4 ms·

Tends to happen in places with unmetered taxis. Never heard of anyone modifying a meter in Thailand.

• ekianjo 5y ago
  Even with meters, the usual trick I saw was: "oh sorry sir I took the wrong turn, and now we are stuck in a road with major traffic, I'll try to turn back as soon as I can" - added 10 minutes worth of ride. The only solution I see for this kind of abuse would be meter + "strictly follow GPS" rule.
• fy20 5y ago
  When I was in India they were at least honest about this. They said the meter in the rickshaw was only for locals :-) The ride was still only $10 for what would probably be $50 at home so can't complain...
  • kylehotchkiss 5y ago
    700 rupees is a day or two of pay for rickshaw drivers. He probably enjoyed the day off after dropping you!
    • fy20 5y ago
      Exactly... I mean tourism is a big part of the economy in some places. As a tourist I don't mind paying a reasonable amount more than locals, but charging $40 for a 2km ride is clearly just taking the p***. Our ride was 45 minutes maybe 20km, so $10 felt like a good deal to me :-)
    • hiram112 5y ago
      Wow. 70 rupees / US dollar. That's some devaluing in the last decade.
      • kylehotchkiss 5y ago
        It's closer to 75/dollar right now!
• mmmmmbop 5y ago
  When I was in Thailand, drivers often simply refused to turn on the meter, insisting on a (higher) lump sum payment, or get out of the car. One time after I begrudgingly accepted the lump sum, our cab got stuck in bad traffic and the supposedly 20 minute ride turned into a one and a half hour ride. At some point the driver half-jokingly suggested that maybe we should go by the meter after all.