Question about giving a "tip" to a taxi driver..

[Stuart G]

I live about 25 minutes from the airport. I am thinking of getting a taxi..Let's say the fare for the ride to the airport is 35 dollars.. Is a ten dollar tip enough?..that is I will give the taxi $45.00 for the trip to the airport.

Is that enough??..I don't go to the airport much. Usually someone gives me a ride to the airport...

What do you think????

[PoliticAverse]

1. That's a 28% tip. More than enough. n/t

[Shrike47]

2. I'd give him $5 myself, but I don't travel in taxis much.

The last time we took one here in town, the driver OD'd on heroin a few hours later (it made the paper).

[unblock]

3. $10 is plenty. Here's a link for all your tipping questions

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-should-tip-in-every-situation-2014-4

[Stuart G]

4. Thank You for the link,,,I appreciate your answer..

Hattip for you....

[NCjack]

5. Some airports charge taxis a pickup fee. If you tip is too small, the driver may

mention to you that your tip barely covers it, which suggests that it is insufficient. Short trips from such airports hurt taxi drivers when the customer fails to step up and cover the fee. I think $10 is about right. Why not ask the driver what fee does the airport charge him for pickup? You should cover that and pay 20% tip on his bill.

[tblue37]

6. A 20% tip for most services is standard; 25% is very generous; 15% is somewhat acceptable in

areas with a lower cost of living, like, say, Kansas.

[NNadir]

7. In my life I was briefly a cab driver. It was a very, very, very hard life.

I did in in LA, and at time there was a robber who was setting drivers on fire. The cab drivers would all chip in to cover the medical bills. I remember one driver was a young woman with small children.

Nobody had health insurance, and the terms of the lease was such that one could work a 12 hour day and not make 12 dollars.

One time I drove a guy around all day - you were not permitted to reject fares - while he did what I assume were drug deals. I was worried he wouldn't pay; that he'd rob me in the end, but he did pay, and that fare actually made my day, but I was terrified the whole time he'd rob me.

I had old women who had city subsidized rides who gave me a quarter tip. I was grateful and appreciative, because I knew some of these women were barely surviving. I had people give me huge tips, the biggest being about $100. (This was back when $100 was a lot of money, many decades ago.)

When I take a cab these days, in remembrance of that brief experience (when I was between jobs), I generally over tip.

But ten bucks on a $45 fare is a fair and generous tip.

I generally tip 20% in most restaurants, and I would apply the same rule of thumb for cab drivers. An over tip for an especially courteous and helpful driver would be appreciated.

[Arkansas Granny]

8. I tip the driver 20%, same as a waitress. I give larger tips for great service.

[procon]

9. Can you do that, pick up passengers at an airport as an independent?

Taxi companies at LAX have to have a contract and operating permits for airports. Most cities also require taxi drivers get a security permit that has a fee, and submit to fingerprinting and a background check to pick up or drop off passengers at an airport. Even Uber has to pay for permits and theyhave lots of rules about fares.

Do your homework, operating a taxi is very expensive, and if you just want to use one route, make sure you can actually earn a living with that plan. Each city is different, but the taxi info should be on your city and the airport websites. If you aren't familiar with the airport layout, maybe they will have maps showing where taxis can and can't go.

[Iggo]

10. Yes, 28% is enough.

[LuckyCharms]

11. This reminds me of a dirty joke.

And yes...$10 is good. I consider 15% a barely acceptable tip, 20% a decent tip, 25% a generous tip. Anything over 25% is a generous and appreciative tip. Generous tipping is always good if you can do it.

[JonLP24]

12. As a former cab driver

I was just happy when someone covered the flag drop fee with a tip which is like $3.00+. I would've been happy with $10 and $45.00 overall which is nice for 1 trip.

[left-of-center2012]

13. I googled how to tip a cab ...

... and it said:
"First, grab it by the front bumper and ..."

OK - just kidding.
I got this:

"Fifteen to 20 percent of your fare is a good rule of thumb,
but you can tip more or less depending on your experience."

If Uber or Lyft is available to you, I find they cost about 1/2 what a cab costs.