How hard is it to catch a cab during PAX?

Juliet

I imagine with all the people, it would be hard to catch a cab. Anyone have experience with this because I don't want to take a bus late at night.

Dreamwriter

Seattle isn't as cab-friendly as other cities, if it's late at night you might need to actually call for a cab if you are staying far away from the convention center rather than waiting randomly for one to drive by

SkeleVader

Try Uber. It's great in Seattle.

Zionad

SkeleVader wrote: »

Try Uber. It's great in Seattle.

i second Uber. I used it for the first time at PAX east this year and it was very quick and half the cost of a cab. Plus, the drivers are very professional and the vehicles are clean!

SanDogWeps

Third Uber. Or, meet folks staying in the same locale and make friends to carpool/rideshare with. Chances are pretty low that you will wind up with a fellow gamer who is also a slasher...

Juliet

Does Uber have larger cars/vans? There are 5 of us in my family.

Thanks again.

zerzhul

Juliet wrote: »

Does Uber have larger cars/vans? There are 5 of us in my family.

Thanks again.

They have an option for a large SUV. It's a bit more expensive than a cab, but I find the service to be totally worth it.

Nymphodorah

Depends when/where, honestly.

If you're at the convention center, catching a cab is cake. They regularly stroll by, especially if there's an event going on. They know that it's a money maker.

We also have Uber (as mentioned above) and Lift. The benefit of these services is that you actually get to rate your driver so the company can keep bad/good drivers accountable. They can also rate you as a passenger.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You could also get the app TaxiMagic to hail a cab that's nearby if you don't see one, and to get real-time updates on how close they are to you.

ctiwolf

i used to take cabs all the time when i lived in bell town (a little north of downtown) and there are plenty of cabs to be had. the trick with cabs in downtown seattle is to learn the loop as they will drive around in the same circle all night long but since the convention center is part of the loop usually you can catch a cab. if your tired of waiting go about a block to the westin and there is always a lineup of cabs waiting there otherwise they will swing by and try and pick people up around the movie theater which is kitty corner from the convention center. if you're drinking remember that not all yellow cars are cabs. makes it really awkward when you get in the back seat of a strangers car if you know what i mean.

Juliet

Thanks for the advice ctiwolf. We live across the lake and driving into the city with all the pedestrians would really stress me out. Last year we got a hotel, but paid a ton and had a bad experience so we likely aren't doing that again. The last couple of years we have taken the bus, but late at night there are crazy people out. Seriously.... crazy people, not just people having fun.

Funny.... not all yellow cars are cabs... :-) Did you ever do that?

ctiwolf

No but we had a drunk guy get in our car and tell us were to go. And bus service has gotten dramatically worse since budget cuts so not only are there crazies they only come every hour at night if your route is still there

Konrad9

Please keep in mind that Uber and Lyft had their numbers restricted by the Seattle government recently.

ryamkajr

Also note that Seattle cabbies are a bunch of &#^$&#. They are required by law to accept payment via credit card, if you so chose, but I swear every single one of them either throws a fit or will claim they cannot accept it.

If they give you smack, push back.

zerzhul

ryamkajr wrote: »

Also note that Seattle cabbies are a bunch of &#^$&#. They are required by law to accept payment via credit card, if you so chose, but I swear every single one of them either throws a fit or will claim they cannot accept it.

If they give you smack, push back.

The credit card thing is cabbies everywhere, in my experience.

BouwsT

ryamkajr wrote: »

Also note that Seattle cabbies are a bunch of &#^$&#. They are required by law to accept payment via credit card, if you so chose, but I swear every single one of them either throws a fit or will claim they cannot accept it.

If they give you smack, push back.

Pretty sure that's due to the processing fees cutting into their profit... I'm not sure what the rates are like in the States, but here in Canada a well featured card will cost the retailer 2-3% to process. Even higher for AmEx.

ryamkajr

I am sure that is part of the issue, as is their able to skim part of any tip and only report a subset for tax purposes. Just letting people know that they can push back if they are not experienced with pushy cabbies.

BouwsT

Nope, you're absolutely right. I just figured I'd throw in my two cents, so that people know the reason behind the cabbie push back. In NO WAY will I be avoiding my credit card with them either though.

kuni_bob

I exclusively used cabs last year and had absolutely no trouble; never once had to wait.

