Why are taxis so expensive?

[SunnyD]

This always boggles my mind. Why are they so expensive? Most of the time you can walk and get to where you want to go faster.

 

[purbeast0]

they aren't that expensive.

if you can just walk then do it if it's not worth it for you.

 

[Texashiker]

If you can walk there faster, why are you complaining about the price of a taxi?

 

[SunnyD]

If you can walk there faster, why are you complaining about the price of a taxi?

Random thought.

 

[Mermaidman]

-Fuel, obviously
-Insurance
-Cost to rent vehicle from the owner
-Regulatory fees? (license maybe)

Subtract above from the fare and take into account the time waiting for passengers=low hourly wage. It's probably why you don't see rich cab drivers.

Don't you love it when cab drivers share their sob stories with you to finagle a bigger tip?

 

[darkxshade]

cuz ur poor and poor people ride the subway

 

[jonks]

shawarma aint free yo

 

[arrfep]

Obama should lower the taxis. For the middle class, especially.

 

[Macamus Prime]

Rich people should get taxis breaks, that way they can have a set of back up breaks in case the one in their limo needs replacement.

Or, better yet, they can lend these taxis breaks to the middle class. But, we all know that will not happen and the rich people will keep the taxis breaks for themselves,....

 

[ahenkel]

Are taxis cheaper depending on where you live? I had to take a taxi once and we went maybe a mile. Whole trip cost around 20 dollars. This was is in Salem, Oregon. That seemed rather expensive to me.

 

[LucJoe]

My friends from the middle east used to talk about taxis in their home country. Equivalent of $1 USD and they would take you anywhere in the city, but they drove like maniacs and had no problems picking up additional people on the route until the car was jam packed.

Honestly, I'd prefer that to American taxis that charge you $20 for a 10 minute ride and still expect a $5 tip.

 

[darkxshade]

My friends from the middle east used to talk about taxis in their home country. Equivalent of $1 USD and they would take you anywhere in the city, but they drove like maniacs and had no problems picking up additional people on the route until the car was jam packed.

Honestly, I'd prefer that to American taxis that charge you $20 for a 10 minute ride and still expect a $5 tip.

When I was in Peru on vacation a couple month ago, the taxi fare was negotiated before getting in the cab based on the destination... a roughly ~20 min taxi ride cost $1usd between us(3 people). It was hard to fathom how they make any money. No tipping required.

 

[Jeeebus]

Are taxis cheaper depending on where you live? I had to take a taxi once and we went maybe a mile. Whole trip cost around 20 dollars. This was is in Salem, Oregon. That seemed rather expensive to me.

Yes. In DC/NY, where there is enough of a customer base to support thousands of cabs, taxis are less expensive than cities where nobody takes cabs and therefore there are fewer of them competing for far less fares.

When I was interviewing for a job down here, a firm flew me into Miami and then decided the interview was going to take place in Ft. Lauderdale. Asked them if I should rent a car and was told no, take a taxi and we'll reimburse you.

It cost $120 from the Miami airport to downtown Ft. Lauderdale, and then another $140 to get back to my hotel in Miami. I could have rented a car for more than a week at those prices.

 

[ahenkel]

I figured as much don't want to make assumptions though.

 

[IGBT]

they speed up then slow down..speed up then slow down. It games the meter so you pay more.

 

[zoiks]

I went to Singapore and for like $15 singaporean dollars I could like go from end to end of the city.
It's about $35 US from the SJ airport to my house in Sunnyvale (5 miles). Kind of expensive if you ask me.

 

[ussfletcher]

We take cabs to downtown Greenville, its about 5 miles away and costs 4 of us $13 total. Supply and demand, yo.

 

[crownjules]

When I was in Peru on vacation a couple month ago, the taxi fare was negotiated before getting in the cab based on the destination... a roughly ~20 min taxi ride cost $1usd between us(3 people). It was hard to fathom how they make any money. No tipping required.

Same thing when I went to Mali, Africa last year to visit my sister. The most we had to pay for a taxi ride was 4 people going 20 mins across town for the equivalence of ~$2 USD.

But as pointed out, they most certainly do not to pay license and regulation fees, insurance, etc. About the only overhead is gas.

What really got me was the fact that there was so many taxis yet the country is a) one of the poorest in the world so not many locals are going to use them and b) not exactly a tourist hotspot either so not many of those taking taxis.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I remember paying about $60 from downtown SF to UC Berkeley. Stupid BART stops running at midnight. Good thing there were 5 of us jammed in there.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Depending on what city you are in Taxi licenses can be really expensive. Some of the biggest cities, such as NY and London it is expensive to be a taxi.

 

[TheNinja]

You are paying for convenience. Also supply and demand apparently. If someone else could do it slightly cheaper and make money yet, I'm sure they would.