Taxis in Manila and using smartphone apps

• 

  pao2x on 07/11/2014 - 15:13

  Sim Cards right just inside the door of terminal 3.

  Taxi- Get the yellow airport ones, they are metered just add a few $ tip. There might be a line during rush hours or when there are a lot of arrivals. Otherwise there are coupon ones with a "RRP" to where you are going. On rush hour expect to pay 2-3x RRP. Still a $20 taxi ride when you get to skip the queue to wait a taxi for 30m to an hour is worth it.

  • 

    peterpeterpumpkin on 07/11/2014 - 17:19

    Thanks. Have you ever had any issues (unexpectedly high fares etc) with yellow taxis or do they always just seem to work as expected?

    For the record, I'm so cheap and hate haggling so much that I would normally walk for a few hours to save money and temper (and I actually enjoy it). But with Manila I've been advised that wandering and arguing are not recommended.

    Due to a lot of return trips to Manila I'll be repeating the airport taxi trip a lot so want to make sure I can do it on a budget but with reasonable safety.

    • 

      pao2x on 07/11/2014 - 18:36

      My experience arriving at rush hour there were like 20 people in line for yellow taxis and a taxi coming in every few minutes, not worth my time to wait in line.

      I went to the coupon taxis had a few drivers tell me there price. Eventually one agreed for about half of what the others were telling me what there price was. Yellow taxis usually do not have surprise charges.

• 

  pao2x on 07/11/2014 - 15:16

  +2

  Uber…. I wouldn't bet on it. Anyone with a decent car would not be driving around Manila for a few bucks.

  • 

    peterpeterpumpkin on 07/11/2014 - 17:20

    That was my thought exactly. I read somewhere that Uber were hiring out cars for drivers for this reason? Couldn't find a reliable source though.

    • 

      pao2x on 07/11/2014 - 18:49

      Grab Taxi works…. sometimes.

      I think uber is currently employing cars and drivers just to get things started.

• 

  LSGH on 07/11/2014 - 18:18

  What is your first destination from the airport? hotel? what area?…I dont recommend uber as I dont think it has caught on yet in manila…

  coupon taxi is the best, they will be safe, clean, professional…but yes it will not be the cheapest option…but still much cheaper than anything in Oz

  • 

    peterpeterpumpkin on 07/11/2014 - 23:05

    -1

    OMP hostel on Makati Av on a Sunday night. Rounding up to 9 kilometres shortest route from T3. The hostel reckons a yellow cab will cost 400-500 but that's steeper than what I'd expect unless the journey took well over an hour (for a > one hour trip (say 1 hr 20 minutes) where I got charged waiting time for 1 hour, 70p base (which includes a free 0.5 km I'll ignore) + 9 km x 4p/0.3km + 60 min x 4p/2 min ~ 310p - I can add 50p more if the tollway were used i.e. 20p + ~2 km extra distance). The internet is choc-a-bloc full of huge fares >1000p though that I cannot just pay as the cost of travelling.

    Unfortunately comparing to Oz won't cut it for me psychologically or financially. I would never ever take a taxi in Sydney unless in an emergency and walk rather than bus it unless the route is more than 10 kilometres or I'm out of time. I also don't want charity from a struggling taxi driver - but I can't be scammed out of $20 per trip since I'll be leaving Manila airport 4 times (only one way) during my trip. I just wish there was an uncomfortable direct shuttle bus I could take like in most countries. As a backpacker I would rather get a bad value deal ala Phuket's shuttle bus where at least you pay less than what the real taxi fare would be as a lone traveller.

• 

  Brisbanebargain on 07/11/2014 - 21:11

  When you get in a cab in Manila always demand for the meter to be turned on. If the driver refuses simply get out and get another. If the cab driver asks if you've been to Manila before always say "yes many times" to lessen the likelihood of being ripped off. I say lessen because they are crafty buggers always looking to rip off a tourist.

  • 

    peterpeterpumpkin on 07/11/2014 - 23:32

    Yeah, I read about insisting "meter po".

    My fear is getting a genuinely friendly and honest taxi driver because I hate lying about how long I've been or how many times.

• 

  VFM on 09/11/2014 - 11:23

  There a a few things you can do/say which tend to make you less of a candidate to be taken for a ride. (It is so appropriate here)

  1) Act as if you are on a short business trip (bags and clothes should reflect a business traveller)

  2) Say that you have meetings within the next hour or you are meeting someone at the destination. Then make a phone call to set up the time.

  3) Go to a business-like destination like a hotel or a condo. You can always walk to your actual destination from there. I think Makati Ave is probably safe enough.

  4) Learn a few local roads and words.
  "Po" is a polite suffix when speaking to a senior (age or status) person. As a foreigner, you may not want to use it.

  Regarding the taxi fares, the cheapest is probably about PHP250, while the premium is probably around 600. Which will workout to about AUD 7 to 15? Trip is fast because of a (real) high way connecting into Makati (I think) or very near Makati.
  Taxis at the queues at the airport are most likely to be safe. The counter staff takes down your name and the taxi registration plate number.

  Tipping is expected and PHP 20- 50 (AUD 0.60-1.30?) should suffice in this case. Do have small change (PHP 20 and PHP 50 notes) with you all the time

  Just be very aware that in a foreign country, anything we take for granted (uber is reasonably priced and drivers are more trustworthy because they drive limos ? ) may well be different there.

