Taxi's At Vancouver Airport

[cormike1]

We arrive at the airport around 8:30 p.m. and are heading to English Bay area.  Are there a lot of taxi's at the airport or is it better to book a car ahead of time?  What would be the approx. cost for the taxi?  Thanks for your help.

[Heidi13]

Normally lots of taxis in the queue at Vancouver Airport. They also operate a fixed price, which depending on where you are going in English Bay will be $28 - $36 (Canadian).

 

Normally no need to pre-book a taxi.

[martincath]

Heidi's correct - but if you want to figure out exactly which zone your destination is in you can check this official map. Just like from YYZ, cabs are not zoned fixed fares rather than metered.

 

Compare it to your hotel location on Google Maps or similar, the major cross streets listed on the YVR Taxi map should let you see which Zone you're in and what the fixed fare will be (NB: tip is not included but tax is, so just tip as you would in T.O.)

[miagirl]

Any idea what a taxi would cost from Canada Place to YVR?  On a Tuesday mid-morning?  Are Uber or Lyft in Vancouver yet?

 

many thanks!

[martincath]

Metered so always open to some variation, but with no commuter traffic to worry about unless you hit construction delays or an accident, it should be a touch under the fixed fare of $35 the other way (which is padded to allow for the horrible delays entering Canada Place on cruise days so the poor cabbies don't always take a loss). Since cabbies make these airport/pier runs a lot they usually have a good idea about any traffic bottlenecks - without any it should run $32 on the meter so if a cabbie offers to sell you a fixed rate fare do NOT accept! This means they just came in that way and know they will not be delayed, so the meter will be less;-)

 

No Uber/Lyft and they will not happen without huge fanfare - the fact a new local alternative (Kater) just launched means it's now even less likely we will see Uber/Lyft soon (but that alternative only uses cabs, driven by cab drivers, charging regular meter pricing except for some very small offpeak windows when they are allowed to, but do not have to, charge less - so it's totally pointless for a visitor!)

 

If you can manage your own bags from the gangplank to the street without a porter, you can manage on SkyTrain if you want to save money. That's a whopping CAD$4.20pp to the airport on a Tuesday morning, and is usually faster than a cab too. You can even tap your NFC Visa or MC card on the fare gates to open them and again to exit and will be charged the same regular adult single fare per card - no need to use the ticket vending machines unless you have more people than up-to-date credit cards!

[scottbee]

On 4/1/2019 at 5:44 PM, miagirl said:

Any idea what a taxi would cost from Canada Place to YVR?  On a Tuesday mid-morning?  Are Uber or Lyft in Vancouver yet?

 

 

Unlike other jurisdictions, where Uber and Lytf have been given government authority to bypass regulations imposed on their competition; Uber and Lyft have chosen not to operate in BC, as the government has (up until now) required that they follow the same rules as their competion.

 

There are plenty of taxis at the Vancouver airport, it's the 2nd busiest airport in Canada.

 

[miagirl]

"If you can manage your own bags from the gangplank to the street without a porter..."

 

Thanks martincath!  I recall taking the train either to or from YVR.  I thought it was no problem, but DH remembers it differently - maybe I over packed that trip.  😇  So I thought I'd check about cabs.  Does the train go directly to the airport?  I've been on some airport trains that actually end at a transit center where you have to drag your bags onto a bus and then head to the airport.  That's WAY to much work.

 

Nan

[martincath]

4 hours ago, miagirl said:

...😇Does the train go directly to the airport?

Yes - you have <400 yards to walk from Canada Place to Waterfront station (downhill, but not much of a slope) and then every second train on the Canada Line goes to YVR - just follow the signs to your airline's check-in desk to get rid of your bags. Most days in the morning trains run about every 7 mins to YVR, so even if you just miss one you won't wait long.

 

If you do get on the wrong train (to Richmond-Brighouse) there are announcements and screens inside - and all but the last 3 stations are shared anyway, it's the same direction just with a short fork into two sub-lines at the end so you can step off, wait for the the next train and step back on to correct your travels.

