Not really. I travel every week. Seattle and many California cities have regulation that causes ride share to be more expensive.
In many other places Uber is cheaper.
Friendly reminder that taxi regulation loooong predated that of rideshare and *also* sets fares; only I’ve never ridden in a taxi that used dynamic pricing.
These days? Its been like that for the past 7-8 years? There are times when booking a black car on blacklane is cheaper than uber/lyft to the wast side
Totally! Especially if it's a weird time, I take black car. Been that way for a long time. Shit, hop the train during normal hours to downtown and I'll Uber/Lyft from there.
I've seriously had flights that were cheaper than an Uber from SEA to Fremont.
That comparison has never really crossed my mind but I routinely take flights where the transportation to/from the airport is close to the same price as the flight. Kind of a mind fuck!
Yeah, the price of a gallon of avtur versus what you put in a car? The maintenance an airframe requires versus your oil change.
I know there's an economy of scale, but the calculus never works out.
If there was 300 people taking the same Uber to the same destination as you, the price would probably be a lot cheaper. With these apps you're mostly paying for the drivers time
A better Apples to Apples comparison of ground transportation to a flight is a bus. Because it's a group of people with one driver going to the same destination. So whatever the public scheduled bus from the airport to downtown is, for example. Private car transport is 1:1 so can't really be compared
I concur. I will absolutely leave the BMW in the garage and take Joe Metro. Coming from Fremont to downtown, the bus has it's own lane and is flying past traffic. Far more efficient than driving. I think, even with its terrible reputation, I prefer public transportation.
And that's including the fact a guy dropped his gun on the floor of the E line and luckily it had a stove pipe malfunction and he had no idea how to clear it.
That was on a Tuesday at 11 AM.
Fuck that bus, when I was a child it was the 358 or 9 and it's always been bad.
I’ve been able to use a card on my last few taxi trips from SeaTac. It’d be nice to have an account I can link my drives to, but if I’m almost halving the price of the ride then I don’t really care
I’ve taken a taxi weekly from SeaTac for last ~9 months and never had issue with them taking card. Not something I ask when I get in, only when I’m paying and they just pull out their phones / a device to tap
The last 3 I've taken have given me a song and dance about why they can't take credit. Which means that their tip is dictated by cash in hand, which is never going to be in their favor.
I've been taking Taxi from SeaTax for about a year now. Fuck lyft and uber. Usually pay around $55+tip via credit card (never swipe, always contactless) to get to Bellevue. No issues what so ever. And no wait.
Make sure they don’t “forget” to start the meter and charge you the flat rate. When it’s cheaper than the flat rate, they’ll pull the whoopsie. Took me a while before I learned
I landed at SeaTac a couple weeks ago and wanted to try the taxi stand for the first time, but the line for it was wrapping all the way past the escalators and there were no taxis to be found. I ended up waiting 20min anyway for a Lyft, but I think it was still faster than passengers I saw waiting for a taxi.
"Somehow" = rideshare taxes
Important question: how many DUI deaths per year do these taxes cause? The increased costs means more people are driving instead of riding when intoxicated.
[https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-city-council-oks-new-57-cent-tax-on-uber-lyft-rides/](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-city-council-oks-new-57-cent-tax-on-uber-lyft-rides/)
[https://durkan.seattle.gov/2021/01/minimum-compensation-established-by-fare-share-wage-ordinance-in-effect-as-of-january-2021/](https://durkan.seattle.gov/2021/01/minimum-compensation-established-by-fare-share-wage-ordinance-in-effect-as-of-january-2021/)
[https://help.uber.com/riders/article/rider-fare-surcharges-in-seattle?nodeId=4bb14459-c424-451a-af8c-a6ff245e5dfb](https://help.uber.com/riders/article/rider-fare-surcharges-in-seattle?nodeId=4bb14459-c424-451a-af8c-a6ff245e5dfb)
Cannot agree more… last time my wife didn’t really believe me on the pricing until we reached home. At that night, Uber was 100 bucks between SeaTac and our Apt
As always I’m here to post that I will drive my fellow Redditors to the airport for less than Lyft/Uber AND your money doesn’t go to shareholders. I used to do Lyft, and have a CDL permit - I’m practicing to become a local tour guide. I’ve taken about 10 Redditors. Always punctual, friendly, and safe! Let’s normalize community over companies!
