Public Transportation Safety Information

Tourists abroad should be aware of public transportation safety. Using public transportation in a foreign country can be quiet dangerous if you are not careful.

Many criminals frequent buses, subways, trains, and masquerade as taxi drivers in order to victimize tourists.

For this reason I would suggest not using public transportation while overseas. Of course, there are times when you have to.

If you must do so, I suggest having the hotel call a taxi for you. Most hotels should have a list of reliable and safe taxi services for guests.

Tourists should refrain from hailing a taxi from the street. Often taxi drivers will pick up visitors, take them to a secluded area, and rob them.

Women should be even more careful when using taxis abroad. Many become victims of sexual assaults or sexual harassment at the hands of criminals posing as taxi drivers.

Read more travel advice for women.

Also, there are many “ghost taxis” abroad. These are vehicles and drivers not registered with the government. Often times these are the criminals pretending to be taxi drivers. Furthermore, even if the taxi driver is not a criminal, these vehicles are not safe. Since they are not registered with the government, they have not been properly inspected to ensure they are mechanically safe.

Many tourists try to save money by using public buses rather than taxis. However, doing so can be very costly. Many times their belongings are stolen by pickpockets on buses. Understand that since buses are cheap forms of transportation, they are cheap enough for criminals to use.

Here in Ecuador I see many tourists using public buses to travel around the country. What they do not understand is that these buses are often targets are bandits and robbers. The criminals will stop these buses once outside the city and rob all passengers.

So remember, when possible, avoid using public transportation abroad. If you must use it make sure and use reliable and safe taxis recommended by hotels.

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