Regarding tuktuks.
This is a set of rules I’ve compiled while having spent the past few weeks interacting heavily with autorickshaws, although its applicable to cycle rickshaws and taxis as well. Rather than tell you every little rickshaw story, I hope this gives a general sense of what interacting with the drivers is like:
-Do not accept any rickshaw driver who approaches you. This is especially the case for drivers who meet you off a bus or a train.
-Use a pre-paid taxi or rickshaw stand if at all possible. They’re usually poorly labeled and hard to find but are well worth the 3% commission.
-If no pre-paid stand is available, focus on drivers who are on the road returning from a previous run. The fact that they are returning from a run is at least one data point suggesting that a prior individual negotiated a reasonable fare from this driver. In addition, if you meet them on the road it is easier to walk away if the fare is not to you liking.
When not driving, the drivers tend to cluster together for company. While it is sometimes possible to negotiate groups of drivers against themselves, more often than not they collude amongst themselves to set an absurdly high price.
-Before going into a context with rickshaw drivers, such as getting off a bus or train, know exactly where it is you want to go, and have a rough estimate of how much it costs to get there. Figuring out such things while three noisy people crowd around you for attention is sometimes tough to do.
One option for determining a reasonable fare is to ask a local person, such as a fellow bus passenger before departing. Another is to determine the approximate distance on the map and estimate 8 rupees per kilometer.
-If you cannot get a prior fare estimate, cut whatever the driver first quotes you in half, maybe more.
-Be realistic that as a non-native speaker you are going to pay more, and keep the fare in perspective. If you can keep what you pay to within 50% of the estimated price of a local person, it is usually acceptable.
-Unless the meter is working, demand a price be set before you get in the autorickshaw. Recognize also that the meter is never working.
-DO NOT let them pick up your baggage or try to help you unless a price and a destination has already been agreed on.
-Demand a “Yes” or “No” reply to the question: “Do you understand where I want to go and how to get there?” If they don’t, they will usually try to brush you off with an “okay” reply. This is unacceptable because it will waste your time when they stop to ask for directions, and will possibly cause an argument if it is further than they thought.
-Carry lots of 5 and 10 rupee bills. A common trick is claiming that they don’t have change for larger bills.
-Do not agree to be taken to other places which are “on the way” to where you are going. Invariably these are shopping locations that will pay a commission to the driver.
-Demand to be dropped exactly where you wish to be dropped, not across the street, not around the corner. If they refuse to do so, you pay half.
-If a disagreement arises over the fare during your trip, upon arriving do not be afraid to pay the originally negotiated fare and to walk away. Such “misunderstandings” on where you wanted to go (Oh, you meant the famous Jama Mosque in OLD Delhi, not the non-existent one in NEW Delhi…) invariably falls in their favor and is a ploy to get clueless tourists to pay more.
-Do not accept “luggage” or “extra passenger” charges that are tacked on after the fact. During negotiations they see exactly how many people you are and what you are carrying. Such things are included in the price.
-Feel no pity. Realize that as a group no other set of people in India will consistently try to screw you as often as the rickshaw drivers, pretty much because when they see you as a foreigner they think they can. There’s no way they will agree to a fare in which they lose money, so the best you can do is negotiate as reasonable a fare a possible. True their job sucks, but compared to many of the people you meet on the street, they’re actually pretty well off. If you feel the need to give away money, give it to the actual needy, of which India has plenty.
-Relax. If you sit back and see the humor in this absurd mode of transportation, negotiating with them can be kind of fun at times. Recognize you will be overcharged the first ten times you try, but also recognize that you’re usually being overcharged a dollar or two at most. Sit back and enjoy the learning experience.
-Do not accept any rickshaw driver who approaches you. This is especially the case for drivers who meet you off a bus or a train.
-Use a pre-paid taxi or rickshaw stand if at all possible. They’re usually poorly labeled and hard to find but are well worth the 3% commission.
-If no pre-paid stand is available, focus on drivers who are on the road returning from a previous run. The fact that they are returning from a run is at least one data point suggesting that a prior individual negotiated a reasonable fare from this driver. In addition, if you meet them on the road it is easier to walk away if the fare is not to you liking.
When not driving, the drivers tend to cluster together for company. While it is sometimes possible to negotiate groups of drivers against themselves, more often than not they collude amongst themselves to set an absurdly high price.
-Before going into a context with rickshaw drivers, such as getting off a bus or train, know exactly where it is you want to go, and have a rough estimate of how much it costs to get there. Figuring out such things while three noisy people crowd around you for attention is sometimes tough to do.
One option for determining a reasonable fare is to ask a local person, such as a fellow bus passenger before departing. Another is to determine the approximate distance on the map and estimate 8 rupees per kilometer.
-If you cannot get a prior fare estimate, cut whatever the driver first quotes you in half, maybe more.
-Be realistic that as a non-native speaker you are going to pay more, and keep the fare in perspective. If you can keep what you pay to within 50% of the estimated price of a local person, it is usually acceptable.
-Unless the meter is working, demand a price be set before you get in the autorickshaw. Recognize also that the meter is never working.
-DO NOT let them pick up your baggage or try to help you unless a price and a destination has already been agreed on.
-Demand a “Yes” or “No” reply to the question: “Do you understand where I want to go and how to get there?” If they don’t, they will usually try to brush you off with an “okay” reply. This is unacceptable because it will waste your time when they stop to ask for directions, and will possibly cause an argument if it is further than they thought.
-Carry lots of 5 and 10 rupee bills. A common trick is claiming that they don’t have change for larger bills.
-Do not agree to be taken to other places which are “on the way” to where you are going. Invariably these are shopping locations that will pay a commission to the driver.
-Demand to be dropped exactly where you wish to be dropped, not across the street, not around the corner. If they refuse to do so, you pay half.
-If a disagreement arises over the fare during your trip, upon arriving do not be afraid to pay the originally negotiated fare and to walk away. Such “misunderstandings” on where you wanted to go (Oh, you meant the famous Jama Mosque in OLD Delhi, not the non-existent one in NEW Delhi…) invariably falls in their favor and is a ploy to get clueless tourists to pay more.
-Do not accept “luggage” or “extra passenger” charges that are tacked on after the fact. During negotiations they see exactly how many people you are and what you are carrying. Such things are included in the price.
-Feel no pity. Realize that as a group no other set of people in India will consistently try to screw you as often as the rickshaw drivers, pretty much because when they see you as a foreigner they think they can. There’s no way they will agree to a fare in which they lose money, so the best you can do is negotiate as reasonable a fare a possible. True their job sucks, but compared to many of the people you meet on the street, they’re actually pretty well off. If you feel the need to give away money, give it to the actual needy, of which India has plenty.
-Relax. If you sit back and see the humor in this absurd mode of transportation, negotiating with them can be kind of fun at times. Recognize you will be overcharged the first ten times you try, but also recognize that you’re usually being overcharged a dollar or two at most. Sit back and enjoy the learning experience.
posted by Linton at 1:26 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home