And if they get that angry at being called out on trying to rob me, then I don't feel safe in a cab with them anyway. There are other honest cab drivers out there that I can give my business to. By the way, hokkaidoguy is right. Even though the driver was clueless, you did not have the right to avoid paying the full fare. You should have written the ID number and name of the taxi driver and complain to the company if you thought the service was not appropriate. Granted there are some taxi-drivers that aren't that hot, but contrary to the article most don't come from outside Tokyo to drive here, but are retrenched, etc Salary-men.
Used to take a taxi multiple times a day during the busy season at work and always got where I wanted with minor hassles. Granted many cabbies do get lost when they have to venture outside their normal area. But if a cabbie from Kawasaki can find my Apartment in Nerima all is good. Granted I mostly travelled on Company money and paid with the slip and the drivers know that if they charge extra they will get a complaint from the company when collecting. And, yes, at times I also had to guide a Taxi-driver to the destination, had to do the same in a few other countries. Wonder why people are still can't find addresses in japan, the system is pretty easy to understand and master after a brief 5 minute explanation.
Wiki has an explanation too. Most taxis I used freely used the GPS from the get go. Granted at times the driver will ask which route to take, some people do prefer certain routes. There is this imaginary uber-service that Japan claims as a key ingredient of the culture. Which is utter nonsense. While service is attentive, it is restricted to a fixed range of options that are very often inflexible and inadequate.
True uber-service must by definition be flexible and customer centric. Not pedantic and cumbersom. Taxis here are in a word "Dreadful" for the most part. Very often getting lost, taking the longest route possible, or nearly running down pedestrians as my lovely driver demonstrated last Friday. Rule 1 enter a tax with a clear idea of how you intend to get to your destination. Or very forcefully tell the driver to enter the route to the GPS. Both seem to work ok. I agree, the writer really shouldn't have walked off without paying.
However, that situation sounds utterly ridiculous, and I do not blame him at all for being angry. I've only taken one or two cabs in my time here, and each time was okay. Actually the last one I took was really a nice guy who actually felt bad and apologized for making me pay through the teeth because I missed the last train to my town and he had to drive me several towns over. For the ones that are less than savory It's really hard to know where you are going, especially when you're in area that you're just visiting and you only know the address.
For Chicago cabbie, backseat is a trove of art - Chicago Tribune
This makes me wary of ever taking one again, at least in Tokyo. Your expectations on Japan can't be compared to another country, that is the writers first mistake. Second the address system is Japan is so complex that it is impossible for anyone to know where to go exactly. Third by them asking you "which way to do want to go" when you get in is being polite, they are asking you do you have a preferred way or want to take the highway. As for the GPS use, I suggest you give them a map or address on paper, Japanese drivers wont look at phones. Why is it every years does JT have to put up some other foreigners whining account of how bad the taxi service is in Tokyo?
Long-term residents or newly arrived, JT can always find some sap willing to write a story about their "terrible" experience with a cabby who couldn't find some more than likely, but never truthfully reported obscure Tokyo address. I'll say it here and now, in 8 years, I've never had a bad experience in a cab, in Japan.
Knock on wood and keeping fingers crossed. Taxi drivers work 24 hour shifts, that's why they "catnap" in their cars Some cabbies assist with your bag, if you ask. The cars are always clean, and GPS is used more times than not. Although I've had, and so has most anyone, in any city, experienced bad cabbies, his complaints are not enough to warrant bad-mouthing the whole bunch. The driver should have pad the fair ONLY because he didnt get out of the cab immediately when the driver entered the wrong address, or started driving without looking at the map.
I have hopped out of many an incompetent cabdrivers taxi due to their ineptitude. If you stay in the cab, you are responsible for the fare. I believe you can make a sound evaluation after 60 seconds and that is your grace period to change your mind. Agree, we get articles like the ones where the authors whine about this and that in japan regularly. Most of the writers seem to be "Free-Lance". And it seems they always appeal to the same target crowd. Maybe Metropolis should publish more positive ones like other english speaking publications do. Or some that give info and help for other expats that might face a certain problem.
Actually, it is illegal for them to refuse service. If it is an operating taxi with the red available sign on and he refuses to take you, report him. He can have his taxi license revoked for things like that. While I generally agree that taxi drivers are incompetent and downright dangerous almost got killed a few times back when I commuted by motorcycle , you do occasionally encounter a decent driver.
