Las Vegas Taxicab Mystery Solved

We travel fairly frequently to Las Vegas and like most visitors, take cabs or walk everywhere. Because of this, we have a decent amount of knowledge about the quickest ways to get from the airport and to hotels up and down the strip.

The last two times we visited we were in multiple cabs that took us some random route. We had cab drivers insisting the freeway was faster or taking illogical exits and turns to get to our destinations.

In the past, we have always taken Tropicana Boulevard to the strip. Since the airport is just off Tropicana, the trip usually costs between $10-$12. This time with no traffic anywhere, we reached the Monte Carlo with a $22 fare. Some quick route!

Additionally, when we were trying to get from the Monte Carlo to Harrah's we had a cab driver that again was insisting on taking us on the freeway despite our request for the shortest route.

By this time we were more then a little irritated. After years of taking cabs in Vegas, we were definitely getting cab drivers who were deliberately trying to get a larger fare.

The next morning we were enlightened.

The driver we had for our trip down to Caesars not only went the route we requested, but he gave us a lot of really good information. While talking to him, we found out that a couple of the cab companies make their drivers pay 100% of the fuel costs. This is not so unusual, but because the gas prices are now so high, it is well known among the cab drivers that many of them have started taking tourists the long way in order to secure a higher fare.

Despite what your driver tells you, if you are going anywhere along the strip, it is never faster going on the freeway. Your two best options are just taking the strip, or if it is really jammed, taking Paradise down to your destination. Additionally, if you are ever unsure, you can always ask the doorman or taxi attendant which way will be best for you before you get into the cab.

Ironically, we are always really good tippers, so the cab drivers who obviously are trying to work us over rarely get more then a couple dollars tip from us. On the other hand, the drivers who are courteous we have often given as much as double the fare, so they end up making more total then they would have trying to take us the long way. Also, if a driver was smart, they would realize they can make more on multiple short trips since the fares start at about $3.50 just to get into the cabs. For all the time they are wasting going the long way to earn their extra couple of dollars, they could have potentially gotten two fares instead.

Get the word out and hopefully we can end this ridiculous trend to screw over the customer. And if you have a driver who is good to you, please, tip them well.