How can I effectively haggle for a decently-priced auto ride?

Question

Pretty much wherever you go in India, you'll come across 3 wheeled autos or auto rickshaws, which normally look like this:

In some places where you want to get one, there's an office or cabin where you can go, pay a small fee, and get a fixed price for the trip. As long as you can successfully communicate where it is you want to go, this gives a known low price, and you're all set.

I'm told that almost all autos have a meter, and that's how most locals handle it for shorter journeys. However, since it's fairly obvious to anyone looking at me that I'm not a local, and I'm normally trying to get an auto outside of a hotel / bar / office, they never seem to want to use the meter for me....

That leaves two options. One that should be avoided - hop in, give a destination, negotiate a price on arrival. Seriously - never do this, you'll get massively ripped off! The other is to negotiate (haggle) for a fixed price before you set off. This can give a good deal, if you know what price to start at, and how to haggle. It can give a bad deal if you don't!

What strategies can you use to ensure you negotiate a decent price for your trip?

(As an example of variability, on my first trip I paid what I thought was a good price, but turned out to be about 10 times what it should've been. Yesterday I went from my hotel to meet some friends, mid evening, and paid twice what my friends negotiated for my return at the late-night rate!)

Answer 1

Other than a few general things, like making sure you have a fixed price before setting off, and that as a non-local you're unlikely to ever get a journey on the meter (which is used for locals in Bangalore at least), here's my experiences over a few trips.

Firstly, location matters. If you're stood outside of a nice hotel, then expect prices to be jacked up. Outside a very nice hotel, even it's just crazy! If you're staying somewhere like that, be aware that all the auto drivers will think you're immensely wealthy for being able to stay there, and they'll probably have inflated ideas about room costs too, so they'll charge a lot. Consider walking a few hundred meters away (but not to outside another hotel!) to get one.

Next up, trying to haggle with a few drivers who are all parked up together and are chatting will be a struggle. Especially outside of a nice hotel, they'll all agree with one-another on what a "reasonable" price is. In that situation, you'll probably have to walk away and flag down a passing auto, then you can play the two drivers off against each other to get a fair price. A cluster of autos outside somewhere popular will probably be different, and you can haggle between drivers there, but in cases where they're "staking out" a touristy spot, that won't work.

Direction matters. Both in terms of traffic, and in terms of availability of a return fare. Expect to pay more to go from a busy area out to your hotel, than you would from your hotel / office / etc into a busy shopping / eating area. Expect to pay more at rush hour, because of the waits, and expect to pay more if there's one way systems against you. For the latter, it can be worth a short walk against traffic to a junction to get an auto, to avoid having to ride the wrong way (and the cost!)

If you're getting local friends to haggle for you, make sure they let the driver know that you'll be the passenger. "How much for him to X" is fine. "How much to X" when you're not in sight can cause problems, with the driver then saying "that price was for your local friend, it's more for you".

Make sure you know the address of where you want to go, not just the name, along with the name or address of somewhere big nearby. Also, make sure you can pronounce these places like a local would (it can sometimes differ a lot). If you only know the name of the place, you'll probably be restricted to a small subset of drivers who normally work with tourists, at their associated markup. "Can you take me to Bar X" is tricky, while "Indiranagar, 100 foot road, at 12th main road, near the Sony World" will get you to the bars easier! If you can get close, most drivers will stop and ask for detailed directions, but you need to convince them to get close enough, which means a rough address at least.

Be aware of how low the price can go. If you've haggled hard to get somewhere for Rs. 100, and a different driver offers to take you back for Rs. 50 as an opening price, there's something dodgy going on. Probably they're planning to take you to visit to a tourist shop or two, so make sure you clarify that with them that the price is for a direct ride. If they start saying "oh, it's just one shop" or "I'll take you somewhere better", be firm and say no. Chances are, they'll then leave you alone when they realise you're not an easy mark, and they may even tell you where to go to get a normal auto so they can concentrate on less savvy travellers!

On your first few trips, expect to get ripped off. It's just a rite of passage, and you'll get better over time! Until you know the ballpark figure, you'll pay what seems fair to you based on your taxi experience elsewhere, and most likely way overpay.

Oh, and one final thing, work out beforehand what your personal "close enough" threshold is for negotiating. If you're a backpacker, that may well be rather different to someone well off who's on a work trip, going off somewhere on a weekend or evening. There's no point spending several minutes haggling over USD 0.10 if you've somewhere to be and can afford it, but the difference between $20 and $5 is probably worth arguing over for anyone. Know your own personal limit, and when it's close enough just hop in and get on your way!

Answer 2

2017 : rate for autos is Rs.25 for first 1.8 km. Rs.12/km after that. I usually pay Rs.10 extra.

2019 be ready to pay more like 2x to 3x if in IT belt like Bellandur /Whitefield.

Ola app -> can now pay for the ola ride using Ola money. Yippie - less struggle with change and arguments. But you pay Rs.20/- extra when you use Ola auto. Still a small price for the benefits. Can book then stop out of your home/ room. Autos used to cancel a lot but its better now.

Uber taxis are still competitive too. And overall their drivers are better behaved, if your cordial to them.

But for times when the taxi guy cancels or its raining or no signal :

I stopped driving in 2010, crazy traffic. Prefer to use autos and taxis.

Most big cities now have point to point taxis like Uber, ola cabs, taxi for sure... and many more. Added edits to end of this about hourly and autos.