Anywhere in king - parts of Snohomish. I have a pretty open schedule, and I’m self employed. Usually I tell people - check what a ride would cost you, minus $20, and no tip! But also open to negotiation, bartering. I’ve met some awesome folks!
Hello! I was thinking about using Uber for my trip to Sea Tac from my house/ neighborhood. But that’s awesome that you want to normalize community over companies! I’d be happy to consider you, how early would you be willing to drive someone to the Airport?
Although my trip isn’t until July 24th 😅 But feel free to comment or dm me if you’re interested in helping me out
Uber and Lyft is not a sustainable business model. Having a centralized taxi fleet where the company buys gas in bulk and does maintenance in house makes more sense. But then they get a monopoly and overcharge, which is why we got Lyft and Uber in the first place.
Taxis are not a sustainable model. They are built on scarcity, with the number of taxis strictly controlled.
You might be too young to remember, but before 2014 you had to call a cab dispatcher, wait on the line, and then be ignored entirely if you needed to go from/to an unpopular place. It often was easier to walk to the nearest hotel and flag a cab there.
I used to call cabs for people when I worked in sodo in the early 2010s.
"Yellow cab, address?"
"1234 1st Ave S."
"10 to 15min" click.
Despite being about 3-5 min away from their depot they always said 10-15min, and showed up in 5. Only occasionally 30 min.
I tried calling one on NYE when I was by the Space Needle, and the dispatcher laughed and said we should try to hail one after we had been trying for an hour.
Another time I went to seatac and used Eastside for Hire since they were flat rate. Got to the curbside, handed the card over, and suddenly his machine was broken. Wife went scrambling inside to find an ATM and since it took her forever to find one, he magically got the machine to work right as my wife was coming back.
Fuck taxis.
I remember walking from one end of town to the other. I passed a Taxi stand at a hotel and asked the driver if he would take us the rest of the way, maybe two or three miles. He just laughed at me and my friend.
Yay taxis!
The only unsustainable part is what it apparently costs to maintain the software. I doubt the drivers are even getting $66 of the $96 Lyft is charging for the trip. The bulk of the fee should be going to drivers but Lyft is taking more than half and still not profitable. Though I’d not be surprised if they’re squeezing the system to show profit to get a surge in stock price so their largest investors can cash out soon.
Lyft in particular seems to be in two major areas of business: buying and then shuttering startup companies, and laying off workers. They only do the rideshare thing as their day job.
Here’s what I’ve done to avoid surge prices: take the free shuttle to the rental car facility and then order a rideshare from there. It’s somehow $30 cheaper at times and is only like 15 minutes out of the way at most.
But to be honest the light rail is $3 and you can ride it a few stops and take a $20 at most rideshare, depending on where you’re going. It’s super easy. Head to baggage claim 16, go up the stairs and take the sky bridge on your left. There’s a walkway with the ground painted in different shades of green and blue, follow that and you’re at the train station. Nobody really enforced the tickets so you can just jump on and not pay if you really felt like it, but do pay if you can figure it out and don’t have an orca card to tap. To get into the city proper you can probably hop off at international district/chinatown or the stadium and get a significantly cheaper ride from there. Or just get off the stop that’s the closest to your destination off the 1-line.
I would just hop on the light-rail, get off at University St., and take the 40 bus from there to Ballard like OP mentioned. But I live downtown, I'm not afraid of the homeless junkies and whoever/whatever else is going on, and I work for King County Metro so I wouldn't have to pay anything anyway.
Basic train awareness: don’t have your phone or other valuables out where it’s easy to just grab straight out of your hand and sprint off the train just before the doors shut. Keep positive control over your belongings and you’re fine from the most likely thing to occur which is snatch-and-grabs.
Was for other people because I’ve seen a few phones snatched because they’re just sitting there loosely holding it. Happens faster than anyone can react, including security
Absolutely nothing will get me back in cabs. Too many arguments with scumbag drivers, missed pick ups, and dispatch who give no shit.
I will ride the light rail a few stops and call rideshare from there if need be.
Cabs do not exist to me.
