Taxi long-hauling scam from McCarran airport

I come to Vegas all the time to visit relatives, but I rarely take a cab
from the airport. Last week I arrived late and had a room at Bill's
Gamblin' Hall (formerly the Barbary Coast), so I took a cab for the
first time in years.

The cab driver shocked me by turning south from the airport and taking
the tunnel to 215 and then up 15 to Flamingo. When I asked the driver
what the heck he was doing, he said traffic was unusually heavy on
Tropicana and that Swenson and Koval Lane were closed. This was 11:30pm
on Thursday night, and as we crossed Las Vegas Blvd I could see the
traffic was very light. I asked him whether taking the tunnel was
really necessary, and he nodded vigorously and assured me that it was.
(Hmmmm.)

The cab fare ended up being $21.50 before the tip. I figure this little
detour cost me almost $10 extra.

Later I did some Googling and discovered that this "long-hauling" is a
pretty well-known scam among Las Vegas cab drivers. My mother told me
she had visited Las Vegas in 1980 and gone from the airport to Bally's
(or whatever it was called then) by way of downtown!

Unfortunately, I don't see a clear solution to the problem. Sometimes
taking the tunnel really does save time, and I heard stories that saying
"No tunnel" to the driver simply enrages the driver and makes the ride
very unpleasant.

One newspaper article said you can report a driver who long-hauls you,
but the fine on the driver was only $50.

I also heard that some cab drivers cheerfully ask passengers whether
it's their first visit to Las Vegas... if the answer is yes, then it's
"hello tunnel," as one person put it.

I might be coming back to Vegas late on Thursday nights again... do
other people have any bad experiences telling the cab driver not to use
the tunnel? I guess I could use one of the hotel shuttles like Bell
Trans, which seem pretty inexpensive.

cheers
Dan Leifker

On Feb 23, 7:35 pm, Dan Leifker <dleif... DeleteThis @leifker.com> wrote:

> I come to Vegas all the time to visit relatives, but I rarely take a cab
> from the airport. Last week I arrived late and had a room at Bill's
> Gamblin' Hall (formerly the Barbary Coast), so I took a cab for the
> first time in years.
>
> The cab driver shocked me by turning south from the airport and taking
> the tunnel to 215 and then up 15 to Flamingo. When I asked the driver
> what the heck he was doing, he said traffic was unusually heavy on
> Tropicana and that Swenson and Koval Lane were closed. This was 11:30pm
> on Thursday night, and as we crossed Las Vegas Blvd I could see the
> traffic was very light. I asked him whether taking the tunnel was
> really necessary, and he nodded vigorously and assured me that it was.
> (Hmmmm.)
>
> The cab fare ended up being $21.50 before the tip. I figure this little
> detour cost me almost $10 extra.
>
> Later I did some Googling and discovered that this "long-hauling" is a
> pretty well-known scam among Las Vegas cab drivers. My mother told me
> she had visited Las Vegas in 1980 and gone from the airport to Bally's
> (or whatever it was called then) by way of downtown!
>
> Unfortunately, I don't see a clear solution to the problem. Sometimes
> taking the tunnel really does save time, and I heard stories that saying
> "No tunnel" to the driver simply enrages the driver and makes the ride
> very unpleasant.
>
> One newspaper article said you can report a driver who long-hauls you,
> but the fine on the driver was only $50.
>
> I also heard that some cab drivers cheerfully ask passengers whether
> it's their first visit to Las Vegas... if the answer is yes, then it's
> "hello tunnel," as one person put it.
>
> I might be coming back to Vegas late on Thursday nights again... do
> other people have any bad experiences telling the cab driver not to use
> the tunnel? I guess I could use one of the hotel shuttles like Bell
> Trans, which seem pretty inexpensive.

You are the first person that this has happened to.


--EE--