Taxicab Etiquette Advice Needed! (San Jose, San Francisco: how much, home, college)

[GoodSamaritan]

Greetings fellow San Jose peeps!

I am a young college student who works in San Francisco during the summer. I live in Berkeley so I have to BART home late at night to Rockridge BART station (Oakland) and I take a taxi cab home afterwards. My question is about Taxi Cab etiquette, specifically how much to pay and when to "tip". I had an argument with a cab driver and I want to know what I should or should not have done.

Just 5 minutes ago, I rode the Taxi to the cross street where I wanted to be dropped off and the meter read $6.90 at the stop. I paid the guy a $10 and asked him for $2 dollars back. As he was fumbling around for change, the meter kept changing. Then I asked for a cab receipt and he proceeded to fill one out and all the while the meter was changing. All the while he was telling me that I needed to pay what was on the meter, "I give you receipt, and you give me meter ok?". Now this was pretty much after I had paid and was waiting on him.

After he gave me the receipt, he requested more money, by that time the meter had run to $7.98 and he was demanding more money. He claimed that by letting the cab's engine run he was using gas and I was using his time, so I should compensate him for whatever was on the meter. I think he was asking for an extra tip now, though I'm not quite sure. Maybe he knew that I was getting reimbursed by the company for transportation (hence the receipt) so he wanted me to pass him a few more dollars?

We proceeded to argue and I told him I had paid him fairly and that I cannot be held responsible for whatever the meter says after I've paid the money. The money I gave him still covered the amount that was on the meter when he demanded the money. Otherwise, where would u draw the line if the meter keeps running?!

I'm not exactly a taxi riding cab veteran so I don't know if I was supposed to pay him more. Also, when and how much does one tip the driver. I think people see tipping as more compulsory, rather than for good service nowadays. I felt the driver expected a tip, even though he did not handle my bags or provide extra service. What should have been done?!!! It makes me peeved when people expect to be tipped Oh, by the way, the old guy looked middle eastern and wore a turban, maybe I'm missing something cultural in understanding?

- Confused

[treedonkey]

Well, you said that when the car arrived at the destination the meter was at $6.90, so that's your fare unless he stipulated more before you departed. You gave him $8. Then he let the meter run and the fare went up to $7.98. So you would owe him nothing, and the extra $1.08 is just diminishes his tip. You are correct that tipping should not be compulsory. I don't tip rude or dangerous drivers, but I tip the nice and safe drivers extra, especially on short trips like the one you took.

It sounds like you did nothing wrong. Hopefully you did not give him any more money.

And you weren't missing anything cultural, because he's living in the US and should abide by our cultural norms.

[BillyB]

The guy was trying to screw with you.

[ky4444]

He was trying to mess with you. You were right, the meter should have stopped when you reach your destination. As for how much to tip, I ususally round up to the $5 increment - so in that case I would have given $10. However, totally not if he was being a jerk like that and I think a $1 tip is totally fine too.

[butlersingh]

I will agree with the other posts here. Having done fair amount of traveling during my consulting days, we always used to tip 8 to 10% over the meter (may be a little more for a regular driver). A dollar for a $6.90 fare is not unreasonable at all.
Meter really should stop as soon as you reach your destination. If driver is taking his sweet time to find change for you it really is his problem.

[Freezer41]

I have heard of people letting the driver know they will need a receipt when they get in