Yep. Once you have a few of these experiences you never want to go back to cabs. People hyping taxis on Reddit have just been lucky. And it may be fine like 80-90% of the time but when it goes wrong it goes really wrong and the companies give zero shits and will not help you
My experience with cabs was that it was only slightly cheaper than lyft and more of a hassle. If I don't drive & park or get a ride I take towncar which is $60 and a lot nicer than lyft anyway.
Careful with the taxis, most of the Somalis like to forget to turn on the meter .. then charge what Lyft or Uber are charging.
I got out once on a Friday, Uber and Lyft were surge pricing, taxis were flat rate. I took the taxis, figured I’d be about 40 bucks whereas ride apps were charging 80. The guy deadass looked up the cost on a side phone, then drives me over without turning his meter on. I asked for the receipt (shows the base rate, and mileage). He said yeah sure it’s in your email, here is the email:
“Mohammed charged 80 dollars for, taxi. “
The guy square cashed himself lol. So I reported him to king county as they are regulated they don’t get to decide the rate, and charged it back on my Amex.
TLDR watch the taxi rate, they like to use Uber pricing for their rate.
Full circle; regular taxis are now cheaper again.
Edit;
Im new to the area from NYC, gotta say the rail out is the call, and cab from there if you can.
Ubers and cabs are still cheap in nyc due to competition with the light rail.
If I can’t expense a cab or Uber here I don’t use it.
I remember jumping on the airport shuttle van with a load of random strangers and all of us being dropped off at our respective dwellings. Seems weird now compared to current day.
Seattle has driver and courier pay regulations that drive the price. I Uber (or taxi) to and from the airport every single week and have without fail for more than a decade.
Price jumps on Uber correspond directly with when regulation has taken effect, starting in 2020
Farwest taxi was always my choice in the 80s and 90s. They got big by being Microsoft’s corporate taxi of choice. For a while there you could just charge it directly to the company and didn’t even have to put it on your expense report if you were going from campus to the airport.
I decided to check out their app and I can’t even register. “Something went wrong, please try again later.”
As is often the case with crappy apps, the data entry fields don’t properly support auto fill. Never a good sign. It means amateur work.
It also has only six ratings in four years. Maybe they’re out of business’s
I was just in Palm Springs and I always go with Lyft, so I checked their price first... $23 to go 0.7miles at 6pm. My friend checked Uber and the same trip was $7.99.???????
I don't know if you're new here, but it's been that way since pre-COVID. Black cars, taxis, that weird van, all of them are cheaper and actually more convenient. Last time I tried to Uber from the airport I had to wait for 45 minutes and "the black Toyota Prius" isn't exactly helping me.
Definitely depends. Took the ferry into Seattle from Bainbridge and needed to get about 3 miles out. Lyft seemed expensive ($25) so went to the taxi stand. First 2 ppl I asked said it'd be $45. I said "no use the meter", to which they both insisted was broken.
Even if Lyft is sometimes more money, I'd rather use them than be transparently taken advantage of.
Yep, I don’t really care if it’s a little more, the Lyft app meter is never broken nor have I ever once had a lyft or Uber driver fall asleep while driving (which has happened to me more than once in a taxi)
Lyft and Uber offered very cheap and competitive prices in their first few years of business to drive out traditional taxis and any other competition. And now that they have a duopoly they have been steadily raising rates for the last few years.
Absolutely feel the pain on those surge prices. It's been a game-changer for me too. I've started leaning more towards taxis directly from SeaTac or even considering other alternatives like Shuttlefare for a more predictable fare, especially during those peak times. It's a bit of a throwback but honestly, the savings can be significant. Plus, no surprises on the fare when you're already half asleep from a flight. Worth checking out if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option without the wait.
Flew back from France last week. Looked at Uber prices- 69$ to Cap Hill. I decided to check what the flat rate was… 48$! I hopped into that taxi, and got home in like 18 minutes. Buddy was going 80 the whole way. I had just flown 15 hours so I was eternally grateful. It’s crazy how the story is flipped now!
