I've heard some rumblings elsewhere that they have and now it occassionally makes them cheaper than Uber or Lyft. Can anyone confirm this and do they have a site you can check price before you decide to ride? TIA
I've heard some rumblings elsewhere that they have and now it occassionally makes them cheaper than Uber or Lyft. Can anyone confirm this and do they have a site you can check price before you decide to ride? TIA
That has happened in only a very limited context--trips to and from the airport. Your destination/origination is in one of several "zones" and you get charged accordingly; the meter doesn't run. I've been told, though I didn't verify, that the cab companies set the charges so that a typical trip to/from a Strip destination is more expensive than it used to be--especially if the trip is relatively short.
Of course, this practice came about because of the cabbies' notorious practice of "long-hauing," where a fare (who often didn't know any better) was taken to his destination via the airport tunnel, North Las Vegas, Tonopah, Philadephia, Calgary, and Narnia before being dropped off at his destination. That was discontinued after the casinos complained that the cab companies were taking too much of "their" money from the tourists.
Whether a given mode of transportation to a given place is cheaper or more expensive than Uber or Lyft depends on the time you travel. "Surge pricing" in Vegas is the worst of any major destination, with as much as a 400% difference between "high demand" and "low demand." Many. many people have been surprised to find that the $20 ride they took the other day now costs $58.
Got in taxi line at Bellagio. Without our asking, the taxi-loading-guy said "Taxi will be twenty-five dollars, limosine thirty five dollars." So that was the flat taxi rate from Bellagio to airport.
There was a QoD about this flat rate system not long ago.
They’re free to the strip clubs! Er...ah... so I’ve been told
thanks for the input. I did read an article after the fact of it only being to the strip from the airport and that it's divided into 3 zones with the pricing. Several times I've been a victum of long hauling and have called the driver on it, one was really bad making up all sorts of lame excuses as to why he was driving away from the airport instead of towards it. Obviously he thought this old lady was new to the town.. not a tourist since the 70's! I'm kicking myself I didn't get his number because that guy definetly should have been turned in!
To be fair, if it's crowded on or near the Strip--like a Friday night--going directly there by the shortest route (north) might take much longer than the airport tunnel route would, even though the latter is physically more distance. That's one of the reasons that approach route was built in the first place.
No one was ever a "victim" of long-hauling if they didn't choose to be. You've hired the cab, you can tell him what route to take. If you want to see which choice might be preferable, you can check each on Google Maps and you'll get ETAs based on present traffic conditions.
A cabbie might choose the tunnel because he just came from the Strip and knows it's congested. Or, he could be one o'them FURRINERS from someplace like Senegal and is trying to rip you off. Best thing to do is check out the route yourself, or at least ask the driver which was is best, given the present traffic conditions.
I'd be interested in knowing how often the tunnel was still chosen by drivers, knowing the fare is going to be the same either way. I'd suspect quite a few still choose it. A further consideration is that the farther north your destination is, the more sense it makes to use the airport tunnel. It makes little sense, for example, to use surface streets to get to Sahara.
