Taking a taxi inside Juarez
There is one little trick to taking a cab in Juarez. Or not.
There are no meters in the cars. When a Juarense gets in a cab, he
tells the driver his destination. The driver takes him, then the passenger
pays what he thinks the ride is worth. Depending on whether the driver agrees
with him, there may be some argument about the amount, but that's all there
is to it. Being obviously American, I always set the amount before getting
into the car. Otherwise, I know the driver will insist at the other end that
the cost is much higher than I know it is worth. Maybe this wouldn't bother
you, but I don't want to be in that position.
This means that you must look around for a driver who will take you for a
satisfactory price. One hint here: the further away from the bridge (if
you are downtown), the lower the price. If you are away from downtown,
you have little negotiating position, especially at night. If you are
wanting a ride across the bridge back to El Paso, the price
is about $15, just to get to downtown El Paso from downtown Juarez.
Of course, if they see you coming, you could pay a lot more.
The taxis tend to be beaten-up old cars, especially as look for them
further away from the bridge (downtown. I have never encountered a
Juarez taxi with air conditioning.
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