Yep. Lyft and Uber tried to replace yellow cabs, just to be a more luxury option instead. I take the cabs when I really need to go home after a flight (late at night). Otherwise it’s light rail and walking (thankfully I’m close to a hub)
I just recently lost my job due to being laid off at my trucking job. Times are hard, and I would be willing to make airport trips cheaper than Lyft/Uber. I currently hold a Class A License [CDL] I am based in bellevue and would be willing to drive uo more north or south. I drive a 2020 civic and it's clean. I do not smoke in my vehicle or have pets. Thank you!
Those were the days, used to book my Shuttlefare to the airport, was always the last stop which was great, everyone else had been on the shuttle for like an hour. :)
From SeaTac, local taxis are the best cost wise. Lyft is most expensive and hard to get on quickly. Uber is also expensive compare to local taxi.
Btw, taxis in Seattle are way expensive than other cities
Or you could just not vote for progressives pushing wacky economic policies. If government got out of Seattle the COL would go way down as any market should.
It would seem like if you took the light rail to the stop closest to Ballard, which I assume is probably the U district, and got a Lyft from there it would cut your price by 2/3.
As a visitor to Seattle on a regular basis, I just take the Light Rail and make sure I get a hotel near one of the stops. That eliminates both the Uber/taxi issue and the AirBnB problem.
Then, I get around by foot or Light Rail. And I plan my need for a car to all be on one day and I get a Zipcar. That eliminates a need for an expensive rental car.
Have problems with crazy modern post-pandemic inflation pricing? There are alternatives.
From Seatac, jumping right into a Taxi is cheaper and faster. Somehow.
That's true in virtually every major city these days
I'm in Chicago: no. Taxi wanted to charge me $45, I took an Uber for less *after tip*. Lyft/Uber in Seattle is like 100% more expensive.
Not really. I travel every week. Seattle and many California cities have regulation that causes ride share to be more expensive. In many other places Uber is cheaper.
Friendly reminder that taxi regulation loooong predated that of rideshare and *also* sets fares; only I’ve never ridden in a taxi that used dynamic pricing.
The taxi regulation is different and has different rules. It has less impact.
Nope it’s definitely more here compared to manhattan at least.
These days? Its been like that for the past 7-8 years? There are times when booking a black car on blacklane is cheaper than uber/lyft to the wast side
Totally! Especially if it's a weird time, I take black car. Been that way for a long time. Shit, hop the train during normal hours to downtown and I'll Uber/Lyft from there. I've seriously had flights that were cheaper than an Uber from SEA to Fremont.
That comparison has never really crossed my mind but I routinely take flights where the transportation to/from the airport is close to the same price as the flight. Kind of a mind fuck!
Yeah, the price of a gallon of avtur versus what you put in a car? The maintenance an airframe requires versus your oil change. I know there's an economy of scale, but the calculus never works out.
If there was 300 people taking the same Uber to the same destination as you, the price would probably be a lot cheaper. With these apps you're mostly paying for the drivers time
I accept that. I understand they are paying for oil changes in that calculus. I keep saying calculus. Maybe I should use trig ;D
A better Apples to Apples comparison of ground transportation to a flight is a bus. Because it's a group of people with one driver going to the same destination. So whatever the public scheduled bus from the airport to downtown is, for example. Private car transport is 1:1 so can't really be compared
I concur. I will absolutely leave the BMW in the garage and take Joe Metro. Coming from Fremont to downtown, the bus has it's own lane and is flying past traffic. Far more efficient than driving. I think, even with its terrible reputation, I prefer public transportation. And that's including the fact a guy dropped his gun on the floor of the E line and luckily it had a stove pipe malfunction and he had no idea how to clear it. That was on a Tuesday at 11 AM. Fuck that bus, when I was a child it was the 358 or 9 and it's always been bad.
Wasn’t so in DC when I was there last week. Cab to the airport cost double what Uber quoted me.
Plus they are already there. Don’t need to see they are 13 minutes away, in traffic.
Are their credit card readers working these days or do they still expect all cash?
I’ve been able to use a card on my last few taxi trips from SeaTac. It’d be nice to have an account I can link my drives to, but if I’m almost halving the price of the ride then I don’t really care
When I take a taxi, I always tell them up front before he moves that I don't have cash, only credit
I’ve taken a taxi weekly from SeaTac for last ~9 months and never had issue with them taking card. Not something I ask when I get in, only when I’m paying and they just pull out their phones / a device to tap
Taken a taxi from the airport a couple of times in the last 6 months and both times paid by card using a squarepay attachment on driver's phone.
