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Monday, Jan. 31, 2011 | 2 a.m.
Las Vegas cab drivers
- How common do you think cheating is among Las Vegas cab drivers?
- Very common. — 71.7%
- Fairly common. — 19.0%
- It probably happens some. — 7.4%
- Not common. — 0.9%
- Rare. — 0.9%
This poll is closed, see Full Results »
Note: This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.
Sun Archives
- Long ride to Bellagio sparked taxicab long-haul battle (7-23-2010)
- Taxi industry opposes proposal for flat rates (7-14-2010)
- Taxicab Authority proposes change to prevent overcharging (6-29-2010)
- County to again review strip club kickbacks for cabbies (2-10-2010)
- Lawsuit: Taxi companies extorting kickbacks from adult clubs (6-2-2009)
It was a rare bit of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy news season. In September, hotels.com released the results of its annual taxi survey, declaring Las Vegas taxicabs the best overall among 50 U.S. cities, as rated by nearly 2,000 travelers. Oh sure, the deck was stacked in at least a few of the seven categories — “knowledge of the area” isn’t really fair when you compare the Strip with a confusingly laid-out city such as Atlanta, and “availability” isn’t hard when taxis are only allowed to pick up fares at well-stacked hotel and airport stands or by dispatch at other businesses or residences. Still, that Las Vegas topped any list not starting with “Worst” was something worth talking about.
More recently comes news that drivers set a new single-day record for McCarran International Airport pickups during the Consumer Electronics Show — nearly 15,000 fares Jan. 5. But if you think Vegas-based cabbies are among the few weathering the downturn here with ease, you couldn’t be more wrong. When I started approaching drivers asking for nothing more than reaction to the survey, an entirely different state of affairs emerged. Many didn’t want to talk, no matter the subject. Others laughed and shook their heads wearily. And those who would speak insisted their real names not be used. Every one.
“They’re forcing these guys into a dishonest living,” one driver says.
They opened up a litany of issues, complaints and accusations that might seem unbelievable if so many of them weren’t repeated at locations from East Tropicana to West Sahara, from the Strip to Summerlin, by drivers for several of Las Vegas’ 16 cab companies. In an era when corruption seems so antiquated that we’re creating museums to look back on it, drivers say one business still operates like a syndicate: theirs.
“We call them ‘tunnel rats,’ ” Terry (not his real name) tells me, driving down Harmon Avenue. His cab is typically dank and cramped and smells like a potpourri-scented locker room. “You come out of the airport, go through the tunnel that takes you onto the (Interstate) 215, to the 15” to get to the Strip. It adds about $10 to a fare, and is legal only if the driver offers it as an option to the passenger. The technical term for the practice is “long-hauling,” taking unwitting passengers the long way around — typically from the airport to the Strip (the most common route for nearly all cabs) but also from the Strip to downtown — and it’s one of the major issues damning Las Vegas taxis today. One cabbie tells me of a driver who was caught charging a fare of $92 from the airport to the Hard Rock Hotel (let’s just say he took the scenic route: as most locals know, it’s less than two miles away).
“I love taking people back to the airport,” says a tough-as-nails veteran driver with a voice as chiseled as his face. “They always wonder why the fare is so much lower” than the cost of the ride in the other direction.
Yes, the Nevada Taxicab Authority does have its own policing force, and a chart on its website lists estimated cab fares — down to the penny — from McCarran to 70 major casinos, but the authority police have been far from effectual in keeping everyone honest. “We only have four officers per shift,” enforcement supervisor Rico Constantino told KLAS Channel 8 last summer. “That’s one supervisor, and we have to answer to 8,000 square miles. So, there are not enough people.” That may be an understatement, considering there are more than 2,200 medallions (taxi permits) on the streets of Clark County. Elisabeth Daniels, public information officer for the state Business and Industry Department, which oversees the authority, admits, “There are no officers assigned specifically to long-route enforcement. It would be impossible considering that the taxicab industry in Clark County completed more than 25 million trips in 2010,” 3 million of which originated at McCarran.
"They're forcing these guys into a dishonest living," says one driver.
Last year, authority officials said they received 836 long-hauling complaints and issued more than 200 citations to drivers. Out of 3 million trips from the airport to the Strip, those figures are tiny, but some claim underreporting is likely because customers would rather pay up than deal with the process of filing a formal complaint. Is there a greater problem the authority police need to monitor?
Even more disturbing are frequent claims by drivers that the taxi companies themselves tacitly encourage long-hauling, not only through quota pressures, but even suggestions that cabbies “be creative,” as one Whittlesea driver claims he was told by his bosses when taking passengers from the airport.
“If a driver is conscientious and doesn’t use the tunnel, he isn’t going to make book,” another driver explains — “make book” meaning keep your daily averages high. “Sometimes the only business out there is the airport. If you just work the Strip, you’re never going to make book.” Not keeping averages high (call it a quota, or not) means you’ll be assigned a bad cab, fewer shifts or just weekday shifts, the drivers say. Desert Cab Operations Manager Jesse Lira says the only repercussions for consistently low averages is “They get talked to. They don’t get penalized.” Calls to six other cab companies for comment were not returned.
“They’re forcing these guys into a dishonest living,” says another driver, letting an insistent “working girl” hire the next cab while he talks to me at Palace Station.
“There has been no evidence that the certificate holders (taxicab companies) encourage or fail to discourage their employees from taking a longer route than necessary,” says Daniels, sidestepping the question of whether the authority has ever investigated the matter.
This situation shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s paid attention to the plight of the Las Vegas cab system over the past few years. Channel 8’s George Knapp did an extensive series on the problems in the taxi system last year, which seems to have been greeted by those in charge with at worst a yawn and a belly scratch and at best suggestions of change that have amounted to little progress.
