Taxi Fare Port Everglades to FLL Ripoff??

[dutrie]

We entered the taxi line after leaving the Celebrity Eclipse (Saturday). Since there were 4 of us, we were directed to the front of the line to a waiting Chevy Suburban taxi. When we arrived at the Southwest Terminal at the airport (FLL) the meter read $10.10. However, the driver turned the meter off immediately as he exited. He unloaded our bags and told us that the minimum fare was $25.

 

Is this correct? Is there a minimum fare to the airport with 4 people in a larger (Suburban) taxi or did we get ripped off?

[Ashland]

We entered the taxi line after leaving the Celebrity Eclipse (Saturday). Since there were 4 of us, we were directed to the front of the line to a waiting Chevy Suburban taxi. When we arrived at the Southwest Terminal at the airport (FLL) the meter read $10.10. However, the driver turned the meter off immediately as he exited. He unloaded our bags and told us that the minimum fare was $25.

 

Is this correct? Is there a minimum fare to the airport with 4 people in a larger (Suburban) taxi or did we get ripped off?

No there is no minimum fare or flat rate...Someone posted recently that there were new signs in the Taxi areas at PE stating this exact thing...So sorry this happened to you, wish you would have disputed this and/or taken down his taxi/driver/company info.

[JohninDC]

Whenever I enter a cab I make sure the driver sees me taking a picture of his cab # and ID with my cell, and I explain it is "in case I forget something." He also knows I can identify him if there is a fare dispute -- the actual fare should have been closer to $15, so for $10 you got a cheap lesson. ;)

[jo24]

I agree with what others have said, seems as though the driver was not honest with you. If it was a flat rate and a $25 minimum, why would the meter have even been on?

 

Sorry this happened :(

[Happy2cruise]

Whenever I enter a cab I make sure the driver sees me taking a picture of his cab # and ID with my cell, and I explain it is "in case I forget something." He also knows I can identify him if there is a fare dispute --. ;)

Great idea, thanks for sharing;)

[eandj]

Thanks for sharing another story of being taken by the cabbies. The more newbies to the area read here, the smarter they'll be on their trip.

Sorry you had to learn the hard way.

[Langley Cruisers]

Agreed, and sorry this happened to you. This is why I find these boards invaluable; I always check out what the cab fare should be between points in the various cities we will be in. I know where there are flat rates and metered rates and it also helps with budgeting, too. :)

[BosoxI]

$10.10 doesn't seem like enough, as $15 or so has been what we expect. $25 is a ripoff, sorry it happened. I sure hope you didn't give him a tip.

[rhiannon35]

We had a similar experience at the port, when our rental car van didn't show up and we needed a taxi. Cabbie tried to tell us it was a flat rate because we had bags. Uh, yeah, buddy it's a port, EVERYONE has bags. Can't remember what rate he said, but I think it was $20, about twice what it should be.

I told him, no way, this is a metered vehicle, to which he played dumb with "Oh, you want meter on? OK," as if there is even an option.

As it turned out we got caught in terrible traffic jam, and fare was still less than the "flat rate" he had tried for. Rental co. did reimburse us, btw.

 

Bottom line -- seems there are some dishonest cabbies working the port. Be informed and don't let them scam you.

[dutrie]

We have cruised out of Port Everglades many times and the fare is usually $12 to $15, but it was always just the two of us and we took a regular cab. I thought maybe something had changed or there was a surcharge for the larger SUV type taxis.

 

What a great idea to take a photo of the cab number and ID of the driver!! I will do that from now on.

 

Still, it was faster and cheaper than if we had taken one of the shuttles!!!

 

Thanks

Edited February 16, 2014 by dutrie

[helpmesailaway]

We entered the taxi line after leaving the Celebrity Eclipse (Saturday). Since there were 4 of us, we were directed to the front of the line to a waiting Chevy Suburban taxi. When we arrived at the Southwest Terminal at the airport (FLL) the meter read $10.10. However, the driver turned the meter off immediately as he exited. He unloaded our bags and told us that the minimum fare was $25.

 

Is this correct? Is there a minimum fare to the airport with 4 people in a larger (Suburban) taxi or did we get ripped off?

 

You must have had the same driver we did in January. He asked for more $$ than the meter ( and we had already paid him - with a nice tip!) I said No - look at the meter and he started to argue and then drove off. I wish I had remembered to get name and number and report him.

 

I did post about this experience in this forum. This was a cab from the "cab line" at the port to the airport. We live in the NYC area - the meter is the meter!!

[mtjlr]

This is very interesting and such good recommendations and ideas. We also got off the Eclipse on Feb 8. There were 4 of us in a small van taxi. When we were almost to the airport he told us he forgot to turn the meter on, although one of our group clearly saw him adjusting it as we got in the cab. His told us his fare was $20. We paid it, plus tip. Now wish we had not tipped him as it looks like we also got ripped off. Taking the cell phone picture is a great idea.

[twindaddy]

How hard is it to get a van at Port Everglades? We will have five going from Port Everglades to FLL.

 

Thanks!

[JohninDC]

How hard is it to get a van at Port Everglades? We will have five going from Port Everglades to FLL.

 

Thanks!

 

Lots of van/SUV cabs - you may need to wait a couple of minutes for one to work its way up the cab line. Good luck! :)

[twindaddy]

Lots of van/SUV cabs - you may need to wait a couple of minutes for one to work its way up the cab line. Good luck! :)

 

Thank you. Is it a similar scene at FLL when we are cabbing it from the airport to our hotel? Some van/suvs sprinkled in the line?

[FritzG]

Whenever I enter a cab I make sure the driver sees me taking a picture of his cab # and ID with my cell, and I explain it is "in case I forget something." He also knows I can identify him if there is a fare dispute -- the actual fare should have been closer to $15, so for $10 you got a cheap lesson. ;)

 

Great idea, thanks!

[elycelynne]

I'm the one who posted about the existence of new signs at Port Everglades informing passengers that fares are "meter only" -- No flat rates, additional "special fees", etc. So if a cab driver tells you otherwise, he's not being honest.

[KellyNMike]

The same thing happened to us last summer. The driver of the yellow (or orange?) Suburban told us we'd need two taxis and pointed us to divide ourselves between him and the white suburban behind him (labeled Exec taxi). He told us the rate was the same for both. When we got there, he charged my wife the meter rate, which was around $14. Our driver in the white Suburban spoke poor english but asked if the other driver had told us ahead of time that the charge is $25. I told him no and he was very insistent that the flat rate applied. Since we were in a hurry and he was hard to understand, I paid him the $25 but no tip. Granted, I would have tipped him $5 anyway, so we didn't pay a whole lot more than we should have, but it still bothered me. When I learned that the other driver charged the meter rate I tried to call exec taxi to complain but never did speak with anyone live.