emirate25 Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 (edited) In other parts of the world, there are abundance of taxis on the road and are very cheap too. My question is, why can't Houston have a cheap taxi fare like other cities in the world? Edited July 11, 2006 by emirate25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 (edited) My Thoughts:1. Everything in Houston is SO spreadout!2. Because of #1, we use more gas3. Because of #2, our demand is higher, see this link Click on the Interative Maps4. We all own cars in Houston, so most Taxis are localized at airports only. Edited July 11, 2006 by Pumapayam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emirate25 Posted July 11, 2006 Author Share Posted July 11, 2006 (edited) My Thoughts:1. Everything in Houston is SO spreadout!2. Because of #1, we use more gas3. Because of #2, our demand is higher, see this link Click on the Interative Maps4. We all own cars in Houston, so most Taxis are localized at airports only.If cab fare became cheap in Houston, do you think that more residents will start using a cab rather than get in a car and drive to their destination? Edited July 11, 2006 by emirate25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 If cab fare became cheap in Houston, do you think that more residents will start using a cab rather than get in a car and drive to their destination?No, because everything is so far, it is not like NYC or Chicago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternGulf Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 That is the reason cabs are everywhere in New York despite the great transit system. Cabs in some places are a lot cheaper because taxi drivers never go a day wondering if they will get business or not. Taxis are heavily used in NYC. You know taxi drivers are getting business when sometimes they pass up people on purpose who hail a cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
713 To 214 Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 You know taxi drivers are getting business when sometimes they pass up people on purpose who hail a cab.I tried hailing a taxi in DT Houston a couple of times. . .it didn't work. I should have known better the second time I tried. However, I had just flown into town from New Nork, where I was hailing them at will. I guess I just forgot where I was. Anyway, Houston's destinations are too spread out, as puma aptly pointed out. So, the sprawl will have to change before we see a serious decrease in taxi fares here. As it stands, the avg. taxi fare from DT to Galleria area/richmond is about 25 bucks, including tips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternGulf Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I really never heard of hailing a taxi in Houston. Downtown or TMC maybe. Usually the urban areas are easier. But in Houston, sometimes Taxi drivers already have destinations they are going to because because people call in advance for one to pick them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I really never heard of hailing a taxi in Houston. Downtown or TMC maybe. Usually the urban areas are easier. But in Houston, sometimes Taxi drivers already have destinations they are going to because because people call in advance for one to pick them up.When I used to party a lot more I would use taxi's all the time. It was a cost of partying in my eyes and that $20-$40 I spent on cab fare was a heck of a lot cheaper than a DWI. I usually had no problems hailing cabs downtown, this was at night when the cabbies new the drunks would need ride homes. I have never really tried during the day. Another trick is to find the nearest Hotel. There are usually cabs waiting at those places for fares. I also programmed Yellow Cab and United Cab into my cell phone. If I need a ride I just call and they will send a car. Sometimes you have to wait, but I have never been left stranded. I also have a fallback number for a town car service. I have not had to use them yet (althought I use them for Airport runs when work is paying). I think the fares are in line with other big cities. It is just that the distances traveled are much farther. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokieone Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I live in the warehouse area and I use cabs pretty frequently if I go out in midtown or downtown - its only like $6-7, depending on how many lights the cabbie hits. The only problem is usually getting picked up since they don't cruise that area to picking up, but they do hang around the bars pretty frequently. I usually just call yellow cab to get picked up and they usually are there within 15 minutes. Works out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 when i was little some guy had a grudge against my dad so he arranged a taxi to come by our house to pick someone up at 3 am. i remember i was sleeping and then the damn thing blew its horn and the guy came up and knocked on the door expecting someone to be getting a 45 dollar ride to IAH... okay back on topic... yeah, hotels and also sometimes hospitals have taxis. maybe there is a place online with listings of all the taxi queues in the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 In all my 58 years living in Houston, I only took a cab one time - the night I got out of jail! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 In other parts of the world, there are abundance of taxis on the road and are very cheap too. My question is, why can't Houston have a cheap taxi fare like other cities in the world?I had an economics professor at UH that strongly felt that the taxi industry (specifically Yellow Cab) was bribing the City Council in order to enforce oligopolistic competition with high barriers to entry. He spent a good bit of money riding around chatting with cabbies, trying to get them to talk. At first, he got a few responses...but after a few days, nothing. So he convinced one of his grad students to try and get a job as a cabbie. Yellow Cab specifically asked the grad student if he attended or worked for UH and physically removed him from the building when the student said yes. That would've been at least five years ago.The root of the issue is that the City has a quota on how many cabs are allowed to operate within the city limits. Yellow Cab gets the most permits, followed by Liberty Cab. There are a few others, but Yellow and Liberty are given preference.I believe that one of the really costly ordinances