On the Subject of Taxis....

[irieworld]

Melody--since everyone has different opinions and ways to travel in negril, I can give you some tips and some information to answer some of your questions. Of course this comes from my experience and what works for me, so some advice will differ from other things posted. As you have probably seen taxi discussions share a lot of opinions. I think you can weigh everything and see what you feel most comfortable with once you are there. As it is your first trip, if you can afford to hire charters., go for it. I didn't start using route taxi's till trip number 3. This set of info was done in order of your questions inyour first lengthy post, i didn't get to your 2nd set of questions.

1. Most importantly do not use white plate cars even if they say there are legit, only red plates are licensed and insured to carry passengers and you should have no problems with them.

2. Many dinner places do have pick up, so have phone numbers for the places you want to try. And true, I have never seen a charter taxi take 5 dollars for a trip of any length.

3.I would feel free to take a red plate route taxi any time any where (on their route for 100 J) unless the cab is full of local riders or you see a lot of workers on the road looking to get taxis. I have never had a problem with overcrowded cab, we were always able to pick up all fares.

4. I don't ask routes to go off their route for extra, but I know others have--not sure of the protocol on that one --I just always figured they should stick with assigned route. I guess you could ask the driver,

5. I am not well off either, in fact really on a shoestring. I have run out of money in JA before which believe me you don't want that to happen. If I took charter taxis it would kill my budget and limit where I could go and what I could do. I like going to a show or two and seastar saturday night etc. I economize by cooking most of my own food and only going out for one or two nice meals. My ex Jamaican boyfriend taught me how to use to route taxis and I haven't looked back since.

6, I do use charters for grocery runs or if I am going out at night with a couple of people. And regardless of where you are it is good to carry a number or two of good drivers and if you are staying out late alone have a plan for how you are getting home. Charters will bargain, they start high! I have been charged 25 to go to Hi Lo from NBCC and didn't know better about getting a lower price and at that time didn't know where hi lo was. I should have walked and then got a cab back After that ride I always make counter offers unless the price seems reasonable--but I dont like the bargaining thing. I can't afford to take taxis at home either and do not have a car--so I am always on the subway, come snow, storms, or 3 am mornings.

7. I think your idea is great of having a bus make runs up and down and that was piloted at one point with the one love bus, I wish that was viable, I would take it. The first time it ran it didn't have a set fee but just tip the driver. Maybe if they charged something--enough for them to make some money and inexpensive enough for us to afford, OR if you could buy week passes or something I would be on that bus a lot. and it would make it easier for tourists to explore more of Negril--places that might otherwise not be discovered and it would give some of the remote places more business.

If you have any Qs feel free to pm me.

Disclaimer: these views are not universally agreed upon, just what works for me with no problem, mon. To be weighed with any and all advise given, except that of those that are certifiable, have a penchant for exaggeration or are voted by a majority to be clueless and/or irresponsible.

[canuk cpl]

I think i hear a lot of things on the subject here that scream, "use common sense"! Thanks for the advice, i don't think anyone intends to put themselves,in a bad situation, but you can't be to careful anywhere you go. Cheers!

[MissBlue]

I have been charged 25 to go to Hi Lo from NBBC

EXACTLY why i refuse to deal with charter taxi's. if the route system is intended to cater toward locals, and charters intended for tourists - then in order for that dynamic to operate in reality, the charter system needs to be made as easy to use as the routes, with some kind of normalized consistent fares.

so WHEN there is a reasonable charter taxi system in place, i will use it. until then i'm not doing this stupid game where I have to deal with outrageously - and patently ridiculous - high price starting points, where the onus is put on me to have to dance around with them for 10 minutes until I can maybe squeeze out what should have been a REASONABLE fare in the first dyam place. nope. not doin it. it's just ridiculous. and (to me) immensely annoying.

especially when, as brasi & booger both point out, the route drivers call out to you nonstop if they see you walking on the road, and will actually slow down and creep along right beside you, repeatedly calling out, trying to convince you to take their taxi. i'm also a walker, and i'm used to doing the low hand-wave indicating no, i no need a ride. but when i do need a ride, the flat-rate route drivers are the ones i use. you can't go 50 feet in any direction on the road without tripping over 10 of them, it makes no sense to not utilize them when they are right there - i'm not gonna ignore 10 route cabs who are asking for my business, to go call a charter driver and wait for him to come get me, (AND then have to haggle with him - to pay MORE, for LESS convenience) when it's much faster & easier to use the route cabs that are right there in front of me, in abundance.

