I think I am going to do something risky and ditch a taxi without paying.
Let me guess, you have done this before?
Yes. I, like most people, am horrible.
Just because you think other people are horrible doesn't give you an excuse to not pay for things. The taxi driver depends on you paying them to be able to pay their bills and to buy food. You need to pay for services that you hire someone for.
If a company provides a service and they do not ask whether or not you will pay, that means you don't have to.
When you get in the taxi, there is a meter that calculates your taxi fare. That alone is enough to know that you need to pay, though. Also, there is a price on the back of the passenger seat that tells customers what to expect for their price, so you have to be more considerate and do what is expected.