During my travels the biggest headache is by far the taxi man. My two chief issues are overcharging and driving routes that run up the meter. When you encounter these drivers the best you can hope for is that you spot the potential ptoblem early and you make the driver aware that you are aware. Today the passenger is assisted by having Google maps or some similiar program but these are not flawless. After being taken advantage of more times than l cared for l started to sit with my maps.me app in my lap. But, there is a flaw in the program that some drivers know about . For example, when travelling in Accra in Ghana a driver asked me early on if l was looking at a mapping program. I said yes, he replied," Good because l am not too familiar with where you want to go. Can you give me directions?". It all seemed innocent enough to me but twenty minutes later l directed him to turn the wrong way down a one way street and the driver said he wasn't familiar with the area and he didn't know how to correct this as the app was insisting it was correct! After that l would say where l was going and look out the window until we were well underway before pulling out my driving app.
As mentioned, an annoying trick is overcharging. I spent over a month in Quito, Ecuador in the old town area. Near the end of my stay l realised l still had not gone up to a nearby lookout point. The next afternoon l flagged a cab, explained where l wanted to go then climbed in. The driver proceeded to speed(part of the trick) to get me there but we went here and there and after a while l was sure l was being taken for a ride. So l relaxed. When we got to the landmark the driver told me it would be $20. I refused to pay the amount offering him $10. We argued until l got out and threw the ten on the front seat. The annoyed driver drove off waving his arm and saying, I assumed, all sorts of nice things to me in Spanish. After l had enjoyed the views and relaxed in the brilliant sunshine, l signalled a cab which carried me almost to the point where l had gotten in. When asked the fare he replied $4.
After the many years that l have been a traveller, I have concluded that the best you can do is to have an idea what the fare should be and if the driver asks for an amount close to it, pay it. But if he asks for a larger amount, simply refuse to budge on what you think is acceptable based on your research or what your hotel staff has told you. This problem knows no boundaries as I have experienced this treatment in every part of the world that l have travelled.