The director of Panama’s Transit Authority (Autoridad de Tránsito y Transporte Terrestre), Julio González has announced that they are analyzing the use of taxi meters in 2016.
The ATTT director explained that they are currently having conversations with a few of the transport services in Panama to install taxi meters as well as create a new taxi service called “taxi ejecutivo” that would create a higher standard in the existing transportation services.
Taxis have never been metered in Panama and it’s becoming an increasingly hot topic with problems like drivers overcharging passengers, picking up random people along the way, and robberies. I personally don’t use a normal taxi anymore and prefer to get around on the Bus, Metro, and Uber since the rates are standardized.
For anyone that would like to currently experience a high standard of transportation service in Panama, I recommend downloading the smartphone apps Uber (enter promo code UBERPTYLIFE for a $10 credit) and Tu Chofer (enter promo code PTYLIFE10 for a $10 credit). These apps allow you call a private car to come pick you up at your GPS location anytime of day in a nice, new car with a registered driver. Plus if you use the economical UberX service, I have found it doesn’t cost that much more than a street taxi (I normally pay $3 – $5 to use UberX within the city) but with 1000x better service.
What do you think about having metered taxis in Panama City? Leave a comment below.
Experience Panama
Comments are closed.