Ever used a taxi before?

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So in about a month I will be taking a Greyhound up to Casper, WY so I can spend some time with my lovely girlfriend and celebrate the fact that we've been dating for 1 year and are still together (even though the last 3 months have been long-distance).

The one thing I'm concerned about is intra-city transportation, since neither myself nor Suiseiten have our own vehicle. I'll need to have some way of getting from the bus depot to the hotel we will be staying at, and then a means of getting around town so that we can go shopping, dinner/movie, etc.

I looked up taxi services in Casper (which is thankfully a bigger city than Laramie, so it has things like on-call taxis) and found what appears to be the most reputable cab company in the city: www.caspercabs.com

So at least there are taxis available, and I have money reserved for using them. Only problem is, I've never used a taxi before and I'm not sure entirely how they are supposed to run. I know that this particular company charges about $5 for a call-in pick-up, then around $2.25 per mile, incremented and rounded up to the nearest 1/10th of a mile. They also charge for waiting times, around $45 an hour, and that the drivers also accept tips. They also accept Visa, Mastercard and other major credit cards as forms of payment.

Does anyone have any advice on using a taxi, though? Anything at all would be helpful.

Ouch. yeah man, its the economy. and i've used taxis before because I dont drive.
Thankfully they have a bus system here that I use now

Taken taxis a few times when I've been too plastered to drive or get on the bus (me+drunk+bus=vomit).

If you're worried about them overcharging you, you can tell them which route to take. Most of them have GPS here so it's not really that huge of an issue. Taxis are all right, just wear your seat belt cause those dudes drive like bats straight outta hell.

I think that cab company appears to be quite professional. I doubt if you will find a problem and I think most cab firms have meters so there is no problem with the fare calculation, I would always pay with cash as I wouldn`t want to loose sight of my card in a dark taxi.
If you are concerned about transport why not call the local police office and have them recommend a cab firm of good standing.

Enjoy your trip.

I always get stuck with taxi drivers who have no sense of direction, are terrible drivers, and/or can't speak proper English.

I drove a taxi for 8 years.

just contacted a company, they had be get my cab driver's license and started driving. I don't know about other companies.

The best way to have trouble in a cab is to do what I used to do: be silent. That might be interpreted in any number of ways, but they're all negative. You'll have to make light conversation with the driver: the weather, good flight? first time visitor?...that sort of thing. It never hurts to praise the city: many cabbies seem inordinately proud of their locale. Once comfortable, the cabbie will trot out his/her favorite monologue, and your role will be a periodic, "Ummm." You may be treated to some very odd ideas but remember, your job is not re-education, it's to get to your destination safely. Tip at least 15% with a smile.

If you get ripped off on a cab route you are extremely unlucky. I've taken cabs literally hundreds of times and I've never once been given the "runaround" so to speak.

I love cabs. If a cab driver ever gives you "recommendations" on local places to check out, proceed at your own risk. I've made visits to some terrible hilarious hoods, which could have ended badly but I laugh about to this day, on the advice of cab drivers. I had a driver tell me, as he was dropping me off, that if I called him personally for a return trip he'd give me a joint (7 years later I still have that guy's business card in my wallet in case I ever find myself back in the area, which is highly unlikely). One of the last cabs I took, the driver was dancing and singing a Justin Timberlake song on the radio as he drove and as soon as the song ended he yelled out (to no one in particular) "man f**k Nsync!"

Cabs, on a strange level, are one of my favorite things about visiting places. They are wild cards for sure, but they definitely are nothing to worry about.

I took a cab once before. I was hoping it would be more convenient than taking the city bus. Except, the dispatcher took forever to figure out I was in the next town over. It took 11 bucks to go three miles. The bus would have gotten me back to my destination quicker had I decided to stick it out. And the driver was of course crazy behind the wheel.

I've used a taxi many times.

Yeah, I've used a taxi quite a few times and on my own.
I've had a few negative experiences. When my mum was in hospital, she was unable to drive us to school, so we got a free taxi service. It arrived either early or late in the morning but never on time and the taxi driver was always a grump.
When the taxi driver picked us up after school he was a grump and rides, like during the morning, were generally awquard. One time the taxi even broke down in the rain. The drivers, car breakdown and timing of the taxi's meant that my mum complained.
Last time I went in a taxi, not too long ago, I found it awquard, the guy spoke in a different languageand was kind of muttering so I didn't know if he was talking to me and asking me questions or what.
I've had some laughs with taxi driver's though. I had a cool taxi driver once.
Enough about my experience of taxis