The Value of a Dollar

(posted on October 12, 2010)

Taxis in Kolkata are as common as the auto rickshaws.  The streets are filled with the yellow Ambassador vehicle, which is a wonder in itself how they are still running after more than 40 years in service.  Unlike taxis in New York City and other big cities, the typical fare is extremely low - not much more than $2.00-$4.00 USD per trip. In Indian rupees, however, the cost seems much higher simply based on the number of 50 or 100 rupees.  Many times the drivers will use a meter, but other times they try to negotiate a fixed rate.  If you know where you are going, this could be to your benefit since the traffic in the city is so bad that the taxis are usually sitting in traffic (with their engines turned off) and the meter would continue to run.  Most taxi drivers speak little english, so it is quite an amazing accomplishment that we were able to get where we actually wanted to go as often as we did.

On Friday night, September 24th, our IBM team decided to go to the Hyatt Regency for a special dinner (4 or 5 course meal with 4 glasses of wine from different areas of France).  Since there were 8 of us, we needed two taxis.  After walking out of the hotel and down the street, I approached a taxi who just dropped someone off.  I informed the driver of our destination, and he appeared not to know what I was talking about.  The people that just exited the taxi also told him for us, but while I wasn't sure he knew where to go, he said 150.  With the price set, 4 of us got in and started our journey.  I was sitting in the front seat, the other three were in the back.  I repeated our destination, but still wasn't convinced that the old man knew were to go.

A block down the road the driver pulled over next to a group of people waiting for the bus and I asked if they could tell the driver where the Hyatt was located.  They said something in Bengali and the driver pulled away with a growl.  He then looked at me and growled "200!" since it must have been farther than he originally thought.  I tried to explain to him that he already told us 150 and that was the price, but he kept repeating "200!" Not wanting to argue with him anymore I just kept silent and watched the traffic as we meandered through the narrow and bumpy streets. 

After we finally got on the highway I said "Hyatt Regency" once again and he just looked at me with a mean, blank stare.  I had no idea if he really knew where we were going.  As we approached the ITC Sonar hotel, he slowed down, but I informed him that we didn't want the ITC, but the Hyatt Regency.  He sped up and continued driving.  Trying to be resourceful, I typed Hyatt Regency into my cell phone and showed it to him.  It took a minute for him to get his glasses out of the case.  After he finally put them on and looked at the words, he made some kind of snarl and just stared at me.  I couldn't tell if he was looking at me because he thought I was stupid for repeating the same place over and over, or because he wanted me to give him more information.

A short while later we turned off the highway and he pointed to the building on the right side of the street with the big Hyatt logo lit up.  I was happy that we found it, but then wondered if he knew where it was all along.  Once we pulled in, the security guards had to check the car for bombs which required the driver to get out and open the hood and trunk.  This clearly annoyed the driver and after he got back in the car he said "bomb" and made a motion with his hands, as if the security guards were crazy for thinking that this grouchy old man would have a bomb in his car! 

As we made our way to the entrance, we had to climb a pretty steep drive with speed bumps.  I thought we were going to have to get out and push the car up the hill, since it had a very hard time making it on it's own.  Once we got to the entrance, the 4 of us were very happy that we had made it.  During the beginning of our trip, I was advised by a couple teammates that this driver didn't know where he was going and to get out and find another taxi.

I slapped two 100 rupee bills on the seat next to the driver and proceeded to get out of the car.  Apparently, the driver didn't think we were done negotiating the fare and thought I was going to give 150.  As I was getting out, he shook my hand and gave me a really big smile.  He then held up the money in his right hand and let out a big laugh, as if he got one over on us.  He looked so happy that I couldn't believe this was the same driver who picked us up 30 minutes earlier.

I wish I had a photo of our taxi driver, but even though I don't, I know I will never forget that excited look in his face.  Instead of paying 150 rupees, we paid 200 and made this man's night.  I would be more than happy to do it again, because $1.00 US Dollar is equivelent to approximately 45 rupees.  Instead of paying $3.00 USD for the 30-40 minute taxi ride, we paid $4.00. 

The value of one dollar - priceless in Kolkata.