Bad Taxi Service-Beware

I can't stand LV taxi drivers. They try to long haul me all the time. I've gotten into shouting matches with them on several occasions. I hate to say it, but the women are the worst. Over the last year or two, I've had three women cabbies, and each one has tried to long haul me. It really disgusts me. Don't tell me to rent a car. The wife and I both enjoy are cocktails in Vegas. Also, the wife refuses to get on a bus.

It's really a shame that the monorail wasn't built correctly. It should go from the airport, to the strip, to downtown. But had they done that, the ripoff, swindling cab drivers would have been out of a job.

Larry,

Thanks for the great info. I have another question for you. A few years ago, I took a cab from the Tropicana to the Greek Isles ( I was going to take the Haunted Tour). Anyway, I noticed that he was taking us the wrong direction. When I called him on it and told him we were going to call the Taxicab Authority, he reached up and shut off the meter (at least it stopped accumulating charges) and quickly spun us around and got us there asap. I still made him call them while I chewed him out. They came back and said the fair was reasonable (because he had shut it down). I realized then that I had called my cards too early. At what point, when I realize I'm being long-hauled should I complain? I felt bad that this jerk didn't even get in trouble for this...except losing a tip.

If you regularly take taxis in Vegas, it's not a bad idea to program the Taxi Authority number into your cell phone so that as soon as you realize something is amiss, you can make the call. If the driver is blatantly long hauling you, I would just make the call and let the driver overhear what you are saying. Like everything else, there are bad Taxi drivers but there are also wonderful taxi drivers. You only hear stories about the bad experiences, but it also wouldn't hurt to make a call when you've had a good experience and let that Taxi company know that "x" driver gave you excellent service.

Larry (Limo Driver) from Las Vegas

We are arriving on Saturday October 8th, and so far the rental rates are high for 6 days. If they don't come down, and we take a taxi downtown from Paris, what would be long hauling???

Is there such a thing as good taxi service in Vegas?

I've had a number of good cab rides over the years. Many more good than bad.

me too. Only 2 bad experiences. One guy bitched a fit taking me from Palms to Rio.
sorry but that's where I needed to go..gees.

Another took the highway from Monte Carlo to Venetian.

Most are wonderful, talkative hard working people.

The only time I took a cab was when I anticipated the use of adult beverages. Fortunatly I never found myself on Taxicab Confessions

We've had more good experiences than bad with taxis, but have had plenty of bad ones. Rudeness, long-hauls, lying about the best route, etc. I've gotten sick of it. The bad experiences shouldn't be in the minority, they should be almost non-existent. Let me ask you this: If you went to a supermarket all the time, and they "only" short-changed you 10% of the time, would you go back?

There's no excuse for this crap in a town that thrives on tourism. We'll still take a cab if it's the only viable option, but we mostly rely on the bus system. It's cheap, quick, usually convenient, and there are never any surprises.

My saving grace is Rental cars.........or Limo, or shuttle from airport. Since Taxi line can get long.

And when I Must take a Cab........my Tip is........TIP the Valet dude who hails the cab, a dollar.
Never had a bad ride after a tip.

AT the Airport.......Before you get in the Cab........Talk to the Driver outside the car & Tell him
where you're going, and NOT thru the Tunnel. He is suppose to go the way you tell him.
If you get a bad vibe or he tries to tell you a different way? Don't get in the car. Take another cab.

I agree with having Taxi Auth. # programmed in your phone. I've had mine saved for years.
Only used it once.........on a big scary russian cabbie. But I waited til I stepped out of the car
at the hotel, and told the Valet about him, before I called.