[gjiyap1]

Just sharing my day long visit to Mumbai - last week. And am questioning myself whether to believe it or not. Here is the screenplay.

Got down in Mumbai airport at 7.40 a.m and with no luggage (just a back-pack with my new Dell Headset and "Hot tea across india" book), walked around.

The cue on Meru / Cool cabs were too long (say 10 ppl), so skipped and went straight outside. Thought will take an auto or taxi [I know Bombay (sorry, am still having difficulty calling Mumbai !) very well].

There was a line-up of cool cabs (or is just the blue paint is similar, but no relevance to the cab service ?) and one of the fella guided me to his Maruti Wagon-R.

Got into the vehicle & told him - i need to go to Chembur and asked him 'How much will it cost ?' (is it my first mistake ?!?)

Driver: Saadey Saath So (750)
Me: Itna tho Nahin hoga. Are you sure ?.
Driver: Saab, yeh rate card dheko [And there is a list of destinations grouped under 3-4 categories & rate for cars (santro, Wagon R etc) & it did say for chembur, Rs.750] (is this my second mistake ?!?)
Me: Teek hain. Mein receipt nahin liya andhar. Bohot beed tha.
Driver: No problem. Hum receipt yahar par dethey hain. There - you will pay 2 % tax and here you don't !.

Vehicle started. Another vehicle before this one gave way and we moved. In a minute, another guy hopped-in.
Driver: Receipt bananey wala sir.
Third person: Kahan Jaana hain - chembur - 750 sir - change hain kya - sir aapka naam please [My biggest mistake -did not read the receipt properly. It was a simple 'Received with Thanks... receipt' - available from stationery shop. But to my surprise, there are many receipts given with the counterfoil hanging in that book. Me & my detective brain ]

10+ kms driven via BKC, Dharavi, kurla.... & was having "climate" conversation with the driver. And asked him twice (not believing the rate) - even to the extent asked him 'Auto mein kitna hoga ?' & he responded 'char so hassi (480)' [420 would have been more apt !]

He dropped me near the swastik park and was in a hurry to move. After insisting to enquire around and about 2-3 left & right, we got nearby to the place i need to go. He did not show any interest in getting the right door number/road and once said 'sir. idhari kahin hoga. Aap doond lo'.
[Blunder - did not notice or take note of the Vehicle Registration Number]

I accept, that i had enough opportunity to suspect and could have been more pre-cautious and avoided such incident.

But wonder, what would have happened - if i voiced my suspicision
a) at the airport in front of other drivers
b) when i was inside the car with 2 fellas giving me forged receipt
c) at the destination place
d) taking note of the vehicle number ?

Any wise inupts - may help some of the fellow readers here to be alert, next time.

Cheers,
Jay.
PS - I still could not believe that - i have been conned. Yes it is not a big money & am safe (after all). But if we multiply the amount with 10 or 20 instances a day, yes, it does make a statement here.

[libranof1987]

Well, you were quite easy meat there Sir!

I know it takes time standing in queue; but it saves you money and the headache about whether you paid the right amount and safety.

Mumbai has a good transport system so you wouldn't have to worry about being stuck or at the mercy of such people.

Originally Posted by gjiyap1

a) at the airport in front of other drivers

Nothing really. In a place like Mumbai, chances are, that guy would have scooted off if you raised your voice about the rates.

b) when i was inside the car with 2 fellas giving me forged receipt

A heated argument where they'd ask you to get off the cab.

c) at the destination place
d) taking note of the vehicle number ?

Nothing! The damage was done already.

[raj_5004]

NEVER... I mean NEVER ever opt for such taxis outside the airport. At the exit of the Airport, there are multiple warning signs to stay clear of these cheats and to opt for pre paid taxis only. You have been fleeced big time.

You had multiple options at the airport. You should have opted for pre paid taxi. Recently (3-4 months back), I took a pre paid A/C cab from airport to Powai and it costed me Rs. 250/- only. So Chembur should have costed you no more than Rs. 350/-.

Otherwise, you could have called many private cabs like Meru, Meru plus, Easy cabs, Tab cabs, Ola, etc.

Anyways, when you knew he was fleecing you, why did you agree to it? The queue at Meru was long, so you could have tried the pre paid taxi counter.

I doubt you can actually do anything about this now. I dont know how approachable the cops would be in such a case.

[shivshanker]

Hello Jay,

You volunteered to be the victim today, so why complain. There are plenty of stories around every city how people are getting cheated in every possible manner.

It is said experience makes a man perfect. I am sure after this experience you will be wiser.

[GTO]

Even hardcore Mumbaikars (or should I say, Bombay'ites ) like us insist on taking a prepaid cab from the counters inside the airport. You didn't want to wait, and paid for it.

Either ways, I don't see how it is cheating if he quoted you a price and you accepted it.

IIRC, a prepaid cab to Chembur would have cost you ~400 bucks.

[travelwriter]

Tip for your next visit.

When you walk to the counter just outside the arrival gate, you can see a detailed chart giving rates to various destinations from the airport. That should give you a good idea in case you want to skip the queue and bargain with the taxi drivers.

Also, the AC cab rate is 25% higher than normal taxi rate.

Finally, the prepaid is priced slightly on the higher side due to admin fees etc.

Hope this helps during your next visit.

[ariesonu]

Hi Jay,

Couple of minutes at MERU/MEGA counter could have saved you a lot of heartburn (& this thread-no offense bro) & ofcourse the money. Well to put it as it is "YOU HAVE BEEN FLEECED"

Additionally there are many other services also like
TAB CAB (022-63636363) - Fresh & new ETIOS
AARYA CAB (022-44104410) - Same as TAB
EASY CAB (022-43434343) - Accents mainly
They also have counters inside the airport. MEGA & EASY cab are ususlly sharing the counter space.
I personally aviod MERU & MEGA because the cabs have become OLD & some are really dirty and you cannot guarantee when the MERU cabs will go on strike.

