I Dream of Fair Taxis

To tell you my story you need to know how to take a taxi in Ghana.

Taking a Taxi around Accra can be anywhere from 2-10 cedi. You judge the price by the distance.

First you approach a taxi window. You say a friendly hello in Twi: “Ete sen?” or “What’s up?” The response is a laugh or an “Eye” or “Good”. Comrodery is now built.

Then you move on to the bargaining phase. You state a price lower than you want to pay and choose one of the numbers below when the taxi driver will say no to your price and state a high number:

#1 The Plead: “mepacho ti so” or “please, lower.”

#2 The “Not Obruni”: “No obruni price sir I know it is ____cedi (still under what you want)”

#3 The You-are-not-special technique: “I can find any other cab to give it to me for  ______cedi”

#4 The Local: “I work there every day (or I go there all the time) and I know it is ____cedi”

#5 The Jerk:  pssshh no way am I paying that price are you out of your mind!?

A taxi driver will then: negotiate again, miraculously give you your price, sit there while you walk away, or simply refuse.

If he won’t give you your price you walk away.

½ of the time the taxi will call you back, knowing you are now serious and give you your price. Then you will return to the cab and get in.

½ the time you hiss down another cab and repeat from step one.

*On average you will go through 2-4 taxis before the bargaining works out in your favor. *

After you get in:

¼ of the time the taxi says he knows where he is going but in fact has no idea so you may be forced to take twice as long a taxi ride, be haggled for more money, or forced to find a different cab when you are in the middle of who-knows-where.

½ of the time the taxi driver will say he does not have change for you. This is a lie. You better hope you have correct change or yet again be ripped off.

You should understand now if I tell you that the single most frustrating thing about Ghana is bargaining with taxi’s. I speak for my whole group when I say this. It is not uncommon for every passenger to be angry before, during, and or after a taxi ride.

With all this stated I can now express properly to you what made my day this morning.

I was walking in the rain down our red dirt road to the taxi stand. I usually avoid the stand altogether and hiss down a free-roaming taxi because our house thinks the stand has a union and all agree to never give us a proper price.

The second reason I avoid the stand is because they can be vicious. On my first day of work we got a free roaming taxi in front of the stand and the men from the stand put cement blocks in front of his tires because he was, “poaching their customers.”

But today it was raining and I felt a particular sense of calm over the taxi stand. I smiled at the two men in t-shirts lounging on wooden benches. They both casually look up at my me: a very pale obruni wearing a raincoat with a heavy bag around my shoulder. I thought I might have looked desperate and put on a game-face smile. “etesian?” They just smiled in reply, no answer (not a good sign). I kept up a smile “I’m going to the A & C Mall.”

… awkward pause… “I was hoping for 3 cedi”… I knew this was a very hopeful price but a fair one that I hoped to get after a few bargains. He just smiled, “yes, come, over there” and pointed at a cab. I was caught off guard by his acceptance “oh… ok… where?…thank you… Madasse” I stumbled over and got in a cab—shocked. I couldn’t believe what just happened. This was the first non-hassle taxi ride that had happened to me. I was brimming with satisfaction the whole ride. My brain wandered “Was it because they recognize me now? Did the smile work? Or maybe he was an exceptionally generous man.”

It didn’t even faze me when the taxi went to the wrong place, grumbled upon correction, and took me to the right mall. I still tipped him 50 pesuah, said “madasse pa pa (thank you very very much), and gave him a huge grin. I left the taxi nearly skipping and hoping that some day all taxi’s in Ghana might be this fair.