In Quito, you can go just about anywhere for not too much. USD is local currency, and it's a few dollars to go anywhere except to/from the airport.
And the city doesn't have a shortage of cabs.
And talking with drivers in my uneasy Spanish, I have found many are former doctors and lawyers who turned to taking cabs because it was more lucrative.
Fares are artificially high there but nobody is under any illusions who is in control. The city and the cab companies had an argument about pricing some time back and it lead to a taxi cab strike.... which meant cabs blocking traffic and the city was shut down (streets impassible) until the city backed down....
I was in Quito during a bus driver strike and everyone was talking about it. They even called in the army to tow busses.... It was amusing to see uniformed soldiers pushing busses around.... But there were fewer busses than cabs and so the streets were still passable.
And the city doesn't have a shortage of cabs.
And talking with drivers in my uneasy Spanish, I have found many are former doctors and lawyers who turned to taking cabs because it was more lucrative.
Fares are artificially high there but nobody is under any illusions who is in control. The city and the cab companies had an argument about pricing some time back and it lead to a taxi cab strike.... which meant cabs blocking traffic and the city was shut down (streets impassible) until the city backed down....
I was in Quito during a bus driver strike and everyone was talking about it. They even called in the army to tow busses.... It was amusing to see uniformed soldiers pushing busses around.... But there were fewer busses than cabs and so the streets were still passable.