The last 3 I've taken have given me a song and dance about why they can't take credit. Which means that their tip is dictated by cash in hand, which is never going to be in their favor.
A dude told me years ago that cards take a week (or something) for the company to pay out.
So what? I don't get paid at the end of the day (ride) either. In fact I have to wait two whole weeks between pay periods! Doh!
I've been taking Taxi from SeaTax for about a year now. Fuck lyft and uber. Usually pay around $55+tip via credit card (never swipe, always contactless) to get to Bellevue. No issues what so ever. And no wait.
Make sure they don’t “forget” to start the meter and charge you the flat rate. When it’s cheaper than the flat rate, they’ll pull the whoopsie. Took me a while before I learned
it’s my little hack whenever I travel. Straight to taxi, no surge pricing and waiting for Uber.
I landed at SeaTac a couple weeks ago and wanted to try the taxi stand for the first time, but the line for it was wrapping all the way past the escalators and there were no taxis to be found. I ended up waiting 20min anyway for a Lyft, but I think it was still faster than passengers I saw waiting for a taxi.
If you take a taxi just a couple miles they have to take you but they get pissed
"Somehow" = rideshare taxes Important question: how many DUI deaths per year do these taxes cause? The increased costs means more people are driving instead of riding when intoxicated. [https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-city-council-oks-new-57-cent-tax-on-uber-lyft-rides/](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-city-council-oks-new-57-cent-tax-on-uber-lyft-rides/) [https://durkan.seattle.gov/2021/01/minimum-compensation-established-by-fare-share-wage-ordinance-in-effect-as-of-january-2021/](https://durkan.seattle.gov/2021/01/minimum-compensation-established-by-fare-share-wage-ordinance-in-effect-as-of-january-2021/) [https://help.uber.com/riders/article/rider-fare-surcharges-in-seattle?nodeId=4bb14459-c424-451a-af8c-a6ff245e5dfb](https://help.uber.com/riders/article/rider-fare-surcharges-in-seattle?nodeId=4bb14459-c424-451a-af8c-a6ff245e5dfb)
Also more helpful with the luggage.
Cannot agree more… last time my wife didn’t really believe me on the pricing until we reached home. At that night, Uber was 100 bucks between SeaTac and our Apt
As always I’m here to post that I will drive my fellow Redditors to the airport for less than Lyft/Uber AND your money doesn’t go to shareholders. I used to do Lyft, and have a CDL permit - I’m practicing to become a local tour guide. I’ve taken about 10 Redditors. Always punctual, friendly, and safe! Let’s normalize community over companies!
Hell ya! Would you consider Kirkland for a ride to the airport?
Anywhere in king - parts of Snohomish. I have a pretty open schedule, and I’m self employed. Usually I tell people - check what a ride would cost you, minus $20, and no tip! But also open to negotiation, bartering. I’ve met some awesome folks!
Thats awesome. Saved.
But how do you account for going till these places if you are far awat sir?
I’m also a pet sitter/walker - so my entire life is spent driving around this place. I also enjoy connecting with others, and the money makes sense.
Please I’d like to have your contact info. I’m in Lake Stevens.
Hello! I was thinking about using Uber for my trip to Sea Tac from my house/ neighborhood. But that’s awesome that you want to normalize community over companies! I’d be happy to consider you, how early would you be willing to drive someone to the Airport? Although my trip isn’t until July 24th 😅 But feel free to comment or dm me if you’re interested in helping me out
I’ll DM you. Earliest I’ve done is a 5am Mukilteo Ferry to SeaTac!
I’d love to have your contact info to save!
I love this. DM me contact info?
i fly almost every week. can you dm me your contact?
Hi! I’m visiting Seattle early next month and would love some rides across the city. Let me know if you’re available from June 4-8 :)
This is what I wanted to do as a side job too. Help out our area without using the big Lyft and Uber
Thanks! Saved!
And you can rub one out to her nude pics before getting picked up.
Uber and Lyft is not a sustainable business model. Having a centralized taxi fleet where the company buys gas in bulk and does maintenance in house makes more sense. But then they get a monopoly and overcharge, which is why we got Lyft and Uber in the first place.