Just the other day, commenting that "hmm, that is a few yen more than the same route usually takes" got me a reduction in the fare. I wasn't asking for a reduction, just commenting that meters are not always the same. Even got the receipt for the meter price which was more than I paid. On behalf of Tokyo taxi drivers everywhere, especially the ones in Tokyo, I refute the rash generalisations propounded by the author. My experience with them was only good. I have met only a few that weren't tools.
If you drive in the middle of Umeda at night during Friday and Saturday, any 4 lane road has taxis taking up 2 of the lanes and sometimes an idiot poking out in a 3rd lane. I places like Tokyo I can semi-understand taxi drivers needing some help navigating but in my little tiny town outside of Osaka? There is a whole fleet parked at this "local" train station and I have to tell them the general direction we are going an elementary school then give precise directions from there.
I mean come on you don't know the address system in a tiny little town???? The only good taxi service I've received was traveling with my wife's father who has some friends in the taxi biz. When my wife was very sick, we often had to take a Taxi home she had problems standing and sitting. Not far 1 station on the Chuo-line.
Most of the times they asked us which route to take, north or south of the train-line. Also don't help that the road we live on changes names and goes over a railway line with NO crossing. I agree there are good and bad drivers. But i would not brand them all useless. Why so much negativity? Remember, these old drivers are only trying to make a living like the rest of us.
So we need to be understanding and flexible as customers. Ranting and raving about it is not going to get you anywhere - so plan ahead This will never happen when you are in Kansai. Tokyo people are a little snub. This is what I noticed when we moved to Osaka from Tokyo.. Taxi drivers in Osaka will stop their meters when they make a mistake The taxis have gotten worse in the past few years due to the economy. More people who don't know anything about Tokyo are showing up and getting driver gigs. This is because there is less and less opportunity out there. In my experience, they are pretty awful.
I once got in a taxi in Roppongi and asked to go to Mita 1-chome, which to anyone who knows the area is basically next to Azabu-Juban station. The halfwit then had the temerity to ask how to get there. I and and my friend promptly got out and walked. I avoided taking taxis, because they're expensive in Japan.
But I never had any bad experience with them. Perhaps because I always told the driver that my final point would be a Jusco, or a gas station. I never asked them to stop in front of an apartment building, because it was clear he would spend at least more ten minutes looking for that specific spot. The rest of the address I would look for by myself. And I never met a rude taxi driver. May have met the mute ones, but never an angry one.
Now, what really call a bad experience is riding in NY taxis. There were some I thought they would me a subject of next year's CSI. How hard is it to take a moment and enter an address into the navi? But so many taxi driver's won't do so and then get lost. This is not service. Why have a navi if you won't use it? Where did they learn to drive? There are great taxi drivers here but there are many people who drive like maniacs.
Last Friday the driver almost killed an old guy crossing the road then went on to nearly take out another pedestrian. And I am often dodging taxis as they careen through narrow streets. There should be a higher standard. As for those who say you cannot compare cities or countries. From economics to food human beings compare the things they know and judge accordingly. This is human nature and a valid way of measuring quality in like services. I find this unfair. Compared to where I am from and the ones I have seen in US and some other countries I have travelled, the taxi drivers here are quite good.
Most taxi drivers are retirees who's small pension can't cover the basics or they are "unprepared" salarimen who got restructured. The high roller gaikokujin who wrote this article, would have done better if he was aware of their situation. I hope for his sake he is not old and out of money someday driving a cab. That said, I believe that if your going to do a job, do it right. For a taxi driver, learning GPS and the credit card machine, having wireless communication etc is vital.
Maybe I'm just lucky Actually I once even had a funny experience on a city bus And he refused to take my money! She called them on the phone and they arrived at her door and that is a teenie side-road where a Crown struggles to turn a corner. Seems strange that they can find your doorstep within given time-limit to pick you up but are lost when dropping you off. Shall I start comparing Taxis to greece, etc where we rode in ones with shot springs, etc?
Or talk about guys that got taken from the airport for a loong ride overseas or even worse to a construction site and got relieved of valuables, etc. Taxi-Drivers across the globe can be dicey and unless you speak the local dialect they will try to take you for what you got. Almost as undignified as refusing to pay a taxi fare and then trying to justify your actions by writing a self-righteous article.
