My cousin works as a taxi driver and I guess he will kill me if he knew I'm posting such bad things about them.
However, all of you are talking about your own experience or your friends or relatives experiences. Having been at Hostal Chelo for 14 years and meeting many people who come from the aiport give me an idea of how many dishonest taxi drivers are there in Madrid.
You all say you were not ripped off but I can tell you that most of my foreign customers get ripped off. I wonder if it's just a coincidence. Maybe only Hostal Chelo customers meet dishonest taxi drivers.
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"If it was like that, why are there such long queues in the airport waiting for a taxi? People would have chosen other alternatives if it was so evident". Well, here are a few reasons:
[*] Spaniards or people who know Madrid are not likely to be ripped off. Thus, they don't mind taking a taxi.
[*] First time travellers may not know about dishonest taxi drivers in Spain.
[*] Companies pay taxis to businessmen so they don't care how much they got charged.
[*] Few people know about Aerocity. I think Madridman didn't know about them when I first told about it.
Castiza, if you don't agree with the fare on the meter, you don't need to write down any information. Ask for an official receipt (this has the license and plaque number and also all the information about the route and fare). You can complain at the city council with it.
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And last, I don't understand why people insist on paying more for their transfer from the airport to the city centre. Even if you are not ripped off you will always get cheaper prices at
Aerocity .
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