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bossface
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
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 Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:29 pm Post subject: Itaewon taxi drivers |
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Forgive me if this has been covered before, but the Itaewon taxi situation has gotten ridiculous. Hongdae has long been known for rip-off cabs that charge exorbitant flat rates rather than using the meter. I noticed this practice slipping in to the 'twon a couple years ago, and now it's just as bad as Hongdae.
I'm convinced that the Itaewon taxi drivers wouldn't try to gouge if people weren't so willing to be gouged. I never agree to these crazy flat rates. It is an illegal and immoral practice on the part of the taxi drivers. |
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IPayInCash
Joined: 27 Jul 2013
Location: Away from all my board stalkers :)
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Or when you hail a cab, tell them where you want to go, and they shake their hand "no" at you and drive away. This practice ONLY occurs in Korea. You will never see it in Japan. |
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augustine
Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Location: México
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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| I've long since ceased the practice of trying to ask them if they'll take me somewhere, and my failure rate has dropped to zero. They don't have a choice. Just get in, close the door, and tell them where to go. |
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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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Saturday night, asked a taxi driver to take me home, usually a 12,000 won ride, quoted me 25,000. I laughed at him, waved him away, and got in the next taxi, who took me there on the meter.
Pretty simple. They can only charge flat rates like that if people are stupid enough to agree to it. |
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dairyairy
Joined: 17 May 2012
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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The scumbag taxi drivers that usually hang around the airports and Myeong Dong must be expanding their range to Itaewon.
Itaewon is typically the first place newbies visit, in Seoul. That goes for teachers and soldiers. They're easy pickings for the bad taxi drivers, especially after they'd had a few too many. You can try to educate them but so many newbies think they know everything about Korea, already. |
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bossface
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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| transmogrifier wrote: |
Pretty simple. They can only charge flat rates like that if people are stupid enough to agree to it. |
Fully agree. Problem is, there must be enough people who don't know better around, or drivers wouldn't be suck d!cks about it. This is a relatively new problem in Itaewon that seems to get worse every week. |
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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 6:07 pm Post subject: Re: Itaewon taxi drivers |
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| bossface wrote: |
| It is an illegal and immoral practice on the part of the taxi drivers. |
I disagree with this, actually. They are business people offering a service, and should be allowed to charge what they want. If people refuse to use their service, their prices will soon drop. |
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Skippy
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Daejeon
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:04 pm Post subject: Re: Itaewon taxi drivers |
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| transmogrifier wrote: |
| bossface wrote: |
| It is an illegal and immoral practice on the part of the taxi drivers. |
I disagree with this, actually. They are business people offering a service, and should be allowed to charge what they want. If people refuse to use their service, their prices will soon drop. |
I would agree with this. Add in buyer beware, too. Problem is even with scummy over charging drivers, they have a tendency to change their mind. Take a taxi, they quote you 20,000 won, you go OK. IT might be more, but is fine. When you get there, it is now 30,000 won and the driver starts getting aggressive. Add in they threaten tol call the cops and that will likely not end up too well for the foreigner. |
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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:15 pm Post subject: Re: Itaewon taxi drivers |
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| Skippy wrote: |
| transmogrifier wrote: |
| bossface wrote: |
| It is an illegal and immoral practice on the part of the taxi drivers. |
I disagree with this, actually. They are business people offering a service, and should be allowed to charge what they want. If people refuse to use their service, their prices will soon drop. |
I would agree with this. Add in buyer beware, too. Problem is even with scummy over charging drivers, they have a tendency to change their mind. Take a taxi, they quote you 20,000 won, you go OK. IT might be more, but is fine. When you get there, it is now 30,000 won and the driver starts getting aggressive. Add in they threaten tol call the cops and that will likely not end up too well for the foreigner. |
That is a whole different kettle of fish, and definitely illegal. Add in those taxi drivers who "forget" to turn on the meter (hasn't happened in the 18 months I've been back, though). |
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Mr. BlackCat
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Location: Insert witty remark HERE
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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| augustine wrote: |
| I've long since ceased the practice of trying to ask them if they'll take me somewhere, and my failure rate has dropped to zero. They don't have a choice. Just get in, close the door, and tell them where to go. |
+1
I've just laid down and pretended to sleep when some cabbies refuse to go. I've taken pictures of their license (beware, many of them have fake ones covering the real ones. If they don't seem to mind you taking a pic, then it's fake. Get the license plate as well). I just don't take that crap. You're offering a service, I have money, do your job. Imagine walking into a McDonald's and ordering only to have the clerk say, "Meh, I don't feel like making a Big Mac. I'm only going to do fries today. So unless you want only fries, get out." Of course, now a lot of cabbies just don't stop for foreigners at all in Itaewon. I blame it on the gentrification/Koreanization of the area. But I do have my special secret places, as I do in Hongdae.
But nothing beats Jongno. Tons of cabs, but none of them will stop even for Koreans. I always plan on taking the subway home, or at least a few stop away, when I'm in that area. Absolute worst spot in Seoul to try to get a cab, especially at night.