In July of last year, Taxicab Authority Administrator Gordon Walker proposed a plan to set a flat rate of $20 from the airport to any resort destination on the Strip, well over the estimated fares to most Strip locales, such as the $16.84 (including wait time in traffic) it should cost to reach Wynn Las Vegas. Walker also considered a $500 fine against drivers who took passengers the long way around, with the fine doubled for a second offense. “Ultimately, there was no support for the flat rate, particularly from the taxicab industry,” Daniels says, “so the proposal was not pursued any further.” You read that right: Companies would not support a proposal that would, theoretically, bring them more revenue per trip and take away a long-standing stigma.
There are more than 2,200 medallions (taxi permits) on the streets of Clark County.
Cabdrivers don’t like Las Vegas’ high rates (some of the highest in the nation) any more than you do. Those rates downwardly influence tips and discourage people from using cabs. Drivers also don’t particularly like waiting in long lines at casinos just to satisfy a law that makes it illegal to pick up a fare virtually anywhere else unless directed there by dispatch. (Las Vegas Municipal Code also calls for the establishment of open taxi stands on city streets, of which there are none.)
Intriguingly, Walker and fellow executive Joe Dahlia left their positions in the fall (Joseph Wingard, a veteran lieutenant of the Nevada Highway Patrol, is the interim administrator). But drivers don’t seem to feel new blood will change anything unless the system changes, too.
Drivers, who work 12-hour shifts as full timers (14, if you include before-and-after processing at the cab companies), estimate their annual incomes at $25,000-$55,000 before taxes. Almost all work as independent contractors, having to pay for their own gas and receiving few of the benefits usually associated with full-time work (no holiday pay, no overtime, no sick pay, limited insurance benefits).
And with reduced demand in recent months, it would appear the number of cabs on the streets (2,217 medallions, only 247 of which are barred from picking up at the airport, Strip or downtown) undercuts a driver’s profitability, despite higher fare rates. Some drivers even admit that the pressure of making book with so much competition forces them to drive more recklessly. “I eat lunch in the cab. I don’t take breaks,” one Desert Cab driver says.
One might presume big convention weeks help compensate for dry periods, but the authority actually issues temporary medallions during trade shows such as CES, further increasing the number of cabs on the street.
“I’d compare it to an old Civil War plantation where the owners are the overseers and the drivers are the slaves,” driver Terry says near the Hard Rock.
Another contributing problem: limousines. Any local resident has undoubtedly noticed more luxurious cars-for-hire over the past few years. Competition is fair, of course, except when the laws regarding that competition are routinely ignored: Laws that should dictate how close private limos can “stage” (wait) near taxi stands; the ways limos may be hired near taxi stands (hint: No soliciting); and how limos may interact with taxi valets. “Anyone going to strip clubs gets diverted to limos,” a Desert Cab driver informs me, naming properties where I can witness it happening regularly.
Driving a “hack” has never been a glamorous profession — at least in this country. Generally, it’s what a person does when he or she is willing to accept long hours and tedium in exchange for independence from an office or warehouse. And, to be sure, hard-luck employment stories are not hard to find in Las Vegas these days. But while Terry’s owner/slave metaphor might seem extreme, working conditions for Las Vegas cabdrivers distinctly recall the archaic practices of the sharecropper and company-town coal miner eras.
“We could bring this city to a halt if we wanted to,” says the driver at Palace Station, looking into the distance.
If visitors or residents want a fair system, it seems they might have to.
A version of this story first appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
I hate it when they go via 215 and not on Tropicana/Paradise/Harmon. this is really a con game and I try to avoid taxi rides whenever possible.
From Switzerland
...Gee ....I'm glad this came up.....I stopped taking taxis because I would say "please dont take me through the tunnel" and their response would be .."whose driving this cab lady you or me"... and then they take you through the tunnel...so I take the bus... everyone pays a flat rate and he stops at all the hotels....simple solution....but that's nothing compared to the cab driver who picked me up at the Atlanta Ga airport at 2:00AM and drove me around until I asked him to let me out and I called the Police... the fare was $85.00 by that time and the cab driver stopped and got out and pulled down his zipper to urinate in a deserted parking lot.....
Any wonder why Las Vegas is losing its lustre? At every turn, everybody is trying to take a stab at your wallet, no matter the legality or morality.
i was under the impression if they take you round the world this would be illegal as it is fraud/ theft
don't tip is a start
report the drunk or smell of drink taxi drivers as I have done in the past
Simple solution, you take away the cab drivers license for a period of time and fine the company 100 times the fare amount that they charged the rider if they are caught longhauling. You hit these people in their pockets and I will bet this practice will stop. But like everything else nobody seems to care from the cab company owners to the drivers. So they have a bad rap of ripping off the visitor they know they will still be needed one way or the other.
Once again the media focuses on making the Las Vegas Cabbies look bad.
hotels.com rated the Las Vegas Cabbies number one.Unfortunately a news story with the headline "Las Vegas Cabbies Rated # 1" is not the sensational journalism that attracts readership.
Yes there are a few bad apples in every industry. The Nevada Taxi Authority works hard to cull out these drivers.
It seems awkward that hotels.com surveyed 2000 riders in Las Vegas and gave the number 1 rating to a den of thieves. I find it also strange that E.C. Gladstone used no full names of the Las Vegas Cabbies interviewed in the article above.
I would like to say, "Thank You" to hotels.com.
Ben Merliss
Nellis Cab Co.
TA # 19834
Someone should check and see what uses the most gas and put the most waer and tear on the cab, a long haul or being stuck in traffic?
All cabs should be Chevy Volts.
Best example to put the taxi driver to the test is to hop into it from Bellagio and tell the driver you want to go to the Orleans.
A fair driver turns right on Harmon and takes the new bridge way that many tourists (obviously do not know yet). This saves a few minutes of driving time, ....and money, too.
A highway robbery con driver goes up all the way till Tropicana and then turns right. Which, in fact, is a nice little extra detour, compared to the express route via Harmon through citicenter.
