Middle East - Anthony Ham [556]
Return to beginning of chapter
LOCAL TRANSPORT
Bus
In most cities and towns, a minibus or bus service operates. Fares are very cheap, services are fast, regular and run on fixed routes with, in some cases, fixed stops. However, unless you’re very familiar with the town, they can be difficult to get to grips with (few display their destinations and fewer still do so in English and they are often very crowded). Unless you can find a local who speaks your language to help you out, your best bet is to stand along the footpath (preferably at a bus stop if one exists) of a major thoroughfare heading in the direction you want to go, and call out the local name (or the name of a landmark close to where you’re heading) into the drivers’ windows when they slow down.
Few countries have public minibuses to/from the airport, but top-end hotels and travel agencies (if you’re taking a tour) can usually send a complimentary minibus if they’re given sufficient advance notice.
Taxi
In the West, taxis are usually considered a luxury. In the Middle East they’re often unavoidable. Some cities have no other form of urban public transport, while there are also many rural routes that are only feasible in a taxi or private vehicle.
Taxis are seemingly everywhere you look and, if you can’t see one, try lingering on the footpath next to a major road and, within no time, plenty of taxis will appear as if from nowhere and will soon toot their horns at you just in case you missed them, even if you’re just trying to cross the street.
The way taxis operate varies widely from country to country and city to city. So does the price. Different types of taxis are painted or marked in different ways, or known by different names, but, often, local people talking to foreigners in English will just use the blanket term ‘taxi’. If you want to save money, it’s important to be able to differentiate between the various kinds.
Details of local peculiarities are given in the Getting Around sections at the end of the country chapters.
REGULAR TAXI
Regular taxis (variously known as ‘agency taxis’, ‘telephone taxis’, ‘private taxis’ or ‘special taxis’) are found in almost every Middle Eastern town or city. Unlike shared taxis, you pay to have the taxi to yourself, either to take you to a preagreed destination or for a specified period of time. In some places, there’s no other public transport, but in most, regular taxis exist alongside less expensive means of getting around (although these usually shut down overnight). They are primarily of use for transport within towns or on short rural trips, but in some countries hiring them for excursions of several hours is still cheap. They are also often the only way of reaching airports or seaports.
SHARED TAXI
A compromise between the convenience of a regular taxi and the economy of a bus, the shared taxi picks up and drops off passengers at points along its (generally fixed) route and runs to no particular schedule. It’s known by different names – collect, collective or service taxi in English, servees in Arabic, sherut in Hebrew and dolmuş in Turkish. Most shared taxis take up to four or five passengers, but some seat up to about 12 and are indistinguishable for most purposes from minibuses.
* * *
TIPS FOR CATCHING TAXIS
On the whole, taxi drivers in the Middle East are helpful, honest and often humorous. Others – as in countries all over the world – find new arrivals too tempting a target for minor scams or a spot of overcharging. Here are a few tips:
Not all taxi drivers speak English. Generally, in cities used to international travellers, they will (or know enough to get by), but not otherwise. If you’re having trouble, ask a local for help.
Always negotiate a fare (or insist that the meter is used if it works) before jumping in. Town taxis occasionally have meters, which sometimes work and are even used from time to time. This book quotes local rates but, if in doubt,