[Vegas_Cabbie]

How do people have the audacity to complain about the driving conditions in Las Vegas... Oh that's right... I know how... Because complaining is what most Vegas locals do best.

Most of our side streets are three lanes... Almost always at least two. The 15-95 has like 5-6-7 lanes. The 215 is fantastic for the suburban folk. There is like three potholes in Clark County and we experience no freezing/thawing or salting of our roads. Seriously, why is everyone in tantrum mode once again? Has anyone here ever driven in the Midwest? The Northeast?
We have 41 million visitors a year... Many renting cars and a good chunk of them are foreigners driving on the right side of the road for the first time. On top of that, the amount of cabs, shuttles and limos is staggering... Yet this city is easier to navigate than any other city I have lived or worked in.
When my wife and I moved here from Milwaukee, we saw a story on the news where the reporter was all, "Next up at six, the condition of Las Vegas roads worsening" ... I almost peed myself.

So to bring this back to the original title of this thread, I would say I wish I knew unappreciative people are here. We have it very, very good in Vegas and yet there is always something to whine about.

[hotjambalaya]

Originally Posted by jtjtjtjt

For Vegas roads, I like the grid layout. Most all roads go north/south or east/west, not a lot of curving around. Every half mile or so is a minor through road and every mile or so is a major through road that is 4, 6, or 8 lanes.

It makes navigating by polar coordinates easy. "How do I get to Red Rock casino? Answer: it is that direction 6 or 7 miles." A lot easier than "go on this road for a few miles, turn left, cross the overpass, turn right at the Baptist church and you should be on Charleston and follow that a couple of miles and you're there".

I still say shut down the strip to traffic, make it a walkway with a monorail down the middle that stretches from downtown all the way to the airport. Sorry taxi drivers, you'll have to learn to deal or cook...

Agree. Still think traffic should be allowed on the strip though, just pedestrian walkway right under the monorail.

I actually thought the original plan was to have the monorail down the center of the strip to the airport until the cab unions shut it down?

Would have been spectacular, sensible, and well used.


I've taken a cab about 10 times in vegas:

1) Venetian to caesars. The guy takes the 215 via sahara....

2) The guy spends the entire ride telling me about how he has a system sports betting, but only likes to make his big move once a year to keep under the radar, so drives a cab the rest of the time.

3) Cant remember the route, but stop halfway to pick up something from 7/11 meter keeps ticking, when I get out at the destination the guy complains about my tip because I give him $20 on a $16 fare. I point out that its a 25% tip, what is he expecting exactly?

4-9) Get the full pimp routine, cards, fliers, brochures, strip club offers.

10) a flat out race driver with some spectacular in and out weaving.


On top of that, I've tried getting a cab from a friends house on Fort Apache, tried for hours to get one, impossible, ended up knocking on a neighbor's door and offering them $50 to drive us to the strip. IMO anything, monorail, uber etc that shakes it up a bit, is needed.

However, I fully agree, you folk don't know how good you have it when it comes to traffic!

[Clarkcty]

Originally Posted by Vegas_Cabbie

How do people have the audacity to complain about the driving conditions in Las Vegas... Oh that's right... I know how... Because complaining is what most Vegas locals do best.

Most of our side streets are three lanes... Almost always at least two. The 15-95 has like 5-6-7 lanes. The 215 is fantastic for the suburban folk. There is like three potholes in Clark County and we experience no freezing/thawing or salting of our roads. Seriously, why is everyone in tantrum mode once again? Has anyone here ever driven in the Midwest? The Northeast?
We have 41 million visitors a year... Many renting cars and a good chunk of them are foreigners driving on the right side of the road for the first time. On top of that, the amount of cabs, shuttles and limos is staggering... Yet this city is easier to navigate than any other city I have lived or worked in.
When my wife and I moved here from Milwaukee, we saw a story on the news where the reporter was all, "Next up at six, the condition of Las Vegas roads worsening" ... I almost peed myself.

So to bring this back to the original title of this thread, I would say I wish I knew unappreciative people are here. We have it very, very good in Vegas and yet there is always something to whine about.

It is called "telling it like it is". The beltway was not done correctly the first time. You will hit a wall if you continue driving on the beltway back then so motorist had to use the on ramp/off ramp. Land was already there, it's not like local officials had to evict people to build the beltway. Eventually, local officials figured out it was wiser if they unblock and open up the walls on the beltway for continuous driving instead of having to deal with traffic lights.

