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A few weeks back there was a train outage and I couldn't get home. Had to take a taxi for the first time in years. I went out to the taxi spot next to the tra
by apexalpha 3y ago
A few weeks back there was a train outage and I couldn't get home.
Had to take a taxi for the first time in years.
I went out to the taxi spot next to the train station and asked how much € to Amsterdam etc.. Immediately another taxi driver runs up and tells me I shouldn't take this driver because he is not from the right area, apparently. Then they start shouting at each other while I, a potential customer was there. Eventually more drivers take sides and almost start fighting.
I walk away for a bit and ask another driver. I ask how much to Amsterdam he says: "how much are you willing to pay"?
What kind of question is that, ffs. It's 23:00 and I want to go home, just give me your price. He refuses a few more times and I walk away. Then he suddenly says €100. I say too much, he counters with €80. I say €60 so we agree on €70.
When we're on the highway he says his machine is broken so we have to pay cash... Goodbye reimbursement from the train company because he's also not printing a receipt.
Finally home I lay in bed thinking how god awful the entire taxi experience is when you're not using Uber.
- 89vision 3y agois there no Uber in Amsterdam?
- apexalpha 3y agoThere is but my phone was out. Plus I thought: the taxis are right here, how hard can it be? Turns out it was pretty hard.
- pixelpoet 3y agoIt's below sea level, they only have Unter.
- nborwankar 3y ago<clap emoji> * 3
- noja 3y ago> Goodbye reimbursement from the train company because he's also not printing a receipt. He can write a receipt. Did you ask him to?
- commandlinefan 3y agoBack in my traveling consultant days, I would always ask the taxi driver for a receipt. They would (always, predictably) angrily hand me a post it pad and say "write it down yourself". I have no sympathy for any taxi drivers anywhere.
- edgyquant 3y agoThis seems like a cartoonish example. I regularly take taxis from the airport in cities and I’ve never had anything close to a problem or bad experience.
- phailhaus 3y agoThe point is that there is absolutely nothing in the taxi system to enforce transparency or accountability. Every time you take a taxi, you are crossing your fingers and hoping that you get a good experience.
- FabHK 3y ago> absolutely nothing in the taxi system to enforce transparency or accountability. Not sure about the jurisdiction GP took the taxi in, but in most places I’ve taken a cab there is a large plaque identifying the cab and driver, including contact data of the regulator to whom you can trivially submit complaints.
- jstarfish 3y agoHa, no way. I had similar experiences in Italy, near-melee and all. Japan is the only place I've ever been with a consistently-sane and above-board taxi experience.
- contingencies 3y agoI had a Japanese taxi driver assault me with his auto-door.
- ymolodtsov 3y agoApplies to all service industries in Japan, I imagine.
- lenkite 3y agoHuh, this feels like a third-world Taxi situation. A bit worse actually.