Eliza and Ioan, two Romanians from Galati who have traveled to over 40 countries on four continents, recently had a very unpleasant experience with Bolt drivers at the airport in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The drivers there are already known for the fact that they often gouge tourists in various ways.
Ioan and Eliza were stabbed by a Bolt driver from Baku PHOTO Facebook/In the real world
Eliza, who together with her husband has the account “In the world for real” on YouTube, Tik Tok and Instagram, narrated in a video that went viral on Tik Tok the ordeals they went through in Azerbaijan because of the Bolt drivers at the airport in Baku.
Specifically, Eliza and Ioan, who traveled with their three-month-old baby to Azerbaijan, ordered a Bolt at Baku airport. And from here began a whole adventure loaded with spikes and attempted spikes. Normally, the ride to the hotel where they were staying cost eight euros.
The three got into the ordered Bolt car. “We put our bags, only the driver told us at one point that he was going to cancel the Bolt race, that there was a problem with the Bolt system in Azerbaijan, that we wouldn’t get the money, well, donkeys… After who told us that we will give him cash. It wasn’t a problem, the ride was 8 euros or something”says Eliza.
Only the driver opened another app and told them that they would drive a certain number of kilometers to the hotel and that he would calculate the payment based on the number of kilometers at the end. At which point Eliza said to him:Wait a minute boss! Did the thief meet the fool? We give you 8 euros or so, as it says in the Bolt app. And the driver told us that 8 euros is the starting price”.
Eliza and her husband refused the “stake”, and the driver took them back to the airport. And when they got off, another driver appeared who approached them and told them that he was taking them all through the Bolt app.
The Romanian family asked to pay by card, but the second driver told them that it is not possible to pay by card. Eliza and Ioan calculated the price, which would have cost them 40 euros. They also refused the second prickly driver from Baku airport.
A driver changed the route
However, they were quickly approached by a third driver, who told them he would take them to the hotel for around 15 euros. But the third driver was also a prick. Initially, he told them that he was going to pay for parking at the airport, and that the Romanians should then pay for his parking as well. Eliza and Ioan also refused to pay for parking, and finally the driver agreed to take them to the hotel for 15 euros. But the unpleasant surprises continued. At one point, Ioan went down to an ATM to withdraw money in the local currency. At which point the Azeri driver changed the destination on the GPS, then taking them to a different hotel than the one requested.
“He dropped us off more than 3 kilometers from our hotel. The most striking thing was that we were also with a 3-month-old baby, we were tired, and the driver woke up to pick us up for about 3 kilometers, given that their gasoline is about 50 cents a liter. And the man was on the road very quietly, as if he hadn’t even tried to shoot us 2-3 times”Eliza also told.
The spikes given by Bolt drivers at Baku airport have been known for years, being the subject of dozens of comments on the well-known TripAdvisor website.
“The drivers at Baku airport are sharp. When I arrived at the airport exit, I ordered a Bolt that would have cost the equivalent of 4 euros. Only the driver told me to cancel the order through the app because there are problems with the online payment and to pay him in cash. When I left the airport area, he told me that I also had to pay the parking fee and that in total the trip would cost the equivalent of 10 euros. I was tired after a long journey, so I finally paid them, although the amount was inflated”wrote Ngjorong, a tourist from Singapore, on TripAdvisor.
