Mumbai’s Taxi Problem
November 3rd, 2009 Posted in Cheap Asia Travel, Destination reports, Travel funniesOne of my many vivid negative memories of India is arriving in Bombay after a 36-hour train ride that was supposed to be 24 hours, only to get in a huge blow-up argument with a taxi driver who tried to charge us double the correct fare for a ride in his beat-up jalopy. Most of India’s cabs are beat-up jalopies with no meters or air conditioning, which is a big problem for a country trying to portray itself to business and tourism travelers as a world economic power. It’s hard to believe all the tales of India being a major business center when you can’t arrive at a meeting without being drenched in sweat and rattled to the core.
Change comes hard though and the attempt to introduce shiny new taxis in Mumbai is not going well, as you can see in this great Wall Street Journal article: On Mumbai’s Streets, Cabbies Fight To Keep Passengers Uncomfortable
Basically the drivers of the new cabs are being harrassed so much by the drivers of the old crappy cabs that you can’t even get one at the airport unless you call a dispatcher and order one to come get you. “Incredible India” indeed. I think I like this tourism slogan better: “India, Where Nothing Ever Comes Easy.”
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