 

If you want to buy a Concession ticket (age 65+ or <14) you have to use the ticket machines, ditto if you do not have a Visa or MC with a 'tap & go' chip for each traveler - but that only adds a couple of minutes extra time processing, it's rare to have a queue at the ticket machine as most of us locals have reloadable cards that you can automate payments/pay online for so almost never need to use them.

[3rdGenCunarder]

What about a taxi to the airport? I'll be staying at Granville Island, and I don't expect a waiting taxi queue. My flight is on the morning of July 1, and I need to leave the hotel around 6:15. Considering the holiday and the early hour, am I better off finding a car service?

 

[martincath]

2 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

What about a taxi to the airport? I'll be staying at Granville Island, and I don't expect a waiting taxi queue. My flight is on the morning of July 1, and I need to leave the hotel around 6:15. Considering the holiday and the early hour, am I better off finding a car service?

 

I'd just prebook a cab - half the price of a limo. I assume it's the Granville Island hotel, since that's the only one on the eponymous 'island'? They can call a cab for you if you can't be bothered to install an app/use up your own phone minutes abroad. July 1 means no commuters at all in the morning, but not really much of a difference in actuality since heading to the airport is against traffic flow anyway. Slightly closer than the pier, so I'd ballpark the meter fare at a little under $30.

[miagirl]

Thanks again for all the great information martincath!

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, martincath said:

I'd just prebook a cab - half the price of a limo. I assume it's the Granville Island hotel, since that's the only one on the eponymous 'island'? They can call a cab for you if you can't be bothered to install an app/use up your own phone minutes abroad. July 1 means no commuters at all in the morning, but not really much of a difference in actuality since heading to the airport is against traffic flow anyway. Slightly closer than the pier, so I'd ballpark the meter fare at a little under $30.

 

Thanks! Yes that's the hotel.  What app do I need? 

 

[martincath]

14 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Thanks! Yes that's the hotel.  What app do I need?

The e-cab app covers all four Vancouver-based fleets; and recently launched was our local Uber/Lyft alternative, Kater (which only uses licensed cab drivers so it's really not any different to the e-cab app at this point in time). You can download both from Apple/Google Stores.

[PittsburghNative]

23 hours ago, martincath said:

The e-cab app covers all four Vancouver-based fleets; and recently launched was our local Uber/Lyft alternative, Kater (which only uses licensed cab drivers so it's really not any different to the e-cab app at this point in time). You can download both from Apple/Google Stores.

 

Im assuming both charge in CAD? 

[martincath]

2 hours ago, PittsburghNative said:

Im assuming both charge in CAD? 

That should be a safe assumption!

[PittsburghNative]

5 hours ago, martincath said:

That should be a safe assumption!

 

Eek. Both apps have awful ratings. I’m debating whether to bring cash or use a credit card and suck up the foreign transaction fee. What would you bring in cash if we had to get from the airport to around Executive Hotel Vintage Park? We bought our post cruise sightseeing tour online and paid USD, and it includes an airport transfer. So we just really have to worry about $$$$ from the airport to our condo rental, condo to Canada Place, and some cash for food. And I totally just remembered we are stopping in Victoria, so need cash there if we want to purchase souvenirs at Butchart Gardens.

[martincath]

32 minutes ago, PittsburghNative said:

Eek. Both apps have awful ratings. I’m debating whether to bring cash or use a credit card and suck up the foreign transaction fee. What would you bring in cash if we had to get from the airport to around Executive Hotel Vintage Park? We bought our post cruise sightseeing tour online and paid USD, and it includes an airport transfer. So we just really have to worry about $$$$ from the airport to our condo rental, condo to Canada Place, and some cash for food. And I totally just remembered we are stopping in Victoria, so need cash there if we want to purchase souvenirs at Butchart Gardens.

They'd bill your CC in CAD so you'd be hit with a Foreign Transaction Fee whether or not you used the apps... likewise, since cabs (and Butchart shop) all happily take Credit, even if you pay a typical 2.5% FTF it would probably be a wash compared to getting cash in advance from your bank without the concern about over-purchasing and having to return leftovers at even worse rates of exchange. Hitting an ATM in Canada, if your US bank has a reciprocal arrangement to avoid fees, is the only way to really get close to the true exchange rate using cash...

