CB - Sunday, August 29, 1982 - North Shore News FOREIGN TRANSPORTATION Don’t get taken for a ride! Let’s talk tran- sportation. Forget about airline problems - until the giants of the industry get their problems sorted out, we simply wait. No, it’s the hidden costs that we all forget about when doctoring our travel budgets. Sure, you land in Hoffenpoof airport - how are you supposed to know that the landing strip is forty miles from Hoffenpoof City? Getting there can be less than half the fun. If you're lucky, you'll have some alternatives. Is there a bus? A train? Or will you have to pay a taxi driver $50 plus tip? Your best source of in- formation is your airline representative. Simple arithmetic is necessary. Is it cheaper for four of you to take a cab at $50 or in- dividual bus fares at $16? Where does your bus drop you off? If, say in London, you get bumped at Victoria Station, how much will a cab cost to take you the rest of the way to Ear!’s Court? Don’t guess, ask. Landing at the airport in Sharperville, the tourist did all the right things. He asked the airline rep. about transportation and decided that the cab would cost less. He chose a nice looking cab and a driver with a pencil-thin mustache. And then he made his $30 error. Assuming that all cabs were driven by honest men, he hopped in and showed the driver the name of the hotel. Did he confirm the fare? Nosir. Did the fare match the quote from the airline? Nosiree. Our friend, the tourist, just subsidized the economy of a family of little pencil- thin mustaches. It's a bit scary, using bus services in foreign countnes for the first time. First of all, the driver and most of the passengers converse in anything but Enghsh Where do you get off? Where do you pay? Correct change? trayel- wise by Barbara McCreadie What bus to get home? When do they quite for the day? When is rush hour? That last is a_ prize question - anyone who has ridden a bus during rush hour in the tropics will understand. In some countries, you buy your ticket at a booth - and the thing is good for any bus for whatever number of hours you pay for. Example, Holland. In other places, you enter the bus from the rear and plop two coims into a machine. Right change only. Example, Italy. Other places, you enter only from the front, drop the night change in the box under the eagle-eye of the bus driver. Example, Puerto Rico. Ask. Ask your hotel and write down the information. Ask if there is a bus-system map available. Get from the hotel enough right change to get you there and BACK. Set itin a separate compartment of your wallet. Observe other passengers. What door do they exit? Try to sit close to the door because there is a dreadful rush at some stops and the driver has a quick foot for the gas Ladybugs welcome COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — North Idaho is crawling with ladybugs due to an over abundance of their favorite food - apheds a Washington State University scienusl says Paul Catts of the castern Washington school said the orange and black spotted beetles are lounging by the thousands throughout — the area because a cool, wet carly summer sent the aphid population soanng Ladybugs are popular among) gardencrs because they eat the green pinhead sized aphids that suck bquids out of plants and transmit plant viruses If you can avoid sitting at the rear, do. Many foreign buses are powered by a big engine located under the rear seats. The insulation between the engine and the seats is two layers of card- board. You fry. Talk to the other passengers. I start with the old “Do you speak English” routine and have been pleasantly surprised on many occasions. It isn't always easy to judge when your stop is approaching and I've been very grateful for the assistance of a kid with a school bag or a granny with a sack of potatoes. Beware of the stairs in double-decker buses. You get half-way up and the bus gives a lurch. Nimble feet and a firm grip will see you through. If you're travelling with your elderly mother, the rule is that she goes up ahead of you and down behind you. That way she has something soft to land on. You. Tipping cab_ drivers. Anyone who has tried to cab-it through New York knows that unless he offers the proper 15-20 per cent he's apt to get slugged. The cabbies hide behind a wall and wouldn't open a door for you if you dropped dead on the sidewalk. Cabbies never’ carry change. Imagine the scene - there you are, at your destination - and all you've got is a 100 slot note. Good luck! You've just paid 100 slots for a 20 slot ride. Try arguing when you don't speak the language. Or, even better, try to get the nearby food stall to change the bill. Small chance. A fnend of mine is a gentle litth man, who learned English rather late in life. Before he could speak WAIKIKI Alr Only WAIKIKI $499 14 Days, 13 Nights Alr & Motel LAS VEGAS $249 & Days, 4 Nights, Al & Hotel RENO *199 5 Days 4 Nights An & Hotel TORONTO $249 Au Only MAPLE LEAF TRAVEL | $399 roseway travel AVOID THE COMING EUROPE FARE INCREASE by purchasing your September Sth 19862 airtine tickets prior to Even tf you have booked directly with a major aurtine ROSEWAY TRAVEL Cary IS38uUe your tickets We'll also book hotels) car rentatg or tours at your destinatton at the most favourable rates around! Save money and a trip downtown! CALL 926-8616 » 100 Part Royal West Vancouve: it, he arrived in Australia - crew of a ship. He had the address of some cousins who had emigrated and since he had two days to spare, decided to visit. He showed the address to the cab driver and sat down in the back seat. An hour later, he arrived. _ The return trip took ten minutes and ten per cent of the cost of the original. Difference? His cousin did the dickering. One of the most useful phrases in any foreign language is the equivalent ~- of, “How much?” Assuming that the driver cannot reply, “Three bucks,” I hand him a pencil and paper. while, I've asked the hotel how much I should pay for the trip. Any driver that varies more than 50¢ goes without me. And, the hotel has already informed me that the tip is blank per cent. Why fumble- out 20% when the going rate is 10%. If you've picked a cab from the ones that cluster at the front of your hotel, register your dissatisfaction with the hotel manager. Those spots out front are competitive. If the hotel gets com- plaints, the cabbie may find himself looking for fares at the city dump. Here again, the pad and pencil is busily writing down cab numbers and licence numbers. Don't get “had.” smaft. Get Mean- . 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