You’re From New York? I Won’t Charge You for the Taxi

Free Taxi Tel Aviv is part of the #NoCollusion, No Albania for TPOL where I break my 100 country count mark. See the World Map for where I’ve been.

Yesterday, I wrote about using the Gett App to get around Tel Aviv. While the app works well most of the time, it does have its drawbacks. If it’s late at night or if it’s the weekend, the app will show no driver available. In those situations, you’re at the mercy of the taxi driver to take you to your destination and not overcharge. Unlike many countries where the taxi driver is my nemesis (see “Taxi my friend?” The Worst Places to Hail a Cab), my experience in Tel Aviv was the exact opposite.

I got into a taxi and told him to take me to the Hotel Indigo. Right away, the driver said he didn’t know where it was and started fumbling with his phone. This was a red flag that this experience was not going to go smoothly. After inputting the address into the navigation, the driver started asking me questions including where I was from. Instead of giving him the TPOL moves to Puerto Rico back story, I went with the easy, “I’m from New York,” answer. The driver said he loved New York and was so excited that he said he wouldn’t charge me for the ride. Naturally, I said that I didn’t believe him and asked him to turn on the meter. He insisted that the ride would be free and continued to ask me questions about the US. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and we had a normal conversation on the way to the hotel.

When we reached Hotel Indigo, I was waiting for the drama to begin. And guess what? Nothing happened. He said nice to meet you and that was it. My faith in taxi drivers has not been restored, but this was a nice surprise.