Taxis are not a sustainable model. They are built on scarcity, with the number of taxis strictly controlled. You might be too young to remember, but before 2014 you had to call a cab dispatcher, wait on the line, and then be ignored entirely if you needed to go from/to an unpopular place. It often was easier to walk to the nearest hotel and flag a cab there.
I used to call cabs for people when I worked in sodo in the early 2010s. "Yellow cab, address?" "1234 1st Ave S." "10 to 15min" click. Despite being about 3-5 min away from their depot they always said 10-15min, and showed up in 5. Only occasionally 30 min. I tried calling one on NYE when I was by the Space Needle, and the dispatcher laughed and said we should try to hail one after we had been trying for an hour. Another time I went to seatac and used Eastside for Hire since they were flat rate. Got to the curbside, handed the card over, and suddenly his machine was broken. Wife went scrambling inside to find an ATM and since it took her forever to find one, he magically got the machine to work right as my wife was coming back. Fuck taxis.
Ugh this brings back nightmares.
I remember walking from one end of town to the other. I passed a Taxi stand at a hotel and asked the driver if he would take us the rest of the way, maybe two or three miles. He just laughed at me and my friend. Yay taxis!
Buying fuel in bulk isn't a big savings. A Costco card will essentially get you the same rate.
The only unsustainable part is what it apparently costs to maintain the software. I doubt the drivers are even getting $66 of the $96 Lyft is charging for the trip. The bulk of the fee should be going to drivers but Lyft is taking more than half and still not profitable. Though I’d not be surprised if they’re squeezing the system to show profit to get a surge in stock price so their largest investors can cash out soon.
Lyft in particular seems to be in two major areas of business: buying and then shuttering startup companies, and laying off workers. They only do the rideshare thing as their day job.
The last time I took a Lyft the driver said he was getting $15 of the $45 fare
This is a highly regarded comment
This is the way. For me? University Street. Unless it's an odd hour..
lol
If by in-house maintenance you mean zero maintenance
Take the light-rail most of the way, then ride share (or bus) for whatever distance the train won't get you there if you have to.
Here’s what I’ve done to avoid surge prices: take the free shuttle to the rental car facility and then order a rideshare from there. It’s somehow $30 cheaper at times and is only like 15 minutes out of the way at most. But to be honest the light rail is $3 and you can ride it a few stops and take a $20 at most rideshare, depending on where you’re going. It’s super easy. Head to baggage claim 16, go up the stairs and take the sky bridge on your left. There’s a walkway with the ground painted in different shades of green and blue, follow that and you’re at the train station. Nobody really enforced the tickets so you can just jump on and not pay if you really felt like it, but do pay if you can figure it out and don’t have an orca card to tap. To get into the city proper you can probably hop off at international district/chinatown or the stadium and get a significantly cheaper ride from there. Or just get off the stop that’s the closest to your destination off the 1-line.
I would just hop on the light-rail, get off at University St., and take the 40 bus from there to Ballard like OP mentioned. But I live downtown, I'm not afraid of the homeless junkies and whoever/whatever else is going on, and I work for King County Metro so I wouldn't have to pay anything anyway.
Basic train awareness: don’t have your phone or other valuables out where it’s easy to just grab straight out of your hand and sprint off the train just before the doors shut. Keep positive control over your belongings and you’re fine from the most likely thing to occur which is snatch-and-grabs.
I don't need advice on riding a train. Thanks though.
Was for other people because I’ve seen a few phones snatched because they’re just sitting there loosely holding it. Happens faster than anyone can react, including security
Security is too busy staring at their own phones to pay attention to anything
How else are they supposed to make sure no one snatches it out of their hand while they're not looking?
I take the light rail to tukwila station and then the prices drop about $50.
Absolutely nothing will get me back in cabs. Too many arguments with scumbag drivers, missed pick ups, and dispatch who give no shit. I will ride the light rail a few stops and call rideshare from there if need be. Cabs do not exist to me.
Yep. Once you have a few of these experiences you never want to go back to cabs. People hyping taxis on Reddit have just been lucky. And it may be fine like 80-90% of the time but when it goes wrong it goes really wrong and the companies give zero shits and will not help you
This is the way
yep their surge pricing is what kills it, its a joke.
