Why do taxi drivers in Tokyo try to overcharge you by taking detours to your destination...?

This is a story from when I was working in Tokyo, so it's been about 12 or 13 years now. Since I had many opportunities to go out drinking, I rented a monthly parking space in Tokyo near my workplace, separate from where I lived.

The reason was that even though I would drive from my home to Tokyo, I often ended up having to attend business dinners or drinking parties on short notice.

Besides that, since my shops were scattered across multiple locations in Tokyo, I had to use a combination of trains, taxis, and my own car to manage my schedule for moving between shops, so having parking spaces in multiple locations was essential.

So, I rented parking spaces in Ikebukuro, where my first shop was, and in Ebisu, where I had my office. In Shinjuku, there was a large 24-hour public parking lot in the basement of Yasukuni-dori, so I used a commuter pass for that.

My routine back then was to park my car at one of those places and then go around to visit the shops, but every single day, I would get invitations to go drinking while I was on my way back to my car. (´д｀;)

So, I would time it to meet up with the other party to eat and drink, but since driving after drinking is obviously prohibited, I would take a taxi back to my home in Chiba.

I also used taxis to get around Tokyo, so you could say I was a taxi expert. I was claiming about 100,000 yen a month in taxi fares as business expenses, so I was quite a good customer.

It's a real shame that there are malicious drivers who would try to rip off a taxi expert like me.

Well, when I say rip off, it's not like the tactics used by those predatory bars in Kabukicho; it's a legal method, but instead of taking the shortest route to the destination or the optimal route based on traffic conditions, they take a detour.

And the worst ones will even ask you, "How would you like to go?" when you get in and tell them your destination, asking about the driving route.

I would think, "Ah, here we go!" and instead ask them back, "What route are you planning to take, driver?"

Then they would mumble to themselves, as if talking to themselves, "I'll go through such-and-such street, and if it's not crowded from there, maybe we'll cut through to so-and-so?"

If you were to carelessly say, "Please do!" then you'd end up being driven on an incredibly long detour and forced to pay a high taxi fare, much to your chagrin.

In my case, it happens almost every time I get in, but I don't fall for that trick, even if I do get in the taxi. ^^

I would counter by saying, "Driver, going through such-and-such street is the wrong direction. I think it would be faster to turn right at so-and-so and go through such-and-such street."

Then, as soon as they realized I was a passenger who couldn't be fooled about the route, they would become unfriendly and reply bluntly, "Well, I'll go that way, so just give me directions." This was almost always the pattern.

I'm not a car navigation system! Why should I, the passenger, have to give directions like "Turn right at the next traffic light!", "Go straight for a while!", "We're almost at the destination!"? It makes me want to get angry.

It puts you in a bad mood, doesn't it? In those cases, I'd say, "Oh, driver! Stop here... I just remembered I have something to do," and get out while it's still the base fare.

With a glance at the malicious driver who has a puzzled look on his face, I immediately hail another taxi and switch to it. (^_^)b

This actually serves as a great lesson for malicious drivers. There's no benefit for either of us to be transported to our destination while feeling unpleasant, is there?

So, it's an instant game over!
Switch taxis and head to your destination in a good mood.

Usually, the driver of the second taxi you board after this pattern will ask.
“Didn't you just get out of the previous car, sir/ma'am?”

They are curious, after all; I suppose taxi drivers want to know the reason for switching?
“Yes! I felt so uncomfortable that I got out; it was malicious...”

When I answer like that, everyone wants to hear the details, so for their future reference, I tell them about the scheme of detour rip-offs...

And I always add this after telling them.
“Well, that was a relief, I'm glad this time the driver is pleasant!”

Yes, after that, I can arrive at my destination while thanking a very pleasant driver, and since we can both settle the fare in a good mood, I end up behaving in a way that says, keep the change.

This is actually quite an important point: it may be that there isn't a huge difference in consciousness between the second driver you board with and the first driver.

I think that with the initial input, a slight difference emerges.
They get to experience the feeling of not wanting to have the same thing happen to them, or the success of realizing that if they drive honestly and pleasantly, they might even get a tip in the form of change.

I think this second driver will reaffirm that honesty is the best policy, and that ensuring passengers can ride to their destination in a good mood is the true duty of a taxi driver.

