Cab fare between Manhattan and Brooklyn

leffertsgirl

I just moved to Clinton Hill and figure that occasionally I'll want to take a cab between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Can anyone give me an estimate of what I should be paying a gypsy cab to get me from the Clinton Hill area to downtown or midtown Manhattan?

And has anyone ever had trouble getting a cab from Manhattan to Brooklyn simply because they want to leave the borough?

Most late nights I'll probably be taking cabs and don't want to overpay a gypsy cab or be stuck having a hard time getting back out to Brooklyn.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

bklyntransplant

I have never had trouble getting a cab from Manhattan; from midtown to my apartment on Fulton/S.Elliot, the fare is around $15 or $16, depending on traffic....$12 or so from downtown.

hill38

Gypsy cabs will almost always cost you more than a yellow cab. I could get from Soho to Clinton Hill/Fort Greene in a yellow cab for about $14. Less if the hour was off-peak.

escap

Just came back from around W 4th St. Cost me about $13 including tip.

carmen

I came from W4th once and it was $8, and then $12 another time. I have no idea how much it is going FROM brooklyn to the city, I would imagine more since you have to get a car service

brooklynjay

I've taken cabs from Manhattan to CH and it's never cost me more than $20. I average around $15 and that's from as far as 50th and Park Avenue.

This might change as the new meter fee will be going into effect soon as well as the lower roadway on the Manhattan Bridge being closed until 10/07.

boygabriel

In my opinion, car service cars are pretty expensive going to manhattan ($20 & up). Taking yellow cabs back to Ft.G/Clinton Hill is more affordable (Generally between $10-15)

I've pretty much never had problems with cabbies in either direction who didn't want to go to another borough. Just to be safe though, I never tell a yellow cab cabbie where I'm going until I'm sitting in the car with the door closed. Sometimes they roll their eyes at having to go brooklyn but they still take me.

I make sure to tip well. It's kind of my way of throwing it in their face. (perhaps thats counter-iintuitive but i figure it's more effective than stiffing them on tips)

also depending on where I am in the Ft.G/Clinton Hill area, I'll look around for yellow cabs to Manhattan. I sometimes see them on DeKalb or Myrtle. They're especially frequent on Flatbush. They're always happy to be able to pick up a fare since they're headed back to Man. anyway

leffertsgirl

Yesterday for work I took a gypsy cab from my place near Lefferts Place and Grand to Times Square and the fee was $25. Took a yellow cab over the holidays from LaGuardia home and it was a whopping $30ish…but dude got kinda lost and took the Flatbush exit when I really think he could have taken an earlier one and cut across town.

Anyway, thanks for the insights!

anonymous

is the subway a viable option? you'll save a lot and it's pretty easy to get in

sweet tea

you resurrect an 8 month old thread to suggest the subway? :-s

i'm guessing the OP has heard of it....

annoyed

Boygabriel wrote: I never tell a yellow cab cabbie where I'm going until I'm sitting in the car with the door closed.

Haha I have been through this one ALOT. i definitely get the on duty cab putting the off duty on and locking the doors and asking me where I am going. I lie and tell them soho or tribeca and then "change my mind" on the way. I have been refused while already in the cab and had to go thru the take me to my destination or the police station drama several times. Once the guy kidnapped me and I had to call 911 and everything. These problems are always during the day I haven't really had them at night except a Friday or Saturday.

leffertsgirl

damn, annoyed. kidnapped?!

and sweet tea, hilarious response. i definitely have the subway thing down.

annoyed

LeffertsGirl wrote: damn, annoyed. kidnapped?!

Yeah kidnapped as in I had to pull the "take me either to my destination or the precinct" business and he locked all the doors and got on the FDR heading north and went to queens. I had to stay on the phone with 911 and give them a play by play of where we were at. Finally some undercover DTs pulled us over. The same cab driver in fact ended up taking me home for free and ended up being a decent guy at the end. I asked him why he didn't save us both over an hour of stress and drama and just take me in the first place (he picked me up at grand street and broadway could have drove me home in 10 minutes or less). We ended up laughing the whole ride to brooklyn and he even let me smoke in the cab and stopped so i could get a guinness. Only in NYC.

faycat

annoyed, that is probably the weirdest NYC cab story I've ever heard. I'm not sure if I find it weird simply because it ended happily, though.

carlton banks

definitely one benefit of gentrification. cabbies don't mind coming to FG. 4 or 5 years ago i was going to taxi court every few months when cabbies either refused to pick me up in general or wouldn't take me to ft. greene. luckily i don't even go into manhattan for much other than work nowadays... they used to HATE coming out to BK anywhere other than bk heights.

gypsy cabs to the city should never be more than $25 unless you're going way uptown. i suggest asking the price before you leave if you aren't familiar with the service.

anonymous

I've never had any regular issues getting a cab from Manhattan to FG or Cl. Hill in the last 7 years. You won't get home to Lefferts Place on $10 from anywhere in Manhattan, even down near Wall Street, unless there is absolutely no traffic and you are a bad tipper. Plan on spending at least $14 all in with a tip, if you do better than that then its a bonus.

Livery cabs such as Evelyn cost from around $12 to downton or the LES, $15 or so for the Village, E Village, Chelsea etc., to the low $20s for points from upper midtown to the Upper East or West Sides.