I fail to understand why the writer continues to take taxis after, apparently, so many bad experiences. Try a bike, or a train, or buy your own car. There are many options out there. I generally find them quite good. Sometimes I have to give directions for narrow back streets, but helping the driver with directions happens no matter what country I visit. The cars are clean and well-maintained, unlike Montreal, the drivers load my bags, and generally offer very good service.
I haven't had a bad experience yet. I can relate with Daniel as I have taken a lot of taxis in Tokyo over the past 7 years. I also agree with some of the posters who said that one cannot judge taxi drivers from one poor experience. Generally they are quite okay, but there are many black sheep. Do not try to go into back streets as this confuses most taxi drivers. However, if you're going to a place that you do not know well, then this does not apply and you will need to pay attention that your driver is going the right direction.
Over the past 7 years I've had a lot of poor encounters: Once needed to take a taxi from Meguro to Hiroo as I was running late. The guy didn't understand Hiroo at all, no matter how many different ways I pronounced it. I even went as far as to describe it's approximate location by mentioning where it would be on the Hibiya line.
After 10 minutes of tinkering with the GPS we were off! Fast forward 5 minutes and wham - hit a pedestrian. I saw him from the backseat clearly, but I did not say anything. The reason being that a friend once told me that a similar thing happened to him and he told the cab to stop and they hit the pedestrian anyway - when the police arrived the cabbie blamed my friend because he apparently distracted him. Another time my wife had terrible stomach pains at around 10PM and we called a cab to our house which costs yen extra to drive us to the hospital.
They told us that it would take 15 minutes for the cab to get to our house - it took We had the address of the hospital ready in Kanji - it took 10 minutes to enter the address. The drive should have been 10 minutes - it took So, yes, whilst my wife was in pain the cabbie took about an extra hour to get us there and charged us the full fare, plus the ordering fee. Generally cabbies in Tokyo are okay, but know how to use them and always be on the look-out for any unforeseen circumstances.
Be vary of the many black sheep Taking a cab from Nagatacho to go to Tokyo station only big avenues, only 3 traffic lights to turn at , a cabbie asked me once how to go there Maybe I haven't been in Japan as long as you have - only 40 some years. I can't vouch for Tokyo, really. But my experiences in western Japan are very favorable. Drivers are courteous, they generally know the way.
If they didn't they had their radio and now navigation. They ask which route I wish to take if there are different ways. They put the heavy cases in the trunk. I just thought I had to say something in defense of the taxi driver after reading all these hugely exaggerated, venomous comments. In contrast I will also mention notable cabbies: Ex-Director at Hakuhodo in his mid 60s who was very polite and friendly and knew how to use his GPS well.
Former liquor store manager in LA who moved back to Japan 5ish years before I met him. Funny guy and fluent English.
Cabbie’s revenge: Brett Sutter pleads guilty to disorderly conduct
Knew the backroads like the back of his hand. Driver in his mid 30s who was quite chatty and told me about his plan to open a limousine business. Heavy-set guy with slicked back hair in his late 30s who must have had professional driving lessons as he can whip a cab to it's destination quickly and the ride is comfortable. I had him as my driver at least on two occasions. Compare to anywhere you want. It is a matter of expectation isn't it? Do you expect NY, London and Tokyo, the major modern world centers of the earth to be similar. Look Seattle taxis will take you for a ride, rip you off and make you thankful you survived the trip.
If you can get a taxi in the first place. But I don't expect a mid sized city like Seattle where most people drive to be a good place for Taxis. But NY or San Francisco people drive less and taxis know where they are going and don't often jerk you around. Not always friendly or polite, but effective.
I expect Tokyo to have damned fine taxi service. And in parts of the city and with some companies that is exactly what you get. But the mainstream taxis can be from hell. Too often not knowing where to go or driving like insane people. I dare you to walk the streets around Ichikawa at night and not have at least one near miss by a taxi. Or find one in some parts of the city that have any idea how to use the navi. From this I expect more. I don't think he did commit a crime. He disputed the amount owed for services rendered which is a civil matter in most countries.
He didn't obtain goods or services dishonestly, i. And in this case from the standard of service offered him, assuming he reported it accurately, I would side with him.
