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For you long-haul "specialists"...

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by smartone, Feb 16, 2013.

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  1. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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  2. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    "People were not willing to prosecute over a couple of dollars," he said. "They just wanted to get to their hotels."

    Could not have said it better myself.
     
  3. gpenguins67

    gpenguins67 High-Roller

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    I think they put the passengers in a tough spot. How are you gonna say you want to prosecute then continue to ride the remainder of the way to the hotel with the same driver. If they were at their final destination already the answers might be different
     
  4. feltbettor

    feltbettor Tourist

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    Last trip I believe I was long hauled. Rio to McCarran the fare read $29. It was 5am with no traffic. I guessed on my way to the airport that my fare was going to be around $18 - $20?

    After I stepping out of the cab I folded a twenty and five one dollar bills and handed it to him as I walked away with my luggage. I didn't pay him what he wanted but I did pay him more than I believe he deserved. After reading LVCabChronicals tweets and blog I've come to see it from both sides. I don't want to call the cab authority when I have better things to do but I also refuse to get pushed around.

    I've been to vegas half a dozen times now. Taken plenty of cabs at all times of the day. When I have time I check fares on my cellphone app to get an idea what to expect. In the end though I'm not going to get into a shouting match with them while they're driving. I decided to just pay the long hauler the fare I should have received and if they complain we can have the Taxicab Authority settle the dispute.

    What do you think is the best way to handle this situation?
     
  5. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Have to agree, it puts the passenger in a tough spot. Complain while you are still in the cab and you're still in the tunnel.:poke:

    I give the Authority credit for trying but just extend the monorail to the airport and also downtown and be done with most of this BS.
     
  6. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    Also, those who are planning to expense the fare don't really want to futz around with it.
     
  7. bluerider

    bluerider Low-Roller

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    Of course they aren't. Who wants to spend the first part of their exciting trip to Vegas filling out paperwork and battling with Cab drivers?

    But see, that's the problem. Just because folks don't want to spend their valuable vacation time on such a thing, doesn't mean they should be vulnerable to being longhauled.

    Is paying an extra $10 going to ruin my trip? No. But it doesn't mean I want to get scammed out of it by some crooked cabbie.

    My vacation budget doesn't include extra cash for dishonest people, nor should it.
     
  8. Iceicecool

    Iceicecool Low-Roller

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    My last trip to Vegas I took a cab from the airport to The Mirage. The driver never said a word to me and he took the freeway connector. We get to The Mirage and the meter reads $28. I was by myself and I'm not afraid to be confrontational. I start off polite, and tell him he has two choices. He can accept my $20 or I can call the Taxicab Authority. After some shouting on both sides he accepts me $20.

    I go to Vegas once a month and I can tell you that about once a trip I get into a shouting match with a driver. I never say a word until we arrive at the destination. Also if I am with other people I will give the driver the exact route to take as soon as I get in the car.

    A longhaul that has happened to me twice is Mandalay Bay to Planet Hollywood. Drivers just love taking some long loop that goes around to paradise and takes Harmon if I remember correctly. When that happens I usually offer the driver a few dollars less than what the meter should read. I've never had a driver tell me no, and to call the TA.
     
  9. mikeinctown

    mikeinctown High-Roller

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    That is the problem with the entire population of Nevada. They rely on our tourism to survive but whenever they need money for anything they raise taxes on tourists. Like you say, nobody wants the hassle of the battle.
     
  10. Boogaloo

    Boogaloo Low-Roller

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    The LVRJ pretty much runs the same article every year about the issue, with the exact same points:

    1. The police set up a check point for a day or two, find that a large portion of cabs will long-haul tourists.

    2. It's mentioned how few people are willing to go through the process of filing formal complaints.

    3. Authorities promise to step up efforts in enforcing current codes.

    Here's last year's article (they didn't even quite get to 12 months without one this year, and their previous effort was better): http://www.lvrj.com/business/going-the-long-way-costly-cab-trips-grow-into-epidemic-148421785.html

    Up the fines and make the complaint process easier for victims, start fining the companies, or set up more frequent checkpoints. Those are about the the only ways to really curb the problem easily and directly.
     
  11. DonnyC

    DonnyC VIP Whale

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    Two questions:

    1)McCarrin to Golden Nugget, how much should it cost and what route?

    2) Golden Nugget to Flamingo, how much should it cost and what route?

    Thanks
     
  12. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Been long hauled a couple times in the past year. Both times I offered the driver what I thought to be the correct fare. When they argue, I tell them we can call the Taxicab Authority to settle it and/or file a complaint. I keep their number programmed in my phone and show it to the driver. That usually shuts them up, they took what I offer, and then bitch me out as they drive away. Whatever. No skin off my back. They are the ones being deceitful and unfair, not me
     
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  13. Reston

    Reston VIP Whale

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    Pay what you think is fair when you get to the hotel. That puts the onus back on the cab driver to be the one to file a complaint. My bet is he/she won't.

