Taxi!!!!

It's my third day this week that I rode a taxi on my way to work -- simply because there are no FXs around, I don't want to ride a bus and much more, I don't want to be late. For the past 2 times, my meter was only up to P190-P192.50 only... and because the drivers were 'quiet' and did their job pretty well, I would give a P20++ tip. This morning was quite different... my meter was (drum roll please...) P252.50... REALLY GARAPAL!!!!

When I boarded the vehicle, the driver asked if I could give him an extra P20... Since I usually do this, I said yes. When riding a taxi, I would sometimes look at the meter for a reality check... And so, I looked at the meter and got surprised with the amount... I started to observe the frequency of the additions with the distance covered....Sh*t! Parang umiinom ng tubig yung metro sa bilis ng patak... I think the driver saw me on his rear view mirror looking at the meter and I INTENTIONALLY shook my head and did a little tsk..tsk..tsk... And then I asked, "Manong, san ang garahe ng *** taxi?". He said, "Ma'am sa ****** po. Bakit niyo natanong?". Sabi ko, "Wala lang." Hindi ako nangupo... After which, I grabbed my cellphone and started typing the plate number and the 'hotline'. My urge to report really rose after seeing the 250-peso mark. I didn't react while still seated in his territory. As I was pulling the money out of my wallet I just said a little loudly, "Grabe naman!"

At my destination, before closing the door I said, "Mama pakicheck naman ang metro niyo. Sa loob ng isang linggo kong pagtataxi, ngayon lang yan umabot ng P250." Sabay SLAM!!! (I'm thinking that I should have added more statements than that!)

And so, I reported the creature to their mothership... and they replied that they'll be calling the driver. They apologized for the incident. I do hope they do something about that creature.

I know that times are hard with the rising prices of gasoline and other basic commodities... We are all affected by this crisis. We are all working our butts off to get through our daily expenses and bills... Pulling off something like this is so unfair...