After a long flight your brain might have a bit of meltdown and you are an easy pray for taxi scams in the airport. So here are some tips to not get ripped off on arrival.
Yes yes official taxi, come come
In many countries there are official taxi’s and services like Uber, Grab, Didi, Careem, … But there are also a bunch of scammers that approach you on your way to the official taxi stand. Often they show you pictures of fancy rides or say they have the best price … Well that smells like a scam. So this is what I do to teach them a lesson: I ask them if they are official taxi, they say yes yes come come and take me outside and make a few phone calls so their buddy drives by with the car Well the car does not really look like the proper ride they showed earlier on the picture. I tell them the amount I am willing to pay and the arguing starts. Their buddies start laughing, they think they sealed another deal.
Show the Uber price to the scammer ^_^
What they did not see is that in the mean time I looked up the price on Uber. I hold my thumb on the order now button and tell them to match the price which is 3 times cheaper. Most of the time they will match the price, in a very bad mood but at least I saved another tourist from being ripped off.
The meter suddenly stops working
Another case is the official taxi with a malfunctioning meter, suddenly the meter stops working. Off course it might be a coincidence but I have seen it more as a repetitive pattern. Believe me, you will know when it’s a scam or when there is a real malfunction. First ask the driver nicely to turn the meter back on. Don’t make a scene yet because the driver might get angry and just drop you in the middle of nowhere. When you arrive at your destination just pay the amount that was last on the meter or don’t pay at all. One trick you have to use here is saying that you still need to change money in the hotel. This last bit, getting out of the scam taxi before paying, is very important. You have more leverage if you are not locked inside. One time I was trapped inside a taxi. The driver did not want to open the door because I only paid him what was on the meter. It was a clear case of on purpose malfunctioning meter. He was even threatening to drive me to harbor, not sure what would happen next with me. So in the end I had to throw the rip off amount of money to him to not end up on the bottom of the ocean.
It’s all about being fair
it’s quite simple: be honest. Don’t mislead people telling there are no official taxis, give wrong prices or show pictures of nice cars to then show up with a vehicle that’s falling apart. If you agree on a price then that is the price. I get really annoyed when people try to take advantage of me. Stupidly I will spend energy arguing even over 10 cents just because they are scammers. On the other hand I often tip drivers who are honest.
Uber WiFi at airports would be useful
I always have been wondering why Uber does not install wifi at airport exits. A lot of travelers don’t have data and the airport wifi is out of reach near the exit. If they setup some wifi boxes many more people could order an Uber 🙂 By the way, let me know if this is the case in some airports, I have not been everywhere 😉
Grab did something smart in Manila
Before my trip to Manila last year I asked my friends in the Philippines if Uber or other services were available as I had some bad taxi experiences in the past. They told me Grab was very popular. It gets better, Grab has setup counters at the airport exits. There are even Grab representatives who will order a taxi for you. So even without data or WiFi you can get a reliable service.
Look up the public transport options before your trip
Sometimes taxi is the only or the easiest way from the airport to your destination. That being said, make sure to look up if there are public transport options available. Often these are much cheaper and faster! Even if you forgot to investigate the alternatives, there is an info desk in the airport to help you out.
Whatever you do, stay safe and give scammers a hard time 😉
I think most airpirts have public transport options, which I usually choose as a solo traveller.
True but public transport is not always available at 3 am 🙂