Originally Posted by
Goofy Foot
Most taxis will have a taxi license with the driver's picture posted for passengers to examine.
After following the above guidelines, I always pull out my camera and snap a shot of the license and the driver. They HATE this
, but are very well behaved after I have the shot.
If you are paying based on distance traveled it also helps to take a picture of the odometer before starting your journey.
Recently hired a car for 1 day of sightseeing in Delhi with some (South) Indian co-workers. We reached an agreement for 8 hours and 80 kilometers, with anything over costing extra. At the end of the day the driver claimed we had gone 150 km, but there was no way we could disprove him, so we ended up paying an extra charge! We later calculated that we had traveled about 65 km, and not 150 km.
In my experience I've found people who come into contact with tourists can be nasty, but the general population as a whole is very warm. It's a wonderful country with a fascinating history, great food, and wonderful sights, so don't let all these stories about India discourage you from visiting.