK it takes about an hr. to 11/2 hr. at the very least to check out the airport. Now when the person is out of this she/he isn't in a rational peace of mind to make rational decisions & things can easily spiral out of control. I've seen this happening on no. of occassions on the Sahar Airport. There 've been instances where I'm with a western guest & have come to recieve them at mumbai airport & get a taxi to Pune. AFAI remember the pre-paid taxis are in the basement & not many people help or guide to know where it is. If it's just an indian the fares are different & if a westerner is involved the news gets & the charges are differed.
Anil is right in the fact tht if one has the energy then one can go on the main road & hail a passing cab. But another problem AFAI remember the nearest main road from the airport is something 2-3 kms. Similar is the case with the Sahar Airport.
AFA locally if one is saying there again Anil is right & that's a 10 min. difference. Personally enjoy the mumbai double-decker buses (are they still there?) & buses. Pretty prompt & on time. B.E.S.T.
The other thing which u have mentioned if I quote u right is

Here the situation is again different as one or more locals are also involved. Actually if a local is involved, then there shouldn't be an issue in the first place as everything can already be sorted ahead including any waiting periods. This can be pre-planned & avoided al-together or at the worst is minized a lot.

Didn't understand the last bit of 'chai pani' or 'kharcha pani' do u mean that the cabbie would 've to pay or do u mean the foreign national/guest would've to pay?
Most of the cabbies anyhow pay a 'hafta' to the police to look the other way for as I'm sure u're also aware there are quite a no. of rules regarding :-
1. How far the taxis should be from the airport
2. No. of taxis at a particular stand
3. Manning of the pre-paid taxi stand

The last one is the most interesting as it's never manned or very rarely manned at night. If possible anybody who's going to or fro from the airport, has a digital camera can shoot & show where & how the pre-paid taxi stand looks.
The same issue is also here in autorickshaw as well as the blue cab. It has been coming in the papers (hence highlighted) for more than 3 years (Indian Express, a national newspaper) but no changes till yet.
Hence personally like to be in any new place in early morning & plan like that so that can have chai at the station then wander around to find public transport to x place. And then walk or hail something for a short ride.That's the best way I've found till now Of course this is a backpacker's way & may not neccessarily find favor with all.

anilkhare

the option to hail a cab after walking a bit..is strictly for stations only...its not advisable to walk at night from the airport towards the main road..whether its bombay or delhi..especially for tourists.... just take the pre paid cab and if in bombay...the BEST has started a night bus service ( an A/C coach ) in which you are likely to be dropped at least closer to churchgate or VT, from there u could cab it to colaba which would be hardly 20 to 30 bucks based on how deep in colaba you'll go.

As far as the kharcha pani goes... lets not forget the auto guy is in a different area when he is dropping u and usually he can at the most share a RAPPORT WITH a local cop of his own area and to a cop of a different area, the cop will extract his price and still give him a sounding..so u tourist are at an advantage in event of a dispute.

When I said I and my friend had problems, it meant we at seprate occassions when we were alone all by myself.The best bet is to ascertain the rough fare and when there is an unusual difference put your foot down and dont take any injustice irrespective of your homeland or not.Always insist on taking the cab to a police station and the cabbie is bound to shit bricks

jivan

In agreement with u.

Anil, agree with u but if the guest is coming to a new place which he's not familiar it's a very risky proposition. I would gladly give the taxi driver a little bit of extra money than rather risk a fight in an uncertain place at an uncertain time (night!). In case of any disputes it's always better atleast in the night to give the money, take down the taxi no. & take on the fight the next day. Go to the police station in the morning & lodge a complaint. Even if nothing else, there's a sheet against him in the police record now.
I do agree with u that while dropping he would be in a different place (usually) but would one like to take chances & go to the police station at something like 1 a.m. As a bluff it could work but if it doesn't don't see a pretty picture there whichever way u look at it.

Do u mean u were alone or were they 2 of u ? I just couldn't understand what u mean by "it meant we at seperate occasions when we were alone all by myself" . I'm till scratching my head. Another thing are the rates different at night then at the day or not? Here for rickshaws it's 1/2 fare return back between 12 a.m. - 6 a.m. The night bus service idea although seems to be an interesting idea, would be nice if u could throw some more light on that.

Dino

Just reread my posts on this thread and should clarify a mistake.I am NOT a NRI as stated.I am a non-resident but not a non-resident Indian.In other words a foreign tourist (when in India).Must have had one beer too many when making that post.

I must also say that when confronting the taxi guy about getting my money back I did feel a bit worried as we'd pulled over in a very dark area and there was another man waiting there where we pulled over who was obviously acquainted with the driver.It turned out to be no big deal and after a few minutes of standing my ground they gave me my money back.The only thing I wonder is would they have been so obliging if I wasn't a reasonably large guy?

kiwi_razz

I had this scam happen to me twice within the same week. Both times I gave a 100Rs to a rickshaw then they come back saying thats a 10.

First time I thought I could be mistaken so paid up. It was pissing down raining and at about 3am so didn't really mind, but the second time was just coming home from the pub and I got the guy to empty out his pockets and also get out of the rickshaw to check for any notes dropped on the floor or anywhere.

Strange that it happened twice in one week out of about 12 months of living in Bangalore.

siri

theseautowallahs think they are masters of the art, a rupee is a rupee whoever it is, i also faced similar problem, he insisted as if I had given only rs.100 note, though I had no 100 note in my pocket at all, until a lot of sqabbling he didn't come down.

I learnt a lesson to take prepaid taxi from airport to get rid of motherchods.

Merchant

Let's be clear here. This isn't a "scam." You've just been ripped off by a cabbie. You are not being extorted by a criminal syndicate. At home, if you walk outside your house right now, hail a cab, and at the end of your journey notice that after you gave the guy a 20 and he only returned change for 10, you argue with him. If he doesn't relent, you take down his license or operating number. Then you decide whether it's worth it to you to file a complaint. You don't light up the internet with tales of the new cabbie wrong-change scam sweeping your country.

In India, are foreigners an easy mark? Yes, of course. Are you likely to be victimized by people trying to take advantage of your lack of familiarity with the country, the language, and the currency? Yes. But this is the beauty of traveling, like it or not. If you seem mindless and unobservant at home, the same thing can happen to you.

Point? Count your change. If it's wrong, complain. If the cabbie is jerk, take whatever appropriate action you care to. If this simple transaction is too burdensome, why travel?

PortieOwner

I hoard small change and small bills like crazy, and pay exact change anytime I am buying a good or service from a small-time vendor. The 500 rupee notes are for McDonalds and the jeweler.

Portie

stellap

The have you got something smaller thing is certainly not exclusive to India - if you want to buy a €2 ice cream in Italy and offer a €5 note most gelaterias look at you like you've just insulted their mother.

I think in the UK we get excited about seeing big notes so don't complain about them! I think I've seen one £50 note in the past five years and one £100 in my entire life.