Page 32 - WDT INTERACTIVE

We had decided to use ridesharing for most local it more practical and less stressful to take a cab or
transportation on the trip. Marcela, our Airbnb host, rideshare than try to decipher bus schedules. Cabify
suggested Cabify instead of Uber because Uber was an excellent service, and we used them dozens
drivers had been harassed by police and unionized of times in Buenos Aires. Our most expensive trip
taxi drivers at the airport. We had downloaded the came to about $14, and that was an hour trip from the
app and made the call for a pickup, which proved to airport to our apartment in the community of Recoleta.
be a hair-pulling exercise, because of the chaos in the Most fares were between $3 and $5.
airport pickup area. Plus our driver certainly wouldn’t We had a couple unfortunate experiences with the
want to stop for us in the tax- loading zone. We finally local taxi companies, including one from San Telmo
found a space and soon saw our car and driver much where the driver found a scenic route to our apart-
to our relief. ment. Why is it that travelers can always count on taxi
We didn’t use public transport on this trip after drivers around the world trying to rip off passengers.
considerable past experiences getting lost and No wonder ridesharing has become so popular.
confused with other transit around the world. Unless If we had more time, we would have tried the Buenos
we planned to stay for extended periods, we’ve found Aires subway system built in 1913. The Underground

32 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018