taxi fare

[jjduck]

Are fares calculated on taxi fare finder any more reliable/or not than those on taxi zone finder?  

 

We would like to be prepared for the cost from YVR to our hotel on Robson Street.

 

Is it better to pay in cash or credit card?  Seems I have read where some drivers change the cost  depending on how you pay?

 

Thanks for ANY insight.

[martincath]

I use the former and it has proven very accurate; unfamiliar with the latter, but in this case both are worthless as there is a fixed fare that never varies!

 

All cabs from YVR should be charging you the same price, without even turning their meters on. There's even a printed, laminated map with the zones inside each cab - it SHOULD be hanging on the back of a seat or otherwise easily seen by passengers, but sometimes a cabbie will pretend to be unaware of it and fire up the meter. Just politely 'remind' them about the fixed fare zones from YVR if this happens - every hotel in Robson falls into the Downtown Zone, $34 (unless the rates go up between now and your date of arrival - haven't heard anything about a planned increase this year, rates have been the same since April '22). While the street does continue into the more expensive 'Park Zone' ($41) there are no hotels with addresses on that last little bit of Robson, so regardless of which hotel it's definitely in the $34 zone.

 

Price does not vary with mode of payment, unless you choose to negotiate with the driver to take foreign currency - there is no legal requirement for them to accept USD or any other non-Canadian cash, so the rate offered could be literally anything. I'd ALWAYS pay by card, as then you get the interbank rate - it's easy to find cards for travel with no currency exchange fee, so use one of those and you get as fair a price as possible. Tips can be added to the card machine - pay the same % you would for a cab ride in the US.

 

If it's a RT cruise, then fares TO the airport (or anywhere else) use meters, the fixed rates only apply when leaving YVR. Same meter rates apply by law for all cabs, so TaxiFareFinder will give you a solid idea of the likely total - of course we have our share of weaselly cabbies who will take you the long route or choose a route with roadworks to go slower and rack up the fare on a slow day, but inbound from YVR any extra mileage or time just eats into their margins so those trips tend to be well over the speed limit on the least busy road possible!!!

[jjduck]

martincath, 

 

you are so valuable on this board. thank you so much for this information!

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I would also check out Uber / Lyft for pricing 

[rodndonna]

You might want to consider Skytrain as an option- from the airport very convenient and inexpensive

 

https://www.translink.ca/

https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/skytrain.aspx/

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by rodndonna
more info

[jjduck]

thank you, ex-airbalancer and rodndonna for the ideas!

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, rodndonna said:

You might want to consider Skytrain as an option- from the airport very convenient and inexpensive

 

https://www.translink.ca/

https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/skytrain.aspx/

 

 

When mentioning the Skytrain option from YVR, I suggest you should also mention the $5 pp YVR surcharge for trips departing the airport. For 1 or 2 pax it is still cheaper than the fixed priced taxis to downtown, but with 3 it is very close to the cost of a taxi.

[jjduck]

thanks for this info, heidi.