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A few months ago, I took a cab from Frankfurt airport. The taxi driver had an almost empty tank and asked if it was okay to refuel before starting the trip. I agreed after he assured me it was on the way and that he wouldn't start the meter until after we got there. However, to my surprise, he only filled the tank with the minimum amount of gasoline, which likely wasn't even enough to cover our 30 km trip.

I'm still confused about this behavior. It seems especially odd since he probably had to refuel again just to make the return trip to the airport. Was this some sort of scheme to earn more money or was this just idiosyncratic behavior?

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    Maybe he really needed to add gas but knew that that station was more expensive than others so just took the minimum there and would take more at a cheaper place near your destination?
    – jcaron
    Commented Aug 2 at 14:18
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    @jcaron: possible, but the gas stations at the airport are not really expensive. I actually checked that the price difference was about 2 c/l, so he potentially saved maybe one euro for two five minute detours.
    – NN314
    Commented Aug 2 at 14:32
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    The taxi company may well have a better negotiated rate somewhere else that far outweighs the prices that you see.
    – Jon Custer
    Commented Aug 2 at 14:40
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    which likely wasn't even enough to cover our 30 km trip - well was it enough or not? Did he have to refuel again during the trip? If not then what's the problem?
    – Midavalo
    Commented Aug 2 at 17:23
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    Speculation. The driver is employed as a contractor by the taxi company and the gas (and all other expenses) comes out of his own pocket. But as the taxi is shared among multiple contractors, any amount of gas in the tank above the bare minimum becomes a bonus for the next driver that uses that same taxi.
    – Peter M
    Commented Aug 2 at 17:49

1 Answer 1

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Most likely to inconvenience you for the smallest amount of time possible.

After all, a full fill up takes longer than just topping off the tank. In addition to that the taxi company may well have a contract with a specific petrol station where they get a discount for bulk purchases, or even have their own petrol reserves at their main garage site.

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