'My €62 Paris taxi bill for a journey of less than 2km'
The Local France - [email protected]
Published: 15 May, 2019 CET.
Updated: Wed 15 May 2019 17:37 CET
Three tourists have spoken of their horror at being presented with a bill of €62 by a Paris taxi driver for a journey of less than 2km.
British tourist Maree picked up a taxi at Paris's main Gare du Nord station with her elderly parents and asked the driver to go to Place de la République.
Her destination was just 1.8km away, but as her parents are elderly and they had luggage with them they decided to take a taxi.
READ ALSO Paris tourists forced to pay €274 bill for trip from the airport
Their destination was just 1.8km away. Photo: AFP
When Maree noticed that the meter in her taxi showed €62 in charges immediately after getting in at Gare du Nord, she thought it was a mistake. But the driver insisted that it was a “fixed price” for picking them up from the train station.
"After a block or so I noticed the meter read €55 and below that a supplement of €7," said Maree.
"I asked the driver, who spoke good English, why the meter read €55 and he said it was a fixed price."
When she pointed out that €55 was the fixed price from the airport and not from the Gare du Nord, the driver insisted that it was the correct price.
She continued to argue, and the driver took them around the block, back to where he had picked them up, and proceeded to unload their luggage.
"He continued to insist he was right and said, Okay, catch the Metro, wait one hour for an Uber."
Maree refused to pay the driver anything, and he drove off.
She then took his suggestion and called an Uber, which she says "arrived in one minute and cost us €9 and 21 cents."
Paris taxis are strictly regulated and, as Maree had told the driver, €55 is the fixed rate from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the Left Bank.
A trip from the airport to the Right Bank is €50.
Read more on the rules and regulations on taking a Paris taxi here.
Have you been the victim of a rip off in Paris? Do you know of any scams that visitors should be warned about? Let us know about it by emailing [email protected]
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British tourist Maree picked up a taxi at Paris's main Gare du Nord station with her elderly parents and asked the driver to go to Place de la République.
Her destination was just 1.8km away, but as her parents are elderly and they had luggage with them they decided to take a taxi.
READ ALSO Paris tourists forced to pay €274 bill for trip from the airport
Their destination was just 1.8km away. Photo: AFP
When Maree noticed that the meter in her taxi showed €62 in charges immediately after getting in at Gare du Nord, she thought it was a mistake. But the driver insisted that it was a “fixed price” for picking them up from the train station.
"After a block or so I noticed the meter read €55 and below that a supplement of €7," said Maree.
"I asked the driver, who spoke good English, why the meter read €55 and he said it was a fixed price."
When she pointed out that €55 was the fixed price from the airport and not from the Gare du Nord, the driver insisted that it was the correct price.
She continued to argue, and the driver took them around the block, back to where he had picked them up, and proceeded to unload their luggage.
"He continued to insist he was right and said, Okay, catch the Metro, wait one hour for an Uber."
Maree refused to pay the driver anything, and he drove off.
She then took his suggestion and called an Uber, which she says "arrived in one minute and cost us €9 and 21 cents."
Paris taxis are strictly regulated and, as Maree had told the driver, €55 is the fixed rate from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the Left Bank.
A trip from the airport to the Right Bank is €50.
Read more on the rules and regulations on taking a Paris taxi here.
Have you been the victim of a rip off in Paris? Do you know of any scams that visitors should be warned about? Let us know about it by emailing [email protected]
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