 

Your condo is in the $32 Fixed Rate Zone inbound from YVR if it's near that hotel. Taxi to the pier, $10 should be enough to allow for even terrible traffic waiting to get inside (and you can always instead cab to Fairmont Waterfront or even Pan Pacific Hotel above the pier at street level - it's only the cabs going inside the pier that get held outside waiting for 'dead mans shoes' to be allowed in). Cash Only restaurants are rarer than hens teeth up here - we actually have some Card-only restos these days where no cash, even CAD, is accepted! Even food trucks process credit card payments.

 

I haven't used an ATM to withdraw cash locally in over three years - that's how cashless Vancouver is 😉 But if you really feel more comfortable carrying stealable-and-immediately-usable plastic money (which thanks to it's design feature of springing back into shape, can actually 'jump' out of your pocket if casually stuffed in - a proper wallet or purse is a necessity for plastic banknotes, as a buddy of mine who works in movies found after losing several thousand bucks!) than using your Credit, bring $50 to cover your cab fares plus whatever you tend to spend on souvenirs and food and tips (all very personal and subjective).

 

If you assume you'd be paying about the same for food and knick-knacks as at home that would make sense, as while our dollar is weaker we have higher minimum wage for servers and more taxes, plus lower population to amortize the extra costs of adding French to labels, so the actual price to buy food tends to work out similarly as in e.g. Seattle (small US towns are usually much cheaper to eat in than Vancouver - even Portland's a bargain thanks to no OR sales taxes) and buying Stuff is usually cheaper in the US too, hence all of our cross-border shopping.

[PittsburghNative]

27 minutes ago, martincath said:

They'd bill your CC in CAD so you'd be hit with a Foreign Transaction Fee whether or not you used the apps... likewise, since cabs (and Butchart shop) all happily take Credit, even if you pay a typical 2.5% FTF it would probably be a wash compared to getting cash in advance from your bank without the concern about over-purchasing and having to return leftovers at even worse rates of exchange. Hitting an ATM in Canada, if your US bank has a reciprocal arrangement to avoid fees, is the only way to really get close to the true exchange rate using cash...

 

Your condo is in the $32 Fixed Rate Zone inbound from YVR if it's near that hotel. Taxi to the pier, $10 should be enough to allow for even terrible traffic waiting to get inside (and you can always instead cab to Fairmont Waterfront or even Pan Pacific Hotel above the pier at street level - it's only the cabs going inside the pier that get held outside waiting for 'dead mans shoes' to be allowed in). Cash Only restaurants are rarer than hens teeth up here - we actually have some Card-only restos these days where no cash, even CAD, is accepted! Even food trucks process credit card payments.

 

I haven't used an ATM to withdraw cash locally in over three years - that's how cashless Vancouver is 😉 But if you really feel more comfortable carrying stealable-and-immediately-usable plastic money (which thanks to it's design feature of springing back into shape, can actually 'jump' out of your pocket if casually stuffed in - a proper wallet or purse is a necessity for plastic banknotes, as a buddy of mine who works in movies found after losing several thousand bucks!) than using your Credit, bring $50 to cover your cab fares plus whatever you tend to spend on souvenirs and food and tips (all very personal and subjective).

 

If you assume you'd be paying about the same for food and knick-knacks as at home that would make sense, as while our dollar is weaker we have higher minimum wage for servers and more taxes, plus lower population to amortize the extra costs of adding French to labels, so the actual price to buy food tends to work out similarly as in e.g. Seattle (small US towns are usually much cheaper to eat in than Vancouver - even Portland's a bargain thanks to no OR sales taxes) and buying Stuff is usually cheaper in the US too, hence all of our cross-border shopping.

 

Thank you martincath! I’ll also ask you this (if you don’t mind) instead of making a new thread....what is the recommended percentage for tipping tour guides, servers, and cabs in Vancouver/Victoria?

[martincath]

38 minutes ago, PittsburghNative said:

Thank you martincath! I’ll also ask you this (if you don’t mind) instead of making a new thread....what is the recommended percentage for tipping tour guides, servers, and cabs in Vancouver/Victoria?