The tunnel con ride from the airport is definetely something nasty. I always ride the shuttle or the CAT, which, for my means, is a relatively short final ride if I count all the hours it usually took me to get to Vegas from all the way from Switzerland. 30 Minutes more or less don't bother me anymore. But it's a differnce if you pay 34 dollars or 2 dollars for this ride from McCarran to Downtown.
From Switzerland
Ben Merliss, don't pull your arm out of joint patting yourself on the back. Your company ostracized me, as an honest driver, because I couldn't match the money being turned in through illegitimate means.
By long hauls and some drivers running the meter with their own tips to up the competitive competition makes it virtually impossible for an honest driver to perservere. Some of this tip money being ran on the meters is acquire by hustling tourist to strip clubs that give the most 'kick backs'. True to form, management verbally discourages these practices. They have to. However they turn a blind eye as this continues. This is nothing new.
As a woman I avoid taking taxis in Vegas. 9x out of 10 the driver looks like the guy on Americas Most Wanted and then they have tell me their life story and are way too chatty and personal.
Last time this 600lbs driver was trying to take me the long route, keep whinning how slow business was and "we are starving out here". Finally I had to say " YOU def are not starving".
Some guy friends took a cab and asked to go to the Hardrock, when they got out the cab they where at a stripclub..stupid for not paying attention but you shouldnt have to worry about being scammed when you get in a cab, its ridiculous.
ben, never long hauled in your career as a cabbie?
if not i commend you.
ten years ago i just started renting a car. 25-30 dollars a day for car rental is alot cheaper than a $20 cab ride one way. vegas isnt like the old days when you went to a resort & often never left there your entire trip.
valet is free everywhere with a few bucks for the tip & the wait is usually shorter than many cab lines. it also affords me to go to & see many more local places & visit 2-3 casinos a day.
my last cab ride was 2010 (when the person renting the car left on an earlier flight.) i caught a cab leaving ceasars & told the driver to turn left on flamingo or harmon & take paradise into the airport. he proceeded to go to tropicana & turned RIGHT (west) away from the airport! when i asked him what he was doing he stated 'its much faster to take the freeway.' after i b*tched him out & threatened to report this 'new' resident to our country i made him turn around at the first opportunity & head to paradise. needless to say he did not receive a tip & put another black eye on the vegas cabbies. and yes, i tell everyone i know about the rip-off & encourage them to rent a car.
this is just part of the declining vegas allure. more dealers dont smile or chit chat with customers anymore then get mad if you dont tip. bartenders dont like it when you use coupons/drink tickets ect. you/these people are in the SERVICE industry. i know its often not glamourus & you may have to deal with some angry people but ITS YOUR JOB. do it well please. if i want to be treated with disrespect & treated badly i'll just stay home & go to my job.
mr.red -- As usual, you're a complete idiot. You really don't know if stop and go driving produces worse mileage than freeway driving? Duuuuuhhhh...
Chevy Volts huh? Double Duuuhhhh....How long and where would a cab driver stop to plug it in?
Comment removed by moderator. ALL CAPS
This was a good story written by Las Vegas Weekly. Well done.
Before I moved here, I got long-hauled through the tunnel once by a Whittlesea Blue driver. I threatened to report him and began dialing the posted phone number while still in the cap. He knocked the fare back down, out of his own pocket I presume.
After that, I always said, "Take Swenson" and you should have heard the drivers grumble. At least it made drivers angry enough that they shut up.
ben merliss, i know you....you are a good cab driver!!!
I drove a cab for 9 years in Clark County and, believe me, drivers do get penalized for "low book," regardless of what Desert Cab's Jesse Lira says. They get suspended or fired! As for the "long haul," it hurts every driver in the wallet because smart riders avoid taking cabs in the future and it reduces the number of fares available, but most cab drivers I knew, could not care less as they felt they were only driving a cab temporarily. The clean, professional driver has become a thing of the past, taken over by Third-Worlders who not only stink up the joint but enjoy ripping off their fares. Many of them were thieves in their native countries and have no compunction about being thieves in the U.S. This is the payback for giving these cretins sanctuary, freedom and opportunity in the best country on Earth!
I, too, am a former LV cab driver (1985-86, 1988-97, 2002-03.) I also have a son currently employed in the industry. When I worked, I was constantly pressured to "get my book up." My leaving in '97 WAS a termination for low book, after nearly nine years of acceptable performance and rising to #14 in seniority of the company. Don't kid yourselves, money is the game, not safety, not customer satisfaction. The only way you can prove your usefulness to the companies is by your book. First way to change the mindset: Get the TA out of "ranking " the companies for shift averages, which they do monthly. The companies take their positions on that list YERY seriously, and if you are not contributing to raising/maintaining that, you're just not worth having around, no matter what else you may be contributiong to the industry. I remember one driver who, when cited for low book and complained, the infraction was changed to "poor trip selection." That was "WTF" before "WTF" existed! The companies will not care about long-hauling complaints unless and until they are penalized for it, which isn't going to happen in the current envioronment. They can always claim they don't condone it , but not condoning is a far cry from condemning, and if the condemning only results in drivers being fired, nothing will improve. The entire industry needs to be overhauled, reformed and corrected, but I just don't see it happening.
We travel from Ireland to Vegas most years .
Nothing is more annoying than to get gouged immediately you leave the airport.
I got verbally threatened by one driver and another -guess what ? no speaking english.
I even wrote to Oscar Mr Mayor Goodman and got no reply. I then emailed his office and again no reply.
I sent the details to the taxi regulator giving cab number etc and again no reply
We normally fly Belfast to Vegas and after a few days travel north to see relatives. We then return to Vegas and after a couple of days travel to L.A. for further visits
Guess what we are mostly avoiding Vegas on our trip this year and might stay just one night to have a look around City Center. Besides we also fed up with prices on the strip especially when bar staff etc overcharge or give short change.
This may be off message but a big improvement would be if all purchases were given a mandatory
receipt by all premises serving food or alcohol
As someone who has a number of friends/family visit Vegas, I always tell them to use the bus along the Strip it is cheaper and just as quick.
