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esperanza

Feb 17, 2012, 8:03 AM

Post #26 of 40 (5154 views)

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Re: [GringoCArlos] cuanto cuesta?

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GringoCarlos, what if your taxista tells you it is 1000 pesos, or some other sum that is way beyond normal? How do (or would) you handle it? Seems to me that you'd still want to know the price in advance.




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mazbook1


Feb 17, 2012, 5:12 PM

Post #27 of 40 (5133 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] cuanto cuesta?

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And even better, ask, "¿Cuánto me cobra hasta (destination)? Generally speaking, things either cuesta or cuestan (verb costar - to cost) depending on whether they are singular or plural. Services, e.g., rent, taxi, doctor, barber and many many others, have a "charge" and commonly use the verb cobrar - to charge - so it's, "How much will you charge me to/for/etc.?" Naturally, the hasta I used in the example applies to taxis, since that was the discussion.

This, of course, is a generalization, but in most cases it's the normal usage.

At least in north and northwest where I live, "¿Cuánto?" accompanied with a pointing finger, is perfectly OK. No one would consider it rude at all.

mazbook1


Feb 17, 2012, 5:31 PM

Post #28 of 40 (5131 views)

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Re: [esperanza] cuanto cuesta?

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esperanza, I live in a tourist town (but not in a "gringo gulch"!!) :-) , and I find that if the price quoted by the taxista is totally ridiculous, I come back with an offer of 50% of what I "think" it should be (or what I'm willing to pay). Then we negotiate. Tourists who don't know any better get overcharged ALL the time. All of our taxis, pulmonias, safaris and aurigas are flat-rate, so even the locals ask first and negotiate if necessary. The municipio has "approved" prices by zone, but only if you know them and know where the zones begin and end do you have any idea of what the charge "should" be.

Oh, pulmonias and safaris are two types of open-air taxis built on a VW bug chassis and are unique to Mazatlán. Aurigas are small pickups with bench seats in the back for 6 to 8 persons (and sometimes more!), also possibly unique to Mazatlán..

La Isla


Feb 17, 2012, 10:44 PM

Post #29 of 40 (5116 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] cuanto cuesta?

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I´m glad I live in Mexico City where all the taxis have meters, so there's no need to haggle over the cost of a ride.

GringoCArlos

Feb 17, 2012, 11:04 PM

Post #30 of 40 (5110 views)

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Re: [La Isla] cuanto cuesta?

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I live in a small quiet city with only a rare tourist or gringo, and know the fares. There is no gringo pricing in effect here. If a taxista here said 1000 pesos to me, I'd either laugh and hand him the right amount, or if they tried to push it, I'd go to his dispatcher or the transit police and settle it.

If I'm going to use the same taxi for many errands/stops, we have an arranged cost/hour.

mazbook1


Feb 18, 2012, 11:54 AM

Post #31 of 40 (5091 views)

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Re: [La Isla] cuanto cuesta?

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La Isla, But in tourist areas, even drivers of metered taxis often take the looooooong way to the destination! Very common everywhere in the world.

One really nice thing about a negotiated taxi ride is that, at least in México, it's understood that any tip is included, unless, of course, you ask the taxista for some sort of extra, e.g., carrying a lot of luggage to your door, waiting while you stop at a store or a bank, etc.


(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Feb 18, 2012, 11:58 AM)

La Isla


Feb 18, 2012, 12:18 PM

Post #32 of 40 (5088 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] cuanto cuesta?

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La Isla, But in tourist areas, even drivers of metered taxis often take the looooooong way to the destination! Very common everywhere in the world.

That can happen in Mexico City, if you don´t know the best route for the driver to take. It happened to me once when I was taking a taxi to my dentist before I was sure of the best way to go. In general, though, I have found the taxistas here to be honest. Often I will be asked if the route they have chosen is ok by me!


cbviajero

Feb 18, 2012, 12:34 PM

Post #33 of 40 (5081 views)

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Re: [La Isla] cuanto cuesta?

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If you notice being driven by the same building twice,you might be being taken for a ride.
Chris

sparks


Feb 18, 2012, 1:13 PM

Post #34 of 40 (5071 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] cuanto cuesta?

