Long Hauled...i think?

Arrived in Vegas at 11:30am on May 28th for my first solo trip. Couldn't wait to get the action started! I tried to get a shuttle, but the line for the shuttles was long and then I thought I'd have to wait even longer to have the shuttle get around to my hotel, so I ran over to the taxi line which moved very fast. I get in my cab and the driver asks me "Where ya headed" to which I clearly reply "Paris", he says okay and starts to drive. A moment later he asks me "Are you getting a charger?", I was like "What's a charger?" he says..."like Charger the car", I told him no, I'd probably way to inebriated to drive anywhere this trip, he says "fair enough". So then a few moments later, I see him drive right past the exit for Swenson and head towards the tunnel, so I asked him "Is there any reason in particular you are taking the tunnel?" He says...this is the quickest way to the car rent-a-centre. I was like..."That's awesome, if only I was going there...I said to go to Paris." He's like oh oh oh I didn't hear that I'll turn on to LVBLVD now. I was like "You do what you want, but I'm still paying you the listed fare from the NV taxi authority website, I shouldn't have to pay extra because you came up with your own destination to take me". He says..."Oh I see, you're in saving mode" to which I replied "No, I'm in 'not letting other people spend my money for me' mode". He's like, "well you're not going to pay the fare anyway, so I'm going to drop you off and you can find your own way back", I told him if you abandon me "you will definitely be getting a call to the taxi authority". He starts going on about how he doesn't give a shit blah blah blah and eventually drops me off at the callaway golf center. I snapped pictures of his permit, the taxi authority number on the back of the seat, and his license plate as he drove away and went inside to ask to use their phone as I'm Canadian and calling from my phone would cost a fortune. The person I spoke to told me I'd have to wait for a detective to come out to investigate and since I just arrived, was exhausted and didn't want to be stranded at the callaway golf center for who knows how long, I told him he should just put in the complaint with his supervisor as he said that was the alternative to waiting. I just ended up hopping on the Strip Downtown Express bus from there and it brought me right to Paris. Worked out well as I was able to get my 3 day pass that lasted me literally until the minute I had to go to the airport and I used it to take the WAX bus. Got on the bus at 11:46...pass expired at 11:48

Needless to say, I had a great time considering I was solo and didn't know how I would feel about this trip. Wouldn't hesitate to go solo again.

Bahaha I just had to laugh at this cab driver. You fucked with the wrong person...this isn't my first time to the rodeo. Good thing I don't mind confrontation! It got my adrenaline pumping for the beginning of my trip! hahaha

 

Well, you certainly had a Dorkus Profundus for a driver!

I don't know what I would have done. I know I would have been very sure the driver really understood where I wanted to go.

Oh wow, I just realized that's Whittlesea (/Henderson), which is the taxi company our company usually uses. I've never had any issues with them. Last trip the one dispatcher started recognizing my voice. I would definitely phone or stop in their office and talk to management about it.

 

Good for you! (But sorry about a shitty start to the trip.)

Hey, maybe we could start a wall of shame for long-hauling cabbies. Everyone could just snap a pic like you did…might be kinda fun. If nothing else, a way to vent some anger, perhaps.

 

New way to tunnel you without it seeming so obvious.

 

I just had to shake my head...if I was going to the car rental center...why would I tell you I'm not getting a car? And wouldn't I take the free buses to the center if I did want to go there??? Sheesh! Moron!
Anyone ever get long hauled and then actually speak to the detective? How long did it take them to get out there? Maybe next time I'll wait! hahaha

 

Question here. If the driver abandons a passenger, like getting p*ssed and telling the passenger to get out then and there, is that driver breaking any specific law or rule?

 

I don't know why you titled this thread "Long Hauled...i think?" rather than something like "Incident in Las Vegas cab" or "Taxi Trouble" or something...

For what you experienced I'm thinking the driver probably thought you said "Payless" and so he was taking you to Payless Car Rental.

 

Ohhh yeah...I was trying to figure out what it could be that sounds like “Paris”. Muy bien, Auggie.

