Overcharging taxi driver in Cebu City slammed by netizens

A screengrab from a viral video where a taxi driver was caught on cam overcharging his passengers | Contributed photo

CONSOLACION, Cebu— A recent incident involving a taxi driver in Cebu City has ignited frustration among netizens after the driver was caught on camera overcharging his passengers.

The incident occurred on Sunday, August 25, involving a concerned netizen from Manila who has been working in Cebu for nearly a year. The netizen shared to CDN Digital that he experienced this while he was accompanied with a foreign friend in a business district in uptown Cebu City.

The netizen recounted that he and his friend hired a taxi to travel to a mall in Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City. Upon entering the vehicle, the driver immediately insisted on a fixed rate of ₱800, which the netizen declined.

“Sabi ko sa kanya ‘meter lang boss,’ then he agreed, pero when I checked the meter, meron nang 455.51 pesos. I thought i-rereset niya pero nung nasa Banilad na kami, hindi niya ginalaw. Ni-remind ko siya about sa meter pero hindi niya pa rin po binago,” the netizen shared.

(I told him ‘we’ll just use the meter, boss,’ then he agreed, but when I checked the meter, there was already 455.51 pesos on it. I thought that it will be reset but when we reached Banilad, he did not touch the meter. So I reminded him about the meter but he never changed it.)

He explained that despite agreeing to use the meter, the driver did not reset it, and it had already reached ₱504 by the time they reached A.S. Fortuna St. in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City.

“I started taking video and asked him. He started saying ‘ayaw cellphone cellphone,’ (no cellphones) which for me, confirms that we were getting scammed,” he told CDN Digital.

At a stoplight, the netizen and his friend quickly exited the vehicle, refusing to pay the ₱504 shown on the meter. As of writing, the netizen has not confirmed whether they reported the incident to authorities.

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This incident comes just a month after authorities apprehended a taxi driver in July 2024 for overcharging a passenger during the height of the Palarong Pambansa in Cebu. To the driver’s surprise, the passenger was a police officer.

With this recent case, netizens have started sharing similar experiences, some claiming they were scammed in the same area. Many netizens emphasized the importance of noting the taxi’s plate number and company and reporting such incidents to the relevant authorities.

The incident has sparked outrage among netizens, with many expressing frustration at how one dishonest driver can tarnish the reputation of all taxi drivers in the area. According to one netizen, these scams not only put passengers at risk but also unfairly impact honest drivers striving to make a living.

This situation underscores the need for honesty in the transportation industry. It also serves as a reminder for passengers to stay alert and report suspicious behavior to help prevent similar scams from happening again.