MrFunkMD - loving the thread so far.

Worst encounter with random cabby. (Aug 2015)

Took a ride from Aria to Paris for a convention. I have a 25 lb backpack on. Total fare was like ~$10. Gave $13 and ask for a receipt.

European Cabbie turns around to me, says something along the lines of "you're going to expense this right? here's your receipt. im writing in $10 dollars until you learn how to properly tip cab drivers instead of stiffing them"

I tell him "I gave you a $3 dollar tip. Was that wrong? How much were you expecting?"

he says it was a short ride, he was expecting at least $10 tip. i lol'd, and asked for my tip back. He tore up the receipt, said gtfo and peeled out of there.

Lol 30% tip and not happy lol

Uber/Lyft will crush guys like that and it makes me happy. Once they see the drop in revenue, many current taxi drivers will switch to the ride share services or offer both from their cab.


MrFunk hasn't been here since March so I guess he gave up on us again.

I went to the Lyft office this week with a friend and got hired on for whenever it launches (maybe mid Sept). I already have a good paying job in town and I do a lot of freelance SEO/SEM for about 4-6 regular clients, but I'm trying to go to Spain/Europe for a month in January. I figured an extra $500-800 a week ain't bad if I roll all of my pays into a separate account to finance this trip.

Funny thing is, 6 people that I talked to were cab drivers looking to transition out of the mandatory 12 hr shifts, hassle, and competition of the other companies. This is going to change this town drastically, especially for the locals who need to get anywhere except for the strip.

Are those realistic numbers? You're talking part-time, right?

My best friend drives Lyft in San Diego. He said 35 hrs you're roughly bringing in 500-600 a week. 40-45 about 700-800, and if you make 50 hrs (which is a hell no for me) and meet a few qualifications (top rating, ride count, hrs & mileage) you keep 100% of your fares. He drives Ford Escape hybrid and when he was going hard (55 hrs) he was bringing in around 1100 a week. Even at the smallest tier you make 80% of your fares + tips.

I used to drive a cab in the summers in Ocean City, MD when it was really busy. For an 11 mile long island, I regularly brought in 1k a week working 6 days a week and keeping 50% of my fares. Granted Lyft is about 25-30% cheaper than a cab (about 30-40% in Vegas).

I normally work 6AM - 2PM (with the option to work from home 12-15hrs a week) and play poker on Tuesdays and Sundays all day/all night. I figure if I put in 30 hrs a week at peak times, I can cherry pick a 11pm - 5am'ish schedule of all the industry folks (who tip the BEST!) getting off work and bring in an extra 1700 or so a month post expenses (fuel, daily car wash/cleaning, waters, mints, etc for my riders to be comfortable).

That sounds pretty good, although working all those hours will be rough. In Vegas, I would also always be worried about drunks that would puke in the car.

I used to have a sign in my Ocean City cab, "Any body fluid spilled in this cab is subject to a $200 clean up fee" the option was pay up or GTFO with optional beatdown. The only 2 occasions that drunks threw up, the one guy "I let off easy" with the last 96 bucks he had in his pocket. The other time a group of drunk obnoxious girls had a friend throw up a block away from their hotel, they refused to pay the fee... I kicked them out on a side street while they cursed me out. 15 mins later as I'm vacuuming the van out I hear two phones ringing. Two drunk girls left their phones. I told them they had two options, pay me 100 each for returning the phones after I clean up the drunk girl puke, or I can throw these phones in the Atlantic Ocean and you can go home to Jersey phoneless.

I got that $200. The driver has the right to refuse a ride to anyone and in the two summers I did the cab thing I refused quite as few ****tydrunks. I have no problem with the drunks, they usually tip the best. But if you're 3 mins from puking, I turn into a real jerk.

Reminds me of the first time I was in Vegas, the cabbie was legit pissed that I was only going to the strip instead of downtown (and this was when downtown was completely dead before they started revitalizing it), he told me people who go to the strip take shuttles.

This is the fantasy I have in my head for that situation, since Ive been in similar ones. You're getting into the cab at the airport, tell cabbie where you're going and cabbie instantly starts bitching about xyz. If it's still possible, get out of the cab and tell the ******* he can get back in the pit. If the taxi wrangler sees/hears this, the cabbie is not only out a fare, the prepaid airport fee, and the time he spent in the pit, but also faces an airport ban for the day (and I have seen that happen).

