The front desk didn’t seem to care. And the man said he did nothing but was trying to collect his 1500 KZT for the fare (after telling me it was a ridiculous amount more than that and trying to beat me down to rob me).

 After about an hour of trying to explain things to the front desk while the man was standing there, they called the police. He dashed out the door as soon as they were called and told me to not leave the hotel because he would be waiting for me. Again, security didn’t care and did nothing.

 The police came and told me if I filed charges, I’d have to stay around Kazakhstan until they were cleared or went through which could be a year. I said no and that I needed out of Central Asia asap at that point. I then waited a few hours until the early hours of the morning to leave the hotel to go to my hostel so the men wouldn’t see me leaving.

 This one was not nearly as frightening, thank goodness. The Uber app back in 2016 in Kazakhstan used to only give estimated fares (not sure if it still does or not) for getting to places. I called an Uber to go from Dostyk Plaza across the city to Rozybakiev Street. This should be an easy trip down Al-Farabi and done.

 The driver picked me up, drove me around for an hour, racked up huge charges to my account, started cursing and trying to hit women drivers (telling me that females shouldn’t be allowed to drive) along the way.

 It was the weirdest and scariest taxi ride I had ever had (thank goodness Bulgaria topped it a year later). I eventually was charged an astronomical amount for this ride and ran out of the car. I contacted Uber and told them and they refunded the money to me.

 I am not telling these incidents as a way to scare people. I am asked about them often and I think they fit the reason that knowing how to take a taxi in Almaty is super important to me and I want to ensure everyone has a positive experience in this city.

 After a lot of trial and error, I haven’t had any issues here in the last two years and I can truly thank Yandex for that. If you have any questions, updates, or suggestions- please add them in the comments!

 I’m in Almaty. I made the mistake of giving my phone number to a Taxi gang and having them follow me to my AirBnB instead of having them drop me off nearby.

 Minutes after settling with the host, I start getting spammed with messages about them wanting to show me the city. They had already offered prostitutes, erotic massages, marijuana, to which I politely said no, but wanted to say FSCK NO. I told them that I just want to relax and walk around the city for a couple days, which is 100% true.

 The next day, one of them messages me and tells me that he really needs to tell me something. But it needs to be in private. Smelling fish, I ask what he wants. “An offer”. I block his whatssap, and soon after, I’m getting calls from his partner. Again, blocked.

 Background: I’m a solo traveler. Male. Large and strong male from the USA. I’m here to visit and journal.

 *Update* They now calling me and cycling through different Whatssapp numbers. The profile pictures appear to be kids/boys. Maybe their children? Proespective gang members?

 I had my AirBnB host call the taxi driver to help sort things out. The driver sent screenshots and requested that we go over our chat history. My AirBnB host and I both agreed that I was not understanding the situation.

 Because we left the Almaty airport at 2am after 23 hours of flights and airport time, I was extremely tired. I would rate the driver’s English at about 2 out of 10, so we ended up using Google translate for much of our conversations. Inadvertantly, I agreed to having him be my private driver for the the 10 days that I knew for sure I’d be in Almaty (I have 20 days total in Kazakhstan). This means that I agreed to have him on standby the entire 10 days with arrival in less than 20 minutes of contact. Small trips in the city center would be free of charge. Tours outside of almaty would come at a small fee. In my opinion, his “stand by” price per day was extremely reasonable for USA standards.

 This young man, age 25, was extremely concerned because he was losing money by not driving people anywhere. He didn’t know what to tell his boss. We got this sorted out. I apologized profusely , but declined his private driver service because I like walking from place to place. I do plan on doing Big Almaty Lake and probably another tour with him. I did pay the small amount of money for his lost income (and a small tip). He was very understanding. He mainly wanted to know if he should start his regular Taxi service again.

 In regards to the raunchy things he offered me – I’m used to this. Male taxi drivers are always very candid with me whenever I travel alone, just as I am candid with them. I presume that male solo travelers often have other exotic experiences in mind, but I have a girlfriend of almost 9 years. He was just trying to meet my needs and probably get a small kickback.

 By “in private offer” discussion, he meant that he wanted to show me pamphlets of tours we can do together. He was offering me tours…. I wasn’t about to be led down a dark alley to get my teeth kicked in and he wasn’t trying to pile more women on me.

