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Comment by itake | Hacker News Reader

In Seattle, traditional cabs are 50% cheaper than Ubers to go from Seatac to the city.

Or you can take the light rail directly from the airport into the city for $2.50 (and presumably catch a cheaper taxi there).

We stopped taking cabs years ago when the cab we ordered for very early in the morning didn't show up, ending in a scramble to get to the airport and parked.

What most people like about Lyft or Uber: known price, known route, and backup drivers automatically located if there's an issue with the first driver.

That peace of mind seems worth paying for.

The "hack" that a couple of the comments in this chain are referring to is only ever taking cabs _from_ a major airport into a city. Often you don't have to play the waiting-on-someone-to-show-up game, there's just a line of them right outside the airport that you can hop in immediately. In some cities there's even flat rates they have to adhere to, depending on where you're going ("$20 to midtown").

I was gleeful when Uber and Lyft came on the scene to have an alternative to cab BS, but the one place they still shine is when going from an airport into a major metro area.

Do you take the cap to downtown? If so, why do you take a cab over the Link?

I have taken a cab ones, but to Fauntleroy, and I was missing a ferry (which I missed anyway because the driver took a weird way). However, the transit options to West Seattle aren’t nearly as good as to downtown though.

Cabs/Ubers/etc are too expensive to use daily, but for a one time thing (such as flying into an airport), it's so much less stressful than trying to deal with public transportation.

I'll give an exception to certain cities that have superb transit options, but none of those cities are in the US.

The transit option between SeaTac and Downtown Seattle is superb. I admit it can be improved (e.g. you have to walk through the parking garage to the station, and it is a bit slow going through Rainier valley) but for 2.50 USD it is the best option going from SeaTac to Downtown.

I still take link because it is so cheap, but I've experienced 25+ min delays (between the bus and link).

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