• 

  peterpeterpumpkin on 29/11/2014 - 17:39

  +2

  Having returned from the Philippines I have real world experience now.

  I first took a yellow cab from the airport to Makati Ave and paid the expected price for the distance and waiting time (~200 PHP - but typically from ~175 to 230 PHP). Traffic was moderate for Manila.

  From Makati Ave I used Uber to get to the T4 domestic terminal (AirAsia). The driver was only a few blocks away but the traffic on Makati Ave was crazy and he had to take the long way to get to me - taking around 30 minutes or so! (maybe less but I wasn't tracking carefully). Using an app might not be the best choice if you're running late and there are plenty of taxis around since it can drive you crazy. Uber can be more expensive than a standard white taxi if you're stuck in traffic since the journey's time charges are always running (as opposed to "waiting time" only for taxis). My driver had a brand new car, was "uber-professional", took a detour to avoid traffic and best of all - I never had to pull out my wallet and the journey only cost 152 PHP. From Makati in non-urgent situations it was easily the least hassly choice for non-urgent situations.

  I used GrabTaxi from the T4 terminal to a place nearby with the HOHOHO code. My driver was instantly aware of the promotion and was also very polite and professional. The fact I used GrabTaxi probably convinced him that I'm living locally as well or often travel there for business. I entered into the notes section before I ordered the taxi that the driver shouldn't bother driving me if they didn't have change for a 500 note (since I was paranoid :)). There were plenty of GrabTaxis in the vicinity of the airport and in T4 there's no need to walk to the departures section or a private pickup section since the passenger drop-off point is so small and spotting a taxis's licence plate in the queue is easy. Great experience but I wouldn't want to pay 70 PHP plus a tip each time since that defeats the benefit of employing GrabTaxi.

  As expected, white taxi drivers hailed off the street or the departures queue in the airport will quite regularly at least try to rip off a foreigner by charging a fixed rate and complaining about the traffic if you insist on using the meter. If not in rush, of course you could keep trying taxis until one agrees to use the meter (which you always keep an eye on anyway). Nearly every newcomer at my last hostel in Manila was ripped off.

  I also decided to man up and give public transport options a try and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was (but I only did this at the end so I was already confident). Without looking for a jeepney (you have to know the areas and/or their abbreviations to make picking the right jeepney easier) you can catch a 20 PHP shuttle from the the arrivals section (from the bus area to your right upon exiting) to the Pasay EDSA-Taft Ave rotunda, where LRT/MRT trains can be caught (just use Google Maps from this EDSA stop to your hostel to see if it's worth the final walk). As a side note, this junction in Pasay is also right next to the bus station you can go to if you want an economical bus to take trips outside of Manila (e.g. ~80 PHP to Tagaytay). The train will almost definitely get super crowded after the first 2 stops so it might not be comfortable with a lot of luggage or pick-pocket friendly pants. A lot of people report feeling uncomfortable walking at night (there's always the one straight-faced starer that makes you uncomfortable). I haven't tried using the free shuttle that loops between the terminals since I just walked 30 minutes between T4 and T3 (I've read that the shuttle sometimes skips picking up in T4 if no one requests to be dropped off there but this info might be outdated).

  Regarding sim cards, the usual business savvy has finally hit Globe and Smart retailers at T3 arrivals and you can no longer simply buy only a sim card with a top up. They would only sell expensive packages instead to ensure they got their 500 PHP or so. I had to wait to go to one of the ubiquitous shops to get just the sim card (now around 35-40 PHP with some load included) and a 100 PHP top up. If you use data a lot on holidays it may be worth getting an unlimited pack since wifi is often useless in hostels once 3 people or more are using it (I turned off my data when not in use and paid 5 PHP for 15 minutes). Globe really is much better than Smart for reception in rural areas (e.g. in Port Barton, Palawan). I knew this but still bought Smart at first when a lady marked up the Globe sim pack to something like 100 PHP from 40 PHP or so since I was in a tourist trap area on Makati Ave).

  As a final note, in my case it was more likely than not that change would be withheld in almost any situation and kept as a tip (and I'm I'm not talking about 10% surcharges or the equivalent of 20 cents either). Around 80% of the time I had finished a transaction I had to verbally request my change after a minute of awkward silence. Perhaps they think that an Australian dollar (~40 PHP) is reasonable for foreigners to tip for a $1.50 (~60 PHP) purchase
  (or they simply take us all for suckers or I look extra generous). Even the lady at Puerto Princesa airport held back the change for the departure tax (50 PHP from 200 PHP). And of course the flight attendants on my beloved Cebu Air did the same thing. I let all these things slide in the final days of my trip. The bill was always wrong - yes ALWAYS - when I ate at proper restaurants where you wait for your bill to be brought to you. The only time the numbers weren't "wrong" per se was where the menu said all taxes and surcharges were included and 30 PHP (10%) was magically added to the bill for the single item ordered. The lady pretended to look surprised at the menu and said her invisible boss told her to do it. It is easily the sneakiest country in the world I've been to for money-handling but it's admittedly harder for them to rip off tourists when most menus are written in English. Otherwise, I highly recommend it.

• 

  anna10 on 01/12/2014 - 07:43

  Excellent info and advice thanks. Just wish my finger had not pressed the neg button by mistake. Sorry.