Also when going in a auto (three wheeler taxi that can fit 2-3 people), I have found it pays to be patient. Might come across 4-5 drivers who want to charge extra. Especially if you're a tourist but even for me as I do not speak the local language very well (in my home city). So I just wait it out, and the 5 or 6th driver will be a nice person who comes on the meter or charges very little extra!

The other tip about moving away from hotels/ big buildings is spot on. Plus even in a remote place, if you see a bunch of autos, try to catch one away from the group. In the group they will attract peer ire if they give you a fair deal! So I generally go to them, announce where I want to go, then walk away. Sometimes one follows after a minute or two (not getting work here/ ride around) or get another moving one. Autos that cruise are generally nicer. They want the next passenger quick. Drivers who stop and chat, keep waiting for the big fish/ or have a meter running in their mind measuring time without a passenger and run up a huge 'waiting bill' it seems.

But I usually use taxis now, as the lower class ones are just 25% more than autos. There are many models. Uber need to charge first using a non Indian card or use paytm wallet. Ola cabs - don't even need the app - if you're patient you can call them and they will send. If you have their app it's faster, and you do not need to put money in to your account first, can pay driver cash. Best of all they have an auto category so you can even book a 3 wheeler and pay the meter plus Rs.10/- (1/6th of a US dollar).

There are also a few 'Peace' autos who promise not to over charge and take you by the short/ direct route. In general if you can look up or ask someone (most pedestrians are quite helpful and ~ 50% speak English) what the approx distance and the route/ way points to mention to driver.

I would suggest you get the ola and uber apps before you start (mac and android). There are a few other apps/ aggregators, but they are last resort.

For day trips there are a few providers like savaari, clear trip (google them or ask just dial). Mostly aggreagators of package driver-cars (8 hours/ a day ...)

Some taxis like Ola do not mind few stops and waits (if driver argues remind him about rules / call the Bombay helpline) that's their current policy at least. I have kept one waiting for an hour, but was afternoon, so less work. But try to keep it short as they earn more when they cover road.

Beware autos (3 wheelers) with jumpy meters. It's easy if you approximately know when you covered 2 km and it's not matching that (minimum is 1.8 km so meter starts moving after that). Else stick to taxis. Takes longer but just 25% more expensive (compared to a fair 3 wheeler rick/ auto who has a proper meter).

2016 edit: now many of these services cause of complaints from people like me also allow you to book taxies for 2,4 and 8 hours (ola) and change destination (uber), so if you speak nicely to driver, can start at point A, go to point B stop for 3-4 minutes if there is parking/ its safe, while you run a quick errand like drop something off ... then change the destination to point C. Also in a few cities Ola had Ola auto (and uber has too in a few, keeps changing. In Blr Ola has autos & cars of 4 categories; Uber has cars of 3 sizes in Blr.

Ola auto : sometimes they cancel. They cancel a lot in fact. I sometimes book 4 of them before getting lucky.

Answer 3

Fast forward to 2016, and things have gotten easier. The method I'd recommend now is to install a few of the popular taxi booking apps, and book a ride on whichever has a vehicle nearby. The popular apps here seem to be Uber, Ola, and Meru Cabs. Of these, Ola lets you book autorickshaw rides too. I don't know if small towns are covered by these apps, but they certainly cater to all the big cities here. The app tells you the price before you embark on your journey, and the drivers are kinda forced to be honest because the booking company does not want their drivers to ruin its reputation.

Answer 4

To start with, I don't think anyone uses the meters in the autos, at least not in New Delhi (based on my friends' observations, who has been living in New Delhi for 4 year now). Next, it is really critical to know what is the fair price for the given journey, otherwise you don't know what you are negotiating. It is related to distance, so as long as you know the distance, after a few days you will get a reasonable feel what the price should be. Also, the prices are usually quite low, so even is you overpay by 50% it is not a big deal (as long as it is not 900%).

Regarding negotiations, I get annoyed with dishonest driver very quickly. If someone is clearly trying to rip me off by more than 100% I just stop talking to them and try to find someone else. Of course this is rude, but it seems reasonably effective. And ripping people off is even more rude, so don't think there is a big ethical problem here. I usually start negotiations with a price about 30% lower than a really good price would, and are usually willing to accept double that amount (which is still a reasonable price). Often it is better to ask for the price first though, unless you are sure how much you want to pay (e.g. you made this route multiple times before).

For me personally, being used to fixed prices for everyone, this process is really frustrating.

Answer 5

In India, you have to know the approximate cost before you hop in. Then whatever the guy says, you stick to your price and you'll get something around that. Fortunately it is easy to know the cost beforehand with maps on your phone

Answer 6

I have visited quite a few towns and cities of India, and from what I've seen, the customs vary quite a bit. I don't think one kind of advise is applicable across all of India.

Bangalore (the city I know best) has a few "pre-fixed" auto booths, where they issue a quote (either printed or hand-written) for your destination. Try to go to one of these, whenever possible. If there isn't one nearby, insist that the driver turn on the fare meter, and you'll pay what it says. If they refuse, find an auto driver who will. This may not always work, but you learn and adapt.

Mumbai drivers were mostly fair. They always used fare-meters. I never had to haggle with them, and they even returned the exact change, when paid.

New Delhi and Chennai drivers seemed to be the most difficult to deal with. I never got them to use fare-meters. The fares I paid were usually far too high for the distance I traveled. If you're staying at hotels or with friends, ask them for estimates for the trips you're likely to take. If the drivers know you're aware of the right prices, it's easier to haggle.