Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
Israeli taxi drivers were the most annoying for me. I'd spend 15 minutes haggling down to what I know the locals pay, and then we'd arrive and the guy would try to charge me his initial asking price. Every time.
I disagree about Israeli taxi drivers. Or maybe I've just been rooked every time without realizing it. Do locals pay less than the meter price? Taxi drivers in Tel Aviv have almost always run the meter for me.
I also disagree about mainland China taxi drivers being dishonest.
Official taxi drivers have always been scrupulous with me. "Private" taxis are a different matter, of course. I took one of those by mistake once and learned my lesson. (Their negotiation starts with rates about 10x what the metered fare would cost.)