Any way you slice it, airport transfers that are arranged for the passenger's convenience are going to be rather expensive. Motor vehicles are not cheap, and the wear and tear on a hack for the airport run is tremendous.
BTW, regarding taxicab fares. In most cities, taxi rates out of the airport are standardized by the local hack commission; if you want the right to wait for passengers in the rank, you have to change the standard rate. Car services are usually exempt from this rule, but they don't get access to the rank. Check rates for your own city and you will find that the prices are probably not out of line with those at MCO.
Discussions like this one always remind me of the folks who, whether out of cheapness or on principle, want to avoid the toll roads in Orlando. If time is money, and we all know that it is, time waiting in traffic and going the long way just to avoid a $3 road toll is some of the most expensive time you will ever spend.
I recently saw a novel idea for free airport transfer. In Monday's Washington Post Travel Talk, there was a discussion on getting around Las Vegas without renting a car. Someone who posted recommended saving money by hiking in from the airport to the hotel, boots and all. Most of us are just not that hardy, or willing to carry luggage on our backs [or do without], so we have to pay for a ride. The liveries just charge what the market will bear.
