Taxi is one of the most popular ways to get around Yerevan. Fast, comfortable, difficult to get lost, and also relatively inexpensive. But this is only if the driver is a conscientious one... In reality, you can also end up with a dishonest person. In this article we will try to figure out how not to be deceived in a taxi.
There are all kinds of taxi drivers, but it’s no secret that many of them are not averse to making money off of passengers. Most often it goes to visitors and foreigners.
The most common way to make money from inattentive passengers is ceiling price. The minimum taxi fare from point A to point B may be around 700 drams, but if you are in Yerevan for the first few days, how do you know about this? At almost every stop there is a line of taxi drivers who are ready to take you right now and anywhere. Sometimes you don’t want to wait, especially since here it is, a taxi, why waste time ordering? At the end of the trip, the driver announces the price, for example, 2,000 drams, and the passenger does not even realize that he overpaid.
Solution: take only branded taxis with checkers and a built-in meter.
In this case, your chances of being deceived are much less, but they still exist. For example, if you do not specify the destination, you may specially ontake a long road, and you will have to overpay the meter. Or, what is much more offensive, they can "forget" to complete the trip and ride on your counter for some more time. If payment by card is chosen, you can ride at least half a day - the money will be debited at the end of the trip.
Solution: always indicate the destination and do not get out of the car until the driver marks the end of the trip.
Note that in applications, both Yandex.Taxi and GG, support service is operational. In case of any unpleasant situation, just write to the chat or contact the operator by phone. As a rule, problems are resolved in favor of passengers, and especially impudent drivers are blocked and removed from work. Thus, you will not only solve your situation, but also warn other users of the service from getting into it.
Important advice! Be sure to link your current local number to the taxi application profile, where the driver can contact you.
How to deal with being a driver ends the trip as soon as you start moving? It happens that you chose cash payment, got into a taxi, the driver specified the final destination and asked permission to complete the trip in the application. On the one hand, you don’t lose money - at the end you pay as much as was indicated at your destination. The driver will earn more on this trip because he will give a smaller commission to the taxi company. Some taxi drivers are even willing to slightly reduce the price of a loyal passenger, and it usually seems as if everyone benefits from this situation. But if problems arise during the trip, you will have to solve them directly with the driver, since technical support will assume that your trip has long been completed, and you will no longer be able to prove otherwise. We would especially not advise young girls who are traveling alone in a taxi to agree to such an offer: the trip automatically becomes unsafe. A large, cheerful group would most likely take much less risk in a similar situation.
Solution: navigate the situation. Sometimes it’s not at all scary to get into a position, and sometimes it’s better to explain in a calm tone the reason for your refusal.
Where are the most arrogant taxi drivers? In the same place as in your hometowns: near train stations, near the airport, near shopping centers and generally in crowded places. For some reason they think that people from these places ready to leave for any money. There are especially many people who like to make money in this way on New Year’s Eve and during other major holidays. If for one reason or another you cannot call a taxi through the application, then there is a way out. You can walk a few hundred meters from the above locations and try to look for a driver in less hot spots.
Solution: agree on a price with the driver before you even get into the car, and try to pay there. At the end of the trip with peace of mind, just get out of the car.
Another popular trick of local taxi drivers is false hospitality. To the question “How long will it take you to the square?” they answer “Free!”, and then they demand such an amount that even stand, even fall. In fairness, we want to note that this is not always a bluff. We know about real cases when the guests of Armenia got into unpleasant situations, and the drivers tried to help from the bottom of their hearts and took them to the right place for free. Little whether that? We lost our wallet, we urgently need to go to the hospital, we got lost in a strange city, we couldn’t withdraw money from the card… In Armenia, it’s impossible to be alone with your misfortune. But you should not expect that you will be transported for free without special need.
SolutionA: Don't be naive. Better use the life hack from above.
We think that we will also not surprise anyone with the fact that drivers often "no trifle". You are unlikely to search him, so he can tell you so, even if he actually has a lot of coins. Thus, even if you agreed on a trip for 600 drams, you will give all 1,000 drams at the exit.
Solution: Always have small change with you. With 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 bills, drivers, as a rule, really do not have change. You'll have to look around the city for change.
Has become popular recently delivery things by taxi. Send a folder to work, house keys to relatives, accept an order from an online store, send customers a home-made cake, and so on. If you urgently need to transfer an item to another person, it is not at all necessary to go to him in person. Taxi services have a “Delivery” tariff, which is sometimes even more affordable than a traditional ride.
The “door-to-door” function, which assumes that the driver will have to go up to the floor and hand over the order in person, costs more. If it is not difficult for you and the host to go to the car yourself, then the price of delivery may pleasantly surprise you.
The option assumes the ability to track the movements of taxis. Everything is the same as during a regular trip, but a small package or box is traveling. The worst that can happen is that the item gets “lost” in transit or becomes faulty. To avoid these troubles, you need to take care of careful packaging yourself (considering that there will be no one to hold the package/box and it can “dangle” in the cabin), and also videotape the contents of the package in detail. If suddenly some things disappear from the box, you will have evidence for technical support. If you place an order in an online store, it is better to call a taxi to them yourself, having previously specified the address and asked to film the contents of the package.
So, let's summarize. To avoid being scammed by a local taxi, we recommend the following:
- Use only proven services and, if possible, do not catch private traders on the street.
- Link a card for payment or always have small change with you.
- Ensure that the trip is completed on time.
- Agree “on shore” about all the details of the trip.
- In hot pursuit, report to technical support as soon as you catch the driver of fraud.
We wish you to meet only decent and polite drivers! We will be grateful if you share your stories with unscrupulous drivers in the comments. This will protect others from unpleasant situations and help to be prepared for various problems.
You will find even more information about taxis in the article "Yerevan taxi service guide». And if you want to rent a car instead of a taxi, contact Move2Car.
Add a comment