Taxi Rates

[Dana1]

The person that may complain is the person that doesn't get picked up...
ie. the way a Mother might feel who just got off work & has to get home to feed her children...sees a route taxi filled with tourists & not able to get a seat...

Most "tourist" would have the common sense and the empathy to let the "local" take the taxi and would wait for the next one to come along wouldn't they? I know there have been several times that we have been waiting for a taxi at the same time one of our resort's staff would be waiting for her ride home to her family after a long day's work. Of course, we let her take the first ride that came along while we waited for another. That logic still does not justify a different fee for us "tourist" though.

[Bnewb]

I just pointed out some facts!!!
Dana...I gave an example...another way to see things!!
I did not say you were necessarily standing along side that lady...but if you're already in a full taxi...do you get out if you see this lady at the next stop? Do you make a seat for her or do you leave her waiting at the side of the road?

There is NO different fee for a tourist in a route taxi or a charter for that matter...yes, Jamaicans do take charters when needed! But, the route taxi system was not created with the tourist in mind!

[Dana1]

I just pointed out some facts!!!
Dana...I gave an example...another way to see things!!
I did not say you were necessarily standing along side that lady...but if you're already in a full taxi...do you get out if you see this lady at the next stop? Do you make a seat for her or do you leave her waiting at the side of the road?

There is NO different fee for a tourist in a route taxi or a charter for that matter...yes, Jamaicans do take charters when needed! But, the route taxi system was not created with the tourist in mind!

I get it Bnewb...understand what you are saying but on the flip side....I've seen and been in many EMPTY route taxis that would be sitting idle if it weren't for the "tourist". The only time you usually see taxis filled with locals are early in the morning and late in the afternoon....the rest of the day, those drivers need to rely on us "tourists" to earn any fares.

[SweetSue]

I take the route taxis and pay the same as anyone else. If I tip, I let them know that I do know the proper fare. Yes, we who travel are financially better off than many Jamaicans BUT let us not perpetuate the myth of the RICH FOREIGNER who deserves to be ripped off or fleeced. We do not do them any favor when we carry ourselves like royalty blessing the poor peons with our presence and presents. In doing so, we deny them the opportunity to get to know us as people and to truly share culturally. The attitude of looking at them as poor souls who need to be saved from poverty is demeaning. Plus creating or encouraging a welfare attitude never helps anyone. And from the other side of the same coin, it irks me when a man (local) who I know has a few dollars in his pocket or has the ability to meet his basic needs, puts on the hang dog look and tries to beg money from me just because he perceives me as a "foreigner" and therefore as rich. Is he looking at me as a person? NO. But where did that come from in the first place? The fact that this behavior has become accepted culturally is sad and cripples the DEVELOPMENT of people in developing nations. (btw Third World Nation is not PC anymore)

ALSO, like Irieworld, I do not have a pocket full of cash to throw around. I love my time in Jamaica and have been fortunate enough to make some friends but I have to WORK HARD for my money and make certain sacrafices in order to make my trips.

[Jbizek]

Been following this thread with interest and you nailed it SweetSue. The husband and I were wanting to try route taxis next trip and I had a hard time swallowing that by using them we were somehow cheating a resident out of a ride. Honestly this thread made me really uncomfortable but the less money I spend on rides the more money I spend at vendors on the beach. Damned If I do Damned If I don't. I try hard to spend cash with Jamicans not with middle eastern shop owners. We saw a lot of those last trip and I found them much more pushy than the Jamicans I dealt with.

[Craig123]

I try hard to spend cash with Jamicans not with middle eastern shop owners.

Really??? So only black people are Jamaicans? Wow.....I thought that the jamaican motto was "Out of many One People". Don't forget that east Indians were brought to the island as servants and asians were also brought for similar reasons. They are all Jamaicans.

[SweetSue]

But that is the system - route taxis are a system that starts on the street level and gets developed by the people. They had a taxi association, they pay dues and are vetted. That's why you look for the red plate. They even have depots where they can check in and passengers are discharged to connect with taxis that run other routes, ie Sav, etc. When I was in Ghana, the transportation was exactly the same except the little buses were called tro-tros, In Haiti, they are tap-taps. I have encountered the same exact system in St. Lucia. This is not an exploitation. It is their system. It is a people driven solution to meet transportation needs when the government infrastructure cannot provide a reliable, formal mass transit system.

The cab you take to the Hi-Lo is not missing a fare to Mayfield Falls if it is a matter of him simply running his route. It a taxi man chooses to take a private run to the grocery store, you don't owe him for the bigger fare he may have missed. That's just how the business is. There is no need for paternalism, they have their own system and run enterprise their own way. Just like us.

[Dana1]

Excellent reply SweetSue...totally agree with you

[vikesinja]

Another thing that irks me is how do you know who is Middle eastern and not Jamaican? Jamaica is a rich culture made up of all ethnicities of people. As most of us know there were a lot of East Indian and Chinese coming to the island after slavery was abolished. So, unless you ask the person "Are you Jamaican or something else?" You shouldn't automatically assume they are not Jamaican. And I have seen many Jamaicans working at so called non-Jamican shops. Sorry for the rant. Just seems this forum get so uppity and higher than thou sometimes.

[Jbizek]

Well the accent and the fact we discussed when he moved here and how he liked living there. Hardly trying to be uppity
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