Job Discussion Forums

billybuzz · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 219 Location: turkey

It is a sad fact of life here that taxi drivers are not the best people you could wish to meet ,but then I feel the same about ALL taxi drivers .But over here they have got that f.u.ck you attitude down to a fine art .Whenever I see a couple of them have met at a xroad and neither have given way resulting in a nice mess I smile and say a little prayar of thanks .

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:01 pm Post subject:

I haven't really had any bad or rude or cheating taxi drivers yet (knock on wood) though a few have refused to let me get in with a cat carrier and one wouldn't even attempt to take me from taksim to kurtuluş when the pope was in town. Other than that, I've actually had some pretty cool conversations and no nasty creepy lechery or obscenities. That I let Baba take care of.

Baba Alex · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 2411

dagi · Joined: 01 Jan 2004 Posts: 425

Had a very nice taxi driver few days ago. Picked up my mum from the airport and we had to take a taxi back into town, normally that is ca. 25YTL.

The taxi driver took us on a nice tour, through Ey�p to Kemerburgaz and gave us another tour through the backstreets of Sisli before heading to Taksim. I got mad at myself for not practising Turkish, since I knew he was taking a rather big u-turn but could not express myself.

The meter had gone up to 45YTL. I handed him over 30YTL and with my limited turkish skill explained that I knew he was ripping me off.
To my surprise he just took it and left without any further hassle.

FGT · Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 762 Location: Turkey

Izmir taxi drivers are occasionally b@st@rds, but, more often than not, very decent. I have the mobile number of one who will pick me up wherever I specify and always charges daytime rate. Another was summoned by the bar we were in last night and took a group of us home to our various addresses, daytime rate of course. No instructions given but he delivered me to my door (I normally get out on the main road) and then took the others home. No fuss.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I have been using Stambuli taxi-drivers for years. Not had that many problems, considering I am a fairly obvious non-Turk. Once a guy pocketed 50 Million old Turkish Lira for a fare that should have been 20 Million. 'Surcharge for Baggage' he explained. My own fault. Now I make sure I have change !

Should that be Istanbullu ? I rather like Stambul and Stambuli - maybe that is Osmanli Turkish ? Isn't that becoming fashionable again ? I notice there is a sort of fashion now for things from the Empire !

tararu · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 494

Goodness me! We might start seeing severed heads on poles outside Topkapı palace again. Yay!!.