[LV10101]

Vegas cabbie...having lived in the Northeast, New Jersey and New York I can agree that the roads are much, much worse. Now comparing Las Vegas cab drivers to New York City and Philadelphia I can say I have seen much worse driving skills from Las Vegas cab drivers, period. From the common failure to signal when turning or changing lanes to the lets cut across three lanes while cutting numerous other drivers off routine. Or my favorite lets cut right in front of a car and almost cause an accident. I have also seen more rear-end accidents involving cab drivers as the at fault (car in the back) vehicle. Part of the problem is these drivers working 12 hour shifts five days a week...ridiculous and unsafe. The other part is not having a clue how to drive...laugh when I hear people call these cab drivers professional drivers. Now don't get me wrong this is only my experience and I'm sure there are good cab drivers out there. I will also say I have seen plenty of poor limo/town car drivers and shuttle drivers as well. For that matter plenty of clueless tourist who for some reason feel the need to rent a car while in Las Vegas who shouldn't...but cab drivers being local, knowing the roads and being "professional drivers" should be held to a higher degree than clueless tourist.

[Cyborgt800]

On top of that, I've tried getting a cab from a friends house on Fort Apache, tried for hours to get one, impossible, ended up knocking on a neighbor's door and offering them $50 to drive us to the strip. IMO anything, monorail, uber etc that shakes it up a bit, is needed.

LOL and you think that monorail is going to go straight from your friend's house on Ft Apache to the strip/airport?

[Raiderman]

Originally Posted by Cyborgt800

LOL and you think that monorail is going to go straight from your friend's house on Ft Apache to the strip/airport?

It'll be like Willy Wonka's elevator.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Cyborgt800

LOL and you think that monorail is going to go straight from your friend's house on Ft Apache to the strip/airport?

Forest for the trees....


If the monorail went to the airport, McCarran to the Strip wouldn't be a cab ride anymore. Everyone would take the monorail. That frees up cabs to go places other than McCarran.

[Vegas_Cabbie]

Originally Posted by Cyborgt800

LOL and you think that monorail is going to go straight from your friend's house on Ft Apache to the strip/airport?

Hahaha... I love it.

Also glad to see every thread turning into a "bash cabbies" thread.
I think most of my post was referencing the condition of the roads and the overall commuting experience for motorists.

And hotjambalaya... if a cab driver REALLY took you to the 215 & Sahara to get from Venetian to Caesars, why didn't you say something? Why didn't you speak up and threaten to call the TA? You could have said, "Look man, I asked you to go to Caesars, which is 300 feet away from Venetian's cab stand and a shorter walk than it is to drive to it from the Strip... And you're on the 215... This should have costed $4.79 and I would have given you a $5 to take me 317 feet."

Now let's get all those awesome people back here saying how easy it is to do what we do... Since this is Bash Cabbies thread 2.0

[Cyborgt800]

If the monorail went to the airport, McCarran to the Strip wouldn't be a cab ride anymore. Everyone would take the monorail. That frees up cabs to go places other than McCarran.

LOL Yeah, and if it went to the convention center there would be no cabs there either right?
Fact is if they took the monorail TO the convention center they'd take a cab back and complain the whole way how horrible an idea it was to get on that damned can.

The monorail stops at every stop but a cab can stop at Walgreens, Fed/Ex, 7/11 or wherever on the way.
Plus they don't have to cram their supplies for the day on their lap the whole way.

[ScoopLV]

You are sounding incredibly foolish. The only problem with the monorail is that it doesn't have useful end points. Otherwise, it is a pleasant way of getting from point-A to point-B.

When my wife and I go to Sterling Brunch, we take the bus from our house to the SLS (20 minutes), hop on the monorail and we're at Bally's in another five minutes. That's FAR quicker than it would take to call a cab to pick us up in Sunrise and take us to the Strip. And it's an order of magnitude less expensive.

The answer to everything seems to be, "Why didn't you call the taxi authority?" Like that fixes the problem. I don't want to have to call a government agency and deal with their bureaucratic runaround. I just want to get where I'm going, especially when I'm on vacation. "Wait for us to ***** you and then call a regulatory agency if we do," is not a sensible plan.

Face it, the cab industry in Las Vegas isn't popular. Cabbies are regarded about as well as timeshare salesmen. Getting indignant about it isn't going to improve their image.

Here's what WOULD work -- mystery shoppers. Have fares ride around town all day, catch the scofflaws, and fine the bejeezus out of them. "Thanks for the long haul. I'm from the taxi authority. Here's your $500 fine. And your company will be getting their $5,000 fine in the mail. Have a nice day."

EDIT -- Apparently it is no longer OK to use that word. I wonder what happens on the house forum when someone asks about the difference between a phillips head and regular *****driver?