When I drive by the taxi “bullpen” or whatever it’s called at the airport, I always wonder how the drivers make any money. It seems they get in line behind hundreds of other taxis to wait their turn at picking up a fare. Then that fare might be short hop to a nearby hotel, or maybe it’s a $100 ride into the suburbs.
But even if it’s a good fare, how is it profitable to wait at the airport for so long? I’ve seen big parking lots full of waiting taxis, with the drivers out playing cards and such to pass the time.
Here in the UK, there are similar taxi queues at railway stations.
I assume that airport passengers who simply want a short hop to a nearby hotel can get a free/cheap airport shuttle, so the taxis are hoping for a lengthy ride into the city.
Just because there’s a long line doesn’t mean they have to wait long. There’s a lot of business at the airport, so that long line can move pretty quickly.
In many cities, the taxis will also have an airport surcharge.
Last time I was in La Guardia, the queue for taxis was about 30 people long. The hold-up was how fast the guy managing the line could load taxis. I’ve been outside Penn Station when here’s a 20 or 30 person wait for taxis.
I would guess in those spots during busy time the wait is less than an hour. Considering, for example, a ride from La Guardia to anywhere is probably $25 and upward; a ride from JFK or Newark to dwontown substnatially more; and I shudder to think what the cost must be from Heathrow - it’s probably better to wait half an hour and get a big fare than to cruise for half an hour, waste gas, and then perhaps get a $12 fare…
Yes indeed. I once took an airport taxi home, and the driver wasn’t happy that I live only 15 minutes away. I was surprised, figuring that he’d appreciate the opportunity to get back to the airport soon, and I told him so. He responded that while I had a good point, who knows how long it will be until his next customer, and that’s why the drivers really prefer the long rides.
Not to mention that people often take a cab to the airport as well, so even if the airport was a bad place to look for people to pick up, there would still be a steady stream of cabs going there anyway to deliver the people who want to go there.
And if you’re a cab driver who’s there anyway, you might as well try to pick up a fare rather than deadhead your way back to downtown. Even at slow times, the airport is probably the best place in the area to find paying customers.
In my experience, the taxi demand comes in bunches. If one or two large flights land, the taxi queue will be really long. I doubt there is much demand between flights.
At the NYC airports, if the drivers, after their long wait, have the bad luck to end up with someone whose destination is close to the airport they can pick up a short haul slip (otherwise known as a “shortie” ) from the dispatcher which allows them to cut the line upon their return.
The geographical cutoff for the shorties can be disputed. I once saw a driver get into a physical altercation with the dispatcher after being told his fare didn’t qualify for a “shortie”. I was surprised that the hapless customers agreed to get in the car with the guy after what they saw.
As someone who flies frequently and also lives 3 miles from the airport I am familiar with this routine and also with the reactions of the drivers who generally don’t feel that the short haul slip makes up for the situation.
But if they suck it up and are polite to me they get a fabulous tip, enough to make up for the short fare. If they are asshats that can’t understand that my choice of neighborhood 20 years ago was not determined by an intent to screw them out of 10 bucks today, screw 'em.
At a mid-sized or smaller airport, I can see that. At a LaGuardia or O’Hare, while there are “rush hours” in the morning and afternoon, there probably aren’t many times during daylight hours where there’s not much demand – there are simply too many flights coming in over the course of the day.
A logical solution I’ve seen at some queues is to award a passenger to the longest-waiting taxi willing to travel to the desired destination.
At one Asian airport, departing taxis() charge about triple the normal rate, with much of that kicked back to a concessionaire. In that case, go up the stairs to departure area(), hop in a taxi that’s letting a passenger off: he was going back empty anyway rather than wait in the queue. Win-win for everyone but the corrupt concessionaire!
“departing taxis” - i.e., for passengers arriving on planes.
“departure area” - i.e., for passengers departing on planes.
Yes indeed. I’ve been on both ends of this transaction. I drove a yellow cab in NYC for a couple of years (quite a few years ago). The hack lines look long if you don’t know how it works, but one flight coming in can empty the lines in minutes. And most cab drivers have at least a vague idea of the flight schedules.
And I used to live in Astoria, right near LaGuardia Airport. That was a short ride. Sometimes cab drivers weren’t too happy. Not my problem.
I drove a cab in Chicago back in the mid 1970s. If you got a “short trip” to one of hotels near the airport the starter would give you a “short trip ticket” so you could return to the waiting area and get on the first line out when the next batch of cabs were called for.
Two of the three times I’ve taken a taxi from the airport, it’s been a flat rate to go into the city. Once at O’Hare going into downtown Chicago, once at Charlotte-Douglas going to a suburb on the far side of Charlotte.
I have no idea what the deal was the time we were driven in from the Cairo airport. If I understood the Arabic I was hearing at the time, I’ve certainly forgotten it now. But I’m pretty sure that was more of a hired car situation than a taxi per se.