Quote:
Originally Posted by longlong135
Yeah, I agree. Remembering I read something from a post in here that taxi cost 40K rupiah per hour. So I decide to quote a taxi driver 40K rupiah from Nagoya Hill back to my hotel which is 5-7 mins drive away on a Saturday night. The driver simply give me an attitude... "80K rupiah, take it or leave it" face and drive away, around the malls again.
Then another trip on a Wednesday night, same place, same destination, I waved down a taxi within the mall area. Haven't even quote him, he wind down window and invite me in, point me to meter and say meter rate. Afraid this taxi will go merry go round in Batam, I quoted him 40K again, he happily accepted.
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Let me share something with you. If you are a regular visitor to Batam, you may want to create your own network of drivers at a reasonable rate and at a convenience time for both parties. It is a win-win situation for you and your drivers.
I normally pay Rp 25k per trip within Nagoya Hill Area and Rp 50k per trip from Batam Ferry Terminal to Nagoya Hill area.
Want to know how? Here you are:
- After you have negotiated your price, you boarded the taxi.
- Ask for name card from driver (they normally put on dashboard).
- Tell the driver that you visit Batam regularly (indeed I think you are), example : approx. 2 or 3 weeks once, etc..
- That you normally paid Rp 50k per trip from Batam Centre to anywhere in Nagoya and vice versa for return trip.
- And from within Nagoya, you paid Rp 25k per trip. That is from Nagoya Hill Mall to DC Mall or BCS Mall area. Even if he pick you up from City Walk to De Vienna Hotel (you can normally walk. But late at night, if you are alone, you may not want to walk).
- Most drivers will say "Yes" (those that ply the street to pick up passenger). Some will say "No" citing they can't cover the cost (these are drivers park mostly at mall, hotels and ferry terminals because they have to pay fee to station there).
- When the driver say "Yes". Use your mobile to call the driver number immediately and key his name into your mobile (Best if you use Indo numbers). Give the driver your name (he will key in later on).
- While still in the taxi, tell the driver, "Now that we have an understanding, can we start from this trip" (that is Rp 25k for this trip, your 5 to 7 min drive).
- Your driver will normally say Ok. So wherever you are, you call your driver and he will come and pick you up. Please note: if you know when you need him, let him know in advance so as to prepare him. In this case, you don't have to hassle over price with any driver on the street and subject to carrot pricing plus attitude problem.
- Next you can build few more drivers contact in this way and rotate them. Also, in case one driver is busy, your other driver can come to your rescue.
- If you are coming from Singapore, message him a day in advance. Your driver will know that he got a confirmed earnings from you. Picking you from ferry terminal, sending you around in Nagoya area and sending you back to the terminal. It is a Win-Win situation for you and your driver.
Note:
Best to tie up with driver from Silver Cab or Blue Bird. My driver from Silver Cab with meter told me if I want to travel out of Nagoya Mall to Sekupang, he will use meter. Based on your understanding with your driver and constantly using him, I am sure he won't drive a long distance unless due to fallen tree or otherwise because he does not want to lose your business since you are his regular.
Disclaimer:
This method may or may not be applicable for full day roaming around joints including picking up from ferry terminal. In this tread, some paid Rp300k to 400k for full day usage. You may need to do your own calculation on whether it benefits you. As the saying goes, "to each his own".