Bali Taxi's

[mimpimanis]

<Split from the "Thief Thread", because change of subject>

I dont know about the taxi mafia but last year when I wanted a taxi home from a restaurant near Double 6 and called Bluebird - they told me they were not allowed to pick up from there. I went out and picked up a white taxi off the street. He refused to use the meter and we bargained a price.. considerably more than the metre price. However after a few minutes chatting he realised that to get to Dreamland he would have to go up Temple Hill or via the campus (you would have thought a taxi driver would know where Dreamland was) He then decided the car wouldnt make it up the hill and dropped me off still in the Kuta area and insisted on 50% of the agreed fare for the full journey :evil:

[Bert Vierstra]

Taxis are sort of "bad" anywhere.

They have constant problems in the Netherlands, and when I was in Malaysia, where the taxi's, or better teksi, are very cheap, you as a whitey, will often be overcharged, driving without the meter etc. In the night, they charge easily 3-4 times as much, and if you are not willing to pay, (or have excellent negotiating skills 8) and speak a bit Malay ) they don't take you.

[mimpimanis]

Iluh went down to the local mini market by Bluebird the other night Rp15,000. She didnt ask the taxi to wait as there are always lots outside hanging around. But when she came out they also refused to use the metre and wantedRp40,000 for the 5 minute journey. She ended up getting it for Rp30,000 because that is all she had left. I thnk they are Ulawatu taxis.

Where we eat in Jimbaran is also a no go zone for Bluebird. And private drivers are in the carpark offering transport at again about 3x the cost. However before I had the car I used to phone bluebird and have them pick me up the road a bit.

I have never had a problem with Bluebird Taxis and I used them almost daily for my first year in Bali.

[JohnnyCool]

Maybe so but I was thinking the police might have been a better option than being lit up like a xmas tree in the street.

Maybe. I'm not sure which "option" would hurt less or be quicker.

Take a taxi to Double 6, enjoy yourself and try to get one home later on. You might have paid Rp 20-30,000 to get there (depending), and the fare back becomes ten times as much. If you don't pay, you can walk (but watch your back). Some of the taxis refuse to turn their meters on, etc. Tourists who have experienced this have complained (to someone or other). Perhaps things have improved - I don't know.

I regard this sort of behaviour as totally unacceptable. It's also not exactly something new.

The "famous" Bali Aga village of Trunyan (Batur), for example, has managed to get a very bad reputation over the years because many tourists have gone there and were forced to pay ridiculous prices to leave. Or else.

Want to climb Mt Batur by yourself? A kind of trekking "mafia" started up years ago. I hope it's not there any more. I met a very experienced mountain climber from New Zealand. He tried to go solo and was beaten up because he didn't pay a "guide". I met him after the event. He didn't want to climb any more mountains on Bali (ever). Like I said, I hope this kind of rubbish doesn't happen any more.

Gunung Agung, (Bali's most sacred mountain), and the site of Bali's Mother temple, has also had very bad press for a long time. Most significantly, from a Balinese perspective.

I don't catch many taxis unless I have to. The "best ones" for me, have always been Bluebird. Most of the other ones have been, how should I say it, "suspect".

:shock:

[aquaman]

I have never had a problem with Bluebird Taxis and I used them almost daily for my first year in Bali.

I was always told to use Bluebird taxis but it's not always possible. We've taken taxis to the Double 6 area a few times but it is hard geting a taxi when leaving. My gf is a good little negotiator and won't agree to an exhorbitant fee refusing on principle but when it's late at night and she's managed to negotiate down to 40,000 but still wants to go down to 30,000 after a minute or two I agree to the 40,000. When we are talking $4 instead of $5 AUD my need for sleep or aircon overides the desire to save money :lol: An attitude you can't always have because those little $1 add up over time. I wonder if I wasn't with her what price would she get :wink:

[mimpimanis]

I know Bluebird Taxis arent always available and I'm guessing that is what the "mafia" terms refer to - the areas where Bluebird are not allowed to go to pick up - like at Double 6 and at the beach restaurants at Four Seasons end of Jimbaran bay.(and I am sure there must be more) I wonder what happens if/when Bluebird do TRY to pick up in those areas -or maybe they just dont try. they certainly wouldnt come in to pick up me, who was a regular customer.

[gilbert de jong]

Hi y'all

Bert, as you probably know the problems with the Taxi's is mainly in Amsterdam, and is based in the licenses to operate within the City of Amsterdam. I won't go into that because it's a pretty long story to explain, but the short story is one business (TCA) had the right to operate within Amsterdam, drivers had to buy an expensive license which can be resold when wanting to retire, Then the government announced, that the taxi-business is free of licenses to operate, so the expensive licenses bought were worth nothing anymore, that upset alot of Chauffeurs who counted for their pension on reselling the license.
On top of that there are also no rules anymore for the car, one can start a taxi now with an old beat up unsafe car, it used to be that cars were not allowed when older then six years as a Taxi. And with the TCA a driver had to do a test of streetknowledge, other companies don't. So if you ever go to Amsterdam for your own sake choose the TCA, it's safer, will drive you anywhere you want with the meter always turned on and speak at least English. The other Taxi's are mainly driven by Maroc's or Turks, don't speak dutch or English, and most get lost or bring you somewhere where they thought you had to be.
Back to Indonesia Bali....Seems to me, that the area's are divided amongst the 'bosses' of the companies? Competition is probably high and by making rules, as in this company picks up here and the other company picks up there, they (companies) split up the possible revenue's. Driving through the other territory seems to be no problem, as long as you don't pick up any passengers. I think picking up any passenger's in a no pick up zone, is not a smart thing to do and will have consequences for the driver's health and probably for the car too, at least that's the way drivers handled these kind of thing in NL a few years ago.
Friendly greetings.....Gilbert.

[mimpimanis]

Did I start a thread called Bali taxis???? No. Maybe if you split out a thread you should expain that you are doing so. ... I certainly would never have bothered to start a whole conversation on Bali Taxis

[Anton]

Mim's wrote

I wonder what happens if/when Bluebird do TRY to pick up in those areas -or maybe they just dont try. they certainly wouldnt come in to pick up me, who was a regular customer.

Mim's i know bluebird taxi's are recommended all over indonesia and yes i do find them comfortable to use but like you said they are not always available but in jakarta all taxi's have a problem with gangs in certain intersections that hang around until a taxi slows down in heavy traffic and then procede to extort money from the driver or else they will damage the vehicle and i guess with the bluebird taxi's they always seem to be quite new so maybe the bali bluebirds would like to avoid this kind of trouble ,its a good idea especially for a woman to get the moblie phone number of a trusted taxi driver and when in this kind of situation atleast you may beable to call up the cavalry but in the end it all depends on how much you use taxi's,lastnight i took a 15 minute ride home by taxi and total cost $23 :cry:
and when im in indonesia i can afford to taxi all day but i know that when you live there permanently you will only want to pay the going rate and yes i hate being ripped off just because of the colour of my skin and it would be a problem for a woman too because everywhere in the world there is an unwritten belief that women are easier to swiddle :roll:
Well that was the case perhaps until margaret thatcher hit the world stage :shock:
Im not sure what your bahasa bali skills are but if the situation is that its late at night and there are few tax's then the old law of supply and demand come into effect 8)
Anyway mim's i hope i did'nt rattle on too much with my little knowledge :mrgreen:


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[Anton]

i just noticed this thread has two titles :?

Saya mengertiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii :shock:

Saya gilaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :roll:

Sayaaaaaaaaaaa maafffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff fffffffffff :oops:


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