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Vancouver Airport (YVR) Taxi Service


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 Official Vancouver Airport Taxi Service

 

Official Vancouver Airport Taxi Recommendations


 
IHateTaxis.com has a mixed recommendation on the official Vancouver Airport taxi service.

If staying in Richmond or somewhere far from SkyTrain, then a taxi is a very good decision. If heading downtown or somewhere near a SkyTrain station, then the train option is both faster and cheaper provided you do not have too much luggage.

(Read More about Official Vancouver Airport Taxis Below)


Official Vancouver Airport Taxi Rates & Fares

Vancouver Airport taxi rates given here are in the local currency (CAD or Canadian Dollar). Use our currency converter or the cheat sheet to the left if you would like to convert to your currency. Note that Vancouver Airport taxi rates given here are for official taxis and unofficial or pirate taxis (discussed below) may be different. Drivers may also accept USD, but make sure to confirm.


  • As of November 2014, new YVR Airport taxi zone fares apply to all destinations in the City of Vancouver and Richmond.

     

    City of Vancouver zones:


    • Downtown Vancouver (Stanley Park) - CAD 37
    • Downtown Vancouver (Canada Place) - CAD 35
    • Downtown Vancouver (all other areas) - CAD 31
    • Canada Place Cruise Pier - CAD 35
    • Ballantyne Cruise Pier - CAD 36
    • Kitsilano - CAD 31
    • University of British Columbia - CAD 34
    • Central Vancouver - CAD 26
    • North East Vancouver - CAD 41 (this is NOT North Vancouver!)
    • South East Vancouver - CAD 29
    • South Vancouver - CAD 20

     

    Richmond zones:


    • Sea Island - CAD 20
    • North Richmond - CAD 20
    • Central Richmond - CAD 20
    • South Richmond / Steveston - CAD 24
    • South East Richmond - CAD 31
    • North East Richmond - CAD 29
    • Far East Richmond - CAD 36
    • Mitchell Island - CAD 25

     

    YVR Airport Taxi Zones - Map and Fares


    Note: if passengers are going to different addresses in a zone, the zone rate applies until the first destination, then the meter is switched on when the cab begins moving again for all additional stops.


    Meter rates apply to all other areas.



 
Vancouver Taxi Payment: Cash • Credit Cards • Debit Cards
  • Always confirm with your Vancouver Airport taxi driver if they take credit or bank cards and if there are any card fees.


Drivers may also accept USD, but make sure to confirm
Vancouver Taxi Tipping Recommendation: Tipping recommended, 10%



Official Vancouver Airport Taxi Details

Vancouver Airport Taxi

Vancouver Airport taxi photo

Several different taxi companies provide service as Vancouver Airport taxis and they may be found outside the International Arrivals or Domestic Arrivals gates at YVR.

 

Some of the YVR airport taxi companies serve a particular part of the Vancouver or the Lower Mainland region, so make sure to state your destination to the driver before you or your luggage is loaded to confirm that they serve that area.

 

At YVR airport, you may also request mini-vans or wheelchair accessible taxis without pre-booking at the taxi loading areas (inquire with the security officer at the Vancouver Airport).




 Unofficial Vancouver Airport Taxi Service or Hire Points

 

You can try to obtain a Vancouver Airport taxi at the departures gate, however there is no difference in price and you will probably be shooed away by security or refused by the taxi driver and told to use the proper lineup.



 Vancouver Airport Taxi Scams


These taxi scams were prevalent prior to the introduction of the new taxi zones and fares, and may still be relevant to rides outside of the Vancouver/Richmond taxi zones:

 

The Long Route


We have heard of reports of some drivers taking long routes from the Vancouver Airport to hotels in the Richmond area to increase the fare during slow times.

 

Broken Credit Card Machine and Double Billing


Some taxi drivers are reluctant to take credit card transactions and prefer cash only. When presenting your credit card, the taxi operator will sometimes indicate that their machine is not working and request for a cash alternative. If the customer has no cash then magically the credit card processing machine is working again. IHateTaxis.com is still unsure why this is happening and it appears to be happening too frequently to quantify a batch of bad e-machines. IHateTaxis.com has logically deduced this is occurring for four possible reasons:


  1. That this scam revolves around cancelling the recorded ride and pocketing the cash to avoid a paper trail - the customer does not get ripped off, but rather the taxi company through operator fraud.
  2. That this scam involves purposely mixing things up at the last minute for the customer - the credit card is not utilized (but you don't recall), you end up paying cash and then later that evening the cab driver rings in your transaction. You get your credit card statement at the end of the month and there is only one taxi charge and you assume that was the only charge you paid. There is a similar type scam occurring in Melbourne, Australia. Check your credit card statements to ensure you are not double charged and keep hold of all cash receipts as well.
  3. That the taxi driver prefers to operate in cash and may not see their money for credit card transaction until a later date. So for personal cash flow purposes they attempt to indicate that their machine is broken to obtain the money upfront.
  4. That the taxi driver is responsible for the fees associated with e-machines (pin pads) that process credit card transactions (similar to Interac transaction) and as such have to pay the costs and reduce their commission. Again this would not apply to manual credit card machines which require a physical imprint and will require drivers to do more work filling it out. Most of these e-machines act as a mobile interac or credit card wired or wireless device. Essentially some taxi companies (i.e. Regina, SK) pass the transaction cost over to the customer (CAD 1 for each credit card transaction). Why it is not done similarly in Vancouver could be because there is no bylaw in place, disagreement amongst different taxi companies on whom shall pay the cost (i.e. company, operator, or customer), or fear of it impacting the possibility of a tip.


IHateTaxis.com will continue to monitor this situation to see if it a question of operators trying to avoid paying the costs personally for having this e-convenience in their vehicle or are they trying to scam others (i.e., the customer or the company) through the possibilities mentioned above. We encourage any other travellers that have this experience to contact us.

 

Bottom line: Pay Cash.




 More Vancouver Airport Transfer & Airport Connection Options



Last Updated: 4 Jan 2024