Wrong, I would expect the same service everywhere same as you obviously do from your posts here. Your biases, etc are well known here and very transparent as many posters have pointed out. Wrong, he needs to take it up with the company, same as any other customer complaint may it be Wally World, etc. The comments in here are so funny Guys, one bad experience does not make all cabbies bad. But in the same way, just because you never had a bad experience does not mean it's not possible for anyone else to.
It doesn't invalidate that person's experience or complaints. I did not ever say that Tokyo's taxis should be compared to any nation anywhere. That would be absurd as you likely well know. My biases, as you call them, are not in question mate. I am critical of Japan as I am of my home country. I think anyone who actually reads my posts knows I am not only hard on Japan. It is not wrong to be critical of services, situations or conditions. We can only improve the world if we look at it through critical eyes.
It is a form of caring and something Japan and Japanese people should do a lot more of if they expect to stave off the decline of this country. And something you should learn to differentiate from pots and kettles friend. What a ridiculous article. In every occupation you get people who are good at something and people who are not so good at something. I have taken taxis all over Japan and never had an experience like that.
Here's a little insight into Tokyo taxi drivers and GPS systems. Some of the drivers don't, in fact, know how to use the systems, which are generally installed by the company, regardless--and with minimal training. That's the company's problem, and something they should address. But many drivers avoid using the GPS unless the customer specifically requests it, because a lot of Japanese customers will chew out the driver for relying on the GPS, which they imagine somehow computes a less efficient route than the driver could come up with this isn't usually the case, of course.
Traveling to an obscure address, I've had several drivers make a point of asking me first before entering the address in their GPS terminal, for this very reason. Wrong, he hasn't paid yet so why should he take it up with the company? The company can take it up with him. It's not a one-way street. I said it's that way in most countries, I don't know about Japan, but in England there was a case where exactly that happened. A man walked away from a taxi after paying what he thought the trip was worth and said "Sue me! The driver then called the police and after talking to both of them the police said "Err yeah, sue him if you think you deserve the full fare".
I've had chats with dozens of cab drivers in Japan. So you'll see a lot of them coasting in the left lane not paying attention to the road, because they are looking at the side walks. The ones who cue up are either tired or just do the taxi gig in order to have something to do, eg. I usually tell the driver which route to take. Never had a problem. Robson is totally right? Does it give him any right to insult? Robson, I highly recommend you to leave your "white man superiority ego" behind. If you don't like anything in Japan, you have a right to criticize, nicely.
If you are not able to do it due to your personality or educational background, please go back to your place in which i am sure you feel yourself more happy! Ever tried that argument with cops or in court after you received a service and refused to pay or only paid in half? If you want to dispute the bill there is proper channels to go through as opposed to just running off, this is illegal. In defence of tokyo's cabbies i always find the taxis to be very clean and tidy and the drivers well presented, unlike some countries i have used cabs in including hong kong, rude drivers, US old dirty cabs with drivers with bad attitudes, NZ with its fleet of old cabs done millions of miles on bad condition and immigrnat drivers who often actually live in their cabs and understand very little english.
Not sure why they are so clueless, but the next article should be: Sure, people have good and bad experiences but as many have pointed out, one bad experience does not tarnish the whole lot! I think it definitely helps if you gently let them know you speak Japanese - eg I always tell them in Japanese the area I want to go to and then say when we get closer I will give directions.
My issue is with my fellow cab-takers if anything: Women cabbies always give me gum They are all very nice to me. I'm just not reading beyond that. Robson obviously needs to get around a bit more. Everyone has a first week on the job, but by and large, Tokyo's taxi drivers are fricking amazing! Hang on you critics, for residents of Japan know that addresses are not quite "15 Smith Street Woop Woop" which almost any fool can find. But for the uninformed the town boundary is never clearly determined, each part is divided again into "chome", "ban" and then further divided into "go", "go" being the building number.
The divisions seem to have no logic about them and a place is best located by looking out for notices on telegraph poles which may tell you the chome and ban. Having found such a pole then one has to find the "go". Best to always ask a local, yes, even out of the taxi window. If you wish to get to Tokyo Station everyone knows, of course, but if it is some piddling little building stuck up a back one way street dont expect too much from a taxi driver.
It is time for Japan to change it's address system. On a slightly different note - I had the opportunity to visit a friend in Glasgow whose address was given as, lets say "White" in Smith Street.
