Regarding the route taxi incident that happened to Hussyband....

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Originally Posted by smith744

Now,
with all that said,
in the rural areas
ALL bets are off that any of what i typed (above) is valid.

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* sigh *
here it is 3 o'clock in the morning
and i'm recalling one of my '..charter..' taxi experience IN-a-RURAL-area

( not sure, but i *think* i posted this in one of my trip reports )


'twas one of those visits,
to my Ja-play-dawta's family-yard.

not far from Negril,
in rural-suburbia/ex-urbs

her mother & some neighbors
invited me to accompany them to an evening church service,
in an area, just off the SavRoad,
just below SpringValley

we were waiting for the '..charter..',
which was to-be a van,
to carry the 9-of-we

driver showed-up (late) with a 4-door, hatched-back thing-y

:-(

there was a *problem* securing the van

* sigh *

long-story shortened-version

in-front ---- 2 people (including driver)
back-seat ---- 4-ladies
in-trunk ---- me, two boy-pickneys, and an older really-nice gentleman

The first-plan was to go to church
via the main-road,
pass/drive thru Negril,
and over-to the church along the SavRoad

but 'cause the car was so full-up,
the driver-SAY::::>> ".. can't do that ..... Negril police blah blah raaa raaa ...... we'll have to go the back-way.."

'twas a nice *drive*...... cool-cool A/C
....we got there ok....

.....but at a reduced-rate,

.....'cause the promised vehicle wasn't used

Smith, thats quite a visual, all piled up in the hatchback. :-)

That hatchback packing beats my most crammed ride in Negril... well over 20 years ago. Had been up in the West End at a venue for some live reggae & was headed back to the beach. The driver kept picking up & dropping off people along the way. At one point, while still in the West End... in front: driver & 3 passengers (one on the laps of the 2 on the seat); in back: 4 seated & 3 on the laps of the seated passengers. Shifting was done at times to put the smaller, lighter weight passengers on laps. Oh, the stories from back in the day.

I've always used Rob's advice and have mostly used Taxi's\drivers recommend by either the establishment I'm at or those that advertise on this board. If you liked their service get their number and keep it handy and give them a call whenever your looking for a ride. Keep a couple of numbers in case your first choice is not available. You will find that as you use the same driver(s) again and again you will be spared the hassle of negotiating a price each time. You will eventually come to an understanding. Call your favorite driver and let them know your in town each trip. Many will remain pretty much "on call" for you for the duration of your trip. I've found most will cater to you as much as possible once you established that relationship and you won't likely find yourself having the issues discussed above. Not only will you be using trusted drivers but those drivers have much more to gain from the ongoing business relationship then they ever would in breaking that relationship.

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Originally Posted by Kevin, PA

I've always used Rob's advice and have mostly used Taxi's\drivers recommend by either the establishment I'm at or those that advertise on this board. If you liked their service get their number and keep it handy and give them a call whenever your looking for a ride. Keep a couple of numbers in case your first choice is not available. You will find that as you use the same driver(s) again and again you will be spared the hassle of negotiating a price each time. You will eventually come to an understanding. Call your favorite driver and let them know your in town each trip. Many will remain pretty much "on call" for you for the duration of your trip. I've found most will cater to you as much as possible once you established that relationship and you won't likely find yourself having the issues discussed above. Not only will you be using trusted drivers but those drivers have much more to gain from the ongoing business relationship then they ever would in breaking that relationship.

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This is one of my favorite post ever. Big ups to Rob for keeping it real. A tourist needs to understand what to look out for. I can honestly say that these incidents are few and far between, at least in my experience.

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Originally Posted by Rob

Fred,

Apparently you are not getting much of anything. The entire route taxi system was not designed with visitors to the island in mind. It was designed to allow the local populace in the rural areas to have transit. The New York City taxis were designed with all traffic in mind, locals and visitors alike. Jamaica had about 2 million visitors to the island last year, NYC had 52 million. You are comparing oranges with big apples....

The Lilliput route taxis are designated to run their routes in Lilliput which is approximately two hours from Negril. They are not expected to be operating in Negril. And once again, being a route taxi, they were designed with the local populace in mind, not the visiting tourists as has been stated.

Jamaicans are very aware of what happens in their local communities, and seeing Lilliput route taxi with a broken windscreen racing through their town is something they would remember, especially when that town is no where near Lilliput.

I am not sure why you are being sarcastic and wasting other's time over something like this.

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Brilliant explanation, Even though you'd made it extremely clear in your original post. I think some people like to just moan and have an argument.
This post and the post by hussyband taught me a lot and I am grateful that people like you and hussyband are on forums like this. Priceless information! Thank you (we go in 8 days for 2 weeks and are getting married - very excited)

You couldn't be more right SazO. Even though useful information is being given to both newcomers to Jamaica, as well as seasoned travelers, some people find this information to be an affront to their own sensibilities. Personally, I have used route taxis in the past and haven't had any problems. However, I never flagged one down. They were always alone and looking for fares. After negotiations on price I felt as comfortable with them as with most other drivers. A couple of times if a driver gave me the wrong vibe, I simply told them that I would just walk and went on my way until I found a driver I was comfortable with. I will definitely keep my guard up higher on all of my future trips, but I am sure that I will have occasions where I will use a route taxi again.

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials, and I hope you guys have an excellent time!! Jah Bless!!

My guard is always up no matter where I am (I'm a big ol' chicken) but after reading about this incident I will think twice before getting in any car that I flag down.

While I tend to only use drivers I know or drivers that security flags down, I've only had one incident that spooked me. Myself along with my dad who is a Jamaican got into a taxi that was parked across the road from NBCC to take us to Hi Lo. This is a driver whom I've never used and never met but I have seen him parked in the same place for many trips. By time we made it to the roundabout there was something about him that made my skin crawl and really spooked me. We made it to the Hi Lo with out incident but I told my dad to please just send him on his way that I didn't want to ride back with him.

He could have been pure as an angel but there was something and I had to go with my gut instinct. I consider myself a seasoned traveler to Jamaica so these posts just remind me that nobody is immune to danger no matter where you are.

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Originally Posted by Rob

Johia

Locals in Negril do not just jump into just any taxi. They typically wait for a driver and vehicle they recognize. This becomes second nature when you have been using route taxis your whole life.

But as a tourist visiting the island, you do not have the luxury of years of experience of knowing who the good drivers are, who the not so good drivers are, who is just a bad driver (although the dents in the car tends to point them out) and who may up to no good.
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This is great information lessons to be learned and its funny you mentioned the "locals" pass up certain taxis as well this is so tru...when me and my "JA friend" lookn for a taxi he often pass up taxis and I always think to myself why are we letting 2-3 taxi go by...Now mi nuh! And Im happy kno he was looking out for our safety and after this thread I feel I know just enough to get to point A to point B safely.

Thanks so much ROB for this info and this forum!

Yes,I am not politically correct,yes I have NO patience for Punk thieves who put knives to ladies throats....Remember folks,,mail your "get well " cards and thats that.Guess what,,,Forever they will now be traumatized,forever they will never have those rings......I know,,,,I saw Thousands of victims as an inner city,Ghetto cop.....I chased,caught and locked up these punks....I saw all the victims.....I was Pro-Active...