This is my experience of taking a cab from Mandalay Bay to a friends house on Rainbow/Spring Valley.
The driver immediately went to turn on to the Strip till I screamed 'you take Hacienda'. I couldn't believe they would try rip off a local by taking the Strip to Spring Valley. The drivers excuse was 'well I thought you wanted to see the sights on the Strip'.
Needless to say he got no tip! But I will never take a cab again in Las Vegas, why should you have to stress about getting 'long-hauled'.
Las Vegas needs to STOP.
Quit nickel & diming our guests to death; it's KILLING our reputation!!!
I just had a couple in town that hadn't been here in a few years.
They were SHOCKED at all the ways that Vegas is going after tourists with the resort fees, drink prices, $60 dollars for the Buffet(!) @ Mandalay Bay (for 2), $4.50 for a glass of ice with Coke splashed over it, $4.00 for a cup of coffee, etc., etc...
Do we assume people are A)Stupid B)They won't care or C)They'll come back regardless of how bad we gouge them?
Not a good business model.
Short-term gain,
Long-term pain.
The last time I was long hauled in Las Vegas was in 2001 after the terrorist attack in new york vegas was like a ghost town I guess they felt they had to steal from me to make ends meet.
I told the cabbie not to take freeway and he did but before he got to the exit I took a picture of his cabbie lic. with my phone and he asked what I was doing and I told him I was going to call the Taxi Authority in the morning and I am almost certain they will want your name, At this point he turned the meter off and I got to my destination with no further charges.
Now when I fly in I take the free shuttle from the airport to the car rental Facility and get a car there and $25.00 a day is a lot cheaper than the cab rides plus I go to red rock canyon Boulder Dam, All sorts of places with out the cabbie B.S. I know all Cabbies are not that way but the only way to get to the ones responsible are through the good ones, and the good ones should be calling out the bad ones.
Re: the comment of gmag39 above:
There are two ways to make money in business.
A. You can treat customers well, charge a fair price for services, make the customer feel special. You will get a good reputation and your patrons will return.
B. Or you can %@&% everybody once.
You will make money either way.
But if you use the second plan, your business won't survive in the long run.
Lately, it appears that Las Vegas had chosen Plan B.
Most rides from the airport to the strip via the connector tunnel comes to about $5.00 more than the streets when there is no traffic..It is usually a faster ride on the freeway..I don't see why all the complaining about 5 bucks to get to your destination faster is all about..As far as getting ripped off, you are in Vegas..You will probably lose a lot more money than the $5.00 extra for the cab ride..People throw hundreds and sometimes thousands away on casino games that are rigged to rip you off..That's OK..but $5.00 extra for the cab ride..Oh My God..Get real..
I travel to LV 3X a year. my experience with taxi drivers taking short cuts to avoid standing in busy LV blvd. I give them 20% tip. Also if I need to go West, I use taxi stand at Bills on West Flamingo. North I use IP, MGM taxi stand. South,Fashion Mall, Caesars P, Mirage taxi stand.I had one driver took freeway from Stratosphere to Luxor instead of the strip, I gave him $10 tip. Most drivers ask me at the airport, scenic route? I also let the drivers know what a great job they're doing. Retired US Mail Truck Driver, 39yrs.
I have two taxi companies that I have been ripped off by and when leaving anywhere I will not get into one of their cabs. I also share this info with my fellow travelers. I make many trips to LV all the time and I enjoy tipping well for good service. The names of the companies are only important to myself and my friends. Strangers might think I'm telling stories out of school. But I've been a Vegas regular for almost 40 years and I know how to get around town. Taxis are my preferred mode but not all taxis.
The real issue here is the fact that 6 or so "families" own the cab business. A cab driver who wants to be in business for himself cannot do so here in Las Vegas, because NRS (Nevada Revised Statutes) were written in favor of the wealthy families who own the cab companies. These statutes need to be repealed.
The cab families control all business and in my opinion "own" the Taxicab Authority. That is why no enforcement will ever be done against the companies. PERIOD. Ask the TA when the last major fine was levied against a Las Vegas cab company.
To the author of this story, please research and write a follow up story about the monopoly of the cab business in Las Vegas, and how the monopoly was created (the legislator that proposed the original legislation). I would be willing to bet that the legislator who wrote the current law and got it passed retired as a very wealthy individual. That is the real story here.
As a local, when I take a cab anywhere, this is what I do:
As I'm getting into the cab and before I close the door, I tell the driver my destination and how (what route) I'd like him/her to get me there. I asked if that's a problem, and if it is, I'll take another cab.
Works every time.
No kidding! Just after I arrived to live in LV I was injured (broken collar bone) in a car accident. The cab that picked me up at UMC charged me $40+ to drive me to my new home off N. Jones and 215 and was an ass the entire ride. Like he was doing me a favor. Next time I would rather they call a hearse vice a cab.
Listen it's not about the extra $5.00 bucks it's $12.-15 bucks and there is a difference of being ripped off and losing on a wager when I wager I have some what of an expectation that I may win, How ever in a cab you never have an expectation of getting a lower fare for the extra money. And you fall right in to the trap that I will probable lose more at the casino's so it's ok that I am getting gauged, (That's a weak way of thinking) And if it's only a small amount how about you pay mine for me it's only $5.00.
It may be that this is the reason the Casino's are not doing as well the patron's are getting fleeced before they get there and it changes the gamblers mind set.
What a Racket, and officals just look the other way.
Wow! I have never taken a cab. I take a shuttle or rent a car. I come to LV so much for family reasons I know my way around,grocery stores too!
december 2010. one way from monte carlo to ruth chris steakhouse $18.00. return trip from ruth chris to monte carlo $12.00. you tell me who's cheating who?
This is why I rent a car everytime I come to Vegas. I travel there three to four times a year and have always rented a car. My friends always tell me that I'm crazy to rent a car, but I think I save tons of money by doing that.
