Taxi Hell in the Philippines

The taxi drivers of the Philippines are underpaid work hours that is impossible to keep them and their passengers safe and they are liable to be robbed and confronted by criminals.

Places like Davao who have a very strong Mayor have taxi drivers who are very efficient and honest.

The only issue I had in Davao over six years was not having change for the driver and on two occasions the driver would allow short pay rather than to upset passengers. Now, that is not the normal thing in the Philippines. The taxi drivers of the Philippines are underpaid work hours that is impossible to keep them and their passengers safe and they are liable to be robbed and confronted by criminals.

The taxi drivers of the Philippines are underpaid work hours that is impossible to keep them and their passengers safe and they are liable to be robbed and confronted by criminals. The truth is that most in Manila will want to fleece you with brutal intent as soon as they see a foreign face, especially if that face is at the airport waiting to be used. Taxi drivers tell YOU where they are going and will TELL you the far. Some refuse take you if you want it on the meter, some have meters that run at supersonic speed and some have meters that appear not to work. There is no shame and they wont get embarrassed if you challenge them

I have had to open a taxi door in transit to get out of a taxi who was taking me somewhere I did not want to go. I have refused to leave taxis when a driver wants a huge price. Mostly I now use the taxi apps and even some of those will inflate price when they arrive-and not all arrive.

Here are some other comments trolled from the internet on the good old taxi driver in the Philippines.

While we were along Katipunan Avenue en route to Boni Serrano Extension, I saw him getting something from his right pocket and then sprayed it in the cab’s aircondition. It smelled like powder to me. I thought it was just nothing, so I didn’t mind him. He did this several times while looking at me in the rearview mirror. I caught him several times looking at me. It felt like he was waiting for something to happen to me. I was weirded out by what he was doing so I texted my mom the cab’s name and plate number (LADY ALLEN NYT618). I do not usually do this when I take the cab in the morning; I just do this at night. Being a constant victim of heartless and rude cab drivers, I familiarized myself with the different modi operandi used by cab drivers to catch their preys. Unfortunately for me, this was one of them.

 

I tried sniffing to see if I would feel something weird. I thought I was just being paranoid. The driver repeatedly sprayed while watching me in his rearview mirror. When we finally got to Boni Serrano, nearing Santolan, the scent got stronger and stronger. It was hurting my nose and head so much that it was already making me dizzy and shaky. When I started shaking, I told the driver immediately to pull over because I will go down. He did not dare say a word and stopped the cab. I did not start any argument. In my mind, I needed to get out of the cab and save myself from a possible holdup, or worse, rape. I was shaking so bad that I could not even hold my money properly. They all fell from my wallet. It started raining hard that moment I stepped out of hell. The moment I got out of it, I called my mom and told her what happened. I asked her to pick me up.
Read more at http://www.wheninmanila.com/a-warning-to-all-who-ride-cabs-in-manila-philippines/#cSaYWJAg5q5vHpdB.99

This happened last Sunday at NAIA. This cabbie was one of those airport cabbies that had a fixed rate. At first I was hesitant taking the airport cab because the fixed rate would be 700. It was getting late so I said fxxk it, might as well get the cab, at least it was a fixed rate. Now I don’t normally like chatty cab drivers because I just want to sit in silence and look out the window but I was bored and decided to ask about how bad the weather got when Mario hit. The cabbie talked about how he had a 2k fare just because of the flood and then it segued into how incompetent our government is and then into city planning and life in Saudi when he was an OFW. You would think that this is the normal rant about government incompetency but god damn. After a while this motherfucker was spurting out world history, sure there was a couple of conspiracy theories here and there but damn, this was the smartest cabbie I have ever met. We talked about how the country got so fucked up, how America is a giant war profiteer and he rambled on about world history. We finally reached my house and I swear to god, I didn’t leave the cab for a good 10 minutes because we had that much fun in our little debate. Anyway, I said my goodbyes and thanked him for the lift and the wonderful talk. When I entered my room, I suddenly realized I didn’t catch the smart manong driver’s name. I don’t know if you would call this weird but it’s really peculiar for me to see an educated cab driver, Most of the cab drivers I personally knew were high school drop outs and a bunch of philistines but that cabbie who picked me up last Sunday gave me one of the most mentally invigorating conversation I had ever experienced. Kudos to you manong! I’m sorry I never asked for your name.

When you get in a taxi, take a picture of the information and (on the sly) the taxi driver. That is good protection. A taxi driver can get his driver’s license suspended for two months for refusing to take you (and on the meter) somewhere.