Does anyone know the "rough" taxi fare from Santo Domingo Airport to La Romana?

It may be about 3000 pesos

rubio_higuey said:

It may be about 3000 pesos

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I know gas is not cheap, but that is a very expensive ride... Time to pack my bags and leave DR for good..

Las Americas to Punta Cana is about 160 dollars, which is over 6000 pesos, with a private (non-airport) taxi. La Romana, being lss than halfway should cost around 3000 pesos. i just checked my TTOO buy rate form transport providers, and Las Americas to La Romana/Bayahibe is US$105 which is 4000 pesos, and that is net cost. Having a taxi ride at 3000 pesos would be a good deal. A2Btransfers offers thsi transfer with taxi at US$259 one way.

nas said:

I know gas is not cheap, but that is a very expensive ride... Time to pack my bags and leave DR for good..

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Well, it is what it is. Long distance trips are expensive by taxi here as well as in any country.

rubio_higuey said:

Well, it is what it is. Long distance trips are expensive by taxi here as well as in any country.

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I hear you.. I simply have a problem embracing the idea that a taxi driver would make in six hours what a Dominican would make in month. That is the concept that bothers me. Isn?t 200 dollars the average Dominican salary?

You guys are saying that from SDQ to any tourist destination heading east it would be from US $100 ? 200.

The average DR salary is $100us per week, not $200 per month. From Las Terrenas to Las Americas is $200us. You have to realize the driver has to go round trip no just one way. At 5.65Rds a gallon and any tolls, the wear and tear on his vehicle, and his time it is expensive to run and maintain a taxi business. If you don't like the price there is always the bus.

S

nas said:

You guys are saying that from SDQ to any tourist destination heading east it would be from US $100 – 200.

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Not just East, anywhere. It costs at least 1.000 pesos (26 USD) to Santo Domingo downtown if you get the taxi from the city instead of airport taxi. Going from SD downtown to Santiago by taxi would cost you 3000 pesos as well, from las Americas maybe even more.

nas said:

I hear you.. I simply have a problem embracing the idea that a taxi driver would make in six hours what a Dominican would make in month. That is the concept that bothers me. Isn?t 200 dollars the average Dominican salary?

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You fail to take into consideration the wear and tear of the vehicle, maintenance, tires, repairs etc. these are costly. I have a friend who is taxi driver and he is thinking of getting out of taxi business and be a commercial driver instead. He says he can earn easy 20-25k as a commercial driver in Bavaro along with benefits and with no hassles. That means that right now as a taxi driver he has to bring home more than 20-25k per month net money.

Calculate this: a vehicle costs 1.000.000 pesos at least, it is depreciated over 6 years. Each year they put 20k kilometers on it, so it's 120.000 kilometers. So your internal depreciation cost for the vehicle is 8.3 pesos per km. RT to la Romana is 200 km, so it's 1.660 pesos. Diesel is about 220 pesos per gallon, and the vehicle consumes let's say 6 liters per 100 km, so it's 3.2 gallons for RT, which is 700 pesos or 3.5 pesos per km. Now calculate that this vehicle needs 4 oil changes and one tire set per year, plus other maintenance, calculate 60k per year. That's 0.5 pesos per km. Insurance is about 40k per year or 0.33 pesos per km., so the total RT trip cost is now 8.3+3.5+0.5 + 0.33 = 12.63 per km . Multiply by 200 kilometers and you get a cost of RD$2526 for that taxi driver to make the trip from SD Las Americas to La Romana. Charging 3.000 or 4.000 pesos is now shown in a different light. AND I have not included repairs that the taxi driver has to pay after the warranty is over, usually the 3rd year. And we all know the "Dominican warranty" even the first few years many repairs are not covered, or you have to take your vehicle to Santo Domingo which adds on cost (fuel + time).

Thanks Rubio-higuey for your great guide. Your calculation really looks practical. It is good learning here.

LTSteve said:

The average DR salary is $100us per week, not $200 per month. From Las Terrenas to Las Americas is $200us. You have to realize the driver has to go round trip no just one way. At 5.65Rds a gallon and any tolls, the wear and tear on his vehicle, and his time it is expensive to run and maintain a taxi business. If you don't like the price there is always the bus.

S

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The average salary is 5000 DP to 8500 DP which depending on the job, is the "minimo". Per Month!

Taxi drivers do a lot better. The rates are based on round trip because they have to go back empty. They also have a strong lobby.