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Taking a Taxi is faster and more efficient than the bus in San Jose, Costa Rica and is often the safest method when traveling at night since the capital is known to be dangerous. Taxis are available twenty-four hours a day, and can be found on any main road. They are very easy to find and hail down since they often drive around looking for people standing on the side of the road needing a ride. In college I lived with a host family in San Jose for four months while studying abroad and greatly depended on taxis to take me around the city. My host father was a cab driver himself and made sure I understood a few basics about taking taxis before he let me hail one down myself.
Always Be On Your Guard.
Most cab drivers are nice and friendly, making it easy to trust them and let your guard down. While many are legitimate and great people, it is best to always be on your guard, because sometimes being nice is the taxi driver’s ploy to take advantage of you. As trusting people, it can be hard to fathom that anyone so nice and helpful could be secretly trying to mislead us. Unfortunately, this is often the case.
Only Use Official Taxis
In the city the official taxis are red and have a yellow triangle on the door with the plate number listed on it. At the airport the official taxis are orange with a yellow triangle on the door. Stay away from pirate taxis that come in all different colors and models, but most will try and imitate the official taxi’s red or orange color and yellow triangle. The official taxis are regulated by law and are required to use the meter (la maría) so that you are guaranteed a fair price. If you know to only get in official looking cabs, the immolators are fairly easy to spot since they either do not have a yellow sticker or their yellow signs do not have the plate numbers and generally do not have meters.
Use The Meter.
One way to make sure your taxi driver is legitimate and that you get a fair price for your ride is to make sure he has a meter and starts it as soon as you get in the cab. If the driver does not bush the meter he can just name a price as he sees fit once you reach your destination. Pirate taxis will sometimes have a fake or broken meter to lure foreigners into the car, and then try and demand or negotiate a price. Ask the cab driver to start the meter right away by saying, “Ponga la maría, por favor,” and if he does not comply, you know to get out of the taxi immediately. Some people go ahead and try to bargain a price for their ride. I would suggest being patient and waiting for a taxi that lawfully abides by the meter, because you will most likely get ripped off if you try to bargain a price. No pirate taxi or crooked official taxi driver would ever agree for a price less than the legal fair that a meter guarantees.
Never Sit in the Front Seat.
Taxi drivers have been known to take advantage of lone travelers who sit in the front seat of the cab rather than the back. It is easy for them to lean over and knock you out or grab at you. It is common for foreigners who are not familiar with the taxi service to want to sit in the front in order to get to know the driver and be more personable. I promise you that it is only a good idea to sit in the front seat of a taxi if people you know are already sitting in the back; otherwise you are asking to be taken advantage of or disappear.
Name the place, not the street.
You can almost never get a taxi driver to bring you to a direct address; you have to name a nearby and well-known building, park or hotel. Street signs and addresses are hardly posted and not well known in San Jose. Be aware that Costa Rican taxi drivers will often bring you to an unknown location if they don’t understand where you really want to go. Ask “Usted conoce el lugar?” to make sure the driver knows how to bring you to your desired location. If he says “Sí” then you know you will be heading to the right place.
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