Originally Posted by suranyi
I guess it depends what your priorities are, then. In most cases, I would WANT the taxi driver to take the fastest route, even if it wasn't the cheapest. I don't see why that should be illegal. If I was so concerned about saving money, I would take public transportation.
Ed
It doesn't save much time. They do it to run up the bill.
The reason it's illegal is that here the taxi driver is required to take you by the most direct route unless you instruct him otherwise.