Price Per Km Motorbike Ride?

[Markham]

Nice post, but as for "ask a local" - have you ever been to the philippines?!

Just as a point of reference, Dave Hounddriver - to whom that question is posed - has been living full time in the Philippines since 2007!

[Dave Hounddriver]

By the way, "Before" was when?  ("where I lived before the motorcycle ride was")

 

I meant in the province I lived in previous to now. (Biliran province in 2011, 12 and 13) I have not been here in Dumaguete long enough to have even found the habal habal drivers so I chose to relate the experience I was quite familiar with.

[sandwichmaker]

Markham, it was tongue in cheek, not a serious comment. :) Thanks for the info anyway.

What about taxi prices for long trips? How much for say 60km ?

[Dave Hounddriver]

Taxis in places like metropolitan Cebu tend to charge by the meter, by the hour, or by a flat rate.  I used to use a taxi driver named Danny who lives in Danao and he charged me 250 pesos an hour for local trips.  (That price was in 2009 so its likely gone up and I no longer have his number).

 

When travelling outside the metropolitan area I have known drivers to charge the hourly rate plus you provide the gas or they just quote a flat rate based on their estimate of what it will cost them vs what they can get out of you.  I have also been offered the use of the meter x 2 as they say they will have to go back empty.  As you can see, it is somewhat negotiable if you get a driver who is hungry to make some money.

[the_whipster]

actually asking a local is pretty good advice. They will know in the pension house how much a motor will cost to Danao. Even though they will more often take jeepneys and trikes, they will still know what a motor fare should be.

 

one thing for sure. 100 pesos just to get to Danao from Compostela for two people is way too much. And be wary of girls who throw your money around as in all this 'keep the change', which Filipinos never do when it is more than about 10-20 pesos. Some of them like to keep a tuk tuk or trike waiting outside a restaurant while you are eating even though it is a stupid waste of money, paying the waiting time. It makes them feel like they have hit the jackpot or are in some movie. I never have any problems with fares except in those places where there is a trike mafia in operation, like in Moalboal. In somewhere like Compostela I rarely get overcharged, for anything and never by trike drivers and the like. Also sometimes I do tip. I'm always nice to drivers.

 

Dave Hounddriver's 'before' is between Catmon and Naval, Biliran, where he used to live, a distance of 7km, an almost identical distance as Compostela to Danao, 30 or maybe 40 max pesos for 2 is about right for that distance. Even 60, never mind 100, is too much. Even a meter car taxi between Compostela and Danao (although you can't get them to use meter outside Cebu city) would only be around 100-120.

[sandwichmaker]

actually asking a local is pretty good advice. They will know in the pension house how much a motor will cost to Danao. Even though they will more often take jeepneys and trikes, they will still know what a motor fare should be.

 

one thing for sure. 100 pesos just to get to Danao from Compostela for two people is way too much. And be wary of girls who throw your money around as in all this 'keep the change', which Filipinos never do when it is more than about 10-20 pesos. Some of them like to keep a tuk tuk or trike waiting outside a restaurant while you are eating even though it is a stupid waste of money, paying the waiting time. It makes them feel like they have hit the jackpot or are in some movie. I never have any problems with fares except in those places where there is a trike mafia in operation, like in Moalboal. In somewhere like Compostela I rarely get overcharged, for anything and never by trike drivers and the like. Also sometimes I do tip. I'm always nice to drivers.

How much should I pay for a trike for 2 people from Compostella pension to Stakili ? Last trike quoted 20 pesos per head, which seemed high, I think it's less than 2km. 

She never said "keep the change". And she wasn't paying with my money, on that occasion. The 2 motorbikes didn't have change, and she only had 100. She was actually paying for the ride for both of us, out of her own pocket. She didn't make any fuss that they had no change. This just seems to be a filipino pride thing, especially not wanting to make a fuss in front of me, even though she doesn't realise I would respect her more if she did make a fuss. The other thing was, she was paying that time, in front of all her neighbours, counsins and nephews, since we were going to her parents provincial house. Maybe she wanted to appear super cool in front of all her relatives, especially since she was rolling in with a white guy. 

