Step one: Get a driver and a phone
Step two: Call your driver
Repeat as necessary
It will cost more....yes.... a bit
For a chauffeur?
You are on vacation aren't you?
Step one: Get a driver and a phone
Step two: Call your driver
Repeat as necessary
It will cost more....yes.... a bit
For a chauffeur?
You are on vacation aren't you?
Linston's Zion Hill Taxi
Captain Dave
Rob you hit the nail, in the US public trans is large-capacity buses trains etc. traveling specific routes with specific stops, on a timed schedule; not a comparable to the JA route taxi system at all, even tho both are called 'Public Transportation'.
Having read through that post, it wasn't a "normal" route taxi and it could have happened to anyone even taking a taxi from outside a restaurant and even with the right tags. A stolen car is a stolen car, unless you're using a driver you know personally it's impossible to know whether the driver is legitimate.Originally Posted by Rob
That doesn't mean you stop using the system, because if the system is NOT safe it should NOT exist. How many incidents other than the one last year involved a route taxi robbing it's passenger? Now compare that to how many visitors to Negril use the route taxis, frankly if you look at the numbers it's nothing but fear mongering to say if you use a route taxi you will be robbed, hell if you walk down the road you could get robbed.
Very informative thread, I still believe that telling visitors to not use the route taxis is brushing the problems under a mat and ignoring it. Route Taxis are a convenient way to get around Negril, especially if you're by yourself. Chartered taxis are NOT the same price or even close to the same price as route taxis.
The thing is that Negril does NOT have a bus system like the US, they have route taxis or "chartered" taxis, it would be ridiculous for me to tell visitors to the US to only use Yellow Cab taxis for ALL of their needs, because it's significantly more expensive than the bus system.
Just like using the drivers you recommend is much more expensive than using route taxis. Hell I don't feel comfortable using drivers in Negril BECAUSE the rates are not static, if Negril can learn from the US is that rates for taxis need to be static so that visitors to the island(especially rookies) are not getting screwed.
The reality is that you're making money off of drivers listed in your transportation section, so I can't help but feel your view is slanted towards promoting private drivers. You are seen as a voice of information on all things Negril, so I kindly ask that you stay unbiased when it comes to things like route taxis, the odds of an incident happening are extremely minimal and the incident you linked wasn't even for a Negril Taxi. Those thugs could have robbed people walking down the road and hopped into their car afterwards, the end result would have been the same and no route taxi would have been involved.
Should people not walk down the street for the fear of getting robbed?
Either Negril is safe to visit or it isn't safe to visit, telling people to only take private taxis like JUTA or the transportation drivers you showcase is essentially telling people that the local transportation system isn't safe enough for them.
What's next? Only eating at "approved" restaurants? Only using "approved" travel services?
Sorry, but I look at an incident and then look at overall statistics, yes there will always be robberies happening, but if it doesn't happen on route taxis it will happen on the streets as you walk to the entrance of the hotel.
Just my opinion, I'm not going to stop using route taxis because of fear mongering, especially when the only alternative IS more expensive and just as shady with "haggling" required just to get a reasonable price.
I'm not against the route taxis, although I believe it depends on "who" is in the car, what you have in your possession .. if you're flashing jewellery and smart duds, I-pads and fancy phones, then you are best to use your feet or a proper tourist cab. To go from point A to B with a bathing suit and a towel, maybe A ok.
Heck it costs $4.50 just to get into a cab from my city before the wheels start to turn and there is a big red button on the back of the cab if the driver gets into trouble, it flashes and says "call police."
When we are talking about a "reasonable" rate for tourists, I don't think $10.00 or $20.00 is bad to go downtown Negril, do your shopping, have a cabby stay and wait for you, maybe go to the ATM and drop you back to your door.
And, the drinks are cheaper in JA .. when you add all this in including the cab for an evening out it would be 3x that amount where I'm from.
Heck my own car costs me $25.00/day with lease, gas, insurance and maintenance.
When I've used a rout taxi, I offer them $300 anyway for a one-way ride .. I have no purse with me .. I plan it out .. and I don't go far.
If you suspect something, just say you feel sick and you're going to throw up lol .. they'll stop the car fast ;-)
Blake,
As I have stated, here is my quote from that exact same question already asked:
"...Believe what you want and travel how you want. But to answer your question, I have heard of too many incidents around the island involving tourists, even though one is still too many.
Negril is a rather small town with a population hovering around 5000 and receives lesser numbers of visitors to the island than MoBay or Ocho Rios, so the number of incidents here are relatively small. But there have been incidents reported all around the island, in Hanover (not Negril), several in St James, a few more in the north coast areas and of course Kingston. "
There have been incidents happening to Jamaicans using unfamiliar route taxis. Some have ended up much worse than a robbery.
The point of Negril.com, the reason I created it back in 1995, was to promote Negril in such a way that visitors to the island would be given the best information available to make their vacation the best possible.
