Taxi Cab Companies
When shopping around for the lowest taxi cab fares, beware of the cab companies who quote too low a fare, just to get you to reserve a taxi with them. Even when you get discount coupons quoting deliciously low fares, read between the lines and fine print (if they provide any) – otherwise you will be in for a rude shock when your taxi ride ends.taxi cab companies
Taxi Cab Companies Charge Hidden Fees
Taxi Cab Companies Charge Hidden Fees.At the end of the day, Taxi Cab Companies have to make enough money to cover their costs, including paying for gas, drivers, credit card fees, taxes, etc. plus make some profits. And all of these costs are normally covered in the meter fare that a taxi cab company charges. But if some company is offering you really low rates, it could mean one of two things:
1. There are hidden fees that you have not been told about
Most cases, I find people complaining that the rate quoted was very different from the one they actually end of paying. Here is how it works. For instance you are travelling from San Jose to the San Francisco (SFO) airport. I know of Taxi Cab Companieswho advertise that the fare they charge is $60. Now who wouldn’t get tempted to opt for this, when the actual fare normal meter fare turns out to be around $90. But when you reach the SFO airport, the driver turns around and starts adding up, 10% as airport fees, $10% as taxes, another $10 as fuel charges, plus a minimum gratuity of 20%. Before you know it, your $60 fare has actually turned into $60+$6+$6+$10+$12 = $94. And heaven forbid if you were travelling late night or early morning – then you are asked to pay anywhere between $10 to $20 additional as late night charges. So, in effect, you end up paying almost double of the charges that were quoted to you. And way more than what you would have paid the normal taxi cab company, charging only on meter fare.
Taxi Cab Companies
2. The second scenario if even more damaging than the first, even though
you might end up paying only the $60 quoted – that is, if the cab turns up at all. Normally, it is single-cab, owner-driven companies and not the professionally run companies, that can afford to charge the customers so less. The problem is that if they get a higher fare at the same time, they will probably take that and leave you in the lurch. Or maybe they take another fare so close to your own pickup time that you are left hanging high and dry waiting for your taxi to reach. There are other doomsday scenarios as well – if this taxi runs into a traffic jam or if the tire punctures or if the cab develops a mechanical problem or the cops pull up the cab (and these are pretty normal occurrences) then there is no backup cab available with that company to be sent to you as a backup. I have seen panicky customers trying to arrange for another cab, when the low-cost option fails to turn up, even 15-20 minutes after the scheduled pickup time. And ordering another cab at that point means that the other cab company will need at least 15-20 minutes (even the one closest to your house) to reach you. That’s the amount of time required for a dispatcher to take your information, inform the driver, for him to enter your address in the GPS, and reach you.taxi cab companies
Taxi Cab Companies with low cost taxi ride
So when shopping around, be careful. A low-fare taxi ride can at some crucial time, be more costly than a normal priced one, especially if you factor in the cost of a missed flight or a critical appointment. Free lunches, low-cost taxi rides are nothing more than a misnomer.
Taxi Cab Companies