 

The ask the local thing isn't holding up, not ANY local, is it?! You have to pick your local.

She is from Danao (and therefore a local), and yet we paid 120 to Compostella and 40 for a local trike ride, and she let 2 other motorbikes keep 40 pesos of change.

[sjp52]

My girl always pays for our transportation, After she gets my pay check

[Dave Hounddriver]

The ask the local thing isn't holding up, not ANY local, is it?! You have to pick your local.

 

Correct.  You have to pick a local who has some reason to be friendly to you.  If you pick some dude off the street who thinks it is funny to tell you that you should pay 100 to ride the motor then you have lost the battle.

 

Off topic illustration:

 

My recently deceased friend and I used to go walking together.  His sense of direction was awful but his faith in the virtues of filipinos was awesome.  He told me he always asked ANYBODY when he needed directions and he ALWAYS got helpful responses and got to where he was going with no problem.  I let him illustrate as we walked,  Every street corner we came to, Lou would ask whoever was there to give directions to the electric co.  He always got directions with a smile and he always gave me 'the look' that says "I told you so"..  When we got to the electric company he even said "See, I told you so".  I said:  Lou, we walked 3 blocks north, 1 block west, and 1 block south.  That is double the distance it should have taken with good directions.

 

So yes, pick the people you ask very carefully.

[the_whipster]

Filipinos lack of a sense of distance and direction is legendary however one thing they do know is what things cost. They know down to the last centavo how much a kilo of rice, a haircut, a bag of chicharon, or a motor fare is, and so on.

 

to Stakhili from Compostela pension, which is a 5 minute drive if you have your own bike, why are you bothering to get a motor anyway. It is not worth bothering to open your mouth to talk to a driver. Just jump on one of the 5 jeepneys that pass by on the highway every minute. Every single one of them without exception will pass it. I would give a motor driver 20 although I suspect the local fare would be 10.

 

it is not unusual for girls with foreign guys to suddenly start throwing money around, which they never did before, it is like they think they have won the lottery and sending a signal out to everybody that they are the lucky girl and now flush, with cash,

 

here is an additional thing to consider also. Who selected the motor driver? You, or she? Because one time I had this girl who used to turn up on a motor at my pension house and who always used the same motor driver. I could tell by observing their body language from the window as he was dropping her off that there was something between them, even though i could not have cared less. It was not long before I found out for sure that despite her only being 20 years of age, the guy was either her de facto or de jure husband (I did not ask which) and the father of her two kids. Needless to say, she did not disclose this information herself. A bunch of 'friendly locals' did.

[the_whipster]

What about taxi prices for long trips? How much for say 60km ?

this is variable but general rule of thumb is 20 peso per km with it getting ever so slightly less and less the longer the distance travelled. So to Hagnaya or Moalboal about the same distance (around 100km) fair price should be about 2000.

 

but this changes markedly, coming in the other direction. Nearly all of the empty taxis you see, anywhere on Cebu island, no matter where they may be, are based in metro Cebu and that is where they are going back. They are going back there anyway, with or without any passenger. They have had a payday anyway in the passenger they have just dropped off, in Hagnaya or Santander. But they still would like a fare to at least pay for their gas.

 

this is illustrated best by the taxis - never very many, only between 1 and 3 - that wait for passengers to disembark from the Santa Fe-Hagnaya ferry. They have already just dropped off a big 2000 plus fare and have some money in the till and want to go home. However they are trading right next to a bus, that is going the same place they are for 150. So they are in a poor position. You have them by the balls, basically. So the fare drops, like a stone. You should get back to Cebu from Hagnaya in a taxi for about 700. I always ask on the ferry other foreigners, to see if they want to share a taxi back to town and say there's me and my girl and you, we will give them 1000 which they will jump at, you pay 350 and I'll pay the rest. I got all the way to Talisay once from Hagnaya for only 700. Before setting off, ask the driver if he is hungry and if he is, feed him. Filipinos always appreciate little gestures like that.