I created a profile here a few years ago because somebody directed me to a thread about long hauling or something I think. I rather enjoyed kicking it here for a bit to try and speak some truths and address your concerns and what have you's. So in light of all of the latest involving Uber in Las Vegas and good old fashioned long hauling or anything else you feel pertinent, shoot your questions my way and I will do my level best to address them.

Cheers everybody.

Mod edit: For fares and routes try: http://www.taxifarefinder.com/

how much do cab drivers get as a kickback from various places? Strip clubs? rub and tugs? Anywhere else Im not thinking of?

I would love it if I could get in a cab without my girlfriend and not have the guy try and get me to go to a massage parlor

That changes all the time. It's ever changing. Currently the pay outs for drivers are extremely lucrative. Most strip clubs are paying $50/head. Some $30, some $70 each. Quite a few jack shacks are running $100+ now and as usual the chop shops (rip off joints) are paying $150-200. You didn't mentioned the joints in Pahrump, for the longest time one was 30% of the action while the other was 10%, but now they are both 10%. Also a lot of the "gun stores" are paying $10 or something. Amazing how many of those joints have sprung up in the last few years...

Yeah, so you can see why so many drivers bring this up to you. If I were you, I would just bluntly tell them to stfu about it, if they want to get a tip from you.

who are you currently driving for? pay for your own petrol?

I've never disclosed publicly which outfit I'm employed by. I think it's best for everybody that way. Certainly for me.

Regarding who pays for gas, that varies at every outfit and even within each outfit based on factors like tenure and such. As I type this, there are cabbies in this town that pay for 100% of their gas and their are others that pay for 0% of it. There is also another variable here that you may not have considered; not all cabbies get the same meter percentage payment either. Some get a higher take of the meter and some get a smaller take. In most cases, those that get a higher take are responsible for paying for more of the gas and vice versa so in a nutshell it works out about the same for everybody in the end. The outfits are essentially competing against each other for employees so that marketplace for drivers works to keep everybody pretty even.

Do you get offended if a passenger tells you to not take the "tunnel" ?

I was long hauled via the tunnel from the airport to the Wynn few years ago. I was not happy and let the driver know about it. He didn't seem to care. What was a best remedy for this situation?

do you view uber as a threat? how do you see them differently from a rival cab company?

As I advocate for people to do that very thing, I could never get offended when somebody says it to me. That said, there is something inherently off putting about it due to the accusatory nature of it, but you're need for a direct route should trump my feelings, in that case. You could put it a better way and say, "take me to X and use Paradise, please."

A few things you can do. Most importantly, GET THE CAB NUMBER! Always always always. From there you can:

#1 Say, "Cab 1234...I'm going to call TA and you can explain to them what route you took and we'll let the officer decide how much I should be paying, or you can just charge me what this ride should really cost..."

#2. A less confrontational method would be to contact his company post hoc and demand a refund. Which you will receive and it will come out of the drivers pocket.

#3. I hear a lot of people say filing an actual complaint with TA is too cumbersome. I know little of that. It seems pretty simple to me. What I do know is that TA definitely follows up on those and it's a pain in the drivers ass. So if nothing else, be assured that even those phone calls and official complaints are followed up on. Despite that part of the process remaining unpublicized.

how much is a cab ride from McCarran to The Monte Carlo and what is the best route?

In short, I don't view Uber as a threat. Not in my market, not immediately, anyway. Las Vegas has a very unique cab market here. And I don't just mean the companies or regulators, I mean the nature of how many people need cabs in the Strip corridor vs the nature of Uber's system. I don't believe 50,000 people searching for their Uber cars outside the airport or the convention center at showbreak is very practical. And they say, "well we'll just make a que for Uber cars and folks will just come out and take the first one" ...ok, so a cab line then? Uber's platform itself is undoubtedly less efficient then just walking out and taking first cab in line. Furthermore, the major resorts will most likely have something to say about a dozen Uber cars parked out front in their driveways waiting for their customers all the time. It is for reasons like that, that I am not worried about Uber at this point of the game. That said, cabbies in other markets would answer that differently. The SFO guys are getting their asses kicked these days and taxi medallions in NYC have dropped in price for the first time ever so...we'll see.

I don't see them any differently than the rival cab companies. I said when Uber opened in Vegas that all it was to us was more medallions*, only these ones weren't insured.

*More medallions being issued is something I have endured personally 5 times already in my 10 years. There are almost 40% more medallions operating in Vegas now than there was when I started. Coincidentally my ride counts per shift are down at least 30% since that time. And yet, strangely, there seems to be this huge segment of the riding public in Vegas that can't seem to get a cab when they need one. If you say so.

Best route is "Paradise to Tropicana, please" and should run you $16-18 including your $2 airport tax. That price is good for up to 5 people.

So about $20 including tips?

you expect a cabbie to tell you that a $2 tip is a good one?

Good is subjective; popular is objective.

Crazy stories please!

1. Anyone ever ask to drive to a bank and then rob it or something?

2. Sexy time stories obv.

3. Drunk / high people stories?

Best tip?
Worst thing to happen in your cab? (I'll guess it's vomit)
Best thing to happen in your cab (other than best tip)? (I'll guess slutty girls)

I put tipping into 2 categories. There is the "expected tip", the societal norm if you will, that I would put at 10-20%. Same as what you are expected to tip a waiter. If the ride was $18 and you gave me $20 would I be mad at you? No. Did you do what you were supposed to do? Yes. Would I call you a good tipper? No. A "good tip" is anything that exceeds that amount, I say.

Thanks for the thread. How long have you been a driver in Vegas? Did you drive a taxi in any other cities?

Sometimes the cab lines at major hotel is ridiculously long. What's the best way of avoiding long lines and hailing a cab at a nearby location (or even at curbside if it is legal)

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Maybe if it totaled $16 but not $18.

if someone gets in and and asks to be taken to a rub n tug, would you ever take them to a good place, or only to the place that gives you the biggest kickback?
What if he offered you a tip equal to the kickback you would have given up?

The op's twitter is worth a follow
https://twitter.com/LVCabChronicles

I used to read your blog site often, it was great. I dislike Twitter and was sad tosee you went that direction.

The story on your blog about getting your brother that perfect Christmas gift was just awesome. I used to read it every year it was so good and well written.

I loved the story he told about getting a ticket and the defense he mounted in court.

Personally I thought he should've won the case.

Typical driver in a typical year make over or under 40 grand?