The cab drivers finally get a compliment and the press discredits it.
Now retired from the ratrace (cab driving) after 13 years behind the wheel, I see the same old issues still remain. Tunnel or not! I have used the tunnel several times when I was with YCS but never without permission from the customer. It did add dollars to my meter, anywhere from $5.00 to $10.. depending on destinations. Strange though, before the price hike, I could take Paradise to downtown for around $18.00 and the customer would give me $20.00 and tell me 'keep the change'! the whole two dollars. But, when I took the tunnel and the fare was $21.00 the customer would give me $25.00 and say the same thing! go figure!
Yes, the companies did say to get creative and get my book up on occasions but at YCS they never quite said to use the tunnel or to cheat the customer. I was a 'shop steward' for the union at YCS and never heard management ever say to cheat or tunnel in order to get the book up when I represented a driver, however, some indication might have been there.
This is an age-old problem for drivers and will never be solved. This is also a world wide practice, I have been in several cities around the world and this practice of longhauling is all over.
On one trip, I landed in Athens Greece three different times and went to the same hotel from the airport and never was the price the same!
So to the tourist, suck it up and quite whinning about a few dollars (%5-$10) or just take the bus, or just stay home. To the drivers.. hang in there guys the system will probably never change.
Good Luck
In June 2010, I came to Vegas from England. It wasnt my first visit. To get from the Airport to my hotel, the Best Western Mardi Gras on Paradise cost me $40 in a taxi.
The worst thing was I knew about long hauling and was just too tired after my 12 hour flight to argue. I wish I was awake enough at the time to take a picture of the license with my phone. I am returning to Vegas in June this year. But I will not be taking another taxi.
I work in a strip hotel and every chance I get to tell guests to tell the driver NOT TO LONGHAUL them from McCarran, because they've been here before and to TAKE SURFACE STREETS to their hotel-MGM GRAND (I don't work there) or similar, and that AT LEAST 80% of LV cab drivers are CROOKS and won't turn in your wallet or left behind bag, or laptop, and will longhaul you EVERY chance they get!
The days when I took a taxi a gone long time ago. I am the type of person to rent a car. It gives me maximum flexibility except the fact that I can't drink all day through. But that's ok, too much drinking ain't good, anyways. I can start drinking when I am at my base hotel and play some texas hold'em or video machines before bed time.
I hate to be betrayed and when cab drivers purposely de-tour my ride it pisses me off. That's why I decided to rather pay these 40 bucks/day for my car but knowing that from the moment I get the car key in my hand I am fully flexible and can get anywhere in town.
Without a rental car it's hassle to get form Bellagio to Mandalay Bay, but with a car you can get easily from the M Resort all the way to red rock and then to the Aliante, ... in relatively short time. And that's a huge PLUS.
From Switzerland
856 complaints out of 25,000,000 trips. You all probably have more corruption then that in your own news room! There bad doctors, lawyers, contractors, bartenders, waitress, dealers and yes, cab drivers. Surprise, surprise! By the way all Las Vegas Cab drivers are employees, not independent contractors and most have benefits like health insurance, vacation pay and bonuses. It is a tough job with lots of hours but where are you going to go without a high school diploma and make upwards of $60,000 a year not including tips?
is this supposed to be a surprise? like cabbies are regarded as some ethical benchmark or something?
JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE DRIVEN TO CHEAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD CHEAT. CHEATING IS CHEATING AND IS NOT RIGHT. END OF STORY.
by far the absolut worst taxi experience goes back a few years when I was in BudaPest /Hungary, for a dental treatment. These drivers are really crooks and it is a known fact. At nights, they're cheating the tourists blind! They have meters that can be changed virtually and show fares on display that are much higher than the same ride cost under normal conditions. And I am not talkinga bout 20% more or so, I mean 4x 5x the amount! And this really sucks big league. It went so far that I got sick of visiting Hungary and many other people from Western Europe had the same experince in this regard.
Trust be, but a bad taxi driver experience can turn your entire trip into a nightmare and give a real bad impression about a certain country.
Therefore, it's very important that tourists are being treated fair when visiting Vegas.
From Switzerland
just rent a car.
On top of the long hauling tricks most of the cabs in this town have underinflated tires. That makes it more expensive also.
Whenever I fly out of town I take the RTC bus to the airport and also when I return. I am fortunate enough to live a half mile off the busline and it is much much cheaper and the drivers don't smell as bad.
I think we found a very delicate matter to discuss for a change. I also believe that there's a lot of truth in the comments and this doesn't have to do anything with racism or discrimination, it's the plein and simple truth.
What's the worst of it all, the long taxi cab waiting lines. When the tourist finally gets to enter this cab he's supposed to be thankful or happy. But instead, the nightmare has just begun. Go figure....
After getting long hauled a few years ago I haven't stepped into a Vegas taxi since. All this greed just makes more customers for car rental companies and more dangerous roads clogged with out of town drivers. So yeah.. good job being short sighted, penny wise and pound foolish cabbies.
Suggestion:
Post that chart mentioned in the article - " chart on its website lists estimated cab fares " - in every boarding/deplaning area, every baggage carousel, every exit/entrance to the airport, every cab back seat and every authorized taxi stand & pick up spot with the expense paid for by jointly by the cab companies.
Include a complaint number, website and mailing address on each fare list/placard. And make the 1st offense a $500 fine - $250 by the company/$250 by the driver; the 2nd offense a 14 day suspension of driver, vehicle and a $1000 fine for the company and the 3d offense permanent suspension for the driver/vehicle and a $5,000 fine for the company. Or something similar.
Companies will quit pressuring drivers to lie and cheat when it's in their best interest to do so and drivers will quit lying and cheating when the companies stop pressuring them and doing so endangers their livelihood.
That said, the enforcing authority also needs to look at ways to allow them to make a living without micromanaging them out of it. Just no stealing from fares.