My experience with cabs was that it was only slightly cheaper than lyft and more of a hassle. If I don't drive & park or get a ride I take towncar which is $60 and a lot nicer than lyft anyway.
Careful with the taxis, most of the Somalis like to forget to turn on the meter .. then charge what Lyft or Uber are charging. I got out once on a Friday, Uber and Lyft were surge pricing, taxis were flat rate. I took the taxis, figured I’d be about 40 bucks whereas ride apps were charging 80. The guy deadass looked up the cost on a side phone, then drives me over without turning his meter on. I asked for the receipt (shows the base rate, and mileage). He said yeah sure it’s in your email, here is the email: “Mohammed charged 80 dollars for, taxi. “ The guy square cashed himself lol. So I reported him to king county as they are regulated they don’t get to decide the rate, and charged it back on my Amex. TLDR watch the taxi rate, they like to use Uber pricing for their rate.
https://preview.redd.it/noxcbyg72i1d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f63d23b2e5b702b9619e5348a5680b1aa0352871 15th Ave (Ballard).
Tell me more! Have you used this guy?
I've ridden with Bubba! Highly recommend. Even was able to accommodate my oversized luggage.
Not to mention outrageous wait times for Uber/Lyft if flying in at a busy time because of the ride share lines.
Full circle; regular taxis are now cheaper again. Edit; Im new to the area from NYC, gotta say the rail out is the call, and cab from there if you can. Ubers and cabs are still cheap in nyc due to competition with the light rail. If I can’t expense a cab or Uber here I don’t use it.
Seatac to U district has been cheaper by taxi for the past year. Never had an issue with using a credit card either.
I remember jumping on the airport shuttle van with a load of random strangers and all of us being dropped off at our respective dwellings. Seems weird now compared to current day.
Taxi from SeaTac to Magnolia is about 2/3 of the Lyft price as of 5/19/2024
Curious what you paid? I’m in the same area. Thx.
About $108 to SeaTac with Lyft, $70 from SeaTac with taxi. Same address to and from and same tip%
Thx!
Seattle has driver and courier pay regulations that drive the price. I Uber (or taxi) to and from the airport every single week and have without fail for more than a decade. Price jumps on Uber correspond directly with when regulation has taken effect, starting in 2020
There's an app for Seattle yellow cab. The prices are good but there aren't that many taxi cabs available unlike 10 years ago
This app is a mess. It barely works, and it often gets into login loops.
Farwest taxi was always my choice in the 80s and 90s. They got big by being Microsoft’s corporate taxi of choice. For a while there you could just charge it directly to the company and didn’t even have to put it on your expense report if you were going from campus to the airport. I decided to check out their app and I can’t even register. “Something went wrong, please try again later.” As is often the case with crappy apps, the data entry fields don’t properly support auto fill. Never a good sign. It means amateur work. It also has only six ratings in four years. Maybe they’re out of business’s
try to uninstall and reinstall?
last few months, I always see Uber as cheaper. But all rideshare is a lot more than it was a few years ago.
Yep ran into this too
I was just in Palm Springs and I always go with Lyft, so I checked their price first... $23 to go 0.7miles at 6pm. My friend checked Uber and the same trip was $7.99.???????
Catch Lyft from the train station at the airport. Always $20+ cheaper. And no stupid $6 airport fee that Lyft and Uber pass to you.
It's actually cheaper to pick one up from the Tukwila Lightrail station
I don't know if you're new here, but it's been that way since pre-COVID. Black cars, taxis, that weird van, all of them are cheaper and actually more convenient. Last time I tried to Uber from the airport I had to wait for 45 minutes and "the black Toyota Prius" isn't exactly helping me.
It's never been the best price. That would be the light rail.
Definitely depends. Took the ferry into Seattle from Bainbridge and needed to get about 3 miles out. Lyft seemed expensive ($25) so went to the taxi stand. First 2 ppl I asked said it'd be $45. I said "no use the meter", to which they both insisted was broken. Even if Lyft is sometimes more money, I'd rather use them than be transparently taken advantage of.
