I had a ride from YVR airport where no less than 30 drivers[0] cancelled on me. I would get the notification that the driver was on their way, tap it, and then catch a brief one second flash of the driver before they disappeared and I was back in the queue.
[0]: I’m sure it would be much more, but I gave up and took the train instead
i recently flew to Austin a few times and the turnaround time from airport to destination using waiting taxis was far, far faster. not cheaper though! i have found these Uber/Lyft lots that airports are using now to be a bit of disaster; they have markedly reduced the convenience factor of uber/lyft from airport to destination.
Do they actually take credit cards nowadays? And do they expect gigantic tips?
I really hate shelling out $60 for a 20 minute taxi ride, then being expected to shell out an extra $20 on top of that and getting endless grief over wanting to use a credit card to top it all off
Every cab I've been in in the last decade has expected that you're paying by card. Many prefer it, because the drivers don't want to carry a bunch of cash. Many cab companies even have apps where you follow the progress of the cab you called, and pay for the ride.
I have no idea what the tip expectation of cab drivers are. I tip the same rate I tip for all traditionally tipped services. I don't actually care whether or not that meets their expectations.
I've known a couple of people who never tip cabbies. Nothing bad happens to them.
> I really hate shelling out $60 for a 20 minute taxi ride, then being expected to shell out an extra $20 on top of that and getting endless grief over wanting to use a credit card to top it all off
Drivers actually comment on your tip amount? And they complain about an extremely generous 33% tip?? I wouldn't use that cab company ever again.
When I was a teen I would tip the driver whatever the change would be to the cash I had on hand. These would be trips between LAX and West Hollywood. Cost like 25-30 bucks? I don't remember.
The only cab I saw that took cards had a thing that would slide across the front and get an impression of the text embossed on the card. I guess that wouldn't work today since cards aren't embossed anymore
At airports, its often much better to walk just outside the boundary of the airport.
Airports often have special rules, pickup fees, etc. Drivers don't want to pay an $8 fee just to make a loss on your journey. As soon as you're a few yards out of the airport, none of that applies and a driver will be happy to take you.
>its often much better to walk just outside the boundary of the airport
are you serious? what airports do you visit where you can do this as a suggestion without laughing. It's like telling the freshmen that there's a pool on the school roof.
even something as small like a Bob Hope in Burbank would be difficult. Most airports do not consider pedestrian traffic to the edge of their properties. I've done it once at that airport because my office was pretty much next door to the Fry's across the street. still made me regret that decision. I'm now in Dallas and even Lovefield pedestrian traffic past getting to the parking area is non-existent. From DFW? Forget it. Much like your suggestion
Since the thread is about YVR, it's actually pretty easy and safe to walk all the way to Richmond (or a shorter distance to the east side of Sea Island which has normal businesses / residences). Sidewalks all the way from the terminal, and no crazy crossings are required. I'm sure this isn't typical, but if you don't mind the walk it's perfectly viable in this case.
You can also take the SkyTrain for free within Sea Island (which is not well known, I feel) - 2 stops to Templeton, and there are probably plenty of Ubers around there, since there is an outlet mall near that station, or at least a much shorter walk into Richmond.
LAX: walking paths and signalized crosswalks get you all the way to the hotels east of Sepulveda, or take the free shuttle to the cell phone lot and order from there.
SJC: Cross the parking garage to the bike path and from there cross the street. Or just walk down the bike path
ORD, MDW: Free shuttle to the rental car facility, or take the L one stop.
MSN: kind of a long walk, but there are sidewalks the whole way
SLC: take the light rail one stop
PSP: dunno why you’d want to walk in the heat, but it’s a short walk on sidewalks to El Cielo Road
Bear in mind: The minimum wage retail staff that run all the stuff in the airport can’t really afford to pay even economy lot parking rates, so basically every large airport has some kind of public transportation if you know how to look for it.
When I fly out of Seatac in the summer I park my motorcycle in the employee parking, which is free. Do other airports not offer cheap/free employee parking?
Walking out of an airport of any size (and even many/most smaller commercial airports) is between impossible and taking your life in your hands given that sidewalks/crosswalks/etc. are largely lacking. Most commercial airports just don't contemplate pedestrians walking in and out. It might be possible to walk to East Boston from Logan airport though I'm not sure how--and that's an airport that's basically right in the city.
There's a sidewalk from Terminal A arrivals that you can take to the Maverick neighborhood and the East Boston Greenway. There was one from Terminal E as well to Wood Island and beyond, but part of it's been closed for a while due to the Terminal E expansion. There's a pedestrian detour through the cell phone lot that'll get you there.
You won't be able to walk to Downtown Boston, obviously, but Logan Airport is theoretically walkable if you're in East Boston. I'd still take the shuttle bus to the Airport T station where you can do the same walk to the greenway.
Most airports have moved to a centralized rental car location that is still inside the airport perimeter, so not sure how this is helping? The ride share algos are still going to recognize you are at the airport and charge you accordingly
Logan is one of the easiest. You just take the bus to the MBTA stop or the free silver line into Seaport. The convenient public transportation is the reason I rarely take cabs or rideshare to or from Logan.
Sure. It's convenient to public transit. Really no reason to catch a cab to downtown unless you have a lot of luggage, you're going in or out at a weird time, or home is somewhere inconvenient to public transit. I was responding to literal "walking." (I live outside the city personally and transit doesn't really work.)
It is very easy at LAX. You walk about 100 yards across one (admittedly very busy) intersection and get picked up for 1/3 the price. You already have to take a shuttle to even get picked up unless you have a black car, so this adds 5 minutes. It is still annoying if you have luggage.
You could also take a shuttle to a local hotel or car rental, but that is breaking some rules.
What 100 yards are you talking about? Stepping out the doors at any terminal at LAX takes you to the parking lot if you walk 100 yards. To get off of airport grounds would take a much significantly longer walk without any pedestrian walkway
I am talking about the walk from LAXit. This is the parking lot where Uber/Lyft/Taxi pickups are, and you generally have to take a shuttle to get there to begin with.
LAXit is on Sepulveda, but it is safer to cross the street to a parking lot. I'll admit I underestimated the distance. It is closer to 300 yards:
[0]: I’m sure it would be much more, but I gave up and took the train instead