My son was just here with a bunch of friends and got long-hauled. I didn't think to warn him. He and his friends left thinking it was a city full of cheats. The cab driver made an extra $15. Other people lose their jobs serving food, working in hotels, dealing blackjack because the ones visiting without family here plan to never come back. Why in the world did they stop the $20 airport/strip ride? Special interests prevail to the harm of everybody else.
The airport limos are not an alternative either. They are run by the cab companies. Rent a car. Explore our city.
Last time I was in town I told the driver that I would pay him $20 for a cab ride to the Excalibur. How much was fare and how much would be tip depended solely on him. Needless to say that was the quickest journey to the hotel I ever got.
every time I sit at a poker table with someone that just came to town I ask them how much was their cab ride from the airport. I have never heard a single person say less than $20 but I have heard upwards of $75 to get to bally's.
Our cabbies are crooked, most of them smell and I've had several Asian drivers offer me prostitutes or free trips to Asian massage parlors as they gave me their card.
This city is nothing but "tunnel rats" in and out of the cab business
some of you people are not getting the real picture here.
there are 12-20 cabs on one shift. if 5 cabs book 400, and 15 book 200-240, those 15 are being told to be creative with their fares.
as for the driver in the article that works for whittlesea, yea, that guy that was telling him to sell his ride, thats IRA. IRA.....IRA tells you to sell your ride and tells you how to do it, when to do it, and why to do it.
as for the desert cab office guy in the article, DC and Nellis and LUCKY are the 3 biggest employers of crooks and buttheads in the city besides government officials. all in that order. DC drivers will say that if they dont come back to the yard with at least 350-400 on a sunday day shift they will be in the office on monday getting talked to about their average.
some companies allow a tolerance of 10-15% below average over the course of 14-30 days before they will even say a word to you. but that does not stop them from intimidating you and embarassing you daily. for example, whittlesea puts up EVERY EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE BY NAME on the wall, and since every driver gets paid the same, its like putting up their paychecks for all to see.
while i understand that you have to set a standard of performance, but when you are competing with crooks that speak no english and have no care in the world for how they rip off the public, the honest citizens will end up on the unemployment lines quickly. some drivers get fired after only having 1 bad day, some it takes months depending on the company.
as for the flat rate issue, the cab owners shot it down because they think they can make more money long hauling. yet, at 20 bucks a head, its cheaper than most major cities since we dont have toll roads and bridges to navigate, and at that rate, the cab owners would end up making the same.
as for the driver that said they saw a 92 dollar fare going to a hotel, ive seen 106 to the pallazo, her name was elaine and used to work for nellis...that chick used to be on the freeway all the time, and if she was ever seen on paradise, she always had a nasty look on her face. and i have heard of a western driver about 4 years ago took 2 people to the sahara hotel for 165 bucks from the port.
increasing fines for the drivers is not the answer, enforcement is not the answer...flat rates are the only way to keep these criminals in line...and by criminals i mean the owners, managers and some of the drivers. the most common form of long hauling is from or to the airport, flat rate that and 75% if not more of the long hauling going down will be stopped. the remaining 25% will be the strip rats that take creative routes that add at best 1-2 bucks to the fare. while technically still ripping someone off, its not as bad as 10-12 dollars more for a ride.
dont get me wrong, ive taken the freeway many times....when trop was under down to 2 lanes each way, if you were going to any hotel south of trop or harmon you were going on the freeway. to get to mandalay bay, it was 21 bucks via freeway, via trop with no traffic, its about 15. with traffic, it made it 25. so it was cheaper, yet still illegal. at least i told them what i was doing and how much it was gonna be.
and it is NOT faster. i got together with a fellow driver at the airport one day, and the brown shirts, and ended up getting lucky and getting 2 cab rides, 2 different parties, both going to the same hotel on strip near spring mountain. i took freeway, he took backroads. it was a sat morning when everything was dead. he got there about 5 seconds ahead of me. my fare was 9 bucks more. the owners know this practice, and encourage it. they will never and can never actually legally agree to it. but if you spoke to IRA at whittlesea as an underperforming driver, you have heard the "sell your ride" speech at least once.
hombre wrote
"On top of the long hauling tricks most of the cabs in this town have underinflated tires. That makes it more expensive also."
One of Dr Reefer's friends must still be in business.
That's exactly what sensational journalism does. It creates unfounded rumors that scare the public .
Don't bogart that joint my friend.
hey wasnt that gordon walker dood sleeping with one of the cab companies big wigs?
long hauling starts from the taxi authority, go ahead, take your safety class as they call it and infurno will tell you herself how to legally long haul!
BORIS...you say its not about racism, ask most people that were long hauled...they will say it was some ethie or some solmalian or some eastern european punk. 8-9 times out of 10 that will be one of the descriptions that will be spoken of when the term pimping or long hauling comes up. and at least 6/10 of those rides, the driver was talking some non english native to them language the entire ride.
oh and all of you people complaining about different fares, they will be different every single time. many hotels have 4 ways or more to get to them, and none are considered long hauling either. it depends on traffic, how you hit the lights, etc. ive done 2 riders from the port to the same strip hotel in a row and one was 3 bucks more than the other, going the same way. just depends on how you hit the lights and traffic.
also, getting to the airport is always cheaper than leaving the airport, even if the 1.80 fee didnt exist. port to mirage will always be at least 2-3 bucks more without the port fee compared to going back to the port because paradise is and the drop off is clooser to the hotels than the pick up and swenson street.
you can go from bellagio to luxor for 10 bucks at 9am on a tuesday, but at 5pm on a saturday night may cost 15. going the same route. some people complain about that when the driver is not at fault.
Thank you my friend. this is what I have been doing for the past 3 years.
arrive early -rent a car for a day and drive everywhere. check into the
hotel and shower and shave then return the car. take the bus back.
$25 for the use of a car for all day. of fun. If I need a car I book online
and just pick it up. real short bus ride from mid strip. LV has one of
the best car rental terminals.
