"Getting a taxi to move around is expensive". This is what you all think, i am almost certain about it. Taxi transfers has been classified as something expensive in everyone's mind because it is among the most pricey means of transportation someone could choose. That is true, it is perhaps a bit pricey. But is it expensive?... Let me analyse it further on.
Taxi services: Price tag and value-for-money
Any product or service has some specific characteristics: Built in quality, style, techinical specifications, integrated technology, purpose of use, price to purchase, etc. All those are making each product or service somehow different from similar category's products or services. What it really makes it unique though is the consumer that will buy and use it - me, you and everyone else. Basically it is our needs that determine the uniqueness of anything.
Take for example two cars of different classes: a city-class car and a executive-class car. Let's suppose that the first costs 15.000 and the second 50.000 euros (GBP, USD, you name it). Both cars is basically nothing more than a car: 4 wheels, an engine-transmission unit, a brake system, an aircondition system and a turning wheel. At a first glance on their prices, the executive-class car is expensive. What are your needs though?...cause if you need a car to cover 100+ km on a daily basis, mainly out of an urban road network, then suddenly the 50.000€ car starts to seems not that expensive. If you need a car to drive that distance in a better "enviroment", a more safe, comfort and stressless enviroment, then the executive car becomes pretty tempting choice despite it's high price tag.
My point is that anything has two ,totally different, economic sides to consider about when it comes that crucial moment of buying it or not: The price of it and the value it has.
Are taxi transfers expensive afterall?
Having the above in mind, a taxi transfer in Chania area maybe isn't that expensive anymore. If you relate the price of a taxi transfer to what you really "buy" and how much this meets your needs of a transportation, we believe that -all of the sudden- a taxi service is far from expensive in most cases.
Let's say that you are coming for holidays in Crete and you are looking for a transfer from Chania airport to Platanias area. Let's also suppose that you are 3 persons in your company. You two main options to be transferred to your hotel are:
- A private taxi transfer
- A shuttle airport transfer (provided either from your tour operator or an independent online booking agent)
So, start thinking:
- The private taxi option for a return transfer from Chania airport to Platanias would cost 80 euros in total while a shuttle bus transfer would cost (in average) 22 euros per person. "80€ to 22€ ? wow, that's a 58 euros more! A taxi is expensive!" -"Hold on a minute..."
- Actually, it is 80€ to 66€ for the 3 of you. "Really? is it more expensive just by 14 euros than the shuttle transfer?...interesting". -"Yes, it is interesting."
- And those 14 euros are actually just 4,6€ more expensive. 4,6 euros per person... for a return transfer...
- So, the "expensive" taxi is 2,30€ more expensive. Just 2 euros and 30 cents more expensive per way for each one of you!
Let me say it again cause you might not believed it: For +2,30€ per person you would get a private transfer, directly from Chania airport to your hotel in Platanias. For 2,30€ more you will be at your hotel in about 40 minutes time (after you might have been already in an airplane for 4 hours), checking in and heading to your room; while the rest of the group in that shuttle bus would have just started from the airport, half way to Platanias, making -i don't know how many - en route stops to drop off people to different hotels. Excuse me, but 2,30€ more of a price tag for an unrivaled better value-for-money transfer option doesn't making exactly an expensive option.
Check our prices, do your maths for your case, evaluate the value-for-money that you get from every option and then make your desicion.
We are certain than when it comes to a transfer from Chania airport or anywhere else, you would make your reservation with Taxi4Crete.
Kostas kourgiantakis
Manager of www.taxi4crete.gr