Ah yes, there's nothing like getting off a 12-hour flight and then listening to 40 minutes of "ding, dong! ding, dong!" for the trip home across the entire country...

But I'm counting days until the new BKK opens and they get the planned train connection working (although, knowing Thailand, I'm most definitely not holding my breath). Sure, BKK taxis are dirt cheap, but the traffic is abominable and I've had a few too many drivers who have obviously been behind the wheel for a week straight hopped up on yaba. Having a tire blow while doing 160 on the Don Muang tollway wasn't much fun either...

I dislike taxis too! However, in some parts of the world, like the British Isles and Japan, the service (in my experience) is generally very good.


Kathy

Some time back, I saw a Japanese TV News report that showed how taxi drivers train in Japan: they drive with a 3/4 full glass of water affixed to the dash and they try not to spill it. But at ¥600 and up for flagging one, they'd better do it.

I have nothing against the transit mode per se, but because I'm almost always on my own dime on personal travel I have to be very frugal about using them.

I'll go out of my way not to use them in the U.S., Europe and Japan due to cost. But in cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Jakarta they are very affordable and often make sense. Though there are hassles and tricks that unscrupulous drivers sometimes try in all these places.

I think Singapore is overall the best taxi system I've seen. It's well-policed and regulated, drivers have to meet standards and it's rare that they try to cheat you (and they can be held accountable); most add-ons are fair and are built into the pricing structure (i.e. consistent and no haggling); and yet it's still very affordable and with good availability of taxis. Seems that everywhere else, by comparison, is either efficient but overpriced, or cheap but hassle-prone.

Finally, what about places that have "taxis" that aren't cars? Like provincial towns in the Philippines where unmetered "trikes" (noisy motorcycles with sidecars) are the on-demand mode of transportation? Those'll make you appreciate places with metered car taxis.

I also work in Manhattan most of the time and the only time I take taxis is LGA > Manhattan, or very late at night to get home. Otherwise it's all public tranist in and around NYC and cheap private car services to/from JFK and EWR.

In London I love the cabs but they are usually bl**dy slow due to being mired in traffic. The ones in HKG are great.

In general I detest taxis in the US not because they're a rip-off (though many are) but because between the condition of the vehicle and the way it's driven I fear for my life in 90% of them.

I have particularly disliked taxis even more since their chronic reckless driving eventually landed me in the ER with face getting sewn up afterwards. I was in the back seat watching my driver run a red light.

Professional taxis are fine, like the london black cabs though expensive. The filthy ones driven by half asleep or cranked up drivers who are barely intelligible are the worst, and the attitude of some of them when do short trips for the airport is abominable (LAX in particular).

Car service or subway is the way to go.

I always prefer public transportation when it is available. It helps me get acclimated to my new location and, of course, there is always the possiblity of something very interesting happening or having an interesting chat on a train or bus.

OBTW, I think that the airport train in Hong Kong is about the slickest thing I have ever seen. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif I sure wish we had that kind of a setup in every major city here in the USA. I must admit, however, that the new SFO train is pretty slick, as is the train from DCA. Most other US public transportation to and from airports leaves a great deal to be desired. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/frown.gif

The Heathrow Express works well enough, but it outrageously expensive.

I don't dislike taxi's but i rarely use them when I travel.

My friend who I was with in Brazil and Argentina loved taxi's and much perfered to use them. I, OTOH, perfer to take mass transit. We went to Barra de Tijuca in RJ, and while I saw tons of buses label with that, he INSISTED we take a taxi... which cost about US$10 from Ipanema..

Taxi's in S'pore and HK were great, both places, though I rarely used them except in Emergencies. Used a taxi once to get from Roppongi to Shibuya one night in Japan and that cost a whopping Y3200 for a ride that was no more than 10 min long.

Sometimes, it's much more practical to take taxi's, especally in the LDC's. In particular, Panama City, Panama. A trip in a taxi from Centro to the Canal was a whopping $5. There are buses that stop by there but taxi'ng was so much easier. There were four of us and we couldn't justify spending $.50 less to take a bus http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

(if you can't already tell, i'm a budget traveler)

The A21 bus is only ~HK$30 from the Kowloon side. It's a nice ride from the upper deck.

Don't forget the baggage surcharge on the taxi.

I have no problems with public transport or walking, unless you're in a city with poor systems. I will take a cab in areas I'm familiar with if I really need to go point to point, and not walk-subway-walk.

I don't dislike taxis but I have taken to avoiding them since the downturn in the telecoms sector when those of us who kept our jobs were asked to do what we could to cut costs. A couple of exceptions in my experience:

i) Bombay where the taxis (even when not metered) are dirt cheap and a good fare for both driver and passanger is easily negotiatd. Also, it isn't nice to have to walk through a slum to get to the train station (done this once and didn't like it).

ii) Nairobi where the local Matatus (mini buses) are just too dangerous.

Can't think of a city in the States that has good taxi service, but love the ones in London - also Singapore. HK taxis are getting worse and worse, and some of the drivers can be pretty smelly, argumentative, and unpleasant (since the hand-over?) and now most won't speak English.
Ever try a tuk-tuk in Bangkok?

About taxi drivers in Hong Kong, here's the problem. It's just impossible to make a living driving a cab. Before the Asian financial crisis of late 1997, a license/medallion for operating a cab rose to several million HK$. That's hundreds of thosands of US$ just for the rights to own a cab.

Many people took out huge long-term loans and mortgages for the rights to operate a cab. But things have changed since. The boom is over, buses are better (almost all AC'ed now), more train routes. Locals just don't find the need to ride a taxi, and there just aren't as many tourists to HK as it was in the 70's and 80's. Goods are not cheap, and people who want to taste China can go to China itself...

After SARS, the taxi fares in New Territories was dropped for a while, but even the lower fares don't make much of a difference. So, it's just not a profitable business. Many drivers barely break even, but they keep driving as it's a little better than being jobless.

Well, that's the situation in HKG. If business is good, why would they offer discounts for trips TO the airport? It really has nothing to do with the 1997 handover, but has to do with the speculative bubble that forms in the 90's, and we're seeing the consequences; along with changes in the transportation structure of Hong Kong.