The original Lagos Mainland taxi cabs can be easily identified. They are often sedans, yellow, panel-beaten and more often than not, the driver is a “baba” garbed in traditional clothes –whether worn out or dirty. While mostly substandard in general, the Lagos mainland cabs can be huge life savers for commuters on the Lagos mainland – especially when the commuters are first-time visitors.

For the taxi driver, the job of constantly navigating the urban jungle called the mainland can be quite arduous and back-breaking as it usually offer little reward: the pay is quite lower in range than the charge on the island and the passengers are a spectrum of humanity often as awful as bile on the tongue. As a result, while these taxi drivers have grown to accept certain things that are inevitable considering the nature of their jobs, there are certain things they do not condone from passengers, and frequent users of these medium of transportation have over time learnt not do them.

Looking to patronize a Lagos Mainland taxi and curious to know the key things to avoid? Read on to discover Jovago.com’s tips on 5 things not to do in a Lagos Mainland taxi cab.

Criticize the appearance of the cab

No matter what you do, refrain from making negative comments as regards the appearance or functionality of the taxi cab while you are in it. Most of the Lagos taxis are driven by men who pride themselves in being experts when it comes to handling vehicles, and so, criticizing their cabs is usually seen as a personal insult. Also, pointing to a lack in the hygiene of its interiors is a no-no. Some of the driver can go as far throwing a dramatic feat or even ask you to get down from their vehicles. To avoid this, keep your opinions to yourself, unless you are quite certain your life’s in danger. Also, if you cannot stand it, to not get in the cab get down while you can.

Make out or show extreme PDA in the back of the cab.

Sometimes emotions can be overwhelming and passengers impatiently express them. This is very common in Lagos, especially at night when most passengers have a bit alcohol in the mix from night outs and parties. While most island taxi drivers though a few inches away, hearing and seeing everything, stay mute. Mainland taxi cabs rarely condone it. The nice ones will nag you with advice until you get your destination, killing the mood anyways, while others could ask you to get off, publicly shaming you if possible. It is very easy to avoid this, all you need to do is: keep your hands to yourselves and exercise some control.



Give the wrong or incomplete address

This is a huge trap most people fall into. If you are going to enter a mainland taxi, be very particular when listing the address of your destination. Give all the details. Most mainland drivers are not lenient, especially when your destination turns out to be a bit further than what was listed to them at the initial stance. These drivers will kick up a fuss and insist that you increase the fare. Worse is if you do not agree on a fare before you enter the cab, chances are you will be milked dry. The mainland taxicab do not run on meters and fares are entirely subject to the driver’s discretion. If you must get on a mainland taxi, ensure you give the exact details, if possible, including the exact route you want the driver to take. also conclude on a fare before getting on.

Disrespect the driver

Most taxi cab drivers in modern times are not very particular about your attitude to them, they tend to detach themselves from your situation, as long as you pay whatever fare is charged and you do not actively cause him or his car harm. However, most taxi drivers on the mainland tend to take an exception to passengers with bad attitude. They tend to have certain expectations which include expecting salutation, respectful gestures, a mellow voice tone and more. Performing actions that suggest that you disregard or disrespect them creates a charged atmosphere, making it hard to communicate with the driver. Bottomline: while in the cab, your life is literally in the hands of the driver, staying polite should not really be a big deal.

Ask cab Drivers to break the law


Thanks to the traffic situation in Lagos, most people are always look for ways to avert the congestion, and in doing so, they tend to break certain traffic rules. They run on one-ways, disregard traffic light and drive on wrong ways. These soft traffic rules are frequently broken in Lagos, especially during rush hours or at night when most of the LASMA officials have close for the day. While most cab drivers on the island even take the initiative to commit these soft felonies, cab drivers on the mainland hardly engage in such dalliance. They take pride in understanding the traffic rules and they also understand the penalties attached. They therefore get really aggravated when passengers ask them to break any these rules, no matter how negligible.

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