RyanJW

UberX is super cheap (probably about as much as you'd pay for a cab), Uber Black is a bit more expensive, but a lot nicer (usually Town Car), and then there is the SUV which allows you to cart more people around. Uber also allows you to split fare with other riders - really convenience.

I also hear Lyft is convenient (similar model to UberX) - I haven't used it though so I can't comment.

Another thing to be mindful of - public transportation in Seattle is really easy and relatively inexpensive. There's a light rail and numerous buses that can most likely take you where you need to be. I did get addicted to Uber the last time I was out there though, so I didn't use public transportation as much as I should have.

PlanetsideCosplay

http://www.yellowtaxi.net/

206-622-6500

Easy, super fast, put up with my drunk shit.

emimonster

Install the Uber app on a smart phone, or, just walk between the convention center and Westlake plaza and at one of those places you'll get a cab on the hunt. Costs 40 bucks to get to the Eastside or more. I feel like what we really need is a rideshare twitter.

Quintious

In most situations, all the +1 Uber comments would be warranted. However, Uber uses something called "surge pricing" by which their rates basically raises rates 4-9 times the normal fare during certain times of day or during certain events. The car that picks you up will be nicer than a cab, but....prepare to pay about $25 just to get from the WSCC to Pike & Broadway (given that Cap Hill is where many of the "eh, not renting a car this weekend" types tend to gravitate towards). To put that in perspective, it's about a 12 minute walk, so we're not talking grand distances here. If you are on the East side (as Juliet apparently is), expect your Uber ride to cost you about 90 bucks (have had friends that have gotten that exact bill). And Uber implements surge pricing for basically the entirety of PAX (some time exceptions). Standard old cabs will be much, MUCH cheaper. Should you find yourself needing one, go through the lobby of the Sheraton and have the valet attendant flag one down for you, you should have one almost immediately.

gnarlyhotep

Juliet wrote: »

Thanks for the advice ctiwolf. We live across the lake and driving into the city with all the pedestrians would really stress me out. Last year we got a hotel, but paid a ton and had a bad experience so we likely aren't doing that again. The last couple of years we have taken the bus, but late at night there are crazy people out. Seriously.... crazy people, not just people having fun.

Funny.... not all yellow cars are cabs... :-) Did you ever do that?

Up until 9 or so, flagging down a cab on the street by the convention center is no problem. They know they get a ton of fares there, so they circle quite frequently. After 9 you might need to call dispatch though.

Expect to get dinged around 40 or 50 with tip for a trip to the other side of Lake Washington though. The trip on 90 is longer than you'd think, mileage-wise.

Juliet

I was thinking 11 or midnight. Thanks for letting me know the cost of the trip. Either we take cabs or we get a hotel.

gnarlyhotep wrote: »

Juliet wrote: »

Thanks for the advice ctiwolf. We live across the lake and driving into the city with all the pedestrians would really stress me out. Last year we got a hotel, but paid a ton and had a bad experience so we likely aren't doing that again. The last couple of years we have taken the bus, but late at night there are crazy people out. Seriously.... crazy people, not just people having fun.

Funny.... not all yellow cars are cabs... :-) Did you ever do that?

Up until 9 or so, flagging down a cab on the street by the convention center is no problem. They know they get a ton of fares there, so they circle quite frequently. After 9 you might need to call dispatch though.

Expect to get dinged around 40 or 50 with tip for a trip to the other side of Lake Washington though. The trip on 90 is longer than you'd think, mileage-wise.

RaajTM

Like I think said previously, you can call for cab service. Yellow Cab is the one you want like mentioned. Also for those in hotels and might want a cab to go some where, you can ask the front desk if they'd call a cab for you. From my experience they do without hesitation. And also I'd avoid taking cabs in the downtown area as you can walk.. use monorail quite easily to get around. But for other places it might be a good alternative.

Might want to mention that you'd want to avoid the black car (forget the car type) taxi service, they aren't exactly kosher, Yellow Cab is legit even if the cabbie drivers may compose themselves otherwise.

ryamkajr

It is not too hard as long as you use the right bait. I found that hummus and cheese balls seem to work fine.

Just step close to a four-way intersection and cast into the upwind direction. Add in an intermittent wave of your hand and you should catch one with no problem.

