What do you do when the cab driver lies?

[ReefHound]

Not really looking to get into a debate, but for people who are looking real hard at the zone to zone matrix, please don't forget about these add-ons (I stole from @El Graduado 's [Taxis & City Buses - EverythingCozumel]

Surcharges to add on to regular posted fares:

* Taxi called by phone: add $8 pesos
* Taxi pick-up from downtown ferry pier, supermarket, or taxi stand: add $8 pesos
* Night service charge (midnight to 6AM): add $12 pesos
* Pick up from a bar: add $12 pesos
* Wait time in town: $140 pesos/hour
*Taxi by the hour (IN TOWN) $200 pesos

Lol, exit the bar and walk next door.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Sounds like you can save a lot of money! In my opinion some people definitely deserve a tip just as some absolutely do not.

My goal is not to save money, is to pay an all-inclusive fare, no matter how high.
Keeping the driver's wage outside the fare is unjust and distorting, and only happens in US and some places where American tourists are predominant.
In the rest of the world the fare includes everything.
At that point, I happily give a tip out of my pocket when someone does something truly special.
Very rarely, let say once ever 50 taxi rides...
But a mandatory tip for me is being ripped...

 

[waterone]

My goal is not to save money, is to pay an all-inclusive fare, no matter how high.

You said before that you wanted it all inclusive so your boss would pay and that you don't support tipping since it is not refundable.

I do not support tipping at all. If they ask me 50, I pay 50. If they ask 100, I pay 100. No question, no complaint. But I want a receipt for what I paid, with no tip exposed.
This is because I will be fully refunded for the fare from my employer, but not for the tip, which is considered a gratuity, hence not refundable.

Keeping the driver's wage outside the fare is unjust and distorting, and only happens in US and some places where American tourists are predominant.

The fare includes everything in America. You do not have to tip, and I see people not tipping for various things all the time.

I dislike mandatory tipping such as for a large party at a restaurant or the ridiculous self-serve places that have a tip on the screen.

In the rest of the world the fare includes everything.
At that point, I happily give a tip out of my pocket when someone does something truly special.

Ok, so you do tip but only when you feel like it. That's the way it should be.

But a mandatory tip for me is being ripped...

Please see above.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Keeping the driver's wage outside the fare is unjust and distorting, and only happens in US and some places where American tourists are predominant. In the rest of the world the fare includes everything.

I'd say in "MOST" of the rest of the world. Americans may make up the largest proportion of tourists in Mexico, but Mexico is like nowhere else. A needlessly complicated taxi fare structure, including all those odd surcharges @cozcharlie noted, seems uniquely Mexican to me.

 

[ggunn]

I'd say in "MOST" of the rest of the world. Americans may make up the largest proportion of tourists in Mexico, but Mexico is like nowhere else. A needlessly complicated taxi fare structure, including all those odd surcharges @cozcharlie noted, seems uniquely Mexican to me.

I have no idea what distance metering hardware costs but the taxi fare system may be designed to get along without it.

 

[rmssetc]

A needlessly complicated taxi fare structure, including all those odd surcharges @cozcharlie noted, seems uniquely Mexican to me.

If by "uniquely Mexican", you mean "similar to many other countries & cities", then I absolutely agree.

Washington DC has surcharges for additional passengers, shared rides (distinct passengers & destinations), telephone dispatch, waiting time (which accrues when stopped in heavy traffic).

NYC has surcharges based on destination, waiting time (including heavy traffic), rush-hour, night rates, an "improvement" surcharge, congestion surgcharges based on origination of the ride, etc.

I could continue, but I've got a fare waiting. Got to go.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Washington DC has surcharges for additional passengers, shared rides (distinct passengers & destinations), telephone dispatch, waiting time (which accrues when stopped in heavy traffic).

NYC has surcharges based on destination, waiting time (including heavy traffic), rush-hour, night rates, an "improvement" surcharge, congestion surgcharges based on origination of the ride, etc.

NYC does sound complicated, but Washington's surcharges sound similar to many places, including the city I live in. But pickup from a bar or a supermarket? Pickup called in by phone? "Night service"? That's a lot of exceptions to the base fare. Gosh, you call a taxi from a bar at night in Cozumel--probably the most common use of a taxi in many places nowadays--and your surcharge is already 32 pesos.

Now that I think about it, Uber/Lyft have dynamic pricing that take these things into account transparently to the rider. It's no less complex than a Mexican taxi fare table, just in the form of algorithms we can't see.

 

[Angelo Farina]

I'd say in "MOST" of the rest of the world. Americans may make up the largest proportion of tourists in Mexico, but Mexico is like nowhere else. A needlessly complicated taxi fare structure, including all those odd surcharges @cozcharlie noted, seems uniquely Mexican to me.

We have surcharges also here in Italy, and I have seen them in other countries too...
I have no problem with them: they have a justification, and are part of the total fare.
In some countries taxis are quite expensive, in other countries quite cheap. In Mexico they are comparatively cheap...
The cheapest I have found are in India, where you do not understand how they can buy the fuel.
What disturbs me is when the driver is expecting a "mandatory" tip, which is not a liberal gratuity, but is in reality their wage.
Same happens in restaurants, or in others places where workers are underpaid or not paid at all, and their monthly income derives only from these mandatory tips.
I also do not like places (as many states in USA) where the listed price does not include taxes.
I think that being transparent is always the best: if a service or product is listed with a price, that number must include EVERYTHING.
Then I am not interested how that total cost is composed (base tariff, surcharges, taxes, wage for the driver, etc.).
I am proposed with a number, if I accept, then I expect to pay that money, and to get a written or, better, printed receipt for the same amount.

 

[ReefHound]

Now that I think about it, Uber/Lyft have dynamic pricing that take these things into account transparently to the rider. It's no less complex than a Mexican taxi fare table, just in the form of algorithms we can't see.

What most people like about uber/lyft is that you know the exact fare before you confirm the request.

 

[Jafo19D]

The funniest surcharge I’ve ever seen is in Argentina. The restaurants charge you for the utensils.