Taxi to the airport?

Anyone recommend a reliable taxi service? Our neighbors are leaving early in the morning next week, and unfortunately I can't take them to Dulles.

 

Washington Flyer. We have used them many times for early morning pickups and they have always been on time.

 

We've used Washington Flyer too. On time for pick ups. Reasonably priced too.

 

Agreed. I've used them at least a dozen times for 8am or earlier flights and they are always on time. Make sure if you want to go on the greenway though that you insist they take the greenway. Often I find they do anything they can to avoid it and go waxpool/28 and will certainly avoid it if you don't explicitly say to take it. I find the cost usually ends up about the same either way once you factor in the extra distance vs toll but certainly the greenway is quicker.

 

I think the ~7 miles holds true if you are going the same speed on waxpool/28 that you would on the greenway. At best you will spend a few minutes longer going waxpool/28. At worst you'll spend several minutes longer. During traffic times I'd think there would be no argument that the greenway would be both cheaper and quicker. For non-peak times I find it's pretty much a wash. I've found the fare on the greenway is usually $22-24 and taking waxpool/28 is usually $25-$27, about $3 difference and very close to the toll charge.

Once I had a return trip (IAD to Broadlands) a little after 5pm on a Friday when I specifically said to take the greenway. Actually I've learned to just say "toll road exit #5" as my destination to give them less chance of avoiding the greenway. Anyhow I was on the phone and didn't notice the driver passed up the greenway exit and we were soon on 28N in heavy traffic. The fare ended up being $30 thanks to the traffic.

 

Agreed. On my way home I am usually coming from Cali so the $2 to be home 5min sooner is well worth it. Of course I am expensing it anyway so it really isn't much of an impact. $20.80 is a good fare. I don't think I've ever had it under $22 even taking the greenway (excluding toll).

In general I just like to rebel against the drivers' typical push against using the greenway. Some simply do as you ask, but many try hard to avoid it. I figure there is a good reason they prefer not going the greenway and it's not necessarily for the benefit of the customer. I always tip better when they do as I first ask without questioning me.

 

It even varies here. I've had some cabbies pay for the toll directly and add it to the fare (some have toll tag, some pay cash) and others expect you to pay for it directly. Unless they have a toll tag I generally have cash out ready to hand to the driver on entering the toll lane as I find they usually round up to the next 50 cents on their meter when entering in the additional fare so I like to prevent them from profiting on the toll portion.

 

Why do the cabbies prefer to avoid the greenway?

 

Since the fare is distance/time sensitive and 28/waxpool is both further and takes longer then I'd assume they are simply looking for the most revenue. In non-peak times avoiding the greenway will almost certainly be cheaper for the passenger when factoring the toll costs so if time is not a concern then avoiding the greenway is a win/win for cabbie and passenger. During peak times however a passenger is almost always better off taking the greenway.

 

On this note, I am not necessarily opposed to taking a little longer to save a buck on the way to IAD. In fact during normal routine or when my wife drops me off we never take the greenway with the rare exception that I am out during traffic times or I am in a huge rush. My main issue with the greenway and cabbies is I find the difference in overall cost is often not as significant as the toll cost alone plus I am either on the way to the airport and want less chance of traffic slowing me down or I am on my way home from a trip and just want to be home asap. The fact that over half the time the driver tries to convince me that I don't want the greenway or pretends not to hear my instruction doesn't help as it just makes me insist on the greenway all the more.

 

Pssst....the best way to Dulles is not by the Greenway OR Rte 28.
Take Arianne off of Old Ox.

 

Just DON'T call Redtop. I had a buddy call them to pick him up at 4:45a for a 6:30a. So my dogs wouldn't wake up my kids with when the taxi got there, he waited outside. I rolled over in bed at 5:15a and he was still waiting outside. Redtop told him three times they "swore" someone was on their way. I wound up taking him to the airport and no one ever showed up. BAD! Washington Flyer was good for us.

 

I have exited the airport that way. How do you propose to get back to Broadlands from Old Ox without using Greenway or 28? Is there a reasonable path to get to Waxpool behind the AOL area?

 

From Ariane turn left on Old Ox, right at the light onto Moran, right onto Moran again (by Dulles north bus stop), left onto Broderick to Waxpool.

 

Make sure you are ready to go when they arrive, even if they arrive early, as they will start the meter. We were leaving for a family vacation (everyone left from our house) two years ago and had three cabs that we called for a 6 AM pickup. We obviously didn't want to leave until we made sure all cabs were there. One arrived at 5:50 and the other two at 6. Turns out the 5:50 cab had been running his meter from the time he arrived even though he was 10 minutes early and the others hadn't arrived yet.