Jake the Snake

Taxi fares will be a little cheaper here in Costa Rica, when next week the approved fare drop of ¢40 colones for the first kilometer and ¢45 for each additional kilometer takes effect. The rate drop was approved yesterday by the governing body, Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep).

The new fares will take effect on March 10.

Aresep looked at several factors when deciding to lower costs, such as the price of gas, wages, etc, but the deciding factor was the steady drop in the cost of gas.  The last time Aresep approved an increase in fares, the first kilometer was set at  ¢470.  With the fare decrease, that will go down to ¢430

Of course the taxistas or fuerza roja (red force), as they are known here, opposed the drop in fares, citing that the regulator did not take into account other basic maintenance costs such as oil changes and tires.

Personally, I think the taxis here are ridiculously cheap.  I believe that you should give a taxi driver no less that ¢1000 for a short trip.  Almost nobody tips the drivers here, but they seem to appreciate it a lot when you do.  So please, don’t be cheap, let them keep the change!