Taxi Ripoff
By AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16676)
Boston, Massachusetts
September 13, 2015 9:22am CST
The Girl took a taxi to work this morning as she had no other means of transport. She sometimes gets a cab home from the train station. There are two towns with train stations and depending on which one she decides to head to, the price of the cab is about $11 or $12. Both are a little over 4 miles from here.
The job she went to this morning is in a smaller town, but it is only 3.7 miles from here. The charge was $24! Double what it would have been to go further in miles to one of those other towns.
They charge flat rates now, and the smaller town they say costs more to send a cab to.
Maybe it is because they are less likely to pick up a fare going the other way.
But when I was young, all taxis charged by the mile and they had a meter which kept track of the mileage and the fare based on that rate per mile.
Now they just make it up based on their preferences. They prefer not to send taxis to the small town because there's less business there.
I think paying $24 for a 3.7 mile ride is unacceptable and a total ripoff!
Do taxis operate like this where you are, or do they charge per mile traveled?
10 people like this
9 responses
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
13 Sep 15
Taxis seem to think they can charge anything they like, because you haven't got a choice. There is no public transport to this small town, no bus or trains. So they can do whatever they want. It's really ridiculous to charge double. She could go 20 miles to the airport for just a few dollars more from the same taxi service.
2 people like this
@maggs224 (2317)
• Alicante, Spain
13 Sep 15
My hubby and son asked at the airport how much the taxi would be to their hotel. It was three miles to their hotel and were told it would cost £18 which is $27.77 on todays rate of exchange.
As it was around 1 am it was take it or leave it attitude. My husband and son decided as they only had hand luggage and it was a nice night they would leave it.
It turned out to be closer to 6 miles to the hotel but they did not regret their decision to walk. Me I would have paid the £18 lol...
3 people like this
@glenniah (1197)
• Mandurah, Australia
13 Sep 15
I think our taxis used to have a standard fare per kilometre but it is quite expensive now. I remember once in UK I was travelling back from the bus station and the taxi driver decided he didn't want to take me any further unless I paid double fare. So had to get out of his cab after midnight and find my own way home. And I always thought English people were so polite. Well most are just not taxi drivers i guess
@glenniah (1197)
• Mandurah, Australia
14 Sep 15
@Rollo1
Imagine this if you will. I came from Australia to London where there have a huge population, probably 3 times more than my country. And there I was walking alone after midnight feeling Crazy, a la Patsy Cline. Patsy and I have a bit in common it would seem.
@LadyDuck (502154)
• Italy
14 Sep 15
Taxis, both here in Switzerland charge by mile and they are expensive. When I had to call a taxi to get my husband from the hospital to our home, I spend 35 $ for 3 miles. In Milan, in the city, they charge by miles, but also by "time". The traffic is slow, even if the car does not move, the meters goes up.
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
13 Sep 15
I think there are good and bad ones wherever you go.... but some of the quotes and pricing are ridiculous... 
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (54714)
• United States
13 Sep 15
Wow, that is outrageous. We are to small a town to have a taxi, not even a bus.
