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LAS VEGAS TAXI DRIVER BLOG ARTICLES:
LAS VEGAS CABBIES ATTACKED BY BARACK OBAMA FEBRUARY 16, 2009
LAS VEGAS TRIPS FOR BAILED OUT CORPORATIONS FEBRUARY 13, 2009
MAJOR LANE CLOSURES IN LAS VEGAS GOING FORWARD FEBRUARY 13, 2009
SOME LAS VEGAS TAXICAB COMPANIES PRESSURE CABBIES TO RIP OFF TOURISTS FEBRUARY 6, 2009
LAS VEGAS TAXICAB OWNERS GET HIT HARD BY RECESSION FEBRUARY 2, 2009
NEVADA TAXICAB BOARD DOES ITS JOB FEBRUARY 2, 2009
AVOID BEING LONG-HAULED BY A TAXI DRIVER JULY 15, 2007
Las vegas airport tunnel Taxi Rides - Which route to take?  JANUARY 19, 2009
Las vegas economy hits cabbies hard  JANUARY 18, 2009
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK LAS VEGAS CABBIES JULY 17, 2007
Chris Moneymaker Can Ride In My Taxi Anytime JULY 12, 2007
i hate cab driving  october 2, 2006
LAS VEGAS CABBIES ATTACKED BY BARACK OBAMA FEBRUARY 16, 2009

TO LONG-HAUL OR

  NOT TO LONG-HAUL

THAT IS THE QUESTION

by Vegas Taxi Driver
January 29, 2007

With all these cabs on the streets I have to choose between not making enough money, or working my days off, or getting a decent job, or becoming a long-hauling crook like some Las Vegas cabbies. Many of the drivers who have worked for years and have always been honest drivers taking customers the best way for the customers, have become long-hauling crooks in order to keep their house and wife. Personally, I do not look at long-hauling cab drivers as bad people. Most of them are good neighbors, good parents, and good citizens. A lot of long-hauling cab drivers are generous and help those in need. Many long-hauling cab drivers own nice houses and put their kids through college and have money put away for retirement. They are not bad people. Long-hauling has made it possible for them to make enough money for their families to have a good life. As for the customers they long-haul, they are getting to their destination as fast or faster than they would if the driver took them the shortest way. Getting customers to their destination safely in Las Vegas traffic is not an easy task. Most customers are not concerned about whether or not they get charged $5 or $10 more, as long as the driver is pleasant and the car is clean and the ride is smooth and safe. I don't think that cabbies should long-haul, but I understand.

The truth is most taxi customers feel like they are going the best way if they are moving instead of standing still, even if they are going the long way. I get accused of trying to rip off customers all the time because they think I should have taken the freeway, even though I usually get them to their destination before I could have gotten on the freeway. Most customers think that cab drivers try to rip them off by not taking the freeway and sitting at traffic lights and getting stuck in traffic. The meter runs at $22 an hour while the cab is sitting still. The meter is going $120 an hour at 60 miles per hour. What do you think is best for the cabbie?

People ask me why I didn't take the freeway, and I ask them which freeway they wanted me to take. Then they are amazed when I get them back to the airport or their hotel for $8 to $12 less than what they paid on the way to where I picked them up. When they ask me why it cost less to come back then it did to get there, I tell them that the other cabbie makes more money than I do, and lives in a nicer house.

So, why don't I long-haul? Because I am very picky about whom I sleep with, and I am stuck sleeping with me. I don't want to rip people off. If I wanted to be a crook, I would get into credit card theft or Internet scams or something that pays well. I have turned down many sales jobs and telemarketing jobs that would have paid me a lot more than cab driving because they are not ethical. I could have made a lot of money with mail order schemes and Internet sales opportunities that amount to "long-hauling" customers, but I do not want to do that. Just because doctors and lawyers and bankers and land-lords and oil companies are constantly "long-hauling" their customers, does not mean that I have to. Just because the IRS rips me off does not mean I am going to rip people off. Being a cabbie is just a temporary gig for me that I have had to do a few times in order to get from one situation to another. When I am no longer driving cab, I am going to look back and feel good about myself because I had the opportunity to long-haul unsuspecting tourists every day, and I chose not to.

by Vegas Taxi Driver
January 29, 2007

LAS VEGAS TAXI DRIVER BLOG ARTICLES:
LAS VEGAS CABBIES ATTACKED BY BARACK OBAMA FEBRUARY 16, 2009
LAS VEGAS TRIPS FOR BAILED OUT CORPORATIONS FEBRUARY 13, 2009
MAJOR LANE CLOSURES IN LAS VEGAS GOING FORWARD FEBRUARY 13, 2009
SOME LAS VEGAS TAXICAB COMPANIES PRESSURE CABBIES TO RIP OFF TOURISTS FEBRUARY 6, 2009
LAS VEGAS TAXICAB OWNERS GET HIT HARD BY RECESSION FEBRUARY 2, 2009
NEVADA TAXICAB BOARD DOES ITS JOB FEBRUARY 2, 2009
AVOID BEING LONG-HAULED BY A TAXI DRIVER JULY 15, 2007
Las vegas airport tunnel Taxi Rides - Which route to take?  JANUARY 19, 2009
Las vegas economy hits cabbies hard  JANUARY 18, 2009
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK LAS VEGAS CABBIES JULY 17, 2007
Chris Moneymaker Can Ride In My Taxi Anytime JULY 12, 2007
i hate cab driving  october 2, 2006
LAS VEGAS CABBIES ATTACKED BY BARACK OBAMA FEBRUARY 16, 2009

RELATED LAS VEGAS LINKS:

www.taxi-library.org Taxi-Library is a non-commercial educational website serving the taxicab industry worldwide. It provides an extensive collection of documents and links relating to the taxi business, which is a private segment of municipal and rural transportation systems throughout the world.

T H E  A U T H O R I T Y  O N   N E V A D A

T A X I   C A B   D R I V E R S   I N   L A S   V E G A S

Buffets In Las Vegas      Golf Courses In Las Vegas       Las Vegas Taxi Driver Blog

Las Vegas Taxi Cab Companies     Las Vegas Taxicab Fares and Prices

Nevada Taxicab Authority Info    Las Vegas Taxicabs Lost and Found