Mellor apology: I blame booze for my sweary rant in black cab
Not convenient for me nor a taxi. I feel safe with Japanese cab drivers. Taxi drivers in Paris, Istanbul and Barcelona are the worst. They will rob you. I've been here nearly 15 years and I've never had a problem finding an address in Japan. It's a lot easier than Paris or London.
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The taxi drivers here are mostly useless at knowing where things are. They can't have much pride in doing their job right. I had one mouthbreather once who didn't know how to get to the station I asked for! I wanted to get home, but knew that It wasn't even a minor one! The address system in japan is different from overseas but not that hard to understand.
Heck, tourists I know mastered it soon. To answer Zenny - I didn't claim that the system is hard to understand, for as you say even a tourist can master it. But that is not the issue. The issue is applying that knowledge. Haven't you ever having found 1 chome walked 's metres to find 3 chome. And as wikipedia suggests "usually" so nothing is constant, there is little routine. Yeah, I found that but a quick look at the map or a turn to the right at a bigger intersection tends to put me right.
What I find way more confusing is drawn maps by shops and companies as they correspond to nothing most of the time no scale, landmarks, etc. Daniel, you are extremely lucky you didn't find the cops waiting for you after your interview. Most taxis have cameras so he could prove that you refused to pay.
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Foreigners have been arrested and held for three weeks for much milder behaviour than that. The driver should have discounted the fare. He was in the wrong. But that matters not at all to the cops in a conflict between a foreigner and a Japanese. Readers, don't try that yourselves unless you have nothing to lose in Japan. Zenny11 I don't think so It hardly ever happens although I did give an example before, but I would have thought it would be quite obvious a clear dispute over payment is not a criminal offence but a civil one.
You have to prove intent to deceive or defraud or to be dishonest to make it criminal so someone offering to pay at least some of the price almost immediately negates any of those possibilities. In the case of a taxi company, in most countries they would have a legal right to provide a reasonable standard of service which they did not do according to our man. That dispute would be down to the courts to decide if it got that far, but it would not be arrestable offence as there has been no offence.
Of course open to see the wiki I quoted from. I believe the fella writing this commentary is in his peak "culture shock" period. We've all been there-- that period were seemingly routine things start to get on your nerves. Unfortunately, an editor should have stopped or toned down this before allowing it to get published Cabbies here ask "which route do you want to take" because some customers have preferred routes for commonly travels locations.
Japanese customers are fickle and unforgiving, and this question is a response to that. Poor service, not usually, but as for any industry in any country, the service is provided by people, who sometimes are not perfect. I was just reading the article and posts. These are your words. Just having a conversation and saw evidence that countered your earlier post. Big difference being giving a link for reference and being told that my views, etc are all based on wiki, etc.
Sorry, mate you are stalking me here and even at times when you should be running your Bar. A lot of cabbies are old guys who lost their jobs and find driving a taxi is the only work they can get. As a policeman told us when a friend got hit by a taxi while riding a bike: A must-read about what can happen if you get into it with a J-cabbie: Zenny, I am really sorry you feel that way.
I dont know how someone can stalk you on JT when you appear on every 3d line of every thread?. Its literally impossible not to come across something to disagree with you on eventually, as northlondon, tkoid2, smith and limbo in japan all have as well so why are you singling me out? How am I not supposed to post an obvious challenge to find a wiki reference and then find one on the same day??? I mean that sincerely. Funny thing is that me Limbo and a few others talk often via Pm, etc. All I can say is that since we have had him, Brett has been very good on and off the ice.
It was a tough run for Sutter not to mention relations between hockey players and cab drivers for a while there, but it looks like everyone can move on soon enough. In the long run, the general hockey public wins because we can enjoy that wonderful mustachioed mugshot long after the real embarrassment fades. Most sports have a handful of officials who stand out, whether they do so intentionally or not. Sometimes those referees are noticed because of the bitterness caused by their mistakes perceived or otherwise , while others are noticed more for physical attributes.
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George Parros seems to skate — or maybe I should say, beat people up — to the beat of his own drum. He breaks the stereotype of being a knuckle-dragging troglodyte of an enforcer, as Parros has an ivy-league background. Then again, enforcers often break type, as they range from troubled but lovable giants such as Bob Probert to outright goofballs with Twitter accounts such as Paul Bissonnette.