Taxi long-hauling scam from McCarran airport

"Scott" <a8daa97.DeleteThis@webnntp.invalid> wrote in message
news:abea95xt6r.ln2@recgroups.com...
> Ask the cabbie;
> a) "Is $15 that it should have cost, OK with you?"
> or
> b) "Can you write up a full receipt showing the airport to Bill's via the
> tunnel for that $22, so I can show it to the taxi authority. I'll need a
> receipt signed by you before I can pay". Get the doorman at the hotel
> involved too...
>
As a former cab driver... this is precisely what you should do in the
situation.


--
BartenderWJT-
The best way to "thank" a bartender is to not stiff them.
The best way to stiff a bartender is simply say "thanks."
 >> Stay informed about: Taxi long-hauling scam from McCarran airport 

On Sun, 24 Feb 2008 05:21:28 -0500 northturn.TakeThisOut@webtv.net (Ronald Emerson) wrote:

:>As much as people spend gambling in Vegas why do they complain about
:>leting the cabbies make an extra 10 bucks by taking the tunnel? If you
:>are that big of a cheapskate stay home! The extra money to take the
:>tunnel would have been lost in the slots anyway so let the cabbie have
:>it to buy milk for their kids.

Wear a sign when you are at the table, so that people passing by will know
that it is OK to swipe a red or two from your stack, so that they can buy milk
for their kids.

--
Binyamin Dissen <bdissen.TakeThisOut@dissensoftware.com>
http://www.dissensoftware.com

Should you use the mailblocks package and expect a response from me,
you should preauthorize the dissensoftware.com domain.

I very rarely bother responding to challenge/response systems,
especially those from irresponsible companies.
 >> Stay informed about: Taxi long-hauling scam from McCarran airport 

CLM in ND wrote:
>
>
> Dan Leifker 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.
>>
>> cheers
>> Dan Leifker
>
> This is one of the reasons I started taking shuttles again a couple
> years ago. I don't have to keep an eye on the meter, it's a flat fee of
> $7-$8, no worries about long hauling. My flight usually gets in
> sometime in the very early afternoon, so by the time I arrive at my
> hotel it's check in time.
>
> Cameron
>
I agree that the price is right especially if travelling alone, but it
takes too long for me.
 >> Stay informed about: Taxi long-hauling scam from McCarran airport 

<salmoneous.DeleteThis@aol.com> wrote in message
news:420e1dfd-9248-4d38-8aea-0d791df30e5d@e60g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
>> In fact depending
>> on where you stay and what time of day it is the 215/tunnel route will be
>> faster more than half the time.
>
> I'm curious where you get the "More than half the time" factor. The
> tunnel is only faster with both (1) there is traffic on surface
> streets, and (2) there isn't traffic on the highway.
>
>> I just don't think this is as big an issue as
>> it's made out to be.

Half the time because depending on where your heading to. It is faster to
take the 215, pretty much the entire north strip and downtown. Also I will
take the 215 to any resort that is accessable from Frank Sinatra (M.
Bay,Luxor,Excal, ect.).
BTW-there is ALWAYS traffic on the surface streets that lead to the strip
IMO.


>
> The cabbie is essentially stealing $5-10 from you. Would you consier
> it a big deal if a waitress padded your bill by $5? Would you consider
> it a big deal if a deal short-paid you $10? Would you consider it a
> big deal if some guy snatched $5 out of your hand and ran off with
> it?
>
Granted I just don't think this is something that is willingly being done on
a large scale. I would think these guys are generally in a rush to get back
to another fare not waste time.
 >> Stay informed about: Taxi long-hauling scam from McCarran airport 

Scott wrote:
>> 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.)
>
> You're a lucky guy, you get to gamble with the cabbie even before you go
> into the Casino;
>
> Ask the cabbie;
> a) "Is $15 that it should have cost, OK with you?"
> or
> b) "Can you write up a full receipt showing the airport to Bill's via the
> tunnel for that $22, so I can show it to the taxi authority. I'll need a
> receipt signed by you before I can pay". Get the doorman at the hotel
> involved too...

Very tempting, but I hit on another solution: Next time I'll stay at the
Silverton, and the tunnel will be my friend.

With my luck, the cab driver WON'T take the tunnel then...

Dan L.
 >> Stay informed about: Taxi long-hauling scam from McCarran airport