If you do not plan on keeping the cab, we promote a catch-and-release program so that others may catch the same cab.

Note, that in Washington state, there are designated catch dates and you need to have a license.

Juliet

What is wrong with the other services? Will yellow cab have room for 5 or 6 people?

RaajTM wrote: »

Like I think said previously, you can call for cab service. Yellow Cab is the one you want like mentioned. Also for those in hotels and might want a cab to go some where, you can ask the front desk if they'd call a cab for you. From my experience they do without hesitation. And also I'd avoid taking cabs in the downtown area as you can walk.. use monorail quite easily to get around. But for other places it might be a good alternative.

Might want to mention that you'd want to avoid the black car (forget the car type) taxi service, they aren't exactly kosher, Yellow Cab is legit even if the cabbie drivers may compose themselves otherwise.

RaajTM

Juliet wrote: »

What is wrong with the other services? Will yellow cab have room for 5 or 6 people?

RaajTM wrote: »

Like I think said previously, you can call for cab service. Yellow Cab is the one you want like mentioned. Also for those in hotels and might want a cab to go some where, you can ask the front desk if they'd call a cab for you. From my experience they do without hesitation. And also I'd avoid taking cabs in the downtown area as you can walk.. use monorail quite easily to get around. But for other places it might be a good alternative.

Might want to mention that you'd want to avoid the black car (forget the car type) taxi service, they aren't exactly kosher, Yellow Cab is legit even if the cabbie drivers may compose themselves otherwise.

I am not sure of the specifics but was told on a trip a couple years ago on Amtrak and the conductor told us if we wanted to use a taxi service make sure it is Yellow Cab, the black car service (again unsure of name) might hike prices up on you and I don't think are accredited through the city, they are private? Just what I learned to do, whether you'd want to use their service is up to you as I personally haven't had a sour experience either way.

The regular Yellow Cabs.. I think can fit 4 people, and I've seen their van type cabs, may have to request those that would hold even more, but haven't used them myself so I cannot tell you the capacity. But either way just trying to help with your decision, not trying to make one service seem better over the other.

Juliet

Thanks. :-)

domina_fortuna

We've never been to Seattle. Are the buses ok? We don't mind a cheap ride if it gets us where we're going. Do buses run late? If we end up closing down a bar, we'd probably opt for a cab or something.

ryamkajr

Buses are scattershot - with staggered times, availability. Some only run during business hours, others have limited schedules in the evenings and on weekends. THey are there, and useful, but prepare for multiple transfers if you are trying to get to places outside of downtown.

brixtronix

Buses run until about 12-1 AM depending on where you are trying to go. The proposed bus service cuts won't be put in place until after Prime this year. From downtown there's usually a bus going to most of the major neighborhoods late. Our cab service is alright and (for now) we still have services like Lyft and Uber which are pretty darn nifty.

Juliet

Late at night the buses are sparse. We waited an hour or so for one a couple of years ago after 11pm.

If we don't get a hotel room we will take buses TO PAX, but take cabs home if we stay late.

domina_fortuna wrote: »

We've never been to Seattle. Are the buses ok? We don't mind a cheap ride if it gets us where we're going. Do buses run late? If we end up closing down a bar, we'd probably opt for a cab or something.

ryamkajr

Busses are OK for the most part.

As stated above, some routes only run during peak hours, and others go on reduced service after hours and on the weekend.. Monday routes for Labor Day (the Monday of PAX) will be on reduced routes as it is a holiday, so similar schedule to Sunday.

domina_fortuna

We're small town folks, so I'm Leslie Knope-ing the crap out of making sure we know the routes and directions to the places we want to visit.

I just spent a few minutes acquainting myself with the way to get to the Link rail from the airport and walking from the drop-off station to our place, which is just a few blocks away.

Thankfully we're no strangers to walking so anything less than a half mile is easy peasy.

byakuen

If you do decide to use the bus/light rail system, get an ORCA card (ahead of time via their website or at one of the light rail stations). It would be handy to have to tap and ride verses fumbling with cash.

jamsyarbots

My girlfriend and I stayed in Seattle for 10 days total last year and between buses, uber, and walking we were able to get around very comfortably. Despite what some people in this thread have stated, uber was actually cheaper than most cab rides.
Just be sure to stay away from gypsy cabs. Those guys are creepy and cost more than what they're worth.