Taxiing into the New Year
If you go out partying tonight, don't expect to have an easy time finding a cab ride home. And if you booze it up a bit, which every self-respecting person should, make sure to watch your wallet while paying the driver. The Czech taxi business has long been known for its elements of criminal capitalism, and as recently as Aug. a police inspection found that half of the taxi drivers at Prague Airport were committing violations, mainly overcharging. Using a reputable dispatcher was long thought to be a way to avoid such rip-offs, but higher fuel rates and living costs this year led to the increased prevalence of trick capitalism among dispatchers too. Take the CR's largest service, AAA radiotaxi, for example. It raised its prices in April and made it impossible to know the rate in advance, unless you specifically ask on the phone or pay by invoice. It still has a price calculator on its website, but it's basically useless. If you get scammed tonight, look on the bright side. Your monetary loss is a bottle of sekt for the poor cabbie.
Glossary of difficult words
to taxi - to take a taxi as a means of transport;cab - taxi, short for taxicab;
to booze it up - to consumer alcohol (usually in large quantities);
criminal capitalism - capitalism involving explicitly illegal elements;
dispatcher - a person or service that sends something off to a destination for a purpose;
rip-off - a fraud or swindle, esp. something that is grossly overpriced;
prevalence - widespread existence in a particular area at a particular time;
trick capitalism - capitalism that does not involve criminality but that depends on tricking the customer to win his or her business or to increase the level of profit;
to scam someone - to swindle or cheat someone;
cabbie - a cab (taxi) driver.