So tonight I was getting into a shared taxi with my son, in the back seat. A skinny woman got in after us, this is the standard three seats seating arrangement charged by seat. Then another skinny woman got in, it was a bit cramped but ok, but I said hey driver we are full already, I had to say it a second time before the driver noticed and he said “oh…what you want to pay for your kid?” before I could answer the woman started grumbling and cursing and got out, there was a big crowd waiting for cars. I get it I’ve been glad when at night with a crowd the driver says toss him in your lap and squeeze in.
Then the driver was like “well if you want to waste money fine”.:rolleyes:
The only reason I said anything is that there have been previous times when a fourth person got in, and I squeezed over or put my son in my lap. Only to have the driver start arguing when I paid that I had to pay for my son too, when I pointed out he let a fourth person enter and I wasn’t going to pay for a seat when he sat in my lap they would say well you did not complain.
But it feels awkward as hell asking before I get in the car what the drivers thoughts or policy is on a fourth occupant.
EDIT:Basically 'd be glad to save the additional seat fare, but I’m not gonna pay for an additional seat fare when 'm squeezed in and don’t get to enjoy it just so the driver can get an additional fare. Of course the driver enjoys the extra person paying, and the person is often glad to if there is a shortage of taxis.
Generally, when one is paying for a seat, one does not pay for children who sit on one’s lap. I should think that was obvious?
This shared taxi thing is brand new to me, but I’d say you needed to speak up and explain your point of view. Neither the taxi driver nor the new occupant had any chance of figuring out what you really meant.
Shared taxis go along a set route, they seat four people one in the front passenger and three in the back, you pay by seat. They stop at a stand, and also pick up passengers along the way should there be vacant seats.
My annoyance is the driver allowing a fourth passenger to get in the back, if they do this I assume they assume my kid is riding for free either in my lap or we are squeezed into the space of one seat. But because of drivers then expecting my to pay I call bullshit, why should they get four fares out of the back when I could have been not cramped?
But then when I say hey what the hell, they act like well if you want to pay for nothing or act like I’m making someone wait for another taxi.
I’m very happy to just pay two fares, I’m just not going to do it when we’re not occupying two seats.
Son is 4 years old
EDIT:I know people bitch about airlines with this policy, but I wish drivers had the guts to tell 6 foot plus husky or fat guys they have to pay for two seats. Instead they pay for one, and if I’m on the door side I hang my arm and head and as much of me as possible out the window. I’ve just flat gotten out of taxis before when I’m stuck in the middle and a large person gets in.
In addition to balancing seat space and carfare, there’s the question of politeness about letting more people ride. But these are mainly your decisions, not the driver’s. Anyway, it sounds like there were various good options and it worked out fine anyway.
Why not just say “Kid sits on my lap for free, right?” or if you prefer “We’re tired; I’ll pay for my son to have his own seat, OK?” Or just say nothing and, if the driver tries to charge for a lap-sitting kid offer to let police arbitrate.
But I do understand the feeling of awkwardness and have often found myself in similar situations … at least before SDMB turned me into an outspoken and grumpy old man.
Slight hijack, but where is this? Is it something you’d really call a “taxi”? Sometimes as a courtesy I’ll let a driver take an extra fare if it doesn’t inconvenience me, but I’m really interested to know where shared taxis are a thing…
I’ve seen it in certain situations in the US as well- I used to take Amtrak from NYC to Albany. When I arrived at Albany, there was a line of cabs- mostly minivan types and the taxi dispatcher just assigned people to a vehicle until the seats filled up. And there wasn’t a total fare that was split- if I got into the cab with five other people going to the same destination, the fare would have been six times the fare for a single passenger going to that destination. Very different from cabs in NYC.
One of the taxi companies in Madison, Wisconsin operated on a shared ride basis with zone pricing. You might get a slight diversion to pick up an extra fare but they tried not to take you too far out of the way.
At Paris Gare Du Nord station there were about 50 people queued up waiting for cabs and four cabs in the taxi rank. The station official sort of paired up people according to the number in the party and the destination and stuffed the cabs full. We got off first and got a 2 euro discount from the metered fare. The guy who was continuing on would get a 2 euro discount as well, but would end up paying more than he would if he had gone straight to his destination. The cabbie gets almost twice as much for the same trip (I mean 40 euros instead of 22)
One of the many things in Paris that did not make sense or seem fair to us Americans.
Ouch! Where else does that Paris taxi pricing apply? Airports? The scarcity of taxis queued for that high-price opportunity would suggest, in some countries, that the taxis were paying kickbacks to the queue manager.
I think OP was referring to jitneys, which might be a cross between taxi and bus. In Pattaya, Thailand there were modified pickups which operate as fixed-route buses but convert to hired taxis at a moment’s notice (with the busfare passengers then being booted off!) It makes a difference fare-wise what you say when boarding: “Are you going to Sabai Room(!) ?” versus “I want to go to Sabai Room.” Best is to explicitly agree on price when boarding.
Specific street corners, which you just have to know, serve as pick up points for cabs going certain directions. As a taxi drives by, you shout your destination and if it works for them, they will pick you up. As you make your way through the city, a steady stream of people will get on and off. But it’s not quite like a jitney-- these are standard cars, and they aren’t on fixed routes. They will drop you off at your door, it will just take a while to get there. There is generally a standard fare, but the driver may try to get more.
Now that I think about it, they were normal in Harare as well, though they had more fixed routes there and a taxi might just wait at a taxi stand until it’s full enough to leave. They are occasionally found in China, but it’s more informal (“Hey, do you mind if I pick this guy up”) there.
