Taxi driver

I don't like taxis very much, I never did, but I must take quite a few around here, for work. Yesterday, while I was paying a 9 lei ride with a 10 lei note a receiving my change back, I thought I should write something about taxis in Bucharest here. Taxis, in any place, in any city, are often a headache and many times also a curiosity and a source of anecdotes. Bucharest doesn't stand out of this rule.
Yes, you that live in Bucharest and know what's this post about, you read it right: I received my change back. I might be the only person in Bucharest that has no much struggle with taxi drivers, appart from a couple of airport-related experiences of little importance.

First of all, you must know that Bucharest taxi cabs are yellow, abundant and cheap.

Secondly, you must know that there's hundreds of taxi companies with names such as Taxi 2001, Taxi Leone, Modern Taxi, Taxi Fly, Taxi Cris, Apolodor Taxi...
Each of them can be called dialling the Bucharest city code (021) plus a 4-digit number. So we can assume there's less than 10.000 companies, if my high-school probabilistic calculus are right :)

As I already said, taxis are cheap, at least compared to Madrid; I would say even affordable, being of common use, and not of exceptional use, as it happen in Madrid, where many people (including myself) would only use them during working hours and the cost is going to be assumed by your company, or if it's late night and you count it as a leisure expense). However, one must check the tariff every time, as they are established by each company and, sometimes, by each taxi driver. Taxis have a taximeter, and the tariff is calculated by lei/km, and it's writen at both sides of the cab; something in between 1,45 to 1,95 lei/km is reasonable, except for taxis coming from the airport, that uses a 3,5o lei/km tariff. In Bucharest, then you experiment the following absurd situation: going to the airport from city centre cost 50% less than doing the same ride from the airport [with regular traffic, 15 euro to go from Uniri up to Otopeni, but 30 euro to come back).

Finally, taxi drivers tend to round off the bill. On the one hand, because that's inevitable; the taximeter establishes the exact cost to bani level (1 lei =100 bani), when you won't be seeing a 1 ban coin in Romania ever, unless you're clearing your bank account, and I doubt that you'll be given it even in that situation. On the other hand, because they tend to self-tip the ride with no comment at all, or "no-cash available" comments. Why I always get my 1 lei/2 lei/5 lei change back, it is a mistery to my acquaintances.

The companies themselves are, in general, trustworthy. Yet to avoid problems, you must check the cab before taking it, as if you where under threat:
Step 1. Verify the tariff at the door. You can often see 3,50 tariffs in the city, placed on a sticker that the taxi driver put on the regular tariff (see in the photos above, both 1,95 and 3,00 tariffs are stickers); these taxi drivers usually park the car where "defenseless" customers are (hotels, outside Romexpo -Bucharest exhibitional centre-, restaurants at night...), speak you in Italian or English if you take a look at the car, and act deranged and/or offended if you go away then, pointing out that you decline their services because they try to cheat on you...
Step 2. Verify that the taximeter is using the same tariff that it's written outside.
Step 3. Check if you have change in your wallet. I not, comment that to the taxi driver (nu am marunte) when you're leaving, to avoid unnecessary arguing afterwards.

Some extra advices:
Advice 1. Don't use taxi cabs without taximeter, which are very often, parked for example, at Otopeni or Baneasa airports. Although you may think that the negociated tariff will be better than the official 3,50 lei/km Taxi Fly there, in practise you don't get much a bargain, and some of them will try to renegociate the tariff during the way. A mess... P.S. The same when they offer you "to stop the taximeter"; sometimes it's a good deal, most of the times not.
Advice 2. Some taxi drivers will offer you their mobile to call them directly. It is a good idea, in most cases, although I have been told also anecdotes about "mobile" taxi drivers that weren't so trustworthy after all...
Advice 3. If you don't like much taxi chatting, don't sit at the front, they talk a lot more to you then... And besides, non-taximeter taxi drivers get too confortable and very often start the renegociating strategy.
Advice 4. If you try to wear the seat belt, most of them will make some funny comment such as "no need, you're not in Spain now". Don't be so stupid as myself, who doesn't wear the seat belt in Romania, some kind of mass follower impulse I have, but will certainly regret in case I have an accident. (Like the Pop Star Teofil Peter, killed in a "taxi accident" with political consequences in 2006).
Advice 5. Try to forget about the very often careless driving style and enjoy the trip! Despite advice 3 stated above, I had some funny taxi drivers here, and good conversation. And the taxi decoration itself is quite special, with many crosses and icons hanging, and all kind of car toys around. In fact, many Romanian cars show a profussion of religious, supersticious tokens, toys... Some taxis I've been in, very modest from the outside, have even a tiny DVD screen near the rear view, in order to watch movies, video clips or football matches while waiting the next customer (once, while driving the customer... I didn't like that one...).

The last taxi a took from the airport was, I swear, a Romanian revival of Willy Montesinos taxi in Almodovar's 1988 comedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown:



I'm shy... Didn't dare to take a photo.