Blog for Monday 28th January, 2008
Source : Diário de Notícias 28/1/2008
To the delight of some for sure, it seems that from next month all the rural taxis (all outside of Funchal) are to have meters installed, at a cost of between €805 and €905. Although it seems all in the world of taxi drivers is not well as a result of the introduction of these meters. Does this theoretically mean the end of ‘rip-off the foreigner’ taxi trips? Probably not, as apparently Funchal taxis (which have had the meters for a long time already) can still manage to fleece their customers, often by quite staggering amounts, but how do they do it? Do they switch the meter off, or charge for non-existant luggage, or charge night rate during the day time? Can anyone shed any light on the matter?
Going back to a blog I did last year about a restaurant that ripped us off on a couple of beers we brought, well I was told by someone else at the weekend that he went to the same place (in Ribeira Brava) and got charged €3.75 for
a pint of beer! To add to that, a waiter who was working there said that he left because they gave him an ultimatum, that he had to increase his 7 hour working day to 11 or 12 hours, without any extra pay (and this is on the state
minimum wage mind you). I don’t feel quite so bad now that I know it is not just foreigners, but anyone that breathes is a legitimate target.
Going back to todays news, there is a story about a police “megaoperation” that took place over Saturday night and early Sunday morning in areas between Sâo Martinho and Caniçal, which resulted in the apprehension of several individuals and hundreds of doses of drugs and narcotic substances.
Ive noticed the police have been out in force since the start of the year, with inspections going on everywhere, ive driven through at least 8 this month, but today was the day they stopped, everything was ok so that was good, but i think a lot of it is to do with the new tax system, so they checking the cars for january. My friends were over from Ireland, they had a Taxi from funchal to Caniço 29.50, so the robbing bastards will be at it with or without a meter, plus if you book a Taxi from a hotel is going to be more in any case, cause commission is charged on top of the price for the reception in the hotel , then the taxi drivers pay there commission each month. Go on
remind us of the name of this restaurant to avoid…
–Tobi 28/1/2008
I will email you the restaurant name directly, as what they are doing with overcharging is probably lawful
–Der 29/1/2008
I saw that waiter again today, he said the restaurant manager phoned and begged him to come back and work, as he speaks several languages. He refused, telling the manager that he wouldn't work for him again because he didn't like that "he was stealing from foreigners". Fair play that man … who is currently unemployed, undeservedly
–Der