The common scams of Amsterdam taxi drivers
One of nature’s greatest events is the great salmon run. Every year grizzly bear families in North America depend for their survival on the return of hundreds of millions of salmon from the Pacific Ocean to the mountain streams where they were born.
The Great Schiphol Taxi Passenger Run
The great salmon run is not dissimilar to the daily arrival of thousands of visitors to Schiphol Airport. Taxi drivers from all over the country, with and without permits, descend on the airport looking for visitors to overcharge. Which brings me to the subject of today’s post, five common scams of Amsterdam taxi drivers.
Amsterdam taxi drivers have long had a well deserved appalling reputation. Only recently, the Shallow Man read a story about a tourist that was charged 980 euros for a journey from Schiphol airport to Amsterdam. The actual price for the trip shouldn’t have been more than seventy to eighty euros.
After twelve years as an Amsterdammer, the Shallow Man has learned the common scams used by Amsterdam Taxi drivers, which I’ll share with you dear reader, so you can hopefully spot their tricks and stop yourself from being scammed. The five I list below are the ones I’ve come across on numerous occasions in Amsterdam.
The things I do for my readers!
Taxis in Amsterdam are not cheap
Amsterdam Taxi drivers are so friendly!
The first thing you’ll notice as a non-Dutch speaker when you step into a taxi, is that the moment you speak English, the driver will transform from being a brusque and cantankerous individual, and will suddenly smile and be incredibly friendly, leuk! However, be aware, that there’s a reason for their deferential and smarmy behaviour. A lot of taxi drivers in Amsterdam regard English speaking passengers as a biological ATM machine. Even while they’re asking you where you’re from (and praying that you don’t live in Amsterdam as you might know something about the local laws and prices) they’re already thinking about what they’ll do with the money they’ll squeeze out of you.
Please may my next passenger be a tourist!
1. Forgetting to turn on the meter
The Amsterdam Taxi driver will ask lots of jolly questions. You’ll have a super friendly conversation, and will marvel at how well informed taxi drivers are of current events, literature and high culture.
You’ll find yourself nodding in agreement as the driver explains that the children’s cartoon series, Peppa Pig, is actually a satirical analysis of the British class system.
While in the middle of a discussion about why Pigs on the show are middle class, while zebras and bears are members of the proletariat, the driver will suddenly announce that you’ve arrived at your destination. He’ll then be incredibly apologetic and with the pathos of Laurence Olivier regretting having killed Desdemona as Othello, will say, “I’m so sorry, I forgot to turn the meter on”.
Being a reasonable person you’ll say, “not a problem, how much does a journey of approximately five kilometers normally cost?” Suddenly looking very serious, with all friendliness having vanished faster than a Dutchman after a one-night stand, the driver will say, “oh well normally it would cost a lot more, but as you know so much about Peppa Pig, I’m only going to charge you 50 euros”.
Middle Class Architect
Why are Zebras working class Postmen?
2. Offering to do you the favor of driving via the motorway to save time
When taking a taxi across Amsterdam, another common scam by taxi drivers is to offer to save time by taking the highway. This is of course, pardon the pun, highway robbery. The reason taxi drivers are so keen to save you time is that the charges are per kilometer. Yes you’ll reach your destination a lot quicker if you take the highway, however, it will cost you a lot more as you’d have covered more distance, which of course will make your driver very happy indeed.
Highway Robbery by taxi drivers in Amsterdam “it’s a traditie”
3. Suggesting a (vastly inflated) fixed price
If when getting into a taxi, the driver upon hearing your destination suggests a fixed price, refuse to get into any negotiations and insist that they use the meter. All licensed taxis in Amsterdam must display an easily identifiable number on the roof of the car. Take note of this, and if they still refuse to use the meter, complain using the website taxiklacht.nl, which also has an English version.
4. Taking the scenic route
Amsterdam is so beautiful, that taxi drivers love nothing better than to show passengers as much of the city and surrounding areas as possible during a journey. Especially if you tell them it’s your first time in the city.
My advice is when taking a taxi from the Airport, that even if it’s your first visit here, pretend that you used to live in Amsterdam, or have been here many times. This might make the driver think twice before attempting to take the scenic route to your destination. Before getting into a taxi (especially at the airport) enter the destination address into Google Maps on your smartphone. This can also prevent you finding yourself passing through Antwerp on your way to Amsterdam from Schiphol.
The taxi driver took a short detour on the way to Amsterdam
5. Setting a high minimum price
Some taxi drivers do everything they can to hide the meter from the view of the customer. It should always be visible from the back seat. If you can’t see the meter, ask where it is, and make sure that the minimum price isn’t too high. A common scam at night is to set a starting price of eight or even ten euros or more. The actual maximum starting price on a taxi in Amsterdam is actually €2.83 for four people in a car. For taxi vans the maximum starting price is €5.75. If you ask the driver why they’re charging more than the maximum amount, you’re likely to be told that this is the “night rate” that is charged in Amsterdam. This is of course nonsense.