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My favorite is my second day staying in Tlaquepaque and asked one of the plaza taxis how much to centro historico - 130 pesos. I had no idea how far it was. Flagged a taxi on the way back and it was 70 pesos.

Needless to say I was not there for the airport trip I had arranged with the first guy

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

La Isla


Feb 18, 2012, 2:03 PM

Post #35 of 40 (5065 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] cuanto cuesta?

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If you notice being driven by the same building twice,you might be being taken for a ride.
Chris

Cute!

eyePad

Feb 18, 2012, 10:58 PM

Post #36 of 40 (5042 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] cuanto cuesta?

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¿Auriga? ¿Safari? Son palabras chistosas, por cierto. Nunca he oído "auriga" en este contexto de un taxi. Pero para el colmo has puesto "pulmonia" y me imagino que quieras escribir "pulmonía" (¿?) Hablando de preguntas capciosas que es el idioma español, y no es me lengua materna, si no me equivoco hayas puesto el nombre de una enfermedad. ¿Estás seguro que es el nombre de un taxi?
apáñatelas como puedas

esperanza

Feb 19, 2012, 7:39 AM

Post #37 of 40 (5031 views)

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Re: [eyePad] cuanto cuesta?

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¿Auriga? ¿Safari? Son palabras chistosas, por cierto. Nunca he oído "auriga" en este contexto de un taxi. Pero para el colmo has puesto "pulmonia" y me imagino que quieras escribir "pulmonía" (¿?) Hablando de preguntas capciosas que es el idioma español, y no es me lengua materna, si no me equivoco hayas puesto el nombre de una enfermedad. ¿Estás seguro que es el nombre de un taxi?
En Mazatlán así se llaman los taxis en el malecón: pulmonía.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/...nly.In.Mazatlan.html




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eyePad

Feb 19, 2012, 1:32 PM

Post #38 of 40 (5008 views)

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Re: [esperanza] cuanto cuesta?

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Qué chistoso. ¿Por tanto, vas a tener problemas con los pulmones por estar en el aire libre? Entonces Maz tiene la razón pero no pude creerlo. JeJe
apáñatelas como puedas

mazbook1


Feb 19, 2012, 10:24 PM

Post #39 of 40 (4992 views)

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Re: [eyePad] cuanto cuesta?

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You're correct, eyePad. pulmonia was a typo, pulmonía is correct. Originally, the local populace thought that you could, in fact, get pneumonia by riding in an open air taxi of this sort. The name, pulmonía, is trademarked and can only be used for the ones made in Mazatlán by the pulmonía union-approved builders.

Here is a website that shows an auriga (pictures 3 and 4), an older pulmonía (picture 5) and a Safari (picture 6):

http://www.leejacobs.org/MAZATLAN/Getting-Around/122450_jhsdTg/4467897_iNEAF#!i=4467901&k=dJ9T2

All the dictionaries now seem to translate auriga as a charioteer, but when I first came to Mazatlán (nearly 20 years ago as a tourist), the older dictionaries translated it as a chariot.

If you Google pulmonía, you will see that the newer ones have some pretty fancy new fiberglass bodies, compared to the older one in the photo.

The original Safaris were the VW model Safari (sold in the U.S. as the Thing) with the roof. There are very, very few of those original metal-body ones still on the street. The newer ones have sleek fiberglass bodies. The main (only) difference between a Safari and a pulmonía is that the Safari has 4 doors, rather than being completely open like a pulmonía.


(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Feb 19, 2012, 11:12 PM)

zaragemca

Feb 24, 2012, 8:46 AM

Post #40 of 40 (4954 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] cuanto cuesta?

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 Greetings. The definition have been properly corrected. What I would like to add is that this verbal mode of, (costar), could be used the same way in any person, singular, or plural. For singular first person, ( cuanto me (cuesta), second person, ( cuanto te (cuesta), third person, ( cuanto le (cuesta). For plural, first person, ( cuanto nos (cuesta), second person and third person ( cuanto les (cuesta). Of curse there are more complex, past and future tense, with the infinitive, ( costar).
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