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How do you split a cab?

post #1 of 18
4/30/08 at 12:13am
Thread Starter 
What is the etiquette for splitting a cab with someone you hardly know or don't know at all?
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post #2 of 18
4/30/08 at 12:58am
Pay half the cost including tip?
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post #3 of 18
4/30/08 at 1:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jodum5 View Post
Pay half the cost including tip?

Which cost? The cost of the first destination or the estimated cost of the second destination?
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post #4 of 18
4/30/08 at 11:18am
Ah. I thought you meant you were getting off at the same place. The person should pay at their stop, you should pay at yours. So basically if the stranger gets out first and their fare is $15 they pay that. If you get out later and yours is $20 you pay that (the meter won't stop or reset when the first person get's out).

I think that's why many cities don't let Cab drivers pick up multiple fares.
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post #5 of 18
4/30/08 at 1:10pm
you tip taxi drivers? I still fiind it hard to understand tipping after eating, do you tip the cleaners as well?
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post #6 of 18
4/30/08 at 1:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scarphe View Post
after eating, do you tip the cleaners as well?

I do, I have twins - the person who does the most work when I eat out is the guy who cleans under the table.
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post #7 of 18
4/30/08 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jodum5 View Post
Ah. I thought you meant you were getting off at the same place. The person should pay at their stop, you should pay at yours. So basically if the stranger gets out first and their fare is $15 they pay that. If you get out later and yours is $20 you pay that (the meter won't stop or reset when the first person get's out).

That's not fair for the first one to get dropped. What's the benefit to him of "splitting" a cab if he ends up paying the full fare to his destination?

The first one who gets dropped should pay half (or maybe a bit more than that considering tip) of the fare to the first destination/stop, unless the first stop is a big detour for the second destination - in which case, that's really a case-by-case decision
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post #8 of 18
4/30/08 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
That's not fair for the first one to get dropped. What's the benefit to him of "splitting" a cab if he ends up paying the full fare to his destination?

The first one who gets dropped should pay half (or maybe a bit more than that considering tip) of the fare to the first destination/stop, unless the first stop is a big detour for the second destination - in which case, that's really a case-by-case decision

That's how I've always done it, but I've probably split a cab like that less then 5 times in the last 5 years.
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post #9 of 18
4/30/08 at 2:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
That's not fair for the first one to get dropped. What's the benefit to him of "splitting" a cab if he ends up paying the full fare to his destination?

The first one who gets dropped should pay half (or maybe a bit more than that considering tip) of the fare to the first destination/stop, unless the first stop is a big detour for the second destination - in which case, that's really a case-by-case decision
Everyone, not just the first person out, has to pay the full fare (i.e., what the meter reads at one's destination). If individuals are heading to different destinations, there is no benefit to anyone of splitting a cab aside from the time saved waiting for the next empty cab. Unless your destination is fairly close to another rider's destination, in which case you can split the fare at that destination and pay the additional rider fee.
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post #10 of 18
4/30/08 at 3:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser View Post
Everyone, not just the first person out, has to pay the full fare (i.e., what the meter reads at one's destination). If individuals are heading to different destinations, there is no benefit to anyone of splitting a cab aside from the time saved waiting for the next empty cab. Unless your destination is fairly close to another rider's destination, in which case you can split the fare at that destination and pay the additional rider fee.

Well I guess some people may do that, although I've never heard of that (i.e. the first stop essentially subsidizing the second guy's fare without any cost benefit at all). I would call it "sharing" a cab rather than "splitting" but that's semantics.

Splitting a cab by splitting the fare (as I described above) provides savings to everyone involved
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post #11 of 18
4/30/08 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser View Post
Everyone, not just the first person out, has to pay the full fare (i.e., what the meter reads at one's destination). If individuals are heading to different destinations, there is no benefit to anyone of splitting a cab aside from the time saved waiting for the next empty cab. Unless your destination is fairly close to another rider's destination, in which case you can split the fare at that destination and pay the additional rider fee.

Thats the way it works in D.C. but not all cities. New York City, no one has to pay the full fair up until their point. Its just when the last person gets dropped off to the last point where the fare on the meter goes to the cab driver. So if you get dropped off where the meter reads 5 dollars, you can pay the guy your splitting with whatever. Then when the meter stops say at ten dollars and the second guy gets off he pays the full fare. The other guy who got off at 5 dollars negotiates with the end guy. Not with the cab driver.
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post #12 of 18
4/30/08 at 3:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghulkhan View Post
Thats the way it works in D.C. but not all cities. New York City, no one has to pay the full fair up until their point. Its just when the last person gets dropped off to the last point where the fare on the meter goes to the cab driver. So if you get dropped off where the meter reads 5 dollars, you can pay the guy your splitting with whatever. Then when the meter stops say at ten dollars and the second guy gets off he pays the full fare. The other guy who got off at 5 dollars negotiates with the end guy. Not with the cab driver.
Ahh, sounds like we were talking apples and oranges.

Several months ago, I met two people at a dinner and we decided to split a cab after discovering that we lived a few blocks from one another. The fare under the DC zone system was $12 or so at the end of the first stop. The cab driver informed us that everyone in the cab owed the same amount ($12). I was ready to get out of the cab and walk the three blocks home until the driver said he would drive the rest of us to our destinations for free.
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post #13 of 18
4/30/08 at 3:24pm
that seems ridiculous. in toronto whatever it says it says. regardless if you split it between one, or four. are the DC cabs maybe much cheaper so they charge that? seems very expensive otherwise.
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post #14 of 18
4/30/08 at 3:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser View Post
Ahh, sounds like we were talking apples and oranges.
Oh I see. Zoned fares vs. meter. Splitting a cab is fairly common in NYC and the driver cannot charge more than the meter (although I think he has the right to refuse to make more than one stop IIRC). I've never really split a cab with strangers in the city but I've done it very often when I was a student, and also several times from the airport to the city
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post #15 of 18
4/30/08 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by West24 View Post
that seems ridiculous. in toronto whatever it says it says. regardless if you split it between one, or four. are the DC cabs maybe much cheaper so they charge that? seems very expensive otherwise.
The DC taxicab system is deregulated, so it is very easy to catch a cab at any time of day or night in a well-trafficked area. That is the only good aspect of the taxicab system. DC uses a fare system based on zones, which are concentric circles emanating from the Capitol (meaning it is very cheap for Congressmen to travel anywhere in the city from their office -- go figure!). I live on a zone line, and it costs me two zones (currently $9.80, not including the socially mandatory tip) to go anywhere I would possibly go in the city, whether it is ten blocks or one mile.
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