Basically the same as the US - socially-acceptable minimum tip (barring genuinely bad service) is 15%+ for servers, cabbies look for 10-15%, and tour guides it's really entirely up to you.

[cormike1]

On 3/29/2019 at 4:22 PM, martincath said:

Heidi's correct - but if you want to figure out exactly which zone your destination is in you can check this official map. Just like from YYZ, cabs are not zoned fixed fares rather than metered.

 

Compare it to your hotel location on Google Maps or similar, the major cross streets listed on the YVR Taxi map should let you see which Zone you're in and what the fixed fare will be (NB: tip is not included but tax is, so just tip as you would in T.O.)

Thanks so much for that info.   Good to know!

 

[montgomeryfamily]

Are wheelchair accessible taxis readily available at the airport or do we need to pre-book one?  We are going to a hotel downtown.

[martincath]

2 hours ago, montgomeryfamily said:

Are wheelchair accessible taxis readily available at the airport or do we need to pre-book one?  We are going to a hotel downtown.

Should be one cab every 5 or 6 - and unless everyone ahead of you is oblivious or a douchebag, if you have obvious need of an accessible cab the folks at the front of the queue will likely let you skip ahead when one appears.

[antnjen]

We are arriving at YVR at 10:00 PM and will be staying at the Pan Pacific at Canada Place.  There will be 5 of us and LOTS of luggage :).  Are there larger taxis available at the airport, or should we just book a limo?  We're not opposed to the skytrain, but I am concerned about safety that late at night as well as logistics considering we will have quite a bit of luggage.  

[martincath]

It's EXTREMELY unusual to find a 5 seater cab in Vancouver (unless one of you is in a wheelchair which can be secured into the floor with you in the chair). I've literally seen one minivan cab set up with a middle row (6 pax) instead of one bench seat plus a front passenger seat (for 4 seated pax total with space for a wheelchair). Ratea are set by law, minivans cost more to run, so it's a vanishingly-rare cab firm who uses a minivan for anything other than their legally-mandated accessible cabs as  a % of the fleet. So use the walk-up limo queue as this will cost pretty much the same as two cabs, but the queue is alwasy shorter for limos!

 

Incidentally, with SkyTrain as long as everyone has a manageable number of bags each it works fine. Safety is simply not a factor on Vancouver transit - trains are clean, open, have cameras, safety strips to alert HQ to any incidents, and 'extra security' designated waiting zones which guarantee you are on camera at all times. Even the dodgiest parts of Vancouver are safer than typical nice suburban US towns for visitors - our homicide rates rarely get much beyond single digits per year in a metro area with ~2.5 million inhabitants. I really can't emphasize enough how unlikely you are to be the victim of anything harmful (though if you rent a car and stick your bags in it, you may as well ring a dinner bell for casual thieves to come break your windows and steal your stuff - our property crime rates are very comparable with big US cities).

[victory2020]

On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 10:49 PM, martincath said:

Yes - you have <400 yards to walk from Canada Place to Waterfront station (downhill, but not much of a slope) and then every second train on the Canada Line goes to YVR - just follow the signs to your airline's check-in desk to get rid of your bags. Most days in the morning trains run about every 7 mins to YVR, so even if you just miss one you won't wait long.

 

If you do get on the wrong train (to Richmond-Brighouse) there are announcements and screens inside - and all but the last 3 stations are shared anyway, it's the same direction just with a short fork into two sub-lines at the end so you can step off, wait for the the next train and step back on to correct your travels.

 

If you want to buy a Concession ticket (age 65+ or <14) you have to use the ticket machines, ditto if you do not have a Visa or MC with a 'tap & go' chip for each traveler - but that only adds a couple of minutes extra time processing, it's rare to have a queue at the ticket machine as most of us locals have reloadable cards that you can automate payments/pay online for so almost never need to use them.

This sounds great! I'll be on my own with just a small bag(3 day cruise) & have lots of time between getting off the ship & my flight. Can you use credit card at the machines to but tickets? 'm sure signs to get the train are pretty obvious?