IT GETS AROUND
Got any gossip? Tip off the Taxiwallah: Eat Petrol!
"AC mushkilla, eat petrol"
Were the words of my Al Ain taxi driver yesterday when I requested he turned up the AC which was spitting out air on the 1 setting. Or I could've come and sat in the front passenger seat :-/
Relunctantly he turned it up to 2.
The rise in petrol prices means that Al Ain cabbies are finding ways of keeping fuel costs down and turning off the AC is one of them...
Were the words of my Al Ain taxi driver yesterday when I requested he turned up the AC which was spitting out air on the 1 setting. Or I could've come and sat in the front passenger seat :-/
Relunctantly he turned it up to 2.
The rise in petrol prices means that Al Ain cabbies are finding ways of keeping fuel costs down and turning off the AC is one of them...
Labels: al ain taxi culture
posted by Al Ain Taxi at 5/26/2006 09:39:00 am
5 Comments:
I wonder if they're going to start charging extra for the luxury of an AC.
How much (more) petrol does it actually use?
eg if you could do 300km on a full tank of fuel with no A/C, how many less km will you do if the A/C is switched on?
Because I'll warrant it's miniscule. Compared to the power it takes to run an engine, the power it takes to run a few A/C fans must be minimal.
If you're going anything above 100 km/hr(60 mph)...it would be better to roll up the windows and put on the A/c. That is as....crs of this generation are designed to be as efficient as possible...which means...better streamlined cars that drive better with their windows up. If you leave them down....the wind is just pulling the car back..it is all about aerodynamics =)
The driver was just being cheap....and cant blame him...as cab drivers down in the middle east arent the most educated.
Btw...nice blog.
I think it's written in Al Ain taxi driver lore that using the AC significantly decreases fuel efficiency. I have come across this belief many times and have tried to convince otherwise! What they don't consider is non use of AC significantly reduces passenger tipping..
Well the AC on does marginally increase feul consumption, but to the the average Jo this doesn't amount to much. These poor taxi driver's earn a pittance so I suppose every fil saved is considered a great saving. The only thing they haven't considered is customer satisfaction, i.e. a good tip for a comfortable rid.
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