That's how I like to picture it anyway, but in reality I just suck it up and get where I'm going.

Not in Nevada.

Also illegal in NV to charge a cleaning fee.

Cabs in NV don't prepay the airport fee.

Expecting your cabbie to be sane is a bit over the top. Him bitching is worth no or little tip, but not sufficient to try to put him back the pit. (If they ask "you highway or back way," it is more than sufficient)

When do they pay the fee? I had thought they did before entering or exiting the pit. Is it just charged in bulk later to the cab company?

I know it's not your (defunct anyway) AMA, but since you're a cabbie can you expound on everything pit? How long are the waits, what goes into your decision to go there, are the TA people there total dicks to the cabbies...

I'm sure all Vegas cabbies are very familiar with being stiffed completely, and regularly being given a teeny tip (which they may or may not have deserved.) For a cabbie to say he was expecting $10+ tip on a $10 fare is either working his first shift or is just trying their luck into shaming someone into topping up the tip.

On the very rare occasion I have taken a short ride, if the cab line was long then I would tip heavily tbf... sucks to wait 45 mins for a fare and get asked to be taken next door. That is ofc assuming they haven't already been grisly about it.

I got so sick and tired of regularly putting up with the BS from the majority of drivers (ofc some are great, but less than a third in my experience) that it pushed me into starting to rent from McCarran years ago, and I haven't looked back since.

Didn't think about that until you mentioned it, but when Uber/Lyft fires up in NV it will also reduce auto rental business a few points. Should be good for lowering the rates.

The cabbie presses the "extra" button on their meter. That adds the $2 airport fee. If they forget to, it doesn't get added. They hand it in at the end of their shift.

I almost never pick up at the airport. Wait times can be nothing to well over an hour, and it usually is slow during the hours I work. If there are a bunch of flights coming in and there aren't a lot of cabs in the pit, I do pick up (you can see how full the pit is on your way to terminal one - no reason to go there unless you are already dropping at the airport). TA has been fine with me, I don't bug them and they don't bug me.

Thanks. I do see the cabbie checking out the pit on the way into the airport roughly 100% of the time.

I don't think any jobs will be lost per se but income will be divided. There's no question that it's not going to help me any, so it becomes to what degree with the effects be felt? To be honest, I think it will be pretty significant. As of today, before Uber, the business is totally shot. It's not nearly what it once was. There is no debating it, the old cats talk about it frequently. I mean, we're 5 years past the min wage requirement the state imposed. (at times drivers make less, now co's have to guarantee it). So you add 200% more for hire cars into that pool and theoretically it could get really bad. But, you also need to view it from the other angle which is, what's the percentage of people that take cabs in vegas every day that even have an Uber account?

In reality it's going to suck for everyone, except for maybe Uber Corp, and it might not even be a hot deal for them either. It's going to be a **** deal being a cabbie, it's a **** deal being an Uber driver, the cab co's are going to get kicked in the nuts and there you have it. Little question that the consumer wins here, kind of.

Things of note:

-Uber has claimed they actually increase the demand for rides in their markets so if that's true this would work to mitigate the effects of their arrival. Personally I believe this is largely BS so it will be interesting to see how that pans out.

-It's going to work out that they will be launching right as we go into the dead season. Nobody makes any money after Halloween so all TNC drivers will feel the suck immediately.

-The honeymoon phase is almost over. Regulators, drivers, passengers are starting to catch on. The huge employee miss classification suit in CA. was awarded class status, this case represents a gigantic blow to their bottom line. This ruling is one in a series of rulings they have lost on this case so far. In other news Shenzhen China banned Uber, extremely significant as SZ is China's most tech savvy city. It's where iphone's get made. These two significant blows to Uber are from just the last 48 hours. If that wasn't enough, Uber is turning over drivers faster than cab co's are. Why? Because the drivers figure out quickly it's a raw deal. I'm paying 30% to a dispatch service? wtf??? And wait a minute, I'm an independent contractor but Uber get's to determine the rates I charge? The ****...

- The only play here as I see it is if the cab co's start leasing cabs. Which from all accounts is in the future. If I can pay a per diem, work when I want, not be liable, stage at every stand in town and use any TNC platforms simultaneously that would give you the best chance to make it work I think.