[booger]

And because it was HOT HOT HOT.........

[irieworld]

yup exactly miss blue.

[irieworld]

cool, just saw that the one love bus is amping up their schedule adding authentic jamaican shopping trips and dinner trips as well as the bar crawl--3 days a week now.

[Melody]

Definitely it appears that the system needs to go back to the drawing board to come up with something that satisfies the locals' needs as well as providing clear options for tourists. Simply expecting tourists to pay 2 or 3 times more for the same product is frankly distasteful. It makes it seem like tourists are viewed as annoying $$$. My guess is that most tourists tip when they can and for good service. The presence of these tourists is likely largely responsible not only for the jobs the people are getting to and from but also for the majority of businesses & owners in the area. If you don't want tourists to use route taxis, the businesses in the area would benefit by coming up with a viable alternative (if the government can't or won't).

There will always be high end tourists that will pay top dollar for specialized, personal service. Then there are those tourists who cannot afford paying 3 times local rates (& more) for every single aspect of their stay. I can travel anywhere in my city by bus for $3 and I would choose to do that so I can afford other things rather than paying big bucks for taxis.

Reasonable priced transportation for tourists within the area is very important for the local economy. Otherwise some tourists will choose to spend their money mostly at the hotel they're staying at. Affordable transportation allows them to spread their money around and allows good variety for the tourist and the chance to meet more local people....and tip more of the local working people. A win win situation.

I say, don't make more of a case for the AI & welcome & encourage tourists to visit (& spend) at as many of your local businesses as possible.

[Rob]

I just remembered that on my last trip the same thing happened when a "taxi" pulled up and asked if we needed a ride. We were walking but getting tired, so I thought about it, then peeked around the back of the car to check the plate....so he immediately starts getting all worked up about why am I checking the plate, blah blah blah...I just said no thanks, we are just going to walk. He was not happy but whatever. That is the ONLY time I can ever recall having any issue regarding something like that.

The reason the driver got "worked up" was that they were an illegal taxi. Legal taxis have no worry about such issues. For decades there has been a thriving illegal taxi market that benefited from tourists not knowing the difference. Thanks to sites like this, tourist now know the easy rule to always use red plated legal taxis. Knowledge is power.

Does that mean that I should stick either with my hotel's driver (even though it may be quite expensive, ie: $10 down the beach, $20 from beach to ciffs, one way) or else I'd need to find someone I can call?

Hotel drivers are the easiest, but not the cheapest choice. It is a convenience and you will pay for the convenience. The drivers are allowed to park their vehicles at the resort to wait for a fare, but the hotel does expect some sort of compensation for allowing them to park there. The hotel will generally get a "cut" of the fare which explains why they charge more. The hotel will often set the price based on what their clientele can afford. The more expensive the lodging, the more they will charge. Please note, it is not a big money maker for the hotel - their main business is providing room and board, not transportation.

If I'm walking and a red plate route taxi driver, with no passengers stops to ask if I want a ride, I should decline if I figure it's getting close to the end of the workday?

A route taxi will not stop and ask you if you need a ride. A route taxi would no more stop and ask you for a ride than would a public transportation bus stop for each person they see walking. If any legal taxi stops without you flagging them down, they will be a charter taxi - not a route taxi. As for accepting the ride, at that point it is up to your whether you want a ride or not. This is capitalism at its finest, you pay only the amount you are willing to pay, and the driver can then choose to accept it or not. If they dont accept it - just wait for the next taxi to come along.

