In-City Transport information on Delhi, Jaipur and Agra

If you plan to undertake Golden triangle tour packages in India , below information on transport is absolute essential for first time travelers .

Airport to Hotel-On arrival at Delhi, the police run a pre-paid taxi service to any part of the city. These operate at a fixed price to protect both new and experienced travellers from bartering and extended journeys.

Alternatively, there are buses. In Agra and Jaipur, no fixed airport-hotel rates mean visitors should confirm the price at the airport tourist desk and then with the driver before setting off.

Taxis—Taking a taxi for a single journey or keeping it to make several stops is not as extravagant as it sounds. Drivers can be very good, helpful and speak good English; the problems start with the young drivers who have a mate and often have no geography of their own city (this is particularly true of evening drivers in the capital). In Delhi add 70 percent to the fare on the meter, a tip of 10 percent, plus waiting time of about Rs10 per hour. After 11 at night there is a 25 percent surcharge. In Jaipur and Agra meter rarely work and hard bargaining is essential. Taking a taxi from a large hotel naturally costs more; and Jaipur drivers produce an alarming 'official' rate card (fabricated by their union) with prices often higher than they are in Delhi.

Auto-rickshaws—A two-stroke motorcycle driven by a jolly, often well-informed man pulls a covered seat big enough for two, although whole Indian families squeeze into one during the rush hour; good for nipping through busy streets. Meters may work in Delhi, but will not work in Agra or Jaipur where a fixed sum for the journey or journeys (less than half the taxi rate) needs to be agreed in advance; tips as for taxis. In the capital, a driver is unlikely to go from Old Delhi down to the hotels in New Delhi; he will go as far as Connaught Place, and you will have to take a second auto-rickshaw for the rest of the trip.

Bicycle rickshaws—If you can tolerate employing human muscle-power so blatantly, a two-seater drawn by a tricycle makes a pleasant and quiet ride around Agra, parts of Old Delhi and inner Jaipur. Rates should be agreed in advance; big bottoms should pay big tips.

Beware: Drivers of taxis and rickshaws in all three cities are liable to promote shops where they get a rake-off. Take no notice. They will also bad-mouth your choice of shop if their rake-off will be small. The solution is to enter your pre-selected shop alone and announce firmly to the owner that you have come here at your own decision, not your driver's.

City Buses—Strictly for the adventurous, especially during rush hour when there seem to be as many people hanging onto the sides of the bus as there are squashed inside.