-Recent moves by cab co's have me baffled. We just raised rates for the second time this year, in addition to the new tax (thanks uber for that one). My co also increased some misc bs that comes out of my pocket. And let's face it, that 3% tax comes right out of my tips. Apparently these idiots still haven't figured out that we are going to be in a war for drivers. None of this means anything if either side can't put butts in the seats.

-Uber wasted a lot of time and money getting their new law passed. I said recently that if they had just applied for a cab permit they would have been operating long ago. Considering the fairly strenuous regulations their bill includes, they effectively paid the govt to treat them just like a cab co. The government already has a division for that dudes, maybe you should have just applied with them?

-Lastly a message to anyone thinking about driving their car for a TNC: I got a brand new cab a week ago, it had 35 miles on it. Since then it's been puked in once, at least one drink spilled (tonight), a nice scratch on the front bumper when somebody at gas station backed into it. A nice scratch along the passenger side I don't know where it came from. Half dozen marks on rear bumper lid from luggage. It has 1000 miles on it now....Also enjoy the speed bumps all over town with a full load in your car. Those are fun. Heavy springs a good idea. Also definitely pick up at all the pool parties. Those are the rides you want. And there was one more thing....oh yeah, do call your insurance agent and your lender and have a frank conversation with them about what you are doing with their vehicle. Particularly if you are fortunate enough to posses any assets whatsoever. And the pool parties bro's. Trust me on this. Think about it, hot chicks. Pool parties. Just Do It.

Why thank you Sir I'm glad somebody noticed.

Not for nothing but that ride should be significantly less than $10. Likely closer to $5 than $10. Regardless, the cabbie was an ass of course. I don't mean to suggest otherwise. But keep in mind this is really just game. It's not personal. Sure you caught on and called him on his bs. And good for you. And you shouldn't have to apologize for your destination. But for every one like you there are 5 more who will just cow tow and hand over more money. If you want to know the truth, my wife gives me grief at times because she thinks I take it too easy on people. There is money to be had and all you have to do is talk some **** and you can probably get some of it. Guys are out there fighting for their families, and many of them are fighting for their families in other countries as well so they don't care so much if you don't like them. Particularly when there's an extra ten bucks in it.

All of these issues are of course exacerbated every time they add more cabs to the road or take money out of our pockets via the various means. Back when you could get 4 or 5 rides an hour nobody cared if you went across the street. That was ideal in fact. But when there are too many cabs and no rides, it just kills you. And by the way, does anybody think Uber drivers will be jazzed about the Aria to Paris ride? And they don't get any tips at all....

As you may have picked up from my statements already, who says "guys like that" won't be driving for Uber as well? "Once they see the drop in revenue" the bs factor is going to increase many times over. If a cabbies income get's diluted somehow then he's not gonna go, shucks oh well, he's going to find a means of making up that shortfall. And that means is the customer. Exactly like what was described in the last complaint we addressed here. Why do you think so many Uber passengers are complaining now that their drivers are demanding tips? It's like a prisoners ingenuity. We will find a way to entertain ourselves.

And I didn't give up on you. I'm not too big into message boards really any more, (which is what makes this thread so special ) and honestly I felt like it had ran it's course. I didn't realize you guys wanted to keep it going. Things went a little south with the lengthy Uber chats I suppose but a lot of that stuff needs to be said because nobody is saying it.

I'm more than happy to continue addressing your questions and queries however I can make no guarantee's of it being in a timely fashion!

Welcome back! I can only speak anecdotally to this, but in my case it is absolutely correct. I live in LA, and pretty much every time I use Uber (out to restaurants, airport) it is in a situation where I otherwise would have driven myself. Cabs have never been a feasible option here.

Same here. While out of town on business trips would never cab it to a restaurant or evening away from the hotel, but have Ubered many times.

So why are there so many cabs? Cab companies would be better off with fewer cabs because of the expense of buying and maintianing one. Each cab would generate higher income per cab, so why do they keep buying more and putting them into the fleets?

Don't uber riders put in their destination? No drivers will want to take rides like those. Can they not specify a minimum ride fee? In San Jose it costs a minimum ten bucks for a taxi even if you only go across the corner.

Überx at least in Seattle has no minimum