the Price of a Taxi Ride to the Airport

The price included an early-morning taxi ride to the airport about 12 miles away from my apartment and a $10 tip for the driver. The fare was a flat rate as quoted to me by the cab company.

Turns out on the morning of my trip, my car wouldn't start. I was already past the time when I should have left so I'd have the requisite two hours to get through flight check in and airport security. I called a cab, which took 20 minutes to get to my place, each minute of the wait seemed like hours.

When the cabbie got to my place he helped carry my luggage to the car and loaded it in the trunk, drove me quickly and safely to the airport in about 15 minutes including bypassing a spot of early-morning traffic, and flagged down a skycap to do a curb-side check in for my flight. He earned his tip, and while I was waiting for my flight I made a point of calling the cab company to compliment the service I'd received.

The cab business is very competitive in Phoenix so rates are already pretty cheap. Some companies offer flat rates for specific destinations like the airport if you're less than a given distance away. Because profit margins are so slim and cabbies don't get paid much it's never a bad thing to tip your cabbie.

Also, you can request a specific cabbie if you got particularly good service last time you used them, and they're on duty and available.