Question of the Day - 11 December 2019

For people who still use Taxi's, how do these rates compare to the current rates? Higher or lower? We haven't used them for a long time since they always were long hauling us.

They need to add a couple of more zones or lower the prices for the given zones IMO. I took a cab Monday, 12/2, from the airport to Flamingo, solo passenger. It was $21 before tip.  Five of us were in the cab going back to the airport last Monday and the fare for 5 from Flamingo to the airport was $25 before tip. Now it would be $27 without tip, and more for 5 passengers.  They seem to be raising the rates with the zone policy. Not sure that was intended.  I've never taken an Uber but I would consider it next time, although Uber will probably up it's rates once these rates go up. 

@David, when I get in the cab at the airport I always say 'no highway', and they don't long haul me. 

In September,  I took a cab from McCarran Airport to the Flamingo for $23.00 plus tip.  The new proposed rates are higher.  More people will take Uber/Lyft if this price hike goes into effect.  Don/ New Jersey

The zones are a good idea, in theory.  But there's 2 problems.  The first is that the flat rates are slightly higher than what the regular, non-long-haul rate should be.  At least for certain areas within the zones.  The second -- and larger -- issue is that this is too little, too late.  The taxi industry should've done this 5 years ago.  At this point, many people have gotten fed up with getting ripped off and have switched to Uber/Lyft from the airport.  Simply no longer ripping people off is not going to get people to switch back to taking taxis from the airport, especially given the often long taxi line.  I have a little sympathy for the cabdrivers who are decent and honest, and I know some of them are out there.  But in general, I have zero sympathy for an industry whose business plan was to f*ck their customers for as long as possible, when that industry finally gets its comeuppance.  

this is unrelated to the airport issue, but it's next to impossible to get a taxi if you're not at the airport or on Fremont or at a Strip resort.  Uber/Lyft have made it super-convenient to get a ride when you're off the beaten path.  Again, if the taxi industry is now suffering due to their unwillingness to service their customers properly, then boo-hoo for them.

it's a wash for me since I stay at Excalibur.  now I pay about $20+ coming in and around $15 leaving. but won't have to worry about it I guess

To little to late, uber/lyft will continue to dominate 

Until Uber and Lyft are regulated more heavily, I think it is just a matter of time. And the owners(shareholders) of Uber And Lyft get tried of losing billions of dollars because they pay for 20 - 30 % of each trip.

ABC Store, as well as the other souvenir stores, on Fremont Street Downtown!

I fly from McCarren to another city at least once a week.  Virtually every taxi from the airport to the city has a flat fee (or by zones)  and it's usually posted either outside or inside the door.  I think this is a good thing.

On my early trips to Vegas from the late '80s to the late '90s, taxis used to have fixed rates from McCarran to the Strip and Downtown that were posted on the door of every taxi. The fare to anywhere on the Strip, like other costs for tourists in Vegas back then, was incredibly cheap, under $5.

Because gambling as a percentage of tourist spending dropped in the 2000s, I understand why prices for hotel rooms, shows, casino coffee shops and buffets etc. had to rise as they could no longer be loss leaders for gambling but had to be profitable themselves.

However, since the taxi industry never figured out a way to put slots in cabs, the economics of operating taxis didn't change when gambling declined. Yet taxi fares have skyrocketed even more than hotel rooms or meals. How Las Vegas taxis, a regulated industry, were able to pull that off has always perplexed me.

The flat rate cab fares will have no affect on me.  I don't mind the extra time it takes and use one of the shuttle bus services.  $20-22 round trip to a strip hotel.  When the cabs match that I'll switch.

I'll consider taxis when they get rid of the $3 credit card fee.

The rates seem a little high to me.  I usually stay at TI, which looks like zone 3.  Generally I've been paying $21 or so for the street path and $25 or so for the tunnel - the difference being so minor that I really don't care which one they take - plus the tunnel is often faster. 

I don't take Uber or Lyft since I don't have a smartphone, but wouldn't anyway since I don't trust them.  I know cabbies are fully licensed with police background checks - plus any issues can be reported since you have their name/license/cab # available.  No idea who's driving an Uber (might be someone with a string of DUIs) and there have been enough reports of crimes committed by drivers against passengers that until they have to go through the same rigorous licensing I'll take a pass.  

Taxis are a free enterprise, if you arent making money, then get out of the business. This flat rate system eliminates competition. And competition drives the price to an honest level. How dare there be a law to eliminate competition, and make normal working folks get railroaded into paying excess fees to an already expensive world on the strip. Las Vegas is becoming a playground for the rich elite. Forcing people to pay these rates is absurd, most people like shopping for their best deals. 

I was going to inject the idea of using shuttle buses into this conversation, but Timothy G beat me to it. If you're going to the Strip, especially someplace near LVB/Tropicana or LVB/Flamingo, you'll be one of the first people let off. I'd consider the $20-30 savings worth it. It would only not be worth it if you were one of the last people off, and you would spend a large amount of extra time getting to your hotel. It's your choice whether the time or the money is more important. If you're arriving before 3pm, I'd say the money is more important, because your room might not be ready until 3pm anyway. But if you're arriving around dinnertime or in the evening, I can understand time being more important.

I wonder if the cabbies will rethink the "advice" that the tunnel is better if zone pricing goes into effect.