Taxi Fares

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Early on in my Peace Corps service I found it difficult to constantly have to negotiate for prices….whether it be in a market or with a taxi. At times, it was, and still is annoying. The reason for this annoyance is because I’m not Senegalese, and regardless of how hard I try, I never will be…often times adding a few steps to the negotiation process.

With this being said, it has been fascinating as well. Often times, through these negotiations, you strike up relationships (many good and some bad). Also, you learn that Senegal is a customer-based market (different then a customer service based market) in which if one vendor or driver doesn’t agree with your price, another one might…and there are plenty of others. This is not a good thing if you are in a hurry though and luck is not on your side.

While I have always wanted the best price for things, more importantly, I have started to want the fair price….for me and for the seller. Lately, I have been at a crossroads with this approach regarding taxi fares.

I typically break my taxi fares when I negotiate in Dakar between 1,000 CFA, 1,500 CFA, and 2,000 CFA depending on where I’m going. While still being a firm believer in negotiating the correct price for when I’m going somewhere, I have had a difficult time lately trying to determine if that is the fair price.

In the past several months, Dakar traffic and road construction has increased to try and meet the deadline for the Islamic Conference happening in Dakar in early March. This construction has made getting around the city very tiresome. Unfortunately, because the detours and ramifications caused by this construction changes almost daily, you never know how you will be affected.

Some may disagree with my approach based on the fact that once you make a contract (written or verbal) you should stick with it, but lately I just haven’t been able to justify getting out of the cab and paying the negotiated rate. If it should have taken 30 minutes to get home but instead took an hour, with no fault of the driver, especially one as a customer, I honestly feel as a responsible customer, I have a duty to do.

The way many taxi drivers in the city operate is that they have to pay to use the car they are driving that day. After talking to a few buddies, I think the fee in Dakar is roughly 10,000 CFA. On top of that, they must pay for the gas they use, which like in the States, it is high here too. It is not cheap to operate a taxi.

As a result, the combination of responsible consumerism and little standard in negotiated prices during a time of grand influx has made me much softer in paying what I feel is the ‘fair’ price, not the negotiated price at the end of the ride…I wish my wallet always agreed.