riding in taxis

here's your second installment in the "travel in Kolkata" series...riding in taxis...as you can see, they're not new cars. in fact, sometimes i wonder what year they were made...but they all look like that! (at least all the taxis, and private "chauffeur" cars). There's been a gutted taxi that i use as a landmark since i first got here, but recently it was painted, and now, its moved. i think they just keep re-building the engines, and fixing the bodies. In Kolkata, taxis never die!

we don't ride in taxis very often. in fact, since i've been here, i've been in a taxi 7 times. it usually involved the airport and luggage, or the public transit/metro being closed (saturday we saw a movie and it was quite late, so we took a taxi home), or when we're wearing saris (cause what foreigner in her right mind would take mass transit in a sari!)

We don't use taxis cause they're expensive. Now, when i say expensive, i mean about $3.00 to ride all the way across town. it doesn't seem like much, but compared with the prices of mass transit (about 50 cents for the same distance) - its really high. i think mass transit can be faster too (if you take the metro anyway its underground, so no traffic jams!)

getting in a taxi can be quite interesting. there's no guarantee they know how to get where you're asking them to go - even if they say they know. there's also this constant feeling that you're being ripped off. you can negotiate to use the meter, or do a set price. the tricky thing is that the meter has a fast and slow setting, so sometimes, rides are more than they should be. When you travel with luggage, you usually give a little "tip" for the trouble. but sometimes, drivers will ask for a tip up front. After the wedding our driver said he wanted 20Rs extra to go out to where karli and i live. At first we were fine with that, but by the time we got to Beth's house, he'd changed his mind and wanted 50Rs extra...so we got out of his taxi...

the most interesting taxi ride was on the way home from the airport with karli. our driver didn't speak english, or bengali, and he took his own route, instead of listening to beth's directions. and we got lost, and then he tried to kick us out of the taxi before we were actually to beth's house (at the airport you can get pre-paid taxis). At one point, he got really angry when a bus cut him off, and he picked up a screw driver off the floor of the taxi and gouged the side of the bus as it drove by!

so, we stay out of taxis for the most part...but they're nice to have around. Sarah said one of the nice things about kolkata is that you're never really lost. you can always get in a taxi, and get to a place that you know.