Cabs in Vancouver for 5

[JBCall]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if at the Vancouver airport there would be a lot of cabs that would have space for 5 people (2 adults, 3 teen/pre-teens) + luggage?  Are we better off using a car service from Airport to hotel (Sylvia) and hotel to Canada Place?  Any recommendations?

 

Thanks all,

 

JB

[martincath]

Lots? No, quite the opposite - 5 person cabs are very much a rarity due to how local cabs work. Rates are set in Bylaws, and make no differentiation of vehicle size - which means that virtually all cabs are now Toyota Prius because of the fuel economy. There is a mandated minimum number of Accessible cabs - a little under 1 in 5 - and these are all Minivans, but because they are much more expensive to run than a Prius they are almost always set up to allow a wheelchair or scooter to be rolled onboard and secured - in other words, no middle bench so there are still only seats for 4 pax plus the driver, the advertized '5 Pax' on the car means a wheelchair plus 4 regular joes. Once in a blue moon I have seen a 6 seater non-Accessible Minivan cab, but the odds of one showing up when you need one are extraordinarily small.

 

Whether you use 2 cabs or a limo, you'll know exactly what you're paying as it's fixed fare zones for all inbound travel and the limo would have a very small premium over 2 cabs. Don't prebook a car service though - that costs an extra $50 on top if the walk-up rates, and is also ironically slower than just using the walkup queue (no space at YVR to have cars wait at the curb, so the driver has to meet you inside and then escort you way around the back to the limo parking or take you to the curb then disappear and get the car and come to you - whereas you never have to wait more than seconds at the limo Walkup before one appears).

 

The Sylvia is unfortunately just inside one of the pricier zones - it's in the 'Stanley Park' zone, which involves more driving than the rest of downtown due to where the bridges are. Cabs cost $38 (incl tax, but not tips) and an up-to-6-pax limo $77 (+5% tax and an expected tip of at least 15%).

 

Do NOT book a limo to the pier though! By law they have to charge for one full hour, so you'd be looking at almost $110 for a 5 minute drive! The only exemption is Aerocar on routes to and from YVR, where they can use the fixed zone pricing - they are the only airport franchisee so nobody else gets to charge as little as they do on those routes, but on any other route they have to charge the same Bylaw Min/Max rates.

Edited May 18, 2019 by martincath
Noticed OP is Canadian; removed USD info!