First, to clarify, when I was giving my examples of the price differences between route taxi and private over a 2 week or longer stay, I was speaking in US dollars not JA.
Second, IMO the driver is JUST AS GUILTY as the passenger. The driver is the one who diverted from taking his fare to the West End and lied to his fare when she inquired why they were going the other direction. Just because he is not the one who did the actual robbery, he is just as guilty. Two guys go to a store to rob the place, one stays outside as the lookout while the other goes in and robs the place. Are they both not guilty? Absolutely. Or one stays in the car as the getaway driver. He's guilty too. Trying to say the driver is not guilty in this case is laughable to me.
I had not heard about the 'not getting into a Red Plate with two guys in it' until after I got back from my last trip. I consider myself lucky as I've never paid that much attention to this and will definitely be paying CLOSE attention in the future.
Another thing I really took away from the suggestions here is to get the license plate of every taxi you get it. However, I don't think just writing it down is that good because they could easily steal that piece of paper you wrote it. A better option might be to stand in front of the car and text the license plate to a friend. If the driver asks what you were doing, just say, "Oh my friend and I always text plate numbers to each other and where we're going, just for safety." That way if something should happen, someone else knows the taxi you were in. I plan on implementing this next trip.
Fatty, thanks for clarifying. I'm glad to hear that. It sounds as though she is starting to heal from her ordeal. I will continue to pray for her.