And make sure he sees you doing that. I once had a guy who tried to cheat me by pressing the late night fare. When I saw him doing that, I just shook my head and said to him, “Why did you have to pull a stupid stunt like that?” and proceeded to take out my notepad and pen to copy down his name and license number. He was scared s***less. Apparently, a cabby would be fined something like $10,000 for doing that, and they know it. In addition to apologizing profusely for “accidentally” hitting the wrong button, he even offered to give me a 50% discount. 
I never reported him, but it’s a great deterrent.[/quote]
One cabby told me this is more common than we think. They said to listen to the beeps. I think it was two for night fare, one for regular fare. Someone please verify this, so we can all watch out for this one.
And make sure he sees you doing that. I once had a guy who tried to cheat me by pressing the late night fare. When I saw him doing that, I just shook my head and said to him, “Why did you have to pull a stupid stunt like that?” and proceeded to take out my notepad and pen to copy down his name and license number. He was scared s***less. Apparently, a cabby would be fined something like $10,000 for doing that, and they know it. In addition to apologizing profusely for “accidentally” hitting the wrong button, he even offered to give me a 50% discount. I never reported him, but it’s a great deterrent.[/quote]
One cabby told me this is more common than we think. They said to listen to the beeps. I think it was two for night fare, one for regular fare. Someone please verify this, so we can all watch out for this one.[/quote]
Ahem. 
And make sure he sees you doing that. I once had a guy who tried to cheat me by pressing the late night fare. When I saw him doing that, I just shook my head and said to him, “Why did you have to pull a stupid stunt like that?” and proceeded to take out my notepad and pen to copy down his name and license number. He was scared s***less. Apparently, a cabby would be fined something like $10,000 for doing that, and they know it. In addition to apologizing profusely for “accidentally” hitting the wrong button, he even offered to give me a 50% discount. I never reported him, but it’s a great deterrent.[/quote]
That’s fantastic! 
I take them when I am running late for something, if the weather really sucks, or if I am too tired/stressed to deal with public tranportation (or if it’s too inconvenient… I don’t do 15-minute walks to get to the closest MRT stop nor three bus changes). I will pay closer attention to the meter sounds although often they seem to err on the side of being generous, rejecting for amounts up to $20 over a hundred or charging me less if they screw up in directions. When I take a taxi home, since I live on Xin Yi Rd. (and not the bloody two-way part of it either :stinkyface: ), I navigate them so they take the back alleys right to my front door instead of going a block out of the way because of the number of major roads in that area that are one way only. I’ve never had really bad taxi drivers, but that might be because I am extremely picky when I scope one out. And no drivers with binlang or a smoky smell as I will immediately get out as soon as I detect it and say that I forgot the address in my apartment. That’s why I take a little bit longer before closing the door.
What do you all think of taxis where they have a child-proof lock on the door so you can’t open it? I’ve been in a few cabs where the driver had to open the door for me and I was creeped out that I was riding in a cab that the driver used that feature. Yeah, more than likely to keep people from doing a runner on them, but still… :s
Though I believe the taxi driver in the OP’s post was justified in being pissed off (but not for being violent), it never ceases to amaze me that one nearly universal constant in the world is crooked cab drivers.
Taipei in general is OK, but I’ve found cab drivers tend to be more likely to show crooked qualities when some mountain driving is involved (cabs to Wulai or Pingxi or Maokong) - e.g. “It’s a rule we have: NT$50 over the meter because of the hills.” :raspberry:
Japan has the world’s best cab drivers, but damn they’re expensive. But they’re oh so polite and professional!
I’ve had some great experiences with Taiwanese taxi drivers. When I first arrived in Taiwan, Kaohsiung, I’d be driven 6 miles to go one. I was FOB and I guess I looked it. My way of dealing with this was to tell the driver that he could drive as long as he wanted between where he picked me up and where I was going, but I would only pay him $100 NT. I’d check first with locals to get a good estimate of the fare. When I arrived base fare was still 60 NT and 100 NT usually meant getting a $40 NT tip for the driver. So I made sure to offer a little extra up front. This worked amazingly well.
Other times when I was in Taipei and pregnant, I had drivers who had no idea how to get where they were going and would insist on not being paid over base fair, as they’d gotten lost and just turned off the meter. I threw up in to my newspaper once, while pregnant, in the back of a cab, and the driver was very kind. He could have been very ugly. Then there was the night I went into pre-term labor and didn’t have any cash on hand. It was after 11:00 pm. My husband called a taxi and stopped three times trying to withdraw cash from an atm, but couldn’t because of new bank regulations trying to prevent having the machines robbed at night. The taxi driver drove me anyway, a ride of an HOUR, to the hospital. My husband had called a friend to meet us there to pay the fair, but the driver refused payment at all and drove off, telling us to have a healthy baby.
