I've yet to have a problem with a taxi. Agree on a price ballpark before getting in. They won't have any incentive taking the long route, and when arrived you don't have to budge if they ask for more.
Granted that I look like a very cheap backpacker, which might help getting a correct price in the first place.
The problem at the time was that they had used his bug that he gave away only for training purposes to the people attending his class.
After the first release, pangu replaced his bug by one of theirs (and both bugs were fixed by apple in a subsequent iOS release.) He probably had to spend some time finding a new bug to use in his classes so it's understandable to be pissed.