Missing in Vegas

are taxis.  Used to be lines of them everywhere, last week hardly any.  Lots of Ubers though and those cars are in much better condition

Seems like a lot of cab drivers switched over to Uber and Lyft. Its still easy to grab a cab almost anywhere, and sometimes it's cheaper. But I've had my share of crappy rides in old smelly taxis, so nowadays it's Uber if necessary. Now we almost always grab a rental car for cruising the whole Las Vegas area. Uber to Mt Charleston is awful expensive...

If using Uber one can link their Delta account and receive miles for ordering rides. 

With Lyft one can link their Alaska  account to receive miles for ordering rides. 

I often check both apps when I want to go somewhere. Sometimes one will be significantly cheaper than the other. 

I swore off both Uber and Lyft when I asked for a ride--I don't even remember which company--and first I had to install the app, which I hate, and then I had to provide my credit card number, which I also hate, and then the dinbulb driver couldn't find me even though I described my location very precisely. Half an hour later, I got a text saying that I had been charged $10 for not showing up for my ride. Never again!

One very good reason to take a cab is that the driver will know the area very thoroughly. He will take the best and fastest route. Another good reason is that you'll always pay the same fare for the same trip. With Uber or Lyft, you might have to pay three times as much because it's five o'clock and/or the annual Nun Skinning Festival is in town.

There were definitely some kinks early on. Had you sent an email to customer service, or called,  you almost certainly would have been refunded. 

Man if I  stopped using every product because of one bad experience I would quickly run out of things to use. 

Why place blame on both companies when it was only one? 

You do need to download the app so if you have a problem with that for whatever reason then the service isn't for you. Same with the credit card.

Neither of those things seems particularly burdensome to me. Using an app is way more convenient to me than placing a phone call. 

Yes sometimes the same trip might cost you more or less money but the way lyft and Uber currently work is you will know up front exactly what your cost will be before you order.

A taxi cost varies with the same trip too depending on how long it takes. A $10 trip one day might be $20 the next day with more traffic. (The exception being the flat rates from airport to strip)

The problem I've run into with taxis in Vegas is them trying to long ride me. It seems like they often do not take the fastest or most direct route. 

With Uber and Lyft I can see exactly what route the system told them to take.

When I lived in Vegas, there was this constant bitching after the freeway connection from the airport to the 515 loop was completed. The cabs took everyone to the Strip via that route, as opposed to surface streets, because the latter, though physically shorter, took much longer. The new route was essentially a buttonhook, and everybody screamed that they were being "long-hauled." That eventually resulted in the flat rate/zone policy.

I don't really know the subtle differences between Uber and Lyft, but I do know that they operate pretty much the same way: contract drivers, "surge" pricing, etc. I have no urge to use either.

I quite frankly am very, very tired of having to download an app to do every goddamn thing. I anticipate having to download the Crap App before I can use a public toilet. And as far as providing my credit card is concerned--I've had dozens of attempts thwarted to loot my bank account, post fraudulent charges, etc. I can't see putting my card ON FILE for someone else to use, even a noble rideshare company. Call me paranoid.

I think it's a myth that taxi drivers don't take the best route. The driver knows factors that the passenger doesn't. Particularly in the traffic nightmare than is Vegas, the best route may not be obvious, and it may not be obvious that the driver is taking the best route.

My reason for using Lyft is the known pricing up front and the convenience. Also, as Live free noted, we get bonus points\ miles on credit cards and other partners which turn into free flights or hotel rooms. We have done it all from Bell Transport to the city bus to get downtown from the airport. If price is the issue, take the bus. You will, however have a much longer and sometimes "more exciting" ride. Uber/ Lyft is not perfect, but it checks most of the boxes for what we are looking for. The cars are always clean. 

Having a credit card on file shouldn't put your checking account at risk of losing funds. Do not put you debit card on file. 

Although I understand the hesitation of providing either one. Fraudulent charges can be a pain to deal with. 

I agree that the majority of drivers probably take the best route and that the best route is not always the most intuitive.