By casinokid
Now when I fly in I take the free shuttle from the airport to the car rental Facility and get a car there and $25.00 a day is a lot cheaper than the cab rides plus I go to red rock canyon Boulder Dam, All sorts of places with out the cabbie B.S. I know all Cabbies are not that way but the only way to get to the ones responsible are through the good ones, and the good ones should be calling out the bad ones.
Yeah, most cabs in Vegas have underinflated, bald tires, are almost out of gas, have hardly any oil in the crankcase and their mufflers drag on the pavement. That makes 'em go reeeeeaaaalllll slow and make the ride more expensive.
Honest cabbies ARE losing their jobs! The Owners pay BIG money to political figures so these "political figures" won't interfere. They aren't "told" to long-haul but are "trained" thru the tunnel move and being "creative" in their route! ALL are long-hauls! The owners get richer and more THIEVES without a conscience are hired over and over and over. Don't believe it?? TRY keeping a job as a cabbie at Desert Cab or Nellis Cab and you'll see that Jesse Lira is a LIAR! Hmm...wow...just noticed the same 4 letters!
Count how many times your cabbie changes lanes. He's not doing it just to get in a better one, I assure you.
In this life, we all pay one way or the other. I was told London was expensive, but when I got there, I found it could be as cheap as I wanted it to be. I got much better food and service for unbelievable prices. I went to Vegas and found it was ridiculously expensive. However, given that the flight there was obscenely cheap, as well as the hotel rooms, it really isn't a big deal to splurge on things. I had free accommodations from a friend, so that helped. Either way, your destination will get your money from you. I personally found London to be more enjoyable and worth the money. I would only go back to Vegas to visit my friend and get away from my area for a bit of a vacation.
Just like any job, if you have integrity and your honest, it shows in your service, good service result in good pay. Its sad that it only takes one to give a business a bad name, but that happens in any occupation. I believe if your get rid of cab companies and just let there be indepentent cab owners, you would get better service, honesty and there probably would be better opportunities for more individuals, some might say what about benefits, the cabs can become an assciation in which they can go out and get a group rate for health insurance and a financial group to run a retirement program for them.
My wife and I just visited LV for the weekend. We try to come once a year so I'm pretty familiar with the area. I have a dandy cab ride story from this past Saturday night (1/29/11). We get in a cab at Caesars Palace heading for Aria. Not a very long cab ride I know but my wifes feet were hurting and didn't want to walk any more. So, we get in the cab and instead of heading up the strip he heads all the way out past the Rio, back around some side streets and then heads back to the strip and Aria. I ask him twice if he actually knows where Aria is. He says "jes, dis is fastest way - less cars". I laugh at him and say that is BS and he's taking us for idiots. He drives around for a while and finally gets us to Aria. Our fare on the meter is like $15. I throw him a $5 bill and get out of the cab and thank him for the night time tour of Vegas. He starts yammering some middle eastern dialect at me and I just walked into the hotel telling the bell hop the cabbie is a crook. He never got out of the car. Stuff like this is sad because they do give all LV cabbies a bad name. We love Vegas but get tired of always having people try to rip us off.
Cabs in Vegas cost more than NYC per mile (of course the traffic isn't as bad in Vegas). Shuttle buses work great, and from there you can get anywhere using certain hotel shuttles for free.
If it is a personal trip to Vegas, I always take a shuttle. Usually I am in no rush to get to my hotel anyway. If I am there for business, it's the taxi for me. Anyway, I suggest as soon as you enter the cab write down the cab number and the driver's name. It's identified in the cab. Also write down the telephone number of the cab company. Any crap happens, call the cab company as soon as you are being long-hauled or wait until you get to your destination. One way of telling them not to go through the tunnel is to say "I'm in no rush to get to the hotel, don't go thru the tunnel." Also let them know as soon as you get into the cab that this ain't your first rodeo. Say something like "I miss the old vegas, I've been coming here every year or several times a year and this place keeps re-inventing itself." That way the cabbie knows you are familar with the area.
@C_Bess: I agree. I will get over it by taking my business to the shuttles. Bye Bye Cabbies.
My wife and I got long-hauled about five years back - we were looking for a quicky trip from the TI to the Aladdin on a Tuesday morning (no traffic whatsoever on the Strip) and the driver headed west on Spring Mountain towards I15! When I complained he pretended he didn't speak English and then threatened to drop us off out on Industrial Road.
We come down to Vegas three times a year and I haven't taken a cab since. I'd only take a cab again if they went flat rate.
My wife and I got long-hauled about five years back - we were looking for a quicky trip from the TI to the Aladdin on a Tuesday morning (no traffic whatsoever on the Strip) and the driver headed west on Spring Mountain towards I15! When I complained he pretended he didn't speak English and then threatened to drop us off out on Industrial Road.
We come down to Vegas three times a year and I haven't taken a cab since. I'd only take a cab again if they went flat rate.
I wish the cabbies could drive (MOST SUCK) better.. lol. It is faster to go 215 to 15 for anything on the west side of the strip , most of the time, weather its worth the $$$ ?
It wouldn't be as difficult to overcome the long haul issue as stated in the article.
Put up a sign/map at the entrance to the tunnel saying it is the long way to The Strip. Maybe put a couple more signs along the way just for the hell of it.
Cut down on what it takes to investigate long haul allegations with a camera taping cars entering the tunnel and then one as they take the 215 exit to 15 North. Check the tape when someone complains.
I think you see what I mean. It wouldn't be all that difficult.
To all the cry babies..Take the freakin bus and you can keep that big dollar tip to throw in some stupid machine..This is why Vegas is hurting so bad..It's the type of visitor they are courting these days..Thirty years ago the crowd that used to come here would laugh at all this crap..I blame the hotels for bringing these cheap skate people here and that is why they are suffering now...
And we are supposed to be surprised when a cabbie gets hurt?
