Major US Airport Taxi Service Making Passengers Feel “Unsafe, Confused”

If you’re someone who flies regularly, you’re probably familiar with many of the different options for how to get to and from an airport. This is something that we have written about several times here at Points With a Crew, and the “best” way to get to or from an airport is going to depend on the airport itself, public transportation options and where it’s located in relation to the city center or where you are trying to go

(SEE ALSO: The best and cheapest way to get from JFK airport to Manhattan)

(SEE ALSO: The Best and Cheapest Way to get from BOS to Downtown Boston)

Personally, I enjoy taking public transportation to and from an airport when it’s a viable option. Next is Uber or Lyft, and taxis are very rarely something that I use. In fact, when I was in Morocco, I went out of my way to find the airport bus because the taxis all felt super sketchy

Taxi Service From CVG Airport Leaving Passengers Feel “Unsafe” and “Confused”

I read a report from WHIO about the taxi service at CVG airport. Many airports have a specific taxi authority that governs airport taxi service – in a lot of places that I have been, there is a set taxi fare to/from the airport. But at Cincinnati / CVG airport, there is not any sort of central authority. It seems like nearly anyone can “say” they are a taxi, get a license from the airport and charge whatever fares they want. The report from WHIO included passenger quotes like

I thought it was a little weird because there was no meter. I didn’t see his license posted anywhere

and

“When the customers come out, most of the time they get lost. Sometimes they come here, they see drivers, the drivers doesn’t look like an assigned taxi, doesn’t look like a taxi — some cars are white, another black … so they are confused, and they are scared”

Changes Coming To CVG

Needless to say, this is not a great experience for travelers arriving to and departing from the airport. In the WHIO article, they also quoted CVG spokesperson Mindy Kershner who said that taxi services are provided by “multiple independent drivers with Commonwealth of Kentucky Taxi Licenses who are also permitted under annual license agreements by CVG.”

A few years ago, CVG rearranged all of its ground transportation, separating out taxis, airport parking and rideshare pickups from the area where hotel shuttles pick up and drop off. Personally, I find this much less convenient, as these changes were a big cause in how I nearly missed my flight awhile ago.

But I definitely agree that the current system for getting a taxi from CVG is not ideal. Pricing is all over the place and averages around $50-$60 depending on where you’re going. Uber and Lyft are often not much better.

CVG also recently announced that a new single company called zTrip will be managing all of their taxi service, so hopefully that will be a good step in making things better for passengers traveling to and from Cincinnati.

The Bottom Line

Currently, taxi service at Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky (CVG) Airport is a bit of a mess, with no single and standard company in chare of taxi service. Instead, each driver drives their own car and charges their own rate. This is leading to reports of passengers feeling confused and unsafe. CVG did recently announce the approval of having a single company managing taxi service in the upcoming months (or years?), so hopefully that will improve the situation for travelers.

What do you think of the taxi mess at CVG? Do you like taking taxis, rideshares or public transportation to and from airports? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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