MekongMouse wrote:I have taken taxis with multiple drop points and I've never been asked for more money. I don't know why some think this is an established rule. OP was ready to tip before the taxi driver got greedy, so I'd hardly call him a cheapskate. Most of the time taxis are shared and everyone has a different destination, so several drop points should be expected. Perhaps there was a miscommunication, but considering OP is Khmer and thus speaks the language fluently, I suspect this plays less of a role than usual.

Are you talking about the same thing? Were you in a group that had paid one single amount for all of your group, or were you in a shared taxi with other individuals not connected with you, who had all negotiated individual fares with the driver?
And even if you were in a group no doubt you had told the driver BEFORE the trip commenced that there would be multiple drop off points and so he had factored that into his quote.

jah steu wrote:

MekongMouse wrote:I have taken taxis with multiple drop points and I've never been asked for more money. I don't know why some think this is an established rule. OP was ready to tip before the taxi driver got greedy, so I'd hardly call him a cheapskate. Most of the time taxis are shared and everyone has a different destination, so several drop points should be expected. Perhaps there was a miscommunication, but considering OP is Khmer and thus speaks the language fluently, I suspect this plays less of a role than usual.

Are you talking about the same thing? Were you in a group that had paid one single amount for all of your group, or were you in a shared taxi with other individuals not connected with you, who had all negotiated individual fares with the driver?
And even if you were in a group no doubt you had told the driver BEFORE the trip commenced that there would be multiple drop off points and so he had factored that into his quote.

That's a fair point. I've always shared taxis with people I did not know, with fares purchased indpendently. I can see why the taxi driver may have been surprised to learn that there were four drops.

Samouth wrote:

OrangeDragon wrote:I, unusually, agree with Richard here... I suspect they meant "anywhere you want" to be any 1 place you want. So driving all over the city to hit 4 different spots, especially on a holiday, would be more... and $5 would be pretty cheap. Just imagine the cost of everyone taking separate tuk-tuks from a central point.

But the Aussie guy said last time the other driver from the same company did the same thing without extra money, so he absolutely didn't agree to pay the extra money. I was agree to pay him, but they didn't. I was alone therefore it didn't work out.

If you were the last to be dropped off, your friends put you in an awkward position since they all refused to pay extra, but you were the one who took the flak.

Drivers always stop on the way to squeeze people into a car that has already been paid in full just to make some extra dough. If you're riding a taxi during the holidays you're bound to sit next to some buffalo whose day is so much more important than yours that you'll have to wait, an extra hour at least, just to deal with the buffalo who could simply step out at a decent central location and continue the journey alone in a tuktuk.

I would love paying a little bit extra if the drivers would respect that a fully paid car won't take any more load, regardless of how many extra 500 riel notes there is dusting along the road. Every "taxi" always ends up being somebody's sister's cousin's uncle's dog who happens to have a car and can talk on three phones at the same time and drive with his elbows.

I've started putting my money where my mouth is. I will pay when we arrive and if there are people stepping in on the way then I'll step out and travel with somebody else. I don't pay to wait for people that I don't need in a car that I'm paying for.

So I guess the question is whether there were any unannounced stops in this ride? If so, the driver has lost the right to complain about multiple drop off points.

I agree with PR here. I mean come ON, the agency will say anything, they're like a used car salesman. They're gonna stick it to the driver, who is no doubt a free lancer of some sort. Maybe it's like Bangkok and the guy pays THEM per day for the cab to drive. YOU get stuck in the middle and being the one that wants to get out WHERE you WANT to, I mean stuck. $5 is cheap. Not as cheap as a big $1 tip, but still, aircon, car all to yourselves, no produce blocking the aisle, stops ever ten feet to pick up someone walking along, etc. It's a good deal. You got there faster too.

I have to be fair - I would have tipped a guy $5 on a $55 fare anyway. I usually tip $5 on a $25 fare to Poipet... I don't think it's reasonable to expect a taxi to go to four different drop off points in a city without have agreed that as part of the price before you started. A single drop off point would be a normal expectation from a taxi.