A cabbie from McCarren took me through the tunnel even after I told him twice to use Tropicana to get to Decatur. He totally ignored me so I got out my flip-cam and started recording the ride. I reminded him to use Tropicana, not the tunnel, he said ok, OK!
I heard you woman!
When we got to my condo the fare came out to $37, using Trop only cost me $18 in the past. I gave him a $20 and said bye. He threatened to call the cops until I started playing the video of our trip and told him to call them. In fact, let me call the Taxicab Authority.
Greedy low-life. only thinking of his wallet; That's my summary.
The COMPANIES need to fined in addition to the drivers!!! Companies "encourage" book. It's NOT the "greedy low-life cabbie" it's the RICH COMPANIES! Quit condemning cabbies and look where the REAL problem lies....with the COMPANY'S management....since the owner's usually have no part of it. LOOK AT MR. LIAR!!! I mean Lira...whatever
to all of you dopes that think poorly maintained vehicles, bald tires, under inflated tires, etc make a difference, it does not.
first off, the TA inspects random vehicles every few months. on top of that, no company wants to spend 6k on a new motor for their car when they dont have to to make an extra 4 bucks a day, if that much. bald tires are a liability and they will not allow cabs with bald tires. underinflated tires are also a liability. while some cabs may have 1 underinflated tire at random, thats not going to affect the meter. if your honest ride on a brand new vehicle with no miles on it out of the factory so to say gave you a ride worth 15.30, and an old cab that was poorly maintained, beat up, etc etc etc as some of you keep claiming makes a difference, that ride MAY be 15.50.
i have driven many cabs in this town, low miles, high miles, FWD, RWD, etc...fares were never different, all were running good, and all tires were always well inflated, and also had good tires on them. most cabs oil levels are checked before and after their shifts because if the driver does not have the vehicle checked out, and it fails, the driver pays the repair costs.
no doubt that people abuse the system, but what you people do not understand is this...
THE OWNERS OF THE COMPANIES DONATE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR TO POLITICAL FIGURES. THEY RUN THE TA. THEY GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT. EVERY CAB ON THE ROAD GETS ADVERTISING MONEY, THE MORE CABS ON THE ROAD, THE MORE MONEY THE TA MAKES, AND THE MORE THE OWNERS MAKE JUST ON THAT ALONE. POP A DRIVER IN THERE AND MIN WAGE IS HARD TO MAKE! MIN WAGE LAWS DO NOT COVER CABBIES. COMPANIES ENCOURAGE HIGH AVERAGES TO ENSURE MIN WAGE IS COMPLIED WITH. IF DRIVERS ARE NOT MAKING MIN WAGE, THEY GET CANNED FOR LOW BOOK, SO THEY DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT A DRIVER NOT MAKING MIN WAGE AND FILING A COMPLAINT!
most of you out there commenting here think the drivers are the problem. some drivers are just pure scum and all they do is pimp and rip you off. if long hauling alone and low book was never an issue, id say about less than 10% of all of the 10k drivers out there are total and pure scumbags...and about 95% of those scumbags work on late night shifts.
the owners are the problem, and so is the TA for letting the owners run the industry. welcome to nevada folks, no one in carson city runs this state, people like cab company owners do.
Oh its cool to pay $400.00 for a bottle in a club, after a ridiculous cover charge, or drop a hundo in some flashy machine, all making a rich man richer, but when your hard working transportation expert takes a MORE efficient rout to your destination (charging u a couple of extra bucks ) , its the end of the world. If your that petty to worry about 4-10 extra dollars for a quick ten minute trip on the highway vs. More time in the cab with traffic and traffic lights from the airport to your hotel, then I'm sorry to inform you, Las Vegas isn't the place for you. It wasn't built on cheapness, its certainly not your cheap a$$ keeping it alive, like the last guy said keep your dollar tip, take the bus, I'd rather have someone in my cab who has less petty things to worry about anyway
S. Knight
Checker cab co.
Las Vegas
S Knight, it is NOT faster to take the freeway to the strip hotels in most cases. like i said earlier, 2 rides going to the same place from the same place at the same exact time, we both arrived at the venetian 5 seconds apart.
the free way is not faster, it just appears to be faster.
companies would make the same if there was a flat rate overall that they are making now, and while doing so, a flat rate will remove everyone from liability problems in the process.
no steven, the reason vegas is hurting is because of people like you.
I was a taxi owner-operator in N.Y.C. for 4.5 years.
In general, a cabbie, to accelerate his earnings, does so by
increasing the number of trips he completes per shift.
In N.Y.C. at least I would have a good day if I was 'booking' > 25 trips in a day.
The "drop" on the meter is crucial to one's earnings. Many small tips generally exceeds the aggregate gratuities of a lesser number of (longer) trips.
While cabbies are compensated sufficiently for time spent stuck in traffic, it is boring, tedious, and restricts the number of trips completed.
its funny people cant tell when the club in vegas are taking them for a ride. 15 dollare drinks car rentals going up hotels go up from day to day. U pay at least 30 dallores to go to any club.. oh and bottle seivice 300 for a bottle i could get for under 20...Any other city most taxi will take u for a real ride every time..law say u cant ask for a tip.. yet they must tax u for a tip u never got.Yes our tip are taxed. wheather we get them or not..steal we make half of national aveg.
Let me say this. There are more taxi then needed in las vegas. So drivers fight for the few rides they do get. They drive faster,wait longer then ever before. All those hours behind the wheel. Cant be good for any one. We are getting ten rides a day less then before. Its about 100 dollares on the metter less. Unexceptable. So people go for longer rides. Companys still expect a high book. TA yes TA lets this happened.If taxi were Remove there would be less crashes, fights, compaints ,and long hauling. Then mabe ill make enough money, so I can take a real brakes and lunch. If i dont make any money. Then i wont spend any either. 9500 cab drivers complaing about the same thing. Must be true. We need all the cab that were added a few years ago ..removed!