Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2014

dodger1

Froggitt wrote: »

Forget the bus. Just say No Tunnel when you get in the cab.

Last time I got the taxi and said that it ended up with quite an argument which annoyed me. I prefer to not give them my business. The bus was a either $6 or $7 dollars and maybe an extra 20 minutes or so and I'm happy with that. Without the arguments I'd be happy to give the taxi drivers my business.

martyn187

dodger1 wrote: »

Last time I got the taxi and said that it ended up with quite an argument which annoyed me. I prefer to not give them my business. The bus was a either $6 or $7 dollars and maybe an extra 20 minutes or so and I'm happy with that. Without the arguments I'd be happy to give the taxi drivers my business.

Would be interested to know how they ended up arguing with you? When you said "no tunnel" did the driver start arguing?

vegasvisitor

dodger1 wrote: »

Last time I got the taxi and said that it ended up with quite an argument which annoyed me. I prefer to not give them my business. The bus was a either $6 or $7 dollars and maybe an extra 20 minutes or so and I'm happy with that. Without the arguments I'd be happy to give the taxi drivers my business.

It's understandable that although some drivers will use the tunnel, others would have no intention of longhauling anyone and might be offended. I prefer to ask them to take Swenson please than to say 'no tunnel. It feels a more polite way to put it.

With this in mind, I would likely use the tunnel if I was driving, as it's often quicker, so it possibly isn't just to generate extra fare, but to save time. I wonder if the driver gets a portion of the fare or an hourly rate plus tips.

It is annoying though, especially when they claim there's traffic to try to get their own way.

robtruscott

Last time i went i can remember telling the cab driver "no tunnel" rather than saying "take tropicanna" and he went up paradise road,east harmon and back down koval lane.

thing was i was going to the excaliber so when we pulled up i told him i was going to report him for long hauling me (fare was around $21 instead of around $13) he quickly said $10 will be fine and rushed away.

so my advice is have a look on google maps before you arrive, know the route you should be taking and then tell the drive thats the route you want.

Wammer

duchy wrote: »

It's the British accent....they assume we don't know better.
Amazingly every time I get a cab there is apparently an RTA enroute and I'd be faster taking the tunnel. Equally amazingly I've always told the cab driver I'll take my chances and the RTA has always vanished before we get to it. Must be Vegas magic .

It doesn't bother me and I'd never say I've got into and argument. I just say firmly No tunnel and I've never had to repeat it more than once. Just part of the game.

This is exactly what we get most of the time, that there's an RTA which magically is cleared when I say I'll take my chances. We arrive on a Friday night so traffic is busy anyway.

I just say, "No tunnel thank you, please take Swenson".

Wammer

lesley74 wrote: »

It's understandable that although some drivers will use the tunnel, others would have no intention of longhauling anyone and might be offended. I prefer to ask them to take Swenson please than to say 'no tunnel. It feels a more polite way to put it.

With this in mind, I would likely use the tunnel if I was driving, as it's often quicker, so it possibly isn't just to generate extra fare, but to save time. I wonder if the driver gets a portion of the fare or an hourly rate plus tips.

It is annoying though, especially when they claim there's traffic to try to get their own way.

Someone on VMB who lives in Vegas actually did an experiment taking the tunnel and then the surface streets to the same destination for a few destinations. Only once was the tunnel quicker. It might feel quicker as you are moving faster, but not according to their timings.

stoneman

The trouble is now they are being caught out taking the tunnel, and from T3 it's a hell of an operation to get to it, so they are using other routes, even if you ask for Swenson which I always do they take you on a tour of the airport road network before hand, or as per the last time we used them, she took a sort of underpass out of T3 then we ended up on Russell, that one only amounted to an extra $3-$5 but all the same it's as easy as Larry to get onto Swenson from T3. Mind now that they have moved the taxi rank to the near end of the terminal it can cost you $2 just to get to the end they used to pick up at. lol

tgh_2

Saw a deal for a helicopter trip over Vegas (12-20 mins) on Travelzoo for $69. Has anyone done something similar and is it good?

http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Las-Vegas/Other/117277/702-Helicopter-Inc

John259

tgh wrote: »

Saw a deal for a helicopter trip over Vegas (12-20 mins) on Travelzoo for $69. Has anyone done something similar and is it good?

http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Las-Vegas/Other/117277/702-Helicopter-Inc

To get a good idea of the experience you might like to try a search on YouTube for:
helicopter las vegas
(My only connection with YouTube is as a viewer)

dodger1

martyn187 wrote: »

Would be interested to know how they ended up arguing with you? When you said "no tunnel" did the driver start arguing?

Exactly, first of all he said there were road works going the other way, I said no problem I still want to go that way, he repeated his statement twice more after I again repeated the way I wanted to go. In the end I simply said "look that's the way I want to go". He got huffy and and drove off obviously far from happy. There were no hold ups anywhere on the route.

My daughter was with me on this occasion and she was gobsmacked with his attitude. We've both separately been to Vegas on several times and once as a Vegas newby I was taken through the tunnel. I had no idea until I found this forum that the drivers (some of them) were doing this.