If you’re new to an area or traveling on business, sometimes trying to navigate the public transportation options available to you, such as buses, trams, and the subway, can be extremely uncomfortable. You don’t know where the stops are, which vehicles to take, or the easiest ways to get to your destinations. This is why it can often be much easier instead of trying to find a bus, just call the taxi service and ask them to take you to your destination. One word of advice though: it is not advisable to always assume that your taxi driver knows exactly where to take you all the time.

This may seem strange to some people who are not familiar with traveling by taxi. The common assumption is that you should be able to get in the car and tell the driver where to go and that he or she will get you there without any hassle or disruption along the way. However, the reality of traveling by taxi can be somewhat different from this, and that is why you should always be prepared with the directions to your destination before getting in the car.

This used to be something that was annoying and frustrating for people, but GPS-capable laptops and smartphones should have eliminated all the hassle in getting directions ready for your driver. Using a site like MapQuest or Google Maps or your phone’s built-in GPS functionality, it shouldn’t be a problem at all to quickly route directions from your location to your destination so you have them handy in case you want to give the driver directions.

This is as much a measure to protect yourself as anything else. Some taxi drivers are always willing to expand the amount of profit they can make by taking you down a winding route to your destination if you don’t know the best way to get there. By having instructions beforehand, you can appear to be familiar with the area and simply tell the driver that you want to go, although they can make recommendations based on traffic that you might do well to listen to. Don’t worry too much about not having the addresses, although if you can’t get them, it won’t be the end of the world. Most taxis now have GPS units that can help you easily find your destination.