An arriving passenger at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 thought she would save money by taking a taxi dropping off a passenger at the departure area. Many passengers do this.

Although I do not remember doing it myself, it seemed reasonable before when airports only had coupon taxis in the arrival area.

The letter-writer said she went up to the departure area to take a regular cab and  saw a taxi queue as soon as she exited the door. “I thought these were cabs coming from outside the airport that dropped off passengers… Then a group of drivers started waving at me, asking me to get a cab from their queue.”

She asked if the cabs were metered and did not get a clear answer. Instead, she was asked where she was going. The new arrival asked again how much it would cost her to be brought to the Mall of Asia (actually, I do not understand why she had to ask that if she wanted a metered taxi). This time she was told “meter rate” so she assumed the meter would be running.

It was only when they were on their way to MOA that she noticed that the meter was turned off. But the driver  insisted he was charging her “meter rate” and gave her a laminated piece of paper that listed “rates.” Obviously they had different interpretations of “meter rate.”

The trip to MOA at 1 a.m., when roads were empty, cost her P620 and the driver boasted it was still cheaper than getting a ride at the arrival area.

I do not know why Naia officials allow those con artists to operate in international airports where they can give the country a bad name as soon as visitors step into Philippine soil. Can it be possible they have not noticed those queues which, from the letter sender’s description, was not easy to miss?

And where or how those guys got their rates is a puzzle to me. Where they referring to coupon taxis? I live in Malate and, no matter how bad traffic is, my fare in a yellow metered taxi averages P300—including tip.

Although I travel light, I do not remember going to the departure area to get a cab. After the yellow metered taxis were made available at all Naia terminals, I take them all the time.  Sometimes the lines of people waiting for yellow cabs are long, especially when taxis are stuck in traffic, but dispatching is always efficient and passengers get a piece of paper listing the vehicle’s plate number, telephone numbers to call in case of problems, etc.

Drivers of yellow cabs are also neater, cleaner and courteous; their cabs are cleaner, too, and smell nicer than most ordinary taxis.

I have avoided getting a cab from the departure area to spare myself the aggravation. Sometimes, even drivers of cabs dropping off passengers will insist on negotiating the fare instead of turning on the taxi meters.

Before the yellow metered cabs were introduced, I took the coupon taxi so I would not have to argue about fare.

I hope Naia officials can rid the airports of those unscrupulous drivers.

Warning

Globe Telecom is warning its post-paid subscribers about fraudulent text messages demanding payment of their bills. The message senders, according to Globe, instruct clients to deposit payment to a bank account or through GCash.

Lawyer Froilan Castelo, head of Globe Corporate, Legal Services Group, is encouraging clients to report such messages to the company instead of doing what they ask. “Subscribers are requested to validate unusual texts and calls with our customer service agents,” Castelo says. He advises clients to pay their bills in various Globe stores and through authorized payment centers.

The network says, “Legitimate advisory… should come from ‘GLOBE’ while bill payment through GCash (may be done) using the GCash app with a transaction confirmation from 2882.”

Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts, 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail [email protected]