Long hauling from airport: article

I should say that the Los Angeles Times had an article about this "LV Long Hauling" on Weds. 4/24 and hopefully more people will see this.

I say this because unless things have changed fairly recently, about 1/3 of all of the people who come to LV come from Southern California.

RecVPPlayer

Car rental facility to Gold Coast: I would take Warm Springs Rd west, cross LVB & over the interstate and take a right onto Valley View Rd(four way stop at that intersection). Head north on Valley View til Tropicana and hang a left. Go a couple of blocks and turn right onto Arville(by the Orleans casino). Head north on Arville until you hit Flamingo and turn right...go a couple of blocks and the Gold Coast is on your left. I don't believe Valley View connects to Flamingo Rd; so that is why you have to take Arville in order to make it to Flamingo. I've used this route in order to get to the Rio many times...always light traffic(until you are on Tropicana) and just a few traffic lights.

Glasses can affect your vision; especially when they have been emptied several times.....

Spring Break 2000 !!!

Yes, Valley View starts and stops and so going North (from earlier), Valley View stops at Tropicana and then picks up again at Flamingo (right where Rio and Gold Coast are across the street from each other) and then once again it continues Northbound.

RecVPPlayer

I'm heading to the Gold Coast from the airport at the end of May. Are there shuttles that go there? Otherwise, what would the cab fare be approximately?

I'd say about 15 bucks if they dont longhaul you through the tunnel.

I think this is a great article to have laminated and thrust in the cabbies face every time you FACE this dilemma.

We generally arrive McCarran early in the morning destined for downtown. At that time of day Paradise is both quicker and cheaper, yet I still have had cabbies try and take the freeway. I don't know if they only know one way, or they think that somehow if the fare is higher, their tip will be higher. If I can stop them in time to take Paradise and they do it, I would certainly tip them. If they don't, or argue with me (most seem to) then I would let them go and they get no tip. If they seem perturbed about that, I tell them they used up their tip in the excess charge for taking the freeway when they should have taken Paradise.

Since car rentals are generally really inexpensive in LV, we started renting a car precisely to avoid this hassle. It's not that much more than cab trips to and from the airport plus tip, and it gives us much more flexibility during the trip.

That's my recommendation.

We changed from cabs to presidential limo many trips ago. It is worth it to us. They text or call as soon as the flight arrives. The driver helps with the bags from the carousel, we get to stop at CVS and buy water for the week and anything else we might need. They arrive on time and we always have plenty of time to get to our return flights. Just seems to be a stress-reducer that is well worth it.

May absolute least favorite thing to do in Las Vegas is to take a cab from the airport to my hotel. Even when you tell them just how you want to go, they still try to long haul you. Most know that the tunnel is a long haul. If the driver says something like do you want me to take the shortest distance or the fastest way, they want to long haul you. They are trying to be tricky and "get permission" to take the tunnel (of course many just take it without this word game, but some on probation use such language). If you tell them the proper way to go and they get upset and then blurt out there is construction, then there is a very good chance they are lying (of course there is a ton of construction and it is possible, but I still have them go the right way and it is not a surprise that overwhelmingly construction is not an issue).

Please be aware that the main issue is not rogue drivers. It is systemic with cab companies pressuring drivers to reach quotas, and all but forcing them into such action. Plus there have been some stories that at certain points in time, the taxi commission/authority was discouraging reports from individuals calling to press the issue (I guess this depends on who is running the taxi commission/authority at the time).

My understanding is that there was a solid proposal by one recent person running the taxi authority to charge one flat rate for all passengers going to strip hotels. The rate was a couple of dollars more than the average trip would cost. In theory this would have netted honest companies more money and all but done away with passenger fears of being cheated. Guess what? The taxi companies killed the proposal. To me that tells me that the couple of dollars more earned over the honest rate for each trip, nowhere near made as much as their standard dishonest practice.

What is a passenger to do? Get the drivers name and number, which is easily identified on the right hand side of the dashboard (plus know the companies name like Desert Taxi) and file a complaint with the taxi commission/authority. Also, please express your anger to the hotel. The hotels have power in Las Vegas and do not want their customers saying their trip was ruined by a cab ride.

Lastly, please do reward the honest taxi driver with a good tip. Times are tough for them and they are often under a lot of pressure to cheat. Treat them right, they deserve it!

Would long hauling from Paris to Golden Nugget, taking highway be long hauling. What exactly would best route be...once I told him to take Las Vegas Blvd..and he got mad. There wasn't any traffic , and he took his time. Fare wasn't bad..