Top 7: Taxi Safety Tips in the Philippines

Whether it is “ber” months in the Philippines or not, even when Christmas season is half a year away, crime incidents are everywhere. Public transportation-related crimes is pretty common – even in Taxicabs. Here are 7 safety tips avoiding taxi horror stories in the Philippines.

1. Ride on the back seat

Always ride on the back seat of the taxi. I prefer to sit at the back of the driver’s seat especially at night and I'm alone. In any case, his reach is limited

2. Inform your family & friends about the Cab’s info

Make it to a point that you get the plate number, taxi name, the time and place where you ride the taxi. Send those information to your family or friends so they know who to contact to in case any unexpected incidents happened. Calling any of them while inside the cab will make a driver think twice before potentially pulling a fast one on you.

3. Stick to your route

Upon riding tell the taxi driver what route you like to go. If he insists the shortcut route he told you, think twice. If you are familiar with those routes and the crowd, that would be fine. However, to avoid any conflicts between you and the cab driver, just go down the taxicab and hail for another one.

4. Stay awake!

There are some cab drivers out there who takes advantage of their passengers, one of those is tampering the taxi meter. Try your best to stay awake the moment you ride in until you get off to your destination. There are also rape cases and robbery happened during the time the passengers fall asleep.

5. Be aware of the Modus Operandi

Nothing beats but to be updated of the newest tricks of modus operandi happening in Manila or anywhere in the country. Spot.ph lay down a helpful top 10 modus operandi that every Filipino should be fully aware about.

6. Don’t ignore what others say

There are stories posted on Facebook, News Sites and friends who actually tells you their experience riding a cab. Do not ignore them. Learn from their experience and see what you can do to become alert to prevent unexpected things to happen.

7. Read and review comments from TaxiKick

There’s a tool, a platform that will help you see the experience of each passenger on each taxi cab (with the taxi name and plate number). Be aware of their top 10 violators and know your rights as a passenger. If you have experienced a bad service from a taxi, just comment on their website and start kicking that taxi today!

Visit their website at www.taxikick.com
Source: http://www.philippinestaxiservice.com

I hope that everyone finds this topic as helpful as I did. It's always better to be safe than sorry.