dollar rides in STT

Hello Celeste,

A safari is a type of vehicle used to run taxi. (The other major vehicle used is a van and then cars/suvs.) A safari is a converted truck; truck bed is customized with bench seating in an open-air covered area.

There are taxi drivers that run 'dollar rides' (with discounted fare) and they are typically in a safari vehicle therefore sometimes people call the 'dollar ride' a safari... however not all safaris are 'dollar rides'.

I am thinking you mean a sign like buses have with the route - the dollar rides don't have this.

The 'dollar ride safaris' generally run the same route as the public bus and pull into bus stops.

The 'dollar rides' came into existence as a way to alleviate some of the public transportation needs among residents that the buses weren't filling, it is not a regulated system therefore some 'dollar ride' drivers will charge the regular taxi rates to people they assume aren't residents... ie. tourist.

The only type of taxi you will find at the airport are regular taxis. There is a bus stop along the road going to the airport.

--Islander

The safari, or open air taxi's vs passenger vans and other 'closed' up taxis, as noted above by Islander are not all $1ride safari and it is sometimes hard to know for sure which is which.

After depending on them as my main transportation for my first 10 months on STT let me tell you a little on how to spot the difference between them. Remember these are just generalizations and they do NOT all fit exactly into this 'mold'. $1.rides are often the not-so-new vehicles, they might have more local folks than generally white "tourists" (can't always tell who is a tourist of course!), once you are away from downtown, you might have a better chance at distinquishing between $1 and the others.

And the route - another key - $1 ride safari's all tend to circle the eastern portion of the island in a clockwise direction ONLY! The tourist safari's can be seen going both directions. Their is a main route that goes from the Tutu Park Mall, East to and through Red Hook and back to the Tutu Park Mall. It will stop along the way, almost anywhere you'd like to get off or on - you just push the buzzer/bell when you want off, or in some of the ones that don't have a signalling system, you just thump on the side of the vehicle to alert the driver. Another route takes them (again Tutu Park Mall is the East End of this route) into "town" (as Charlotte Amalie is called - vs - "country" which is the Eastern End of the island). Those going into town, travel up and over, and journey past downtown Charlotte Amalie and continue on to the Univeristy of the VI, then somewhere over there turn round and head back the same route, ending at Tutu or, in some cases going all the way round the loop through Red Hook.

Easy to figure out once you're here. You might make some miscues as to which one you are actually climbing on ($1 ride vs the others) , as I did once or twice, but no biggie.

thanks from celeste for the responses. 🙂