Albany Taxi Survey

In September 2014, the Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACCVB) posted a Taxi
Experience Survey at www.albanycabs.com for the purposes of assessing the current taxi
situation in the Albany area and to identify areas of improvement to better enhance the
destination and visitor experience. The ACCVB distributed cards to hotels, attractions, and
visitors centers encouraging residents, business travelers, and vacation/leisure travelers to
complete the short survey. Since then, more than 377 responses have been collected.
The following pages contain an analysis of the responses based on a number of factors that
were considered in the survey. Select comments have been included below the respective
graphs to support the overall opinion of the respondents, to emphasize recurring themes found
within the responses, or to represent outlying data. Some comments have been slightly edited to
remove profanities or to correct spelling and punctuation.
Questions regarding the survey may be directed to Michele Vennard, President/CEO of the
ACCVB, at (518) 434-1217 ext. 300 or mvennard@albany.org.

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Survey Comments
Cab was in disgusting condition, dirt, dried goo, and trash was on all surfaces. The
cab driver was eating an entire plate of take-out food while driving. I'm not kidding.
The cab was filthy dirty and had a very unpleasant odor.
Every Albany taxi that I have patronized has been literally disgusting...
The cabs are often dirty and in poor operating condition.
Vehicles are older but generally clean and drivers are polite and friendly.
the driver kept a poor cab. We often opt to drive rather than use cabs as the
conditions and service are less than desirable.
Cabs in Albany are notorious for their lack of quality. Whenever I go back to visit, I
make sure to never go out unless I can drive myself back and forth. The cab was
filthy, there was graffiti INSIDE the cab itself.
Cab was spotless. Driver was well dressed and courteous. Cab and driver did not
smell. Driver spoke and understood English.

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Survey Comments
The driver helped with my bags and engaged in polite conversation regarding the weather and my
travels. I felt like I had my own personal driver.
The way the driver of this company helped me in the middle of the night after being discharged at
Albany Med was phenomenal. His act of kindness to help carry my son, and then waited for me
while filling my prescription at the nearby pharmacy without asking for an extra charge is an
indication that we still have some good people out there.
With the exception of a few, the drivers either don't talk to you at all or are extremely rude! But not
nearly as rude as the dispatchers!
The cab ride was fine. The driver was very professional and friendly, however the guy dispatching
from curbside at the airport was rude to customers (he yelled at me when I indicated I'd be paying
by credit card) and was quite demeaning towards the driver. He truly soured the otherwise
pleasant experience.
I was strongly pushed to share a taxi because the company didn't have enough. I agreed,
because the stop was largely on my way. The taxi driver mocked the first passenger because he
was a student and couldn't tip much. Then, on the way to my place, he made racist comments
about being willing to run over African American young men while they crossed the street against
the light. It was pretty dreadful. Such unprofessional service. Get enough drivers. Train them to not
be racists. Pay them a decent wage so that they don't pressure riders for tips they cannot afford.

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Survey Comments
You're going to hear a lot in these responses that it is time to evolve and allow
Uber, Lyft, etc. into the area and I could not agree more. Without competition,
poor service is all we can expect. Above I clicked "as expected" for the rate I was
charged and I want to be clear; I expected to be charged inconsistent rates with
no known system behind pricing and that is what I received.
He charged me twice what I was charged two weeks ago. They need consistency
when charging people and they should not be charging twice because they think
the person is drunk. They are just taking advantage of vulnerable people.
The distance from the airport to my mother's home was 4.33 miles (9 minutes in
total), and I was charged $20.00. This occurred in 1996. I am responding to this
survey because it still irks me to think of how the dispatcher treated not only the
driver, but also me. Utterly disgusting.
Very very poor - by far the worst of any city I have ever been in. We had to call
the cab company back after waiting double their estimated time. When they finally
sent someone, the cab smelled like cigarettes and we were charged $35 EACH,
with no visible meter running. All in all, we paid $70 to be driven less than 3 miles,
and it took over an hour in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday.

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Survey Comments
Taxis in Albany are often overpriced for the short distances that they travel. I've
also questioned the sobriety of multiple cab drivers.
Drivers generally polite and upfront about fare. Cabs decent condition. But forced
sharing of cabs, with no discount, is terrible, terrible, terrible. I will routinely drive
myself to pick up clients at airport or train station to avoid subjecting them to this. I
only take a cab myself when absolutely necessary because it can take 45 minutes or
more when sharing (when I could be home from the Amtrak station in ten minutes if I
took a direct route).
I love my city. I just moved back here after 10 years away, but I wish our cab service
better represented our region's warm hospitality and amazing asset!
I'm from the Bronx and drove a taxi there and Albany's cab service is appalling.
This is not just based on a single experience, it is the same every time. I would never
recommend visitors or my children to take a taxi in Albany or from the train or airport.
It is unbecoming and long overdue for improvement.
I take Capital Land Colonie weekly to doctors appointments through Medical
Transportation. I have had great experiences with them. Medical Transportation
Capital Land Colonie has taken me to Mass General Hospital in Massachusetts.
Love everyone at Capital Land Colonie.