 As more background – I either speak or can at least read and have a basic understanding of most Germanic and Romance languages. I have zero grasp of Russian and Kazakh and booked the trip 3 days prior, spur of the moment. Lesson learned: don’t nod along to things and pretend to understand – you can always ask for clarification.

Orlando ground transportation

 Operating a taxi service is one of the most popular forms of self-employment in Northern Ireland. There are over 10,000 taxis currently operating across the province, providing an important service and a base of stable jobs in the local economy.

 The taxi sector has recently undergone a series of reforms to simplify licensing systems. It is important to know exactly what is required if you are thinking of setting up a taxi service, whether as an independent driver, or a business to operate a fleet of taxis.

 If you are planning to set up and run a taxi business in Northern Ireland, there are a number of legal requirements that you must comply with.

 To the average cost-conscious traveler in Japan's large cities, taxis are an expensive and unnecessary alternative to the efficient public transportation. However, taxis are often the only way of getting around once trains and buses stop operating around midnight, resulting in a sudden increase in their demand, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, when long lines and waiting times at taxi stands at train stations are not uncommon.

 In smaller cities, the countryside and in Kyoto, public transportation tends to be less convenient, thus taking a taxi from the nearest train station to your destination can be a good alternative. If you travel in groups of three or more people, taxis can also be an economical option for shorter rides.

 To hail a taxi, either go to a taxi stand (usually located in front of train stations) or flag one down at a location where it is safe for it to stop. A plate on the dashboard in the lower corner of the windshield indicates whether a taxi is vacant or not. Usually, a red plate indicates that the taxi is vacant, while a green plate indicates the opposite (see illustration below). During the night a light on the roof of a taxi can indicate that the taxi is vacant. You can also call a taxi by phone, app or via your hotel reception; in large cities there is usually no additional charge for calling a taxi while in more rural areas a small fee may be charged.

 When you board a taxi, note that the vehicle's left rear door is opened and closed remotely by the driver. You are not supposed to open or close the door by yourself, except when using a different door. If you do not speak Japanese or if your destination is not well-known, it is recommended to give your driver the address of your destination on a piece of paper or - even better - point it out on a map, since the Japanese address system can be confusing even to local taxi drivers.

 When you board a taxi, note that the vehicle's left rear door is opened and closed remotely by the driver. You are not supposed to open or close the door by yourself, except when using a different door. If you do not speak Japanese or if your destination is not well-known, it is recommended to give your driver the address of your destination on a piece of paper or - even better - point it out on a map, since the Japanese address system can be confusing even to local taxi drivers.

 Many taxis accept payment by credit card, and an increasing number accept payment by IC card, such as Suica. Stickers on the door often indicate accepted payment methods. When paying in cash, try to avoid paying small amounts with large bills. Tipping is not done in Japan.

 In some regions, especially popular tourist areas, taxis are available for charter as sightseeing taxis with the taxi driver doubling as the tour guide. Although the language barrier might be a problem, in some areas there are taxi drivers with foreign language skills or sightseeing taxi services targeted specifically at foreign tourists. Sightseeing taxis typically cost around 10,000 yen for two hours.

 Taxis and minicabs and the door to door service they provide are essential for people with disabilities. They are a key mode of transport for people who are blind and partially sighted, who are unable to drive and often face barriers when using public transport.

 This information has been designed to ensure that drivers and other staff working to support taxi and minicab travel can feel confident when helping passengers with sight loss.

 Not everyone with vision impairment is totally blind and many retain some useful sight. Some will use a guide dog or a cane, but the majority travel without a mobility aid and so it may not always be apparent that they have sight loss.

 Just like anyone else, people with sight loss will have personal preferences in how they receive support. Probably the most important tip is to always ask the person to tell you how they would like to be helped. It should be possible to assist someone safely but still enable them to retain their dignity.

 If the passenger is a guide dog owner, it is a criminal offence to refuse to carry their dog, or to charge extra for doing so. The only exception to this is if the driver has a medical exemption certificate from the licensing authority due to a genuine medical condition that is aggravated by exposure to dogs. If this is the case, you or your company should help find the passenger another taxi/minicab.

 If assisting a guide dog owner, do not interfere with the dog and only give instructions to its owner.

 As many people with sight loss have some useful vision, wearing a high visibility jacket or tabard may be helpful for many customers with sight loss as it could make it easier for them to differentiate you from others.