 |
Copacabana & Brazil Taxi Guide! How to not be cheated by taxi drivers!
I especially remember one time me and a friend of mine were going to a specific disco in Rio. Speaking to the taxi driver we negotiated on a price and got in. Just to make sure we weren’t fooled the taxi-meter was left on to confirm the negotiated price. The driver was a huge dark skinned Angolan who had come to work in Brazil with his family. He was really nice and we had a good conversation. However, after some time on the road it became apparent that he didn’t know the way to the disco. The taxi-meter kept running as he drove from bairro to bairro (Bairro is Portuguese for city part or suburb). As we already had negotiated a price we didn’t really care that the taxi meter exceeded what we had agreed on. Finally, we decided to pay what we agreed on and find a different taxi as we couldn’t find our way, when he told us he had driven a lot further than planned and that he needed to be compensated for the expenses, pointing to the taximeter. The whole thing ended up in an argument with the big Angolan driver exiting the car threatening to beat us after I had called him a ‘malandro’ which means something in the direction of cheater.
Now, being in a foreign country with a huge guy yelling at you can be pretty persuasive and usually end in you paying him just to get out of the situation. Well, we managed to negotiate to meet him in the middle, but should have just noted his company and car number. Anyway, as it turned out, he had faked to not know this disco, which was a famous one, and showed many of the typical characteristics for one who wants to trick you. Very soothing and easy to talk to in the beginning and getting very angry if you question the price. What we should have done was some simple background research like asking someone on the streets before where the disco was and the price to get there. Also I learned not to call someone a cheater until after we had settled the payment and gotten out of the car.
Anyway, here are some Copacabana taxi guide suggestions for not getting tricked:
1. Get some background information about price to destination from 2 independent sources (persons). Just ask some people on the street about the normal price before talking to a taxi driver.
2. Get fast description on the fastest route to get there. As in ‘go through the tunnel past the lake to get to Ipanema from the north zone of Rio’. You can tell the taxi driver this and he will think you know your way around Rio and won’t try to trick you.
3. Get the taxi driver to use his “taxi meter”, his price per km apparatus. Often he will try to cover this up or tell you it’s not working so he can claim a higher rate, often three times or even more than the real price. There are also different rates for different times of the day. Usually a higher rate is used on Sundays and after 1800 on normal days. You can see if the number on the taxi meter is turned to 1 or 2. If in doubt just ask.
4. Get a price from the driver to destination before you get into the car. Ask specifically if there will be any “extra” expenses like you have to pay extra for luggage or surf board, or if they have a fixed amount that is added to the final sum on the taxi meter. Many times they simply say that you have to pay an additional fee to that of the taxi meter. If this is cleared up in front he can’t make additional claims after. Sometimes this claim is indeed correct. A good advice is to check with some ‘cariocas’ (inhabitants born and raised in rio) about this before getting into the taxi.
5. Make sure the driver knows where you want to go. They can easily fake to not know the destination and keep circling to find it while the taxi meter is running.
6. Stay clear of taking taxis right outside the tourist attractions, and rather walk just a bit outside and grab a cab there. A good example here is the train station going up to Christ the Redeemer / Corcovado. The taxidrivers are packed together and compete to rob tourists from some money here. Go down a block and you’ll find many honest taxi drivers. For fun you can ask some prices and compare the differences.
Another advice I have been given by a Brazilian friend is “if they get angry when you ask a question or say no, they are usually out to trick you or fake”. I have found this to be a good judge of character. I have been in situations where we bought food to some of the poor kids in the streets and they threw it away and asked for money instead.
|