Yes, drivers are infurriating when they drive up behind you and blare the horn, or block your path trying to cross a street, but they’re mostly hard working and will be kind to you if you’re kind to them.
I got around to getting a scooter again. No more arguring over which brigde to take out of Yong He. Fuckin fools…Seriously. Pardon my French…
You are all talking about a few bucks on very rare occasions…Who gives a shit really? As Sandman mentioned already, the poor bastards kill themselves to make 30k a month. Could you even imagine being stuck in Taipei traffic all day long?
I don’t take cabs much, but during every time but one they have been nothing but polite and quite friendly. Back in the old days, they had the old “wild chicken taxis” spewing diesel fumes everywhere, their binglang chewing drivers hunched over, windows open, 140kph on the freeway, handing back their long life’s as they chain smoked butt to butt, ads for every strip joint in Taipei stuffed in the seat pockets…
Ahhhhh…Those were the days 
I agree with MJB. It’s a pittance on the rare occasion where there is any dispute, so given the fact that you might actually be wrong, why make a fuss? I’ve been here 12 years, have taken many a cab, and have only once had a cabbie go out of the way, resulting in an increased fare (and a whopping US$4 difference, wooooo). When I pointed it out, he offered to charge me whatever I said was the normal fare, and apologized.
Taxis here are dirt cheap and convenient, and 99% honest, so why bitch? 
I agree except the general health thing. I don’t want to spend the duration of a ride inhaling cigarette smoke, binlang fumes, or chou doufu farts. Other than that, and the F*CKING honking thing, I have no truck with taxi drivers. I’ve had far too many good experiences with them and the cost to come back from CKS…er, Whatever-It’s-Called-Now International Airport is just a little over 1/3 the price for catching a taxi from Cincinnati Intl. (which is closer to my mother’s home than Taoyuan to Taipei). I envy them for their driving skills since I can’t stand driving a car myself. And yes, I did say driving skills. I, being a stereotypical American, often give a little more than what I pay when I am impressed with a driver’s skills or if we have a really good conversation.
You wouldn’t believe the crap that passed for taxis here Back In The Day. Multicoloured deathtraps… I got in one once which had a rear passenger door that wouldn’t close. Tied up with sisal. What they’ve got now is a huge improvement. And there were basically all ex-cons back then. ou wouldn’t dream of allowing a girl to leave a pub and hail a taxi. You accompanied here and made sure you were seen taking down the number. Ringing up for taxis was not an option.
They are great here, compared with the Cambodian/ex-con yaabaa nutcases you have to deal with in Bangkok… 
Yes, but that’s not true for everywhere. Two beeps is regular in Taoyuan during the day. (I don’t know what happens at night there.)
I’ve taken many a cab over the last ten years. I could count on one hand the situations in which I think the driver was really trying to cheat me. (One ride from Xindian to Banqiao that seemed to be headed via Danshui springs to mind. And even that worked out OK with the money.) But two hands wouldn’t be nearly enough to count the times drivers here have given me discounts or even rides for free.
Taxi drivers are allowed to charge extra if you’ve phoned for them or if you’ve put things in the trunk. But very seldom does anyone get hit with those legitimate charges.
Scary driving, binglang odors, uncomfortable seats. Sure, I’ve experienced those lots of times. But rip-offs? Very few.
Yes, but that’s not true for everywhere. [/quote]
Another way to tell is to look at the timer, which begins to run when the cab is standing still. At the regular rate, the timer should beep at every 2 minute interval (2:00, 4:00, 6:00 . . . , etc), but if the late night rate is pressed, it beeps every 1:40. I always make it a habit to check the timer when I hear the beep, which can beep just once in some cabs even when the late night button is pressed, when the cab is standing still.
Out of all the times I’ve taken a cab, there’s only been a couple times when they were trying to rip me off. Both times I told them how much the cab ride cost and they quickly apologized and accepted the fare I told them.
The rest of the time, they have either been fair, or they’ve been more than fair. In my experience, the dishonest taxi driver reputation is not deserved in Taiwan (at least norther Taiwan).
On the other hand, my experience in Shanghai was just the opposite. Don’t trust those airport taxis!