This happened last month, I'm a woman in her thirties traveling alone and it was my first visit in LA, now I somewhat feel that cabs were not the most reliable service, but please correct if I'm wrong (btw, I didn't want to rent a car because of my fear of getting lost in a big city):

1) From LAX to 8401 W Sunset Blvd (Andaz Hotel): $60. It's OK I think. I gave him $60 + $5 (tip as he was corteous and professional).

2) From 8401 W. Sunset Bl to 3400 Riverside Dr, Burbank (Warner studios): $25 (it ended up costing $30, that was close to exact I had and he kept the change). It's OK I think, isn't it?.

3) From 8401 W. Sunset Blvd, WH, to Burbank (1400 W. Burbank Blvd. Burbank) and here I felt he ripped me off. First, he went from the hotel door just in the very opposite direction (as if going to Santa Monica) then turned to the left and took Santa Monica Blvd. to West Hollywood. When we were on Fairfax and W. Sunset Blvd (that's approx. 6 blocks from the hotel), the meter was at $20 already. I pointed that out and he pretended not to understand me (cab driver had an exotic accent). I insisted on the fact we were still very close to the hotel, I said I was really late, and he apologized and said he was going to "give me a discount". Still it took a long ride to get to Burbank, and when we finally arrived meter read $68, I told him he was ripping me off, he shrugged, gave him $70, and he kept the change. Well, according to Google Maps, this is a 10.7 miles ride while LAX to Andaz is 19 miles...How comes?


I couldn't find any cabs in that Burbank area, and I decided to take a bus to Downtown LA. Since I had to go to the Beverly Center Mall, I took another cab from Downtown LA to 8500 Beverly Boulevard, fare was $55, I gave him $60 and this driver kept the change once again (Well, I'm in favor of tipping cab drivers, but they're supposed to keep the change only if you tell them, I assume, otherwise what, I give him $100 and he "keeps the change"?). This cab driver was chatty, I'm not, he told me he was from Bangladesh, his English was difficult to understand, as probably was mine.

Well, I began to fear cab drivers in LA, so first thing I did that evening was a google search for a shuttle service, I did find one, excellent service I must tell (SuperShuttle), and for only $16 from the hotel in West Hollywood to LAX. That was nice!^

I'm planning another 3 or 4 days visit, and I probably should consider a reliable cab company in advance and their telephone numbers (and the SuperShuttle from/to LAX, I loved it). What do you think?

I think that you should rent a car next time with a navigation device. I am a local and you spent allot of money in the cabs. If he took one of the canyons from Andaz to Burbank you would of had a lovely drive with nice scenery and saved allot of dough. Its not that hard to drive here.. Go for it.. Rentals are cheap too.. Ask questions of locals and use google maps or mapquest they are very reliable if you prefer not to go for the navagition. The Andaz is alright pricey on the parking too. Check out the beach areas of Manhatan, Hermosa or stay in another area. That part of West Hollywood does not show the true LA..

I agree with Flying Machine. With a GPS navigation device, you won't have the fear of getting lost. The $241 you spent on taxis and shuttle services would pay for a LOT of rental car days in Los Angeles (one of the cheaper markets in the country for rental cars). And driving is easier in L.A. than many other places--streets are generally wide, straight, and well-marked and free parking is readily available pretty much everywhere you want to go. Even the freeways are actually pretty easy to drive--many people fear "Los Angeles traffic" but find things a lot easier when they actually get there (especially if you avoid the peak commute times).

L.A. is just too big to really explore without a car. It can be done on public transportation if you have a lot of patience and are a relatively experienced public transportation user (so are not easily confused by bus transfers, reading rail maps, etc.), but to waste so much money on taxis (unless you're just going to a hotel for a conference or something) just seems so...wrong.

As far as finding and using a reputable taxi company, I can't recommend anything, as I've never used a taxi in L.A. Perhaps others can, should you still choose to go this route.

+1 Rent a car with a navigation device.

Also, if you have a problem with a cab driver ***get the shield number and the cab number.*** (Cell phone pictures are golden)

Here's the web page for complaints about taxi problems to the LA Taxi Commission:

http://lacitydot.com/taxiform/complaint/

They *will* intercede in overcharge or abuse situations.

Incidentally, there are only *9* companies licenced to do taxi business in the City of Los Angeles: Bell Cab, Independent Taxi, Beverly Hills Cab, United Checker Cab, Checker Cab, United Independent Taxi, City Cab, United Taxi of San Fernando Valley, and Yellow Cab. If your cab doesn't say one of these names....or have an official city cab seal on the door... It's a bandit cab and you put your life and your wallet at risk. Don't get in. Incidentally, bandit cabs will often have scanners to intercept dispatch calls...and try to beat a legit cab to the fare.

I second that. Take a rental.
Am returning home to .de from a 10 days business trip without my drivers license (phzsically lost it before heading out) and I have to say, LA taxi drivers are mostly hopeless.
Why they do not license them and with that check some local knowledge is beyond me.
And even more, if you drive a cab and wait to pick up a pax at West Hollywood and have no idea where Culver City is (OMG IT IS REALLY TRUE), get yourself a tomtom or whatever.

I want to say thank you for all your posts and comments. I'm going back to LA next January. I got to see very little (mostly West Hollywood and Hollywood, and Burbank). I'm considering a different scenery, for example I wanted to go to Marina del Rey or to the beaches (I love the ocean view, I didn't have much time, but also I didn't want to spend, lets say $150 to go and see it) or a park.

I don't get it. You don't have to pay $150 to see the beaches, for that matter you don't have to pay $150 for a hotel room near the beaches.

think they meant cab fare...

I agree with the replies here. Unless you're made of dough, paying $60 each time you want to go anywhere is painful. Don't take the cab. Rent a car or use public transportation. I would say rent a car. The roads here are very simple, unlike on the east coast where they go in circles, things seem to be pretty straight here.

Agree. It's actually a rather large shift in mentality between the two coasts. When I first visited NY, the idea of getting in a cab was completely foreign to me. I literally said to my traveling companions, "But taxis--they're so expensive!"

Not when you're only going a couple of miles, though! The problem is that on the west coast, you're never just going a couple of miles. You're going a couple of dozen miles (or more).

one of the common misunderstandings visitors have (particularly visitors from cab-friendly cities) is that LA is a city, with a defined center and radiating suburbs.

people might not realize that LA is larger than new jersey. you typically don't catch a cab to get around a state.

Well. Yes. Taking a cab from West Hollywood to Callabasas with the cab driver not knowing where to go, that is one thing.
Getting into a cab on the corner sunset and pico, telling the cab driver to take me to Culver City and him not knowing where that is, is a total different one.
That is what I critize in LA cabs.
They only can drive you from origin X to the airport. Forget about the rest.
And that is pityful

Yeah, I wrote down the exact address and handed it to each of them. And all cabs included GPS technology (another story if the cab driver ignores GPS). I was so frustrated on the last day I took the SuperShuttle from the hotel to the airport, only $16 and was super fast and direct (only 3 other pax). Learned from experience. Next month I'll be in LA for a whole week.

Yeah. Sometimes, when it's late at night, I take the a cab from the airport to home. Almost all the time, I have to give directions on how to get me home. LA is just too large for any of them to know the area, and the GPS device seems to be more like an internal reading light than a navigational instrument. The driver kept telling me, "yes yes, I know Santa Monica" and he would take wrong turns all over the place. At one point, we had to yell "TURN LEFT!" GPS schmee PS...

unless there's some kind of fold in the time/space continuum, Sunset and Pico don't intersect in LA, so I'm not sure where a cab can pick you up :P