Taxi! Taxi!
A taxi from one of the many Taxi firms that now operate in Bishkek
The other day I had to take a taxi to go to a meeting. I went out of the office and walked to the crossroads. There were no taxis … so I walked down to the next crossroads and there I found several standing, waiting for potential clients.
I walked up to one and spoke to the driver, a young man leaning against his vehicle, told him where I wanted to go and asked, “How much?” I was a little surprised when I heard his answer – 150 som.
Now, 150 som is not a lot … and in some circumstances I would have been happy to pay it – if I was late and in a hurry or if the weather was particularly bad … but … I knew where I was going and it’s not that far. If I had taken the trouble to phone one of the many taxi companies and ordered a taxi, it would have cost me far less – indeed for 150 som I could have travelled right to the city outskirts. They would sent a vehicle to pick me up at home, called me once it had arrived to tell me it was waiting outside, and it would have waited for about 10 minutes as I put my coat on, said goodbye to my hosts or whatever. Some of the firms have a set fee for each journey, but others operate taxi meters and if I had called one of them then the cost for all of this would have been more 60 or 70 som, (plus the cost of the phone call and the time taken waiting for the taxi to arrive). So, why was I being asked to pay twice the “going rate”?
So I asked … “Why so expensive?”. I was expecting some sort of comment about the ever increasing cost of petrol, but instead he simply asked, “Skolko dash?”, (How much will you give?) Now, that is something I hate … it is obvious that he wants to get as much as possible for his service and, as a client, I want to pay as little as possible, but, (and it’s probably becuase I am English), he knows what he needs to cover his expenses and make a living and what he will accept as a fare … it’s for him to state his price and me to decide if I want to pay it.
As it happens, I am normally happy to pay 100 som for a taxi ride in the city centre, so that’s what I said. The reply came back quick as anything, “Make it 120.” This still struck me as expensive, and I am not very keen about bargaining, so I said “No.” and turned to walk away. ”That’s what everyone will ask for,” he called after me, “it’s standard.”
“If it was standard,” I thought to myself, “then why did he ask for 150?
He was right in a way, the next taxi driver also asked for 120, but having seen me walk away from the first taxi, he started with the “skolko dash?” routine … and only gave me a price when I repeated the question, “How much?” I shook my head and walked away again. I was in no hurry and if the worst came to the worst I would simply go back to the office and make a phone call.
The next taxi I approached, however, answered me straight away – 100 som, and I got the impression that if I had wanted to argue about that, he would have been prepared to accept less … but, as I said, I am normally happy to pay 100 some for a ride in the city centre. Anyway, I nodded, said “OK”, got in and sat in the passenger seat and off we went.
This isn’t the first time I have had problems with taxi drivers wanting to exploit me – perhaps because I am foreigner, or simply because they want to get as much as possible for a fare. On one of the first occassions, many years ago, the taxi driver called after me as I walked away, “That’s not even a dollar,” to which I turned and asked, “Why are you talking about dollars?, where are we?, New York?, San Fransisco? No, we are in Bishkek and that’s the going rate for a taxi fare for the journey I am asking you take.”
For the record: The fares have gone up since then … the going rate is now about the equivalent of one and a half to two dollars.
Taxis are, actually, fairly important as a form of transport here in Kyrgyzstan.
Local taxis do tend to be a cheap way to get around – (this used to be listed in Lonely Planet as one of the Highlights of Central Asia!). Prices are negotiable … and if you are a foreigner, you may well be asked for more than a local would pay, and don’t I know it. It may also vary according to factors such as the weather and time of day. The best advice is to “Ask before you get into the taxi” … and if you think you are being asked to pay too much, don’t be afraid to say “No” and walk away as I did.
As a rough guide, at the time of writing most of the taxi firms charge about 75 som during the day and 120 at night for a journey within the city … but if you stop off en-route – for example two people sharing a taxi but being dropped off at different addresses – this counts as two journeys (i.e. the cost would be 150 or 240 som).
It used to be said that almost any car can be a taxi. Even then, this was an exaggeration – it was true that people would standing by the roadside trying to, literally, “flag down” vehicles. (The process of flagging down a vehicle is to simply hold out your arm, and/or raise and lower it, a simple gesture – in many ways simpler than holding out your arm and sticking the thumb in the air as is done in some countries when “hitch-hiking”.) Not many vehicles, however, did actually stop – and those drivers that did expected to be paid – it was your contribution to help pay the running costs of the vehicle.
The quality of driver and vehicle can, however, vary.
Whereas organizations offering passenger vehicles available for hire (such as ours), buses etc., have to be separately licensed – taxis do not, and so there is very little control and virtually any driver with a vehicle can work as a taxi driver. The main checks made on them are through the tax authorities – and concern questions of tax revenue rather than safety and related issues. (Driving a taxi is basically a cash based business – money changes hands, but there are usually no receipts … so there are no records … !)
On the other hand, in the bigger cities there are specially organized firms which operate taxi services and we recommend using these wherever possible. They tend to be a bit more expensive than local taxis – but are efficient and reliable.
This may mean telephoning to call a taxi – which can be a problem if you don’t speak Russian – but you will also see cars in the street with the distinctive signs on the roof of the salon.
The drivers are all freelance, using their own vehicles – but, at least in theory, the drivers and vehicles are checked … Also, there is greater chance that the driver can be traced later on if necessary – e.g. you forget something and leave it on the seat.
Between towns taxis tend to operate between bus stations. These taxis usually take four paying passengers – three sitting on the back seat and one in the front passenger seat – and usually wait until they are fall before departure. Taxis for Osh can be arranged from the car park at the end of Toktogul Street, behind Osh Market.
Some Foreign governments even advise that you do not take local taxis – e.g. the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. However, if you do decide to take a taxi:
- In towns, taxis can be found at many busy street corners of can be flagged down at the roadside, BUT
- Try using one of the organized taxi firms … (e.g. in Bishkek – Supertaxi, Express Taxi, Ak Jol, … etc.)
- If you don’t speak Russian, it is best to have the destination written on a piece of paper and show this to the driver.
- As a personal preference – whenever we take taxis, we prefer to avoid ones, which have only two doors.
- We strongly advise that you do not travel in a shared taxi – where you do not know the other passengers. (Drivers, especially at night, may have a friend sitting/traveling with them – or try to pick up additional passengers.)
- If possible let someone know that you are traveling by taxi – note the number of the vehicle (… and don’t forget to let them know that you have arrived safely).
Bishkek