How to save money while traveling in Dumaguete

i disagree with this one. In my experience, asking how much the ride will cost is you telling them you don't know what the price should be. In the rare occasion that I do get in a trike I just get in and tell them where I am going. If they ask me "how much" I get out and walk away without saying a word and find another trike as I've learned that there is no sense in trying to negotiate with drivers that ask that question....it has never worked out to be a price I would remotely even agree on. I also have a list of alternative nearby places in case they don't understand where I am telling them to go....last resort is to say "go that way" (and then point in the general direction with my lips).

Upon arrival I hand them whatever I feel I owe (I go by 9 pesos the first KM and 1 peso every KM after that, then add 10-20 pesos since I'm double the weight/size of the average Filipino). I always know how much the ride will cost before I get in and I have exact change ready so that when the ride is over I just hand them the change and get out. If they think my price was not fair and they insist I pay more I am always more than happy to show them the distance on the map on my phone and offer to call the police to come resolve the dispute. I have yet to have a trike driver take me up on calling the police.

My favorite trike drivers are the ones who stop and pick up other passengers along the way. I known that the ones that do that will not try to pinch me for more pesos (they are treating me like any other local and I will usually double the amount I pay if they pick up other passengers). Even more respect for the guys that stop with a full cab and let me hop on the back seat of the motorcycle. Though I think some of them do this because they just need some extra weight in the back to keep the thing from flipping forward when they apply the breaks.

 

Same sort of situation last week when coming back from manila at the airport, trike drivers screaming at me and following me everywhere, I told them p50 to Mia's which is just around the corner and all refused so walked out the gate to find a normal driver who took me there and gave him p40!
Those guys at the airport never learn, bet none of them got a fare