Having said that, a lot of cabbies are great and I've only been scammed a couple of times. I've been taken for rides here and there. But considering how long I've been here and how many cabs I've taken, it's been overwhelmingly positive. And cheap. I'll take this over my hometown any day. |
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optik404
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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| One time a cabbie tried to charge us 25,000WON going from Hongdae to Sinchon. When he finally told us the price, about a block from my house, we just hopped out at the light. He yelled and we just kept walking. Ya'll know if he called the cops that he would be the one who is fined, right? |
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bossface
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:56 pm Post subject: Re: Itaewon taxi drivers |
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| transmogrifier wrote: |
| Skippy wrote: |
| transmogrifier wrote: |
| bossface wrote: |
| It is an illegal and immoral practice on the part of the taxi drivers. |
I disagree with this, actually. They are business people offering a service, and should be allowed to charge what they want. If people refuse to use their service, their prices will soon drop. |
I would agree with this. Add in buyer beware, too. Problem is even with scummy over charging drivers, they have a tendency to change their mind. Take a taxi, they quote you 20,000 won, you go OK. IT might be more, but is fine. When you get there, it is now 30,000 won and the driver starts getting aggressive. Add in they threaten tol call the cops and that will likely not end up too well for the foreigner. |
That is a whole different kettle of fish, and definitely illegal. Add in those taxi drivers who "forget" to turn on the meter (hasn't happened in the 18 months I've been back, though). |
I stand by my original statement. Taxi drivers attempting to gouge people with flat rates is illegal and immoral. Taxi drivers are not businessmen. They work for taxi companies, and they are licensed and regulated by the local and/or national government. If limousine drivers or even private citizens with cars want to hang out in Itaewon and charge flat rates, that is their business. Taxis are a form of public transportation. Bus drivers aren't allowed to charge whatever they like, they have a set fare. Hell, nobody who is an employee for a company has the right to act independently and charge anything they want. By this logic, 7-11 employees and McDonald's employees could name their price for their goods.
To take this everyone as a free agent capitalism run amok example to an extreme, then shouldn't I be able to enforce a cover charge in my classroom? Think of all the cash I could make if I charged my students 5,000 won a head to enter my classroom. Sure, it's a public school and I'm already paid as an employee by my POE, but I could really rake in the dough if I independently decided to start charging extra for my services. Obviously I would be fired, and these shady taxi drivers should be as well. |
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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:08 pm Post subject: Re: Itaewon taxi drivers |
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| bossface wrote: |
| transmogrifier wrote: |
| Skippy wrote: |
| transmogrifier wrote: |
| bossface wrote: |
| It is an illegal and immoral practice on the part of the taxi drivers. |
I disagree with this, actually. They are business people offering a service, and should be allowed to charge what they want. If people refuse to use their service, their prices will soon drop. |
I would agree with this. Add in buyer beware, too. Problem is even with scummy over charging drivers, they have a tendency to change their mind. Take a taxi, they quote you 20,000 won, you go OK. IT might be more, but is fine. When you get there, it is now 30,000 won and the driver starts getting aggressive. Add in they threaten tol call the cops and that will likely not end up too well for the foreigner. |
That is a whole different kettle of fish, and definitely illegal. Add in those taxi drivers who "forget" to turn on the meter (hasn't happened in the 18 months I've been back, though). |
I stand by my original statement. Taxi drivers attempting to gouge people with flat rates is illegal and immoral. Taxi drivers are not businessmen. They work for taxi companies, and they are licensed and regulated by the local and/or national government. If limousine drivers or even private citizens with cars want to hang out in Itaewon and charge flat rates, that is their business. Taxis are a form of public transportation. Bus drivers aren't allowed to charge whatever they like, they have a set fare. Hell, nobody who is an employee for a company has the right to act independently and charge anything they want. By this logic, 7-11 employees and McDonald's employees could name their price for their goods.
To take this everyone as a free agent capitalism run amok example to an extreme, then shouldn't I be able to enforce a cover charge in my classroom? Think of all the cash I could make if I charged my students 5,000 won a head to enter my classroom. Sure, it's a public school and I'm already paid as an employee by my POE, but I could really rake in the dough if I independently decided to start charging extra for my services. Obviously I would be fired, and these shady taxi drivers should be as well. |
The issue between the drivers and their company is a contractual one, not a moral one. Again, if people weren't willing to pay the flat rate, they wouldn't be suggested and/or the drivers would be fired for offering them and driving away customers. Just as you would be fired for driving away students by imposing a cover charge. Again, it's a contractual issue, not a moral one.
It's pretty simple, isn't it? |
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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Mr. BlackCat wrote: |
| augustine wrote: |
| I've long since ceased the practice of trying to ask them if they'll take me somewhere, and my failure rate has dropped to zero. They don't have a choice. Just get in, close the door, and tell them where to go. |
+1
I've just laid down and pretended to sleep when some cabbies refuse to go. I've taken pictures of their license (beware, many of them have fake ones covering the real ones. If they don't seem to mind you taking a pic, then it's fake. Get the license plate as well). I just don't take that crap. You're offering a service, I have money, do your job. Imagine walking into a McDonald's and ordering only to have the clerk say, "Meh, I don't feel like making a Big Mac. I'm only going to do fries today. So unless you want only fries, get out." Of course, now a lot of cabbies just don't stop for foreigners at all in Itaewon. I blame it on the gentrification/Koreanization of the area. But I do have my special secret places, as I do in Hongdae.
But nothing beats Jongno. Tons of cabs, but none of them will stop even for Koreans. I always plan on taking the subway home, or at least a few stop away, when I'm in that area. Absolute worst spot in Seoul to try to get a cab, especially at night.
Having said that, a lot of cabbies are great and I've only been scammed a couple of times. I've been taken for rides here and there. But considering how long I've been here and how many cabs I've taken, it's been overwhelmingly positive. And cheap. I'll take this over my hometown any day. |
Naver/Daum maps are an excellent way of keeping the drivers honest these days. It's super easy to see if they are taking you the optimal way. |
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bossface
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:25 pm Post subject: Re: Itaewon taxi drivers |
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| transmogrifier wrote: |
Again, it's a contractual issue, not a moral one.
It's pretty simple, isn't it? |
Morality can come down to personal opinion, I suppose. I happen to think that lying and cheating constitute immoral behavior. You still can't say it's not a legal issue. Taxis are fairly heavily regulated. If the drivers want to act outside of this, they are free to start their own private limousine service and charge whatever price the market will bear. |
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