On the Subject of Taxis....

[smith744]

tourists trying to save pocket change on a ride.

lol
lol
lol
lol

i so-love-love-LOVE your choice of words

lol
lol
lol

pocket-change for one person
might be real-money for another

for mi-personally,
like to apply that Jamaican-proverb/saying:::>>> "..every mickle, makes a muckle.."

i look-for and have NO problem picking-up a Jamaican $1.00 coin, or a USofA 1-cent piece
in fact, i'm a VERY-happy vacation-er whenever i find a Ja $1 coin

i'm not a '.big-man.' with long-pockets

so,
it's route-taxis all the time
everytime

[Rob]

lol
lol
lol
lol

i so-love-love-LOVE your choice of words

lol
lol
lol

pocket-change for one person
might be real-money for another

for mi-personally,
like to apply that Jamaican-proverb/saying:::>>> "..every mickle, makes a muckle.."

i look-for and have NO problem picking-up a Jamaican $1.00 coin, or a USofA 1-cent piece
in fact, i'm a VERY-happy vacation-er whenever i find a Ja $1 coin

i'm not a '.big-man.' with long-pockets

so,
it's route-taxis all the time
everytime

You can laugh and feign all you want regarding not being a "big man", but remember, in the eyes of the vast majority of Jamaicans - you are a big man. Many have seen you have multiple opportunities to fly to Jamaica. Those that havent know you have been able to fly there at least once. In comparison, the majority of Jamaicans will never be able to afford to fly anywhere in their life. Personally, I dont find this anything to laugh about...

[smith744]

Getting Around Negril 101 [[ continued ]]

.
.

Benefit of Using Route-Taxis
.
.
Remember Negril is a VERY-VERY-VERY small place
route-taxi drivers recognize & remember faces

after you use the route-taxi system a few times,
the taxi-men know that you know they system,
and will stop for you more often,
and will watch your back,
and will do little things to make your use of the system even better

[BrenJaLee]

Smith, I love you! You always bring such great comments to a thread! And you're right, the difference between route and charter isn't just chump change to a lot of us. I'm usually there for 2 weeks and take taxis almost daily for something. The difference between route and charter for a single person is going to be around $300J ($600J round trip). Say I take a taxi on only 10 days of my trip (very conservative estimate), that's a difference of $6,000J or about $70. That's $70 that I can spend on dinners and spread the wealth around to more than just taxi drivers. And I'm still giving about $4,000J+ to route taxi drivers.

Rob, thanks for finally clarifying that your statements are different based on high season vs. low season. Since I've mostly been there during low season, perhaps that is why I rarely see full taxis. I have a specific daily budget when I'm there which includes taxi, food, excursions, and souveniers. I feel better about sharing the wealth, some money to the route taxi drivers, some to the restauranteurs who are trying to keep open during slow times too, some to the vendors trying to sell trinkets to pay for their own food for their families, and some money to charter taxi drivers for excursions. Share the wealth I say... share the wealth!

[smith744]

the difference between route and charter isn't just chump change to a lot of us.!

Consider this scenario:::::::::

I'm traveling solo
staying at one of those Rui resorts

i've got two taxi options:::: route-taxi or charter-taxi

I want to explore downtown and roam around Negril on a regular basis
on a 5-day vacation

i can make that 5-minute drive to downtown for Ja $200 round-trip route-taxi
or
i can charter-taxi for Ja$800 round-trip (if i can find a driver to do it)

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

do that Ja$800 enough-times, and we're talking about a whole-lot of money (for me)

Nope..!!..
I can't dew-wheat
can't manage

[captaind]

Consider this scenario:::::::::

I'm traveling solo
staying at one of those Rui resorts

(clip)

do that Ja$800 enough-times, and we're talking about a whole-lot of money (for me)

Nope..!!..
I can't dew-wheat
can't manage

If you're staying at Riu paying 3 - 4 hundred a day you'd do what?????

[smith744]

If you're staying at Riu paying 3 - 4 hundred a day you'd do what?????

lol
lol
that was a hypothetical
...'cause me-personally can't afford US $300-400 per day

but if i was staying at a Negril Rui, i would NOT use a charter-taxi
and i would definitely NOT use one of those charter-taxi that sit outside the resort
and i would NOT have the front-desk call a taxi for me

i would walk to the main road and hail a route-taxi

[captaind]

lol
lol
tand i would NOT have the front-desk call a taxi for me

i would walk to the main road and hail a route-taxi

Jeez man... One of those women at the desk is my nephew's baby mother and the other is my son's ex-baby mother.....

Can't they make a little money from the guests?

[smith744]

You can laugh and feign all you want regarding not being a "big man", but remember, in the eyes of the vast majority of Jamaicans - you are a big man. Many have seen you have multiple opportunities to fly to Jamaica. Those that havent know you have been able to fly there at least once. In comparison, the majority of Jamaicans will never be able to afford to fly anywhere in their life. Personally, I dont find this anything to laugh about...

* sigh *

Rob, mi-thinks you need a vacation
you've been on the island too long

Come here to USofA, WashingtonDC
you're welcomed to stay here at my house
..no charge

keep in mind i use public transportation here-in-foreign,
not taxis --- route or otherwise