Common myths about Amsterdam taxi drivers
“TCA are angels, you can’t go wrong with them”
TCA are the largest taxi firm in Amsterdam. They’re the best of a bad bunch, but that’s not really saying much. I’ve experienced both the “let’s take the highway”, and the “oh sorry, I forgot to turn on the meter”, with drivers from TCA, so don’t be lulled into a false sense of security just because it’s a TCA driver. They also have an app which I’m convinced was developed in conjunction with medical researchers wishing to test the effects of high blood pressure and stress on its users.
Uber while far from perfect, are at least pretty transparent about their charges. Having said that, their use of surge pricing at busy times appears to be far more common which can significantly increase the cost of using their service.
The cash cow, or how taxi drivers in Amsterdam see their passengers
To summarise
How do you know when an Amsterdam taxi driver is lying? Their lips move. Seriously though, there are some honest and good drivers out there, but like many other major cities in the world, the drivers here are quick to squeeze extra cash out of non-Dutch speaking passengers if they can get away with it. With any luck, if you follow my advice, you’ll avoid paying for some taxi drivers next holiday on the French Riviera.
No pigs were hurt during the writing of this post.
Till next time…….
I tried to take a taxi from the center Amsterdam from the stop of taxis near Bijenkof so I when to the first taxi to tell him where I where going 9,50km not even 10km and he said to me 40€…. I asked him to put his meter on and he directly pass by me with a nasty smile. ,when I asked the taxi before the first ,he said the same price and i see how during the conversation with the second guy the first guy showed him discreet 4 fingers probably to let his collega know what he ask and to ask the same I were not sure about it so I went to ask the rest and it was the same gymnastic ???And none wanted to put on his merer they all refused tho drive with meter ON . So I went on the drive route to stop a taxi and to try my luk again ….the first taxi said 10km are 50 euro !!! I asked him for meter and he said Okey I give you 40€ last price So I said put the meter on and I will pay you as much as it shows. So after 5 min he agree and when we get to my address the meter sowed 25€ and Af corse I told him “you see is not possible to charge 50€for 10km” and he get angry he start to explain me how he helped me how no-one wonted to take me and so on . On my question how are the taxis deciding their prices without a meter he get ever angrier and he destroyed my 20€ with what I have paid him . I was very surprised with his behaviour . Is this normal for Amsterdam taxis?? They almost forced me to ride a taxi without a meter on . They all pass by you and do not want to drive you because you ask about the meter on or they get angry and are blaming you as a very bad human for askin about the meter and so on It was really horrible experience . And what we can do in such a situations when all of the taxi drivers are against you ?? Who is responsible about this???
I know the taxi stand you’re referring to. What’s important to do next time is to take a note of the name of the taxi company and the number that has to be on the roof of all Amsterdam taxis. You can then contact the taxi company and file a complaint. However, I don’t think you’ll have much luck as the taxi companies are often as unscrupulous as their drivers. The best thing to do is to use Uber. The irony here is that the taxi drivers behave like that because they have to wait a long time for customers. Yet, most Amsterdammers avoid using such taxis as they try and rip us off, which leads to them waiting a long time for customers. It’s their own fault. At least with Uber you know what you’re going to be charged and you have the ability to complain.
The hotel priced the ride at 70 euros having used the computer pricing (10 is a kickback to the hotel) driver drove with a great deal of arrogance cutting off others and forcing his way into narrow streets etc, Once we reached the airport we were told the price was 95 euros. We said no to that and he threatened to hold our bags until he confirmed with the hotel. we opened the trunk and unloaded our bags, we placed the 75 euros on the passenger seat as he watched. He tried to take the bags forcibly from my wife and me at which time a struggle ensued which he lost and we walked away with our bags into the terminal. While checking in two cops appeared and asked us for our side of the story. apparently, he told them that we hadn’t paid at all. When we both swore that we had indeed paid leaving it on his passenger seat the cops thanked us for our cooperation and left. this a_hole tried to scam us for an inflated amount and then lied to the police about what happened. I didn’t get his name but he was dispatched by the Hotel Luxer and drove a silver Mercedes. Beware these guys they prey on tourists.
So… what is the correct fee to go from the airport to central Amsterdam (inside the canals)? Say, to Dam Sq.
Am also taxi driver those are the real skills and excuses we use. For sure no pigs were hurt
It was my first time visiting from California. My driver plucked me straight out of customs, and I being very tired from travel, agreed to follow him when he showed me his credentials and proceeded to lead me to the parking garage. He explained he was legit. I looked around and it seemed to be true. He had a blue license plate. His meter was showing. He had documentation.
He explained that he didn’t have to pay for airport fees if he parked in the garage. Again, seemed legit. He paid the garage fee and off we went! I needed to get from Schiphol to Almere. I watched the meter climb…half way there (I kinda knew how to get there from studying maps), I looked at the meter…50 Euros…60…70…80…
I laughed in the back seat. I knew I had messed up. I ended up paying 110 euro. I felt so lame. “I’m smarter than that,” I thought to myself. “How could I have done this?!” I asked him if I could pay via card. Oh…conveniently his card reader wasn’t charged or whatever.
So, in my situation, the rate wasn’t fixed but the rate per km was SUPER inflated. And you should always go to the taxi kiosk. Expensive lesson to learn.