TAXI CABS
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About the Author: Linda
I've lived in Victoria over 30 years and I still can't believe how great this city really is! My husband, Bruce, and I have traveled the world but coming home to Victoria is still quite often a celebration. Together, we want to share our love of the city and the area by giving you an 'insider's' insights of where to go - what to do - and how to get there!
Hi Linda,
My husband and I are part of a group of friends from NY area ,USA. We will be on a cruise and arriving in Victoria in August. Two of our friend are celebrating a special occasion . Most of the group has agreed to meet at an Irish Bar/ restaurant near the inner harbor on Goverment St. My husband and I are looking for about an hour or so general tour around the city and then be dropped off at the bar to meet them for dinner as we have never been there before and are looking for options to accommodate to do both. We were thinking of a private cab tour as we have done in other cities. It would be the fastest way for us and be picked up and dropped off where we need to go.
Any Suggestions? Thank you!
My wife and a friend, both senior citizens, are travelling to Victoria by air. Due to covid, their flights got switched around, and now they are scheduled to arrive at 7 min after midnight on a Tuesday night – actually Wednesday morning. I’ve been to small airports late at night, an aircraft with a capacity of 300 arrives, and there are 5 cabs at the line, and the most aggressive with elbows and body-check get the first cab, and the end of the line waits for hours. I have no idea what the cab situation will be like Tuesday at midnight. So I wanted to secure and book a cab, pay for in advance by credit card, and just make darned sure THEIR cab is at the stand to take them downtown.
No such thing. None of the cab companies will take an advance-booking. Excuses like “airplanes get delayed…”, well I give you the flight number and check the status of the flight on-line and adjust appropriately. Any person going to the airport to meet an arriving flight checks the flight status on-line, but such is impossible for the taxi companies because they do not have computers or even apps on their phones.
Every time I hear the taxi operators whining and snivelling about being put out of business by UBER, I have a hard time feeling sorry for them, as they operate in 2022 with a 1950’s business model.
By the way UBER allows me to book a ride 30 DAYS in advance, and the mechanism is in-place for the traveller to communicate their progress, ie boarded the flight, flight delayed, etc.
Hi Mathew, This is interesting information and something for sure visitors to any city need to be aware of. Thanks for your input.
Cheers!
linda
What Mathew said. My wife and I are landing next Tuesday night at 11:55. Trying to get information from any of the cab companies about whether we can get a lift at that time into Sidney, no luck so far. And I am told there are not enough cabs for all the people that are disembarking. This is the most nerve wracking part of my trip planning so far. No buses, no taxis….how am I to get to the hotel in Sidney?
Hi Gary, I haven’t personally had that experience. Always been able to get a cab. However I did find one cab company that say you can book ahead: https://victoriataxi.com/airport-services
I cannot vouch for them personally but you might want to check them out. Another option is to check with your hotel to see if they have a shuttle service. No UBER in Victoria but I found a ride-hailing company called KABU which is listed on the Victoria Int’l airport website. The link is: https://www.kabu.ca/ Good luck and let me know how it works out.