Approximately every one in ten times I try to get a cab, it seems the driver ignores me and drives past. This takes the form of either literally ignoring me (and i don’t think it’s an accident – I make my presence very obvious), turning their 空車 sign to 回送 right in front of me, or, this morning a taxi stopped at a red light right after ignoring me, opened and shut his doors so he could get the 空車 sign to turn off.
Am I reading too much into this thinking that it’s a racist thing(Caucasian btw)? Or are there legit reasons why this happens (eg taxi driver on his way home but forgot to turn off the 空車 sign?)
17 comments
Just download GO Taxi then
Are the taxis that are refusing you corporate taxis (i.e. 法人タクシー) or independent owner (個人タクシー)?
I’ve found 個人タクシー will sometimes be choosy about picking someone up or not, especially if you look like you might just be taking a short trip, or if the driver thinks communication might be an issue, etc.
Could be they are on call. I almost never stopped a taxi. Either I go to taxi stop or use Taxi Go app.
I’ve never caught a cab that wasn’t at a taxi stop or noriba. So I’m not sure if they even do that here outside of a designated pick up spot. Unless you call them
Funny, just this morning a taxi was parked outside the entrance of my office building and was clearly available for trips. As I approached the entrance of the building he must have thought this guy wants a ride but didn’t like the look of me so starts to dive away. As soon as I enter the building he turns the taxi around and parks directly in front of the entrance again
I wouldn’t get paranoid. It happens sometimes and it is hard to say why. There could be multiple reasons. I’ve seen taxis pass my wife when I’m standing a few meters away and she’s a very attractive Japanese woman. We just live in a crappy area for taxis and sometimes they seem to have an agenda to go to a certain area like a larger station a kilometer away or just don’t want to deal with stopping on a busier road.
Ethier download an app or go to the designated locations. Most taxis prefer it that way.
Download the app. Easier for both parties and most importantly NO EXCUSES! lol
You can use GO Taxi app.
I don’t think that this has ever happened to me yet.
But then again, I always show a bit of leg, and they screech to a halt.
As others are saying, the Go Taxi app is nice.
Some taxis won’t stop if it cuts close to their end of shift, because they just want to go home.
Often times I think Japanese people panicking about a miscommunication or a problem because they don’t know English and therefore trying to avoid an awkward situation is misconstrued as racism. I don’t know why it’s the thing people’s minds go to first, but personally I think it’s only really the case in a very low number of instances.
During my experience over the last 12 years in Tokyo, I have only ever experienced this 3-4 times total out of literally about 200 taxi trips per year. In all cases, they were between 5AM and 7AM in the morning. I just assume they were getting off an overnight shift and didn’t want to risk me asking to be taken to the airport or something.
I supposed it may also depend on what you have with you and how you are dressed. I could very easily imagine a 80 y.o. cab driver not wanting to deal with a suitcase or a rucksack that likely outweighs him.
Like others mentioned, in post-COVID Tokyo, S.Ride and GO Taxi apps are your friends. I never use them to hail a taxi, but I know a lot of people that do and seems to work well.
Ah yes, this is common for me in Tokyo too, last time being two weeks ago.
Never happens in Hakata, so I suspect a fear of miscommunication.
I’m Japanese (100% Asian)and this happens to me too. I’m guessing it’s just the driver forgetting to change the 空車 to something else and just realizing it when someone tries to stop them. Some of them could actually be avoiding you based on your race but i’m pretty sure most of them have a different reason.
Happens to foreigners, unfortunately. I’ll do the universal wave to get the attention of a taxi, only for the taxi to drive by and wave back at me lol. Even in Kansai too, where they’ll make eye contact with me but just drive off.
This happens maybe 1 out of every 10 times? idk, but it does happen and it is annoying. It’s not frequent but it has happened enough where its a one time occurrence.
Were you wearing a mask?