Being in the position of knowing that incidents have increased around the island last year and also owning and operating Negril.com does put me in a difficult position. There is no doubt about that. But I do feel that it is time to take the stance that there are inexpensive and easy options to using the route taxi system. Just as when I started Negril.com, we didnt warn about walking the beach at night because there were very few if any problems. But in the last 20 years, that has changed and we now recommend not to walk in the unlit areas of the beach at night. It is simply not a smart thing to do. Of course you can do it and people still do, but you are increasing your risk factor.
I now feel the same about the visitors using unfamiliar route taxis as more incidents occurred last year and one exact example from Negril veterans has been relayed here for all to learn from. It is not fear mongering, it is more of a case of a common sense safety issue. For visitors, I no longer can feel comfortable advising them to use a system that they are not familiar with and that was not designed to transport them in the first place.
You can think I am biased all you want. And if you define being biased as providing the best safety information possible to make all of our visitors have the best vacation possible, then I will wear that biased badge proudly. But the fact of the matter is that we have route taxi drivers advertising with us to provide charter taxi services for our visitors.
Can the system be improved? Of course it can. Can standard rates be set and enforced for charter drivers? Possibly but very unlikely since Jamaica is one of the most capitalistic societies on the planet. Will there be a true mass transit system set up for Negril in the future? Of course there will be. But until that happens, just as until the unlit areas of the beach are lit up at night, I cannot responsibly recommend that visitors to our island use a route taxi system of which they have little or no knowledge.
Blake - now a question for you - how many, what percentage of visitors to Negril would read and know what the "Lilliput" marking on the route taxi meant and would know not to use that route taxi? The percentage of Jamaicans in Negril who would know not to get into that route taxi would be very close to 100%. If you feel the percentage of visitors would be rather small, then you know the reason why I do not feel comfortable recommending visitors using the route taxi system.
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
Perhaps it's time for Negril to consider improving the transit system in place then, if the only SAFE solution for visitors is to take private cabs, that's not a solution, it's a bandaid and results in only a few "reliable" cab drivers being used.
Why is it so hard to have set prices for the services rendered? I would NEVER run a business where I was not upfront with my customers about the prices for services/products rendered. If cab drivers want to be taken seriously they need to set prices that are easy for customers to understand instead of hoping that the customer doesn't want to negotiate their "stated" rates.
I would say about the same percentage of people visiting the DC area region that are familiar with the taxi cab system, zones,bus systems, or whatever mode of transportation they choose to use.
YES, there are risks associated with each transportation system, that doesn't mean they should be considered UNSAFE to use by visitors. People get mugged on buses in the US, that doesn't mean I won't advocate taking a bus because the inherent risk is minimal once you put it in perspective of the number of people using said transportation systems.
In my opinion you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater by saying route taxis aren't safe based on "incidents" that are newsworthy, they're newsworthy because they are NOT an everyday occurrence.
Please consider it logically, even if every single person visiting Negril uses private cabs it will just "force" the bad apples to change how they operate, instead of being robbed in a cab they'll be robbed waiting for the cab.
The "Lilliput" cab was most likely stolen, even if it was a Negril cab locals or visitors would not necessarily be safe knowing where the cab is from.
How many incidents would you say have occurred on the entire island in the past year out of the 3 millions of visitors to Jamaica?
Last edited by Blake; 02-17-2014 at 12:28 PM.
Considering past "Disscusions" of this very subject, has anyone here considered that this very thread "I love route taxis" may have been placed here to instigate people into more "Disscusions" and create more controversy?
Smith744, I think we need more popcorn.
Lighten up people...
One Love
Once you answer my question on what % of tourists would read, know and understand never to get into that Lilliput route taxi in Negril with an actual number instead of some vague reference to Washington DC, then I will answer your question.
And by the way, it was 2 million visitors in one year for the first time last year. Not 3 million.... (grin)
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
If you need a flat answer, probably 0% because it's irrelevant, the Lilliput route taxi could have been a stolen taxi, it could have been a stolen red plate taxi, it shouldn't make a difference what the plates of the route taxi say. If they're not being regulated enough to provide SAFE transportation for visitors yet they're safe for locals, then something needs to be done.
Sorry but if the only safe transportation you're advocating is private taxis in negril, then tourism is going to suffer considerably.
I for one view isolated incidents as being isolated incidents, if it's as big of a problem as you're making it out to be then there needs to be considerable changes.
The Zero % is exactly why I cannot in good faith recommend a route taxi when pretty much 100% of Jamaicans would know not to get in that taxi. The problem is not the system, it was designed for the local populace and the local populace know how to use it. Visitors to the island, we both agree, do not.
I am suggesting that visitors to Jamaica use the transportation system designed specifically with them in mind. It is really that simple. And as Hussyband has pointed out (as well as others), the private charter taxis are not that much more expensive or that much more inconvenient.
And islandwide I do not know the exact number as I am not the keeper of these statistics but have already related the several incidents that I know about to you in a previous post. And that number is enough to make me make this recommendation and to no longer recommend that visitors use the route taxis system since we both acknowledge they have not enough experience with.
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
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