is that cabs can be no more than two years old. There are a lot of other little things about how cabs can or cannot operate that are also enforced. For instance, motorized jitney services are largely illegal. These ordinances are passed under the guise of consumer protection, since people who call cab companies don't necessarily know what they'll be riding around in...but I'm doubtful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 the taxi rates here are comparable to other big cities. like everyone has been saying, the distances are greater. i've had no problem flagging down cabbies in downtown when going out. i live in midtown, and have flagged down a cab once, but i usually call and they're there in less then 10 minutes. then to head home i just walk out and find one parked or driving by within minutes. whether i'm going towards montrose or downtown, the fair is no more then $8 for a few of us. much better then driving, looking for parking, possible driving drunk, etc. the average cab ride from midtown manhattan to laguardia is $25 last i was there, about the same from downtown houston to hobby. jfk is $45 or an hour on mass transit. not much different for IAH (except you have to take a bus here). and for laguardia you have to take a bus too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 the taxi rates here are comparable to other big cities. like everyone has been saying, the distances are greater. i've had no problem flagging down cabbies in downtown when going out. i live in midtown, and have flagged down a cab once, but i usually call and they're there in less then 10 minutes. then to head home i just walk out and find one parked or driving by within minutes. whether i'm going towards montrose or downtown, the fair is no more then $8 for a few of us. much better then driving, looking for parking, possible driving drunk, etc. the average cab ride from midtown manhattan to laguardia is $25 last i was there, about the same from downtown houston to hobby. jfk is $45 or an hour on mass transit. not much different for IAH (except you have to take a bus here). and for laguardia you have to take a bus too.I agree with everything you said, but I will say the last time I took a cab from LaGuadia into the city it was closer to $38. This of course depends on what part of Manhatten you are going to. I was heading to Midtown and there was some traffic (more than normal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 well now that i think about it, the last time i took a cab to LGA it was 2002, from midtown. i reverted to the subway and the M60 my last few trips...by the way, Yellow just bought out someone in Houston. was it Liberty? cause then they would have almost everything, not that it matters since the city regulates the rates (which is why theniche's post confuses me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 There are more taxis here then one would assume. I am not sure on a source, but Houston has the third largest fleet of taxi cabs in the U.S. Living up in Spring I sometimes see a cab every other time, but on FM 1960, they are more numerous. Besides the airport, I see alot Downtown, the Med. Center, and sometimes the Galleria Area. Clubbing in Montrose, there would always be a swarm of cabs outside the clubs & bars, even Downtown. Same as someone else here, I also have them saved in my cell phone. It also makes me feel a bit better seeing extremely drunk people get into cabs, leaving their cars there. (They return in the morning to get them, sober ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 The root of the issue is that the City has a quota on how many cabs are allowed to operate within the city limits. Yellow Cab gets the most permits, followed by Liberty Cab. There are a few others, but Yellow and Liberty are given preference.Common almost everywhere. NYC does it by limiting the medallions, which are the taxi permits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Common almost everywhere. NYC does it by limiting the medallions, which are the taxi permits.True...but the key difference that this prof was concerned with was the scope of the limitations.He did mention that taxi cab regs seemed to be a frequent problem among many large American municipalities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAK Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 He did mention that taxi cab regs seemed to be a frequent problem among many large American municipalities.organized "lobbying" if you know what i'm sayin.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 He did mention that taxi cab regs seemed to be a frequent problem among many large American municipalities.organized "lobbying" if you know what i'm sayin.... he sure did, , .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northwood Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I would be much quicker to hop into a cab after leaving a bar at 2 in the morning if I knew what the fare was going to be.Maybe Governor Kinky can pass some legislation that will establish a statewide system, funded with DWI administrative fees, that would subsidize anything over $10 for a ride home from a bar.I think it would be a win-win situation. The bars would like it as consumption would most likely go up. The cab companies would like it as well because ridership would increase.While we are at, extend the program to tow trucks so you don't have to go back and get your car in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I would be much quicker to hop into a cab after leaving a bar at 2 in the morning if I knew what the fare was going to be.Maybe Governor Kinky can pass some legislation that will establish a statewide system, funded with DWI administrative fees, that would subsidize anything over $10 for a ride home from a bar. I think it would be a win-win situation. The bars would like it as consumption would most likely go up. The cab companies would like it as well because ridership would increase. While we are at, extend the program to tow trucks so you don't have to go back and get your car in the morning. I was about to write a retort, but I am thinking there was some sarcasm in your post. There is no way you are serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 While we are at, extend the program to tow trucks so you don't have to go back and get your car in the morning.well AAA does have "Tipsy Tow" in Houston over the holidays and during events like the Super Bowl. they'll tow your