Taxis in Chile
I just happened to run across report of this poll from hotels.com that ranks Santiago taxis as the worst in the world. The thing is, I have indeed had taxistas asking me where to turn, etc. They have, however, been very friendly about it...
I can't imagine they are the worst in the entire world, though.
8 comments:
That doesn´t make any sense!
Peruvian and Bolivian taxis are way worse... there´s no fixed fee and everything is subject to negotiation. So if you are not a local, that means you´ll be consistently overcharged.
But you don´t even have to go that far. How are NYC cabs better than Santiago´s?
I was convinced that the taxis in Santiago had a "gringo" button that they'd press whenever I got in so they could overcharge me on the meter. Living there for seven months, I learned to negotiate and keep them from using that damn meter.
That said, Chilean taxis weren't that bad. I can't imagine them being the worst in the world.
I've never had any problem, or at least any overcharge was a pittance anyway.
Chilean taxis are a great bargain compared to many other cities. The cars themselves are terrible, often without air conditioning and seatbelts. And the drivers often speak an unintelligible dialect of Spanish that is all but impossible to understand. But you can't beat the price or the availability.
And the drivers often speak an unintelligible dialect of Spanish that is all but impossible to understand.
Actually, you just described the entire country of Chile :)
I understand the Chileans here in Quito ok; could it be that Boz and mike a said were drinking too much of the mighty fine Chilean wine before talking to the locals (just asking!)?
Re: bad taxis, guys, LA looks good, really good, in front of countries like Pakistan and Thailand when it comes to drivers - and thinking of it, I've never been to Africa, so god only knows what taxi driver quality is like over there...
I find drinking Chilean wine makes Chileans more intelligible to me...
Like Greg said, drinking only helps in speaking and understanding Chilean Spanish. However, I was in college at the time, so it was more beer and pisco than wine....
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