As a tourist I usually have to discover things by trial and error and honest taxi prices are no exception. In my experience when they see white skin they see dollar signs and think we have no clue what’s going on. I make it a point to ask a Jamaican what a certain ride should cost me BEFORE taking a taxi somewhere. That way I am prepared when the driver tries to drop a bomb and double the price.
Kingston is a new place for me and I had no idea what taxi routes should cost so I indeed asked a Jamaican friend how much I should pay to go from my hotel to the Hilton in New Kingston. He told me it should be $500 JMD for 3 of us to go. Sounded reasonable enough to me.
My hotel called the taxi and he showed up in about 5 minutes and we all jumped in. Our ride was no longer than 15 minutes door to door, that’s the only time I spent with this driver. When we arrived I braced for impact, went immediately into defense mode and said “A Jamaican friend told me I should only pay $500”. The driver turned to me and said “Well actually……it’s only $400”. I nearly fell out the car in shock and I clearly remember asking him if he was joking. NOBODY in Jamaica will undercut a price if they know they can make more money!!
Well it turns out this was our lucky day and so I decided to make it his lucky day too, and paid him the $500 anyways. I thanked him profusely for his honesty and he handed me his business card and said that he deals honestly so that he can get repeat business.
I never did call him back because I didn’t need a taxi again while in Kingston but in a sea of rip-offs in Jamaica, this guy stood out in my mind. So just yesterday when I got back to Canada I texted him and asked if I can put his contact info on my website for other travelers to enjoy the benefit of his honest service.
If you are in and around the Kingston area and unsure of where you’re going or rates to get there, give this guy a call. His name is MEGA and his number is 876-372-4923. Tell him you got his contact info from the Canadian girl, I’d really like him to know how much of a favor he did by restoring some of my faith in people.
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