If you are planning to take a foreign trip, then there are high chances that at some point you may hire yourself a taxi service. However, precautionary measures should be taken while hiring a taxi in a place we are not familiar with.
Almost every now and then we come across in news where people get robbed, kidnapped and in the worst scenario’s get raped or killed, all because they hired a fake taxi or had a criminal taxi driver. Therefore, to avoid any such situations from happening to you, there are some important safety measures to be taken while hiring a taxi in foreign land, to be on the safer side.
And if you are going to make a foreign trip for the first time and is unaware about the necessary steps to consider while hiring a taxi service abroad, today we are here with a detailed guide on how to stay safe when hiring a taxi service abroad.
1. Know the Place:
Whenever you are making a local trip from a foreign land, make sure that you are well aware of the starting point and destination of the journey. Then you can make use of some local map or even online services like Google Maps to actually know more about how long the journey will be, the places you will cover, the easiest and longest route.
This will make you more aware of the journey and at least you will have some confidence and idea of the journey to help you stay more alert.
2. Keep Hard Cash:
If you are hiring a taxi in a foreign country, then it is always recommended to keep some hard cash instead of credit cards or something like that. It will help you to complete the deal with the taxi driver quickly as not every taxi’s out there will have the necessary tech to accept payments via credit cards etc.
Also, it also reduces the risk of your credit card being misused by the unknown driver.
3. Always Hire Official and Established Taxi:
There may be taxi drivers who are not officially registered, but just make trips for a living. However, when calling in a taxi abroad, make sure that you always go for official taxi’s only. And also before the trip, do a quick research on whether there are reliable, safe and recognized taxi services in the place you are visiting.
Such services may cost a bit more than local taxi services, but won’t cost anything more than your own life. Also while getting onto a taxi in an unknown place, make sure that you note down the registration number of the taxi vehicle, and do not let any other local person to enter the taxi other than you and the driver.
Final Words
No matter how strong, intelligent or experienced you are, you should always be careful while performing any tasks in a foreign country, especially while hiring a taxi. Always keep in mind that a native person will be much familiar with the place than you are, and if you do not take any precautions while hiring a taxi service abroad, you may end up risking your own life.
