How do we pronounce.......y las guerras de los taxis

If you knew it was going to cause problems, why did you get into the taxi in the first place?

I guess I hoped the driver could "run the gauntlet".
But in our defense, he solicited us, not the other way round. Perhaps your question should get directed at him: surely he, of all people, should know "the rules."
Several times over the years we've tried to flag down empty taxis as we walked up towards the "sitio." They usually point up the road to the taxi rank.