BTW how much did you pay for your RETURN journey??

Raab rakha.

[gjiyap1]

Thanks folks for those inputs.

Have started this thread not to complain or gain sympathy. Also, do not want to term it as cheating ! (may be - should have put the header better !)

My intention was only to highlight - this could be a situation - one can get into, irrespective of your comfort with the place / language / prior stay (i lived there for 3 years).

No worries guys - i'm one such who pay few bucks extra to the auto/taxi fella - based on the journey (less honking, no speeding, way to pedestrians etc qualify for those brownie points !) and give feedback as well !. I can not change them - but atleast a few good words make them think !.

And have no complaint with this Taxi fella taking that extra money - it is only his need.

@libranof1987 - this is exactly my thoughts as well. Apart from being precautious, prepared, well-informed, planned etc - is there anything you can do when-in-situation is the sole purpose of this posting !

@ariesonu - A friend dropped me at airport

[ptushar]

Originally Posted by gjiyap1

Just sharing my day long visit to Mumbai - last week. And am questioning myself whether to believe it or not. Here is the screenplay.

I had a similar experience the other day in Mumbai. It was afternoon and it was pretty hot. I wanted to come back from Marine drive, near Hotel Ambassodar to Andheri. The train journey was looking bad (due to heat & sweat) and so thought of taking a cool cab. I was just about to call Meru when I noticed a couple of blue cool cabs waiting. So thought of taking them. Got into one of them and the following conversation transpired:

Me: Andheri jaana hai
Cabbie: Okay. 600 hoga
Me: WHAT!!! WHY??? Itna kyon? Aur meter kyon nahi chal raha?
Cabbie: Sir itna hi hotal hai
Me: Boss, first time nahi kar raha yeh journey. Meter se chalna hai toh bolo warna doosri cab leta hoon (There were two cabs)

This guy calls the other cab and asks him to verify. Both of them try and convince me that 600 is reasonable.

Me (Irritated by now): Thank you. Mein Meru le loonga
Cabbie: Yeh Meru ke vajah se hi rates badhe hai. Hamara dhanda kha rahe hai
Me: Aapka dhanda Meru nahi, aapka ravaiya (behaviour) kha raha hai. Aapke vajah se Meru ko phaayda hota hai.

I got down and called Meru. He said that the cab will take 20 minutes minimum. I said fine. I was determined that even it took an hour I will go ONLY by Meru. The Meru cabbie called in 5 minutes and said that he is at Churchgate station. Asked him to come at the exact same place where these two "Reasonable Rs 600 cabbies" were waiting. Made sure that they notice that I am getting into the Meru and drove off. Ah! The pleasure it gave me was worth every paisa I paid to Meru.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by ptushar

I had a similar experience the other day in Mumbai.

............

Made sure that they notice that I am getting into the Meru and drove off. Ah! The pleasure it gave me was worth every paisa I paid to Meru.

Good you did that. Should show them that we have many other options. By the way, how much did Meru charge?

[SDP]

I go for pre-paid whenever I land in Mumbai. Even of you step out of the main exit (of the building and NOT the airport), there is a pre-paid counter accessible from outside. If I remember correctly, there is a canopy for the area where you need to wait in line for the prepaid which is good during monsoons as well as when one needs to wait in harsh sun.

[genesis]

Ac Taxi Domestic airport to chembur swastik park Rs 295 only. Chit chat with driver free.

Non AC is 240. Mumbai pollution free

The prepaid taxi counter is different than Meru counter and it is worth standing in line.

[Asif 6959]

Something similar but even more stupid happened to me. Am not from Mumbai and also not very familiar with places and directions. Arrived at the airport at 4:00 in the afternoon and headed to the counter to book a pre-paid cab. As usual the cab lines were so crowded that i thought that i shall walk out and see if I can get something.

Walked out not more than 500m and was surrounded by taxi-waalas asking "Haan kidhar saahab", I said Parel, near Wadia hospital. Was quoted 600/-, was shocked since i had taken the regular taxi while coming to the airport and paid only 180/-. Refused to hire the cab and started walking away. (Now the stupid part starts)

Another guy came up and said 350/- saahab,nothing less than this.He told me that they have cabs parked outside and will board me into one. Since the line here is too long and have to wait otherwise and I was too tired and said "okay lets go". He got me into an auto, yes you read that right auto and took me outside the airport, abot 1km and then negotiated with another normal taxi waala.

Now what had happened was he took 100/- bucks from the other taxi guy and told him that I would give him 350/-. So all-in-all I was scammed for 100/- in a matter of 10 mins. On speaking to the taxi guy I got into, he said that this is become a business now and these taxi guys make the quick buck this way.He said you are luck to have given only 100/- extra, there are others who pay 400-500/- for a similar episode.

Moral of the story: If you have light luggage and don't intend to get a taxi from the airport, walk upto the main road and catch the regular auto or taxi as per your convenience.

[hrman]

Hmm. You have been taken for a joy ride my friend. In Mumbai, its pretty difficult to be taken for a ride except from the Railway stations and if you prefer to go on your own at the airports. Which is why the prepaid counters are a boon.
I have used the Blue and silver A/c prepaid about 3-4 times at Mumbai airport. No hassles. Even waiting for 10 minutes in the line is worth the effort. They do not overcharge or take any unnecessary pangas.

Meru and Mega cabs are good too, although they also charge for airport parking which is some 50 Rs. over normal fare.

[singhsid]

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