When they accumulate these real-life experiences, they can truly realize that honesty is the best policy.

On the other hand, in the case of the first driver, their path diverges significantly depending on whether they can reflect on the situation of being switched out, or whether they take the action of cursing and looking for the next sucker.

Which path they choose at that crossroads will determine their subsequent life as a taxi driver, and even their character as a person.

By the way, from the perspective of a Tokyo taxi driver, a scary entity is the public interest incorporated foundation called the Tokyo Taxi Center.

Before its name was changed to the current one in 2002, it was called the Modernization Center, and was known as Kinsen; it was an organization that kept a close eye on taxi operators, and if you brought taxi troubles there, they would usually solve them.

For operators who dislike having their licenses revoked or dealing with troublesome matters, the organization that is a thorn in their side is Kinsen, now known as Tosen (Tokyo Taxi Center), so it's worth remembering.

What I used to do after boarding, when I felt the driver had an unsettling vibe, was to casually let them know I was aware of Kinsen's existence by saying, “How is the Modernization Center (at the time) doing lately? Are they strict?”

Since that conversation triggers a change in the driver's attitude and demeanor, this method might still work even today.

Also, when you encounter a malicious driver, please make sure to get a receipt, and then remember or note down the driver's name so you can report them to Tosen.

Recently, there seems to be an increase in admirable drivers who have come to Tokyo and say, “I don't know the roads at all, so please tell me.”

These people aren't malicious; they are just drivers who are poorly informed, or perhaps too unfamiliar with Tokyo's geography, so they have no ill intent.

They are just following the route based on the car navigation system, so let's watch over them with a warm heart. (^_^)b

By the way, it took me a long time to understand why I, of all people, always end up in situations where I feel like I'm about to be ripped off.

Then, one day, it clicked.
I was trying to catch a taxi from the Yaesu Exit of Tokyo Station, and the usual exchange happened, but the driver apologized to me like this.

I'm sorry, I thought you had just arrived from the countryside and weren't familiar with the geography, so I took a route that would run up the meter... I'm so sorry!

He apologized like that, even though I had been wandering around Tokyo for a total of 25 years by then! To think I was mistaken for a local old guy who had just arrived in the city!

This is... unacceptable!

My words, my accent, my intonation, I have to do something about it!
Wait, is 'do something about it' a dialect or standard Japanese? Anyway, I have to do something about it!
I decided that, but... I'm still the same as I was back then... 😓

My speech is unique probably because I'm always with my spouse.
Since we are both from Kagoshima and live together, even if I try to speak standard Japanese at work, it gets reset when I return home.

For a while, we discussed speaking standard Japanese at home, and we played a game where whoever spoke in dialect first would lose.

I would consciously speak standard Japanese, but it wouldn't last long, and I'd end up bursting into laughter, so my standard Japanese never improves, no matter how much time passes. 😅

Eventually, I gave up completely. Yes, this is what you call personality.
It's my identity, in my case.

When I was in elementary school, dialects were considered bad, and during the reflection meeting before the end of the school day, I would be called out, saying, 'So-and-so was speaking in dialect!'

In terms of education, I think they imposed standard Japanese education to prevent people from being ostracized or becoming introverted due to their language when they went to the city to work, but looking back on it now, I think it was a strange educational policy.

Now, there are even movements to preserve dialects, and they seem to be re-evaluated from the perspectives of folklore and linguistics.

See, isn't that great? Sticking with your own language like this...

......Or rather, I just failed to learn standard Japanese......🤣

If you are also from the countryside or have local roots, why don't you actively spread your dialect, accent, and intonation to those around you and let them get familiar with the local flavor too? ﾍ(^o^)/

So, this time it was a story about identity, titled '
Why do you feel like you're about to be ripped off by a detour when taking a taxi in Tokyo...?'.

But you know, lately, it seems like even more malicious passengers are becoming a bigger problem than malicious drivers, right?

Since they suddenly turn into robbers when you get off, it seems the taxi business has really become dangerous.

It's a profession where you stake your life on the steering wheel, but who would have thought you'd end up staking your life on the fare pouch too...

If there are any taxi drivers reading this article,
I recommend this magazine.
After all, your life is the most important thing. (^_^)b

Well then!

Preventing rip-offs, before they happen, nice and easy