Tip: Know the Fare When Booking a Ride

As smart a traveler as I sometimes think I am, there are times that I let my guard down. Yesterday was one of those days. I arrived in Bucharest, Romania, four flights and 25 hours after leaving my house. With very little sleep on the planes – maybe 45 minutes total — I wasn’t as sharp mentally as I should have been.

I had everything with me — my backpack, carry-on bag, phone, wallet, passport, etc. I was fine; no issues.

Needing a ride to my hotel in town, I went outside to the taxi stand, take the first taxi I see (I was being beckoned by several drivers). I showed him the hotel name and address, and asked him if he knew where that was. He said he did; he put my bag in the trunk; I got in. It was a hot day, close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He raised the windows, turned on the air conditioning, and off we went.

After about 15 minutes, I asked him, “How do I know how much to pay? Is is a set price, a meter, or what?”

“A meter,” he replied as he lifted a meter from the dash. I hadn’t seen it because it was obscured by the large video screen, and I couldn’t read the display because of the sun’s glare. We arrived at the hotel, he lifted the meter again, and read the number. I thought it was high, but what was I going to do? My bag was in the locked trunk, meaning I had no choice but to pay him.

Later that evening I asked another person who’d come in from the airport, but had used an Uber driver. Her price — most likely an accurate reflection of the real price to get downtown — was only slightly lower than mine.

At first, I thought that I’d been cheated — maybe the meter had not been reset to zero or he added more, etc. After hearing of her rice, I felt better. But it told me to be more cautious.