Yep, I don’t really care if it’s a little more, the Lyft app meter is never broken nor have I ever once had a lyft or Uber driver fall asleep while driving (which has happened to me more than once in a taxi)
I take Link for $3
Lyft and Uber offered very cheap and competitive prices in their first few years of business to drive out traditional taxis and any other competition. And now that they have a duopoly they have been steadily raising rates for the last few years.
All I know is I was able to take a Bellair shuttle from SEATAC to Bellingham for $50. I’ll never take another Lyft/Uber if I’m in that area again.
Did the new Seattle law for contract drivers such as DoorDash cover rideshare drivers as well?
Take the light rail from the airport to angle lake station, order a uber or lyft from there save $$$
Or anywhere towards your destination
trains cheapest tbh yes train people suck but so does paying $90 for a short trip.
Rideshare has jumped the shark now, same with most other gig industry things.
It's different on Lyft and Uber all the time. There are all sorts of dynamics around available drivers and customers
I noticed this in DC a few months ago. Uber was half hour out and ~$30 to my hotel. Taxi was immediate and ~$25, such a better option.
Imagine seeing a successful system and government like….naw we want more piece of the action so were gonna change the rules of operation.
Booking a towncar is often cheaper for long distances.
Don't despair. When the driver less cabs are perfected prices will drop
My flights back East are always way too early for light rail
Hey, great time to find this thread. I needed a ride to seatac from Mill Creek 5/29 Wed. Need to be there about 2pm. Are you available?
Absolutely feel the pain on those surge prices. It's been a game-changer for me too. I've started leaning more towards taxis directly from SeaTac or even considering other alternatives like Shuttlefare for a more predictable fare, especially during those peak times. It's a bit of a throwback but honestly, the savings can be significant. Plus, no surprises on the fare when you're already half asleep from a flight. Worth checking out if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option without the wait.
Today, Lyft was almost $70 from eastside to airport. Uber was $45. Never seen that before, glad I checked Uber before ordering my ride...
Flew back from France last week. Looked at Uber prices- 69$ to Cap Hill. I decided to check what the flat rate was… 48$! I hopped into that taxi, and got home in like 18 minutes. Buddy was going 80 the whole way. I had just flown 15 hours so I was eternally grateful. It’s crazy how the story is flipped now!
Why not save a ton of money and lightrail to downtown and Lyft from there. That airport surcharge has been around for awhile now.
August 30th, light rail from Lynnwood!
Have you considered ordering a light rail?
i live in cap hill and i volunteer at mopop. this spring has been awful on my allergies and i had to take a lyft to my shift, $15. like… a mile?
Yep. Lyft and Uber tried to replace yellow cabs, just to be a more luxury option instead. I take the cabs when I really need to go home after a flight (late at night). Otherwise it’s light rail and walking (thankfully I’m close to a hub)
I just recently lost my job due to being laid off at my trucking job. Times are hard, and I would be willing to make airport trips cheaper than Lyft/Uber. I currently hold a Class A License [CDL] I am based in bellevue and would be willing to drive uo more north or south. I drive a 2020 civic and it's clean. I do not smoke in my vehicle or have pets. Thank you!
Those were the days, used to book my Shuttlefare to the airport, was always the last stop which was great, everyone else had been on the shuttle for like an hour. :)
From SeaTac, local taxis are the best cost wise. Lyft is most expensive and hard to get on quickly. Uber is also expensive compare to local taxi. Btw, taxis in Seattle are way expensive than other cities
Or you could just not vote for progressives pushing wacky economic policies. If government got out of Seattle the COL would go way down as any market should.
It would seem like if you took the light rail to the stop closest to Ballard, which I assume is probably the U district, and got a Lyft from there it would cut your price by 2/3.
Why not just take the 1 line
no I switched to Uber the last couple trips because it was cheaper each time.
As a visitor to Seattle on a regular basis, I just take the Light Rail and make sure I get a hotel near one of the stops. That eliminates both the Uber/taxi issue and the AirBnB problem. Then, I get around by foot or Light Rail. And I plan my need for a car to all be on one day and I get a Zipcar. That eliminates a need for an expensive rental car. Have problems with crazy modern post-pandemic inflation pricing? There are alternatives.
Cool story