    BTW, if you back out a 15-20% tip that many people normally give, it pretty much cancels out the long-haul overcharge.
     
  14. Reston

    Reston VIP Whale

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    UKFanatic beat me to the answer by a minute. And I think he/she is a lawyer!
     
  15. 44inarow

    44inarow VIP Whale

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    Totally unsurprising. I actually keep a copy of the long haul affidavit in my bag whenever I head to Vegas; I used to just offer to pay them what I knew the correct fare to be, but that doesn't stop them from ripping off other people. The last straw was on a recent trip, where I managed to talk the driver out of long-hauling me (he kept insisting that the highway would be much better to go to Mandalay Bay), but when my friend met me there later that night she told me that her taxi fare was almost $30. She had no idea how crazy that was to go from McCarran to Mandalay. Now, I have zero problem hanging out and waiting for the authorities to show up; if I have to make a Whole Big Thing about it to stop these guys from doing what they're doing, then so be it.
     
  16. Iu25

    Iu25 High-Roller

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    Last April 4 of us were leaving Cosmo and heading back downtown to our hotel. Driver decides to tunnel us from the Cosmo, I about lost my mind because I told him the way I wanted to go. I was about half toasted but was going to wait until we got DT to say anything. Well that didn't work, I saw the fare already over $20 and we had just got moving down the interstate. I went off, told him I was calling TA, and he gave me some schpeel about construction. Told him to drop us off at the first casino he came to near FSE.

    So here it gets crazy, I hand my MIL a $5 for my part of the ride and tell her no tip. So he comes up Casino Center and kinda pulls to the side behind a bus, it's not where they drop off but I figured he just wanted us out. I am sitting on passenger side front seat, so I open the door and get out, still steaming. I go to light a cig, turn around, and the SOB has taken off with other 3 in my party! I watch dumbfounded as the rear drivers side door is hanging open, and I see my MIL(who is no less than 70 years old) yank her leg back in and slam the door closed. The idiot had no idea how close he was to losing her out the back. I quickly lost track of the cab, but my wife is calling me at the same time. I take off running full speed down toward the GN Porte and just as I get there, everyone has got out safely, but he squeals off.

    Im still thankful he took off that fast, because I was so pissed(drunk) at the time, I might have yanked him out the cab that night. That was probably my worst ride ever, this year we are renting a car!
     
  17. jimshan

    jimshan Tourist

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    Tunnel for the first time

    Went on my annual trip in Dec. this year bringing my GF, usually im solo. Staying at the Flamingo. We get in the cab, she is really excited because she hasn't been in Vegas for years, and was pregnant the last time.
    Cab driver asks me how often i come to town, I told him often, he still goes for the tunnel. We get out of the tunnel, told him i wanted his license# as i was going to call the Taxi Authority, and i said it firmly. He replies, "relax man, your on vacation." To which i replied, yes I am, and Im not starting it out getting ripped off by you.
    After going back and forth, i told him i would give him what i paid the prior year, which was $15. He bitched and said that wasn't near enough. When we arrived at Flamingo, the meter read $31, as we hit traffic off the freeway on Flamingo Blvd.
    I handed him $15, no tip, he said some stuff in his native language, and i replied, don't rip people off who work hard to take a vacation.
    I started thinking i was rough, as nothing i said was in a mild tone, and i wondered about the price of a cab back.
    But when we headed home, the cab fair was $13 and change, i tipped him up to $17 and thought, geez had the guy went the right way in the beginning he would have made a couple bucks instead of having an argument and no tip. Big difference in $31 and $17 including tip.
     
  18. Boogaloo

    Boogaloo Low-Roller

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    I do this too, just as a safeguard.

    If you have the actual paperwork you need to fill out to file a complaint already with you, it's highly unlikely the cab driver will spend any time arguing with you since they'll get fined if they actually get reported and having the papers with you demonstrates that you'd likely be willing to go through with the process.
     
  19. user3657

    user3657 VIP Whale

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    A long haul cost me 43$ one trip from the flamingo to the airport. I only had like an hour to spare though so I did agree with the driver this would be the best route. He kept saying theres traffic this way, we need to go this way! "OK"! I felt like I was in the Indy 500 with this guy....I had whipplash and was scared for my life. To this day I swear the reason the fare was so high was from him getting up to 90 and hitting his brakes 10000 times.

    Never ever tell them to take the freeway and most importantly never ever say you are in a hurry!:drunk:

    I tend to take late flights during the week to vegas. My lowest fair from the airport was 13$ to flamingo. most of them are 15$ish. On a recent trip it was 20 even though he took paradise, I just felt like he took a couple extra turns so I did not tip. If that happened during the day, I would have prob just blamed the higher cost on traffic, but not at 130am in the morning.
     
  20. lawsol12

    lawsol12 Tourist

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    Stupid question,but is there any way in which I could get long hauled from the new terminal to MGM Grand?...surely there is only 1 viable route?
     
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