car up to 10 miles for free. though i don't know anyone who has ever used it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I had an economics professor at UH that strongly felt that the taxi industry (specifically Yellow Cab) was bribing the City Council in order to enforce oligopolistic competition with high barriers to entry. He spent a good bit of money riding around chatting with cabbies, trying to get them to talk. At first, he got a few responses...but after a few days, nothing. So he convinced one of his grad students to try and get a job as a cabbie. Yellow Cab specifically asked the grad student if he attended or worked for UH and physically removed him from the building when the student said yes. That would've been at least five years ago.The root of the issue is that the City has a quota on how many cabs are allowed to operate within the city limits. Yellow Cab gets the most permits, followed by Liberty Cab. There are a few others, but Yellow and Liberty are given preference.I believe that one of the really costly ordinances is that cabs can be no more than two years old. There are a lot of other little things about how cabs can or cannot operate that are also enforced. For instance, motorized jitney services are largely illegal. These ordinances are passed under the guise of consumer protection, since people who call cab companies don't necessarily know what they'll be riding around in...but I'm doubtful.Actually, city ordinates states that the taxis can't be older then 6 years old and can't have more than a set number of miles on the cars (which I think is a total fantasy).I would be much quicker to hop into a cab after leaving a bar at 2 in the morning if I knew what the fare was going to be.Maybe Governor Kinky can pass some legislation that will establish a statewide system, funded with DWI administrative fees, that would subsidize anything over $10 for a ride home from a bar.I think it would be a win-win situation. The bars would like it as consumption would most likely go up. The cab companies would like it as well because ridership would increase.While we are at, extend the program to tow trucks so you don't have to go back and get your car in the morning.www.houstonyellowcab.com has a feature on there that will estimate your fare. Just take it with a grain of salt, the route given isn't always the best route for you.If you are going from a bar in midtown to somewhere near the loop, you can expect a fare of about $20-25 bucks.but if cab fare costs are a problem for you financially, then I feel you probably shouldn't be going out to begin with. But that's just me.A safe bet would be that from midtown to the loop would be about $20 bucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Actually, city ordinates states that the taxis can't be older then 6 years old and can't have more than a set number of miles on the cars (which I think is a total fantasy).I stand corrected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakester Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 I had an interesting trip with a yellow cab Thursday. I took a cab from Uptown to IAH. Now the cabs have a set fee from different parts of town to/from the airport. From Uptown to IAH it is $49. Well when we get there he hands me the credit card slip for $59 (meter). I point out to him the sticker on his window that list the rates and he goes on that no it is more because there was traffic. Then I quote him the sticker that says the amount owed is the lesser of the rate or the meter. Then he gets pissed. So I tell him fine (I am expensing it anyway) that was the amount I was going to pay anyway with the tip so it is the same to me I will just pay the amount with no tip. Then he changes his mind and decides that no I can pay the other rate if I want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I had an interesting trip with a yellow cab Thursday. I took a cab from Uptown to IAH. Now the cabs have a set fee from different parts of town to/from the airport. From Uptown to IAH it is $49. Well when we get there he hands me the credit card slip for $59 (meter). I point out to him the sticker on his window that list the rates and he goes on that no it is more because there was traffic. Then I quote him the sticker that says the amount owed is the lesser of the rate or the meter. Then he gets pissed. So I tell him fine (I am expensing it anyway) that was the amount I was going to pay anyway with the tip so it is the same to me I will just pay the amount with no tip. Then he changes his mind and decides that no I can pay the other rate if I want to.Unfortunately, you are not the first person this has happened to. I have had a similar situation. I sat in the car at the Airport and demanded he call a manager. I told him if the window sticker was wrong that I would pay double the fare. All I needed was a manager on the horn to explain to me why the sticker was wrong. He backed off real quickly. I got his name and ID number and meant to call but never did. Not all cabbies are bad. Just like anything, there are always going to be a few bad apples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I tried hailing a taxi in DT Houston a couple of times. . .it didn't work. I should have known better the second time I tried. However, I had just flown into town from New Nork, where I was hailing them at will. I guess I just forgot where I was. Anyway, Houston's destinations are too spread out, as puma aptly pointed out. So, the sprawl will have to change before we see a serious decrease in taxi fares here. As it stands, the avg. taxi fare from DT to Galleria area/richmond is about 25 bucks, including tipsAnother pro Houston post from our friend 713. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 actually, it's fairly easy to hail a cab downtown, it just depends on the availabilty of the cab you happen to see. Also, there are various stands around downtown. I was on my way to IAH when I took a pic a few might find interesting. This is the picture of the Cab stand behind IAH one block north of Will Clayton. This is where they all wait before they're sent to a terminal to pick up a passanger. The amazing thing is, the lot wasn't even full when I took this pic (at 3pm, yesterday). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 The black cab has those spinner advertisements on the wheels. Those are weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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