Job Discussion Forums

[tarte tatin]

Shaytess - Sorry to hear about your horrible experience. Like you I had previously found drivers to be kind and honest but when they are not it is intimidating.

Justme- His immediate family are not in Istanbul but there are plenty of cousins there so I will take your advice about getting a recommendation. Glad to hear about your dad's successes in the patisserie department tell him to keep up the good work....

[lovelace]

I sympathise cos, like many people, I've had similar experiences. I used to be friendly to taxi drivers, like you should be to the people you come across in your day - I hate the way some wealthy Turks treat the person providing them with a service as if they are invisible, stupid or at worst, something they found on the bottom of their shoe. And I've had a few conversations with taxi drivers that were either interesting or just passed the time...

...but, on the whole, after a series of bad experiences - hand on the knee, once up the skirt (yes I know I shouldn't have sat in the front, I was new and naive), being mistaken for a Russian prostitute (that was recently and I was sat in the back wearing a big coat, hat and scarf), metre on night rate when it's 10am, taking nearly an hour to go a journey that normally takes 20 minutes, etc etc etc - I take no s**t. I check the metre's on dayrate, I ask for it to be turned on if it's not, I tell them the way to go, or if I don't know the exact route I question why we seem to be going all round the houses, I don't answer any questions about myself except where I'm from, I pretend I don't smoke and if they do anything at all dodgy, I get out of the cab. It feels like a battleground sometimes and I don't want to conduct myself like this, but it's necessary. I learnt the hard way!

I realised a long time ago I had to learn some Turkish even if it's just so taxi drivers don't rip me off. Get a few key phrases and use them.

[dmb]

Can anyone remember the story of the English teacher in the mid 90s who got a taxi one evening and was driven out to somewhere quiet and raped. I tried a search on it but only found one of my old crap threads.

[Golightly]

Yeah, I recall that - I think the victim worked either for ILM or Antik in Bakirkoy. It was the talk of the tables in the Dilhan for weeks.

[tasfirinerkek]

tarte tartin,

next time, just leave him 10 lira and walk off....

[Laura777]

If you want to go through the hassle you can report him to the traffic polis.

They will only make a report. But it will be on his record and if it ever happens again well at least its in the books.

Good you took his license plate.

The price from taksim to sultanahmet is actually about right. Depending on the route he took you on... and well the money unfortunately he pulled a slight of hand on you and there was nothing you could do short of get angry and have him maybe become violent towards you...

I have had so many run ins with taxi drivers in this city... but have learned to just try to be patient and always keep your money in your hand until the transaction \ drive is completed and he sees what money you have.

malasef you were screwed. But if you want again report him to the traffic polis.

[Laura777]

I shouldve read the whole thread... good for you for reporting him.

Again the polis are also good to contact and they are not all worthless. I have plenty who are my friends.

Take care and do always say what money you have before you hand
it over and make sure he sees what you have and what you are giving him.

[tarte tatin]

Thanks for the good advice. Am off to Istanbul again in a few days and shall be wiser this time!

[Baba Alex]

[tararu]

The best piece of advice that l can give is to always make sure that you have change on you. Make sure that you have lots of 5ytl and 10ytl notes and one lira coins. There are traffic problems, but hey, this Istanbul, traffic is always bad. Just tell the driver that you don't care about the traffic and that you want to go the direct route. Of course remember that if the traffic is really bad, then you will pay more as the metre ticks over while you are stuck.

[Laura777]

[Baba Alex]

[tarte tatin]

Looks-wise Turkish police are a major disappointment. When I was in Serbia (happily my visit coincided with a state of emergency) the streets were full of handsome 'blue angels'. In Portugal, I saw gorgeous policemen astride white horses.

Here they are all middle-aged with double chins. I have a police van parked outside my office window, normally this would cause me great rejoicing but none of them are worth a second look

[Shaytess]

In defense of the police, I have spent the last 2 days running back and forth between the Taksim police office and the tax office in Beyoglu, and the 2 policemen who have been helping me are VERY nice, not at all ugly (ok, not hot either, but not ugly) AND they speak English, one of them wonderfully. They have been very helpful, funny, and gentlemanly. Then again, they are not the normal police walking around with giant guns, they are office policemen. But still, I say three cheers for them! Now if I have taxi problems I will just say I am going to call my police friend.

[lovelace]

Does everyone experience the phenomenon of taxi drivers refusing to take you where you want to go? I mean, once you're in the cab. It seems they don't like traffic...kind of a drawback for a city taxi driver.
Actually, I'm really getting to hate them. None of the drivers I've had over the last few months have been anything approaching civil. In the event that I was projecting my city frustrations, I've tried smiling, saying please and thank you a million times and having huge amounts of change. Nothing helps! It really makes me sick that these are some of the people tourists have the most contact with.