So last week I had two meetings in Geneva. The first was near Cornavin and the second was at the Hotel President Wilson. Having only 5 minutes to get there I decided to get a taxi there. I walked to Cornavin and ask the first cab in the line politely in French could she take me there. Without exaggeration she rolled her eyes and said, “But it’s just opposite here!”
Now I haven’t lived in Geneva for eight years but I’m sure Hotel President Wilson is not ‘opposite’ Cornavin! I asked her again could she take me there and she said, couldn’t I walk it? It wasn’t that far, she wouldn’t make much money out of it and she’d been waiting in a queue for a fare for ages. I explained I had to be there soon and although it is walking distance (1.1km to be exact – I checked) I didn’t have time that was why I was taking a taxi.
She finally capitulated and drove me there. When we got there she said the price was CHF 12. I only had a 20 and she said she had no change so she should keep an 8 franc tip! Luckily I was able to get change from the person I was meeting outside.
The thing I want to know is, has the taxi service got worse in Geneva since Uber stopped? It seems unless you're going to Meyrin or Avully they aren’t interested. A taxi driver telling someone to walk or take a bus and then complaining about having to wait ages seems a bit contradictory to me. If I was saying take me to Hotel Cornavin or Les Brasseurs that would be understandable.
I had two instances from taxis from the airport going to my old flat in Meyrin back in 2006. The first taxi driver freaked out when I said Meyrin but as I was with an ex with luggage he agreed. However, all the way back he was saying, “F—king hell! Meyrin! MEYRIN! I was waiting two hours! He called his friends and family, shouting “I have a fare for Meyrin!” At the traffic light he wound down his window and said to another taxi next to him, “He wants me to go to Meyrin!” We finally got there and as it was rush hour the fare was still CHF 35. Not bad for 20 minutes work.
I then had another experience where I got in and asked for Meyrin again. The guy then very apologetically explained to me that he’d been waiting a long time. He would take me but if it was no trouble would I mind going to the departures area where taxis have just arrived with no queuing so would be more willing to drive a shorter distance. As it was explained like that I had no issue with doing it.
What concerns me is how this reflects poorly on Geneva itself. If someone from abroad arrived and thought they’d take a taxi to a meeting and was told to walk it doesn’t present the best image. One idea I had and I don’t know how feasible it is would be for taxi drivers to have the right to pick up fares off the street instead of designated ranks. That would surely keep the flow moving. Is that possible? It just seems that now Uber has gone they feel they can do what they want as they have no competition.