If it's the middle of the afternoon & there doesn't appear to be many locals requiring rides, I should never ask a route taxi driver if he's willing to provide a charter service for an agreed upon price? (say from Country Country to the Canoe Bar)?

To stop a route taxi and ask if they will become a charter for you is once again capitalism at is most basic level. It is up to the driver to decide whether they want to become a charter. But realistically, there are so many non-route taxis available there is little need to ask a route taxi to act as a charter taxi.

I don't intend any attitude whatsoever, I'm just getting confused, I thought I'd just gotten the protocol down by reading others' advice & now it appears that I need to rethink all that. If I need to stick to the high end taxi prices, it is going to limit, by quite a bit, where I go while there, and how often. As mentioned in a thread I started here a few days ago, I don't have a lot of money so holidays are few and far between for me. I started that thread inquiring which restaurants offer complimentary pick up and some comments hinted that I shouldn't be so cheap as I can get anywhere for $5. I doubt that would be correct if I rely on using charter taxis priced similarly to the drivers at my hotel.

Not all tourists are well off. I don't own a house. I would not fall into the middle class category. If I had "money" I wouldn't have a problem throwing money around while there. Does that mean that I should stay home?

This whole subject sounds confusing but it is really very simple. You never have to pay more than you want. It is called CAPITALISM. If you want to pay no more than $5us to go to HiLo, tell the driver "I will give you $5us to go to HiLo" - then it will be up to them to accept or decline the offer. There is no reason to stay home, but lets be realistic again, you are a vacation, dont sweat the pocket change.

If route taxis are not for tourists, and the government can't afford a bus or shuttle system for tourists to use, is there no one who could start a legit, safe shuttle service that maybe runs every half hour or 20 minutes up & down, from long beach through to the west end, for perhaps $3-$4 pp? Is that not financially feasible?

Route taxis were not designed with tourists in mind. This is a simple truth. But what you suggest isnt going to happen anytime in the near future. As I mentioned in previous threads, I have been going to meetings for nearly 2 decades with the most influential folks in the Negril community, and no viable option has been able to be decided upon. So until a new system is developed, it will remain capitalism at is most basic level. As for your direct question about $3-$4us pp from the beach to cliffs, I dont know any legit taxi who would not take you up on that offer. Just stand firm on your price, and you will find a ride at the price.

[Rob]

$500 JMD from beach to far west end is per person, correct? I've read that the usual rate for 2 pp is $10 - $15 US. I'm just wondering if charter taxis are just as plentiful on the street as route taxis; as the OP & others are suggesting that tourists should avoid using route taxis either altogether or for sure during "rush hour" because route taxis are intended for the working people, not tourists.

There is no "usual" rate - it is always up to you to determine the price. Capitalism once again. But JA$500 will rarely be turned down for a beach to cliffs run.

The number of route taxis on any given route is limited, and there are always many more charter taxis than route taxis.

[Rob]

I'm not going to argue with any of the folks that LIVE in Negril...I always defer...but if it's true that the route taxi system is "for Jamaicans" then give them a residency card or something...to expect me or anyone to pay more (because I'm not from Jamaica-) using an "honor system" is not a great plan...in my opinion...

Lots of issues arise...and would be cleared up that way...show an ID or Ja residency card...get a $100J fare.

OH: and also have the route cab guys stop beeping at me for rides if they don't want my money. I never look very far and there is a route cab right there...I hand over $150J....nothing is said...

Edited: I am all for paying my share...and can recognize how important public transport is for Jamaicans. I just think some transparency/consistency could be added to the current system...

Brasi,

There are national id cards, but with a village as small as Negril (about 5000 residents), there is no need for anything as complicated as adding a ID check upon entering. Everyone in a route taxi is require to pay the same rate. The current route taxi fare is ja$100. If you pay $150j, then that is a nice tip for the driver. And if a driver is beeping at you, chances are they are a charter taxi, not a route.