 

Hmmm out of payless and paris...surely Paris is far more requested...I've never heard of payless car rental. And he replied back to me that I told him to take me to the car rental center not that I asked for payless car rental. And as I said, I still clearly told him...I wasn't renting a car well before the turn to the tunnel....

 

He titled it "Long Hauled...I think?" because he thought the driver might have intentionally been taking the tunnel to scam him. However, your suggestion that the driver thought he said "Payless" makes a lot of sense.

The best thing to do with these cab drivers is give them the full name of the destination so there is no chance of error - if he had said "The Paris Hotel" instead of "Paris" there is no way the driver could have mistaken it for "Payless". The next most important thing to tell any cab driver before they pull away from the curb is DO NOT take the tunnel.

This is why I prefer private car services and would rather pay extra than deal with the stress of being taken for a ride - literally. These Vegas cab drivers are getting more and more desperate. One fool tried to long haul me from the Cosmo to McCarron in May by taking the freeway and tunnel instead of Tropicana - I made him get off the freeway and asked for a receipt with all of his info and I called and filed a complaint with the Taxi & Limousine commission when I got home. They said they could only give him a fine (but I think that after several "fines" their license is eventually revoked).

I think it sounds like a misunderstanding in this case, but the driver was a real a-hole for dropping him off at some random location- THAT has to be against the law. If you can't pick up a fare on the side of the road in Vegas, you certainly shouldn't be able to dump one off anywhere you feel like it! I would have called the police and let them take the cabbie on a REAL long haul!!!

 

Though we had one experience with long haul, and I was not going to pay it, I did keep my cool until we got to the hotel. After all, he is truly in the "drivers seat".

When I got out with my phone in hand to call the Taxi Authority, our long haul turned into a $10 cab ride - total.

By the way, not sure how the tunnel becomes the way to the car rental center anyways.

 

Disturbing that he dumped you off. That part I find bothersome. I suppose with an accent Paris and Payless can sound similar....yes, the tunnel is how you go to the rental car center.

 

always a better idea to avoid confrontation until you get where you are going. there's not much he can do at that point, but if you make a stink half way there, you can end up in this predicament where he drops you off in the middle of nowhere.

 

True...but in this case I wouldn't have ended up at my destination anyway lol

 

I know that every passenger and driver experience is different but I probably wouldn't have mentioned that you were only going to pay the amount found on the net until you got to the hotel. I probably would have kept quiet and then on arrival I would have given him the amount that is quoted on the site, no tip. If he grumbled then I would whip out the phone immediately and motion to call the cab authority. I think he would be out of there in a flash and you would be at your destination. The butthead driver dropped you off because he wanted to "screw" you by leaving you out in the boonies, which he did.

It is unfortunate that these guys pull their crap and get away with it. As others have said, the driver can be fined and later his license pulled but usually these are the bad apples of the bunch, pulling their crap because they don't think the passenger will follow through with the complaint.

guess that's why lately I've been renting a car whenever I'm in vegas, then I never have to worry about butthole cab drivers IMHO.

 

Giving the cab driver the benefit of the doubt, this could have been a misunderstanding. Him dumping you was no misunderstanding.

In general, I think long hauling happens because the taxi owners demand it of their cab drivers and the taxi authority doesn't do a darn thing to stop it. The taxi union in Vegas is very strong - the taxi authority is very weak.

Agree the best way to handle this is to wait until you get to your destination and then have the dispute. I've read so many times where the customer gives the cabbie what the fare "should" have been. If I'm ever long hauled, I would offer the cabbie NOTHING! :Þ Yeah, let's call the cops or the taxi authority now.

What a crappy way to start a vacation!

- Linda in TX

 

It's best to take a shuttle to your hotel and a cab back to the airport IMHO.

 

I sent his photo and van pic to some cabbie friends in vegas. Anyone want a truely honest cabbie in vegas, look up @hackingvegas or vegas_cabbie and a few others on Twitter

 

This clearly wasn't a misunderstanding. Nobody in their right mind is mistaking "Paris" for "Payless." Those two words don't really sound that much alike, do they?

And who takes a cab to the rent-a-car center anyway?

 

How does that help when you're at the airport and need a cab to the hotel of your choice ? ? ?