| You're either lucky or for some reason taxi drivers think I'm an easy target to scam. First, my definition of scamming by a taxi driver: When a taxi driver takes a much longer route so that he can charge more. Countries where I've been scammed: 1. France (Paris but not in smaller cities). Even though I'm French, I've had multiple Parisian drivers scam me. 2. Thailand. Over there it's even more blatant with multiple taxi drivers refusing to use the counter when they see a foreigner. 3. Malaysia. Same as Thailand 4. Portugal. A lot of taxi drivers there usually do not have GPS, have an approximate understanding of the streets and will take a very long way to get to your destination (80% of the taxi drivers in my experience). Still not sure if it's incompetence or malice but Uber drivers were almost always quicker and more accurate. Countries where taxis were reliable: 1. Japan. I've always had great experiences there 2. China. I've taken a lot of taxies in Shanghai and while there's been a few times when a driver tried to scam me, percentage wise it's negligible and much lower than say France. 3. UK. I haven't taken a lot of cabs there but the ones I took were all professionals and accurate. So now the question is, are you lucky? Do you maybe not notice when you're taken for a ride? Or do taxi drivers assume from my demeanor that I'm an easy target... I've never taken uberPop in France because it was illegal. On the other hand, uberx is legal and consistently offers a much better service than taxies in France. Regarding police, I'm always wary of policemen especially if they're armed and in countries with little protection against abuse like Japan. |