Preferred Taxi Company at Disney Resorts

[famsen]

I just want to say that we were told by Bell Services that Mears if the taxi company they call if you ask them to call a cab for you.
We assumed that this would mean good, honest service. Well, from SSR to the Premium Outlet Mall, the cab ride cost $25 and we gave the drive a $5 tip.
The driver said we could choose to go the "regular" way to the mall or take a different route he knows because he said it was to avoid church traffic. I was skeptical but I said whichever way would be shortest is the way we want to go.
Coming back from the mall we caught a ride with Maingate taxi service. I was really scared because I never heard of them and they weren't Disney's "preferred" Mears. We told our driver that we needed to get back quickly to SSR to get our Magical Express bus. Low and behold the ride was a total of $12.10. I was so happy and shocked. I gave the guy a $6 tip and thanked him profusely for his honesty. I will always call Maingate and just let the driver know that we need the quickest route to wherever we were going. Mears was a total rip off to me. I wonder if Disney gets a portion of the fare every time they call Mears for a fare? That's the only way I can justify the fact that we were charged more than twice as much by Mears.

 

[seashoreCM]

Were both taxis equipped with meters?

Do you have any recollection of what roads the drivers took?

Quickest and shortest don't necessarily mean the same thing.

 

[Missytara]

Were both taxis equipped with meters?

Do you have any recollection of what roads the drivers took?

Quickest and shortest don't necessarily mean the same thing.

I have to agree - I took Mears taxis a few times around the resorts, and never once thought they were taking the long way around.

And "quickest and shortest" are two very subjective terms - it is easy to use those two terms and for people to have totally different meanings.

Did you take the same routes - were you sitting at traffic lights longer, depending on the time of day, traffic lights are adjusted to more traffic. Was there an accident around the area and Mears knew the easier way to get over to the mall, but it may have been a bit farther???

I don't think you can take these two trips and compare them minute by minute and think that Mears may be doing something wrong. There are so many factors to driving around a very crowded area - with shoppers, tourists, commuters, etc. and then think that a trip one-way is going to be the exact same as a trip going the exact opposite way back.....

 

[dburg30]

Well, they really only charge you what the meter says, they are pretty regulated on that part. As far as how the driver went, did it seem to take longer with mears? Was there more traffic? If you get in traffic, the meter still runs, just not as fast. If it seemed to take longer, then the driver either didnt really know how to get there the best way, or did it on purpose. If it seemed to take the same amount of time and distance, then mears just costs more per mile.

 

[famsen]

Our Mears driver knew exactly what we meant; we wanted the quickest and least expensive route. He took a weird back way to the mall that I had never driven before. There is a way to go to the mall which is basically an opposite loop avoiding the church to get into the mall. That is the way I thought he was talking about when he said he could go a different way to avoid the church traffic.
The Maingate driver told us the way the Mears driver took us is the way all cab drivers know about and take when they want to increase the fare. There was no excessive traffic or longer lights on either trip. The Mears guy just wanted more money, pure and simple. I live in Chicago and know how cab drivers work to make more money from passengers.

 

[dburg30]

OK, so your complaint, now that we have the whole story is, that you are mad at the driver for not doing what you asked. In that case, contact mears and let them know what happened and you didnt appreciate being driven a longer way when you told them you wanted the shortest way.

BTW, as you know, mears is the official transportation for WDW, so if you want a different company you will have to set it up yourself, it's no biggie, as you just have to call them.

 

[famsen]

OK, so your complaint, now that we have the whole story is, that you are mad at the driver for not doing what you asked. In that case, contact mears and let them know what happened and you didnt appreciate being driven a longer way when you told them you wanted the shortest way.

BTW, as you know, mears is the official transportation for WDW, so if you want a different company you will have to set it up yourself, it's no biggie, as you just have to call them.

Exactly. I know I will have to call another company myself and that is no big deal at all. I'm just saying there is a big difference that if we were to use Mears and they took the same route both to the mall and back it would have been at least a $60 round trip with tip. I we used Maingate for both trips on the route they used, it would have been only $34 round trip with tip. Maybe were just "lucky" to get e jerk driver from Mears but I don't like to have to play any wording games at all with a driver.