Originally Posted by
jpatokal
I once took an Ambassador taxi from a 5-star hotel in Delhi and asked the cabbie to use the meter -- he agreed with a way-too-big smile on his face and starting poking at the meter like a monkey on crack. The numbers started spinning up like the US national debt: we were past Rs. 50 before we got out the hotel's front gate and, when he dropped me off some 5 km later (no traffic), the meter read nearly Rs. 500.
Obviously I refused to pay ("boss, your meter is crazy..."),
and he didn't even try to push his luck ("ehehe, no problem sir, pay what you like!"), but alas, I had nothing smaller than Rs. 100 on me and he equally obviously had "no change".
I've had much better luck with the radio taxis patrolling Gurgaon, and they've finally introduced a few in Delhi itself. Now if they only expanded the fleet by, say, 1000x times...
If it's recent, Rs 100 for a 5 km ride is not too bad. I too had a similar experience in Delhi with a cab from the train station. The meter was ticking away. My ride was longer thsan yours, 17 Km or so. I paid 400, knowing full well that something was wrong. I wasn't sure what the per Km rates were and was tired. I probably paid about twice.
In arguments about the fare after the ride, the driver will usually take what you give, as long as it is not below the normal fare, as there isn't much he can do. Even if it is, he has no choice. If his meter is rigged, he would rather get away than tangle with you. Most of the drama with Dehi can drivers takes place before you start your trip. They would ask you where you want to go, quote a ridiculously high fare or just move on saying they aren't going in that direction. It makes me so angry. My thinking is, "If you are going to ask me where I want go, you don't have a choice of not going there! You don;pt tell me where you can go. I decide where you go, I pay, you drive!"
The drama I related in KL where the cab driver got nasty and abusive was the first in my experience.
Yes, radio taxis are better, but they cost more too.
Delhi Cab drivers pretty bad. And this is nothing new. It's been going on for decades