Cab/Car service recommendations in DC
June 29, 2015 7:04 PM   Subscribe

Traveling to DC soon with Man and Boy. Have a question about getting around when the Metro isn't practical or possible.

Booked a hotel kind of near the zoo metro for easy travel to museums, monuments, capitol bldg, etc., but I need to get to and from National to my hotel, and one night we need to get from my hotel to the National Observatory and back rather late in the evening, neither of which would be easy on the metro.

Are taxis a reliable thing in DC? Is there a company better than the others? Would I be better off making reservations with a car service? If so, can anyone clue me on cost for a car service, and perhaps recommendations of companies you've used?

There was an ancient thread about car services, but a lot of the links are dead, and I figure 10 year old recommendations are probably not still valid.

For comparison, a bus-type shuttle service runs $90 for three people one way from airport to hotel.

Thanks, gang!
posted by dejah420 to Travel & Transportation around Washington, DC (12 answers total)
 
I think you'll find taxis plentiful in the areas that you are describing. Uber has saturated the city and should be a lot cheaper than a car service.

A standard DC taxi from DCA to Woodley Park or Cleveland Park would be significantly less than $90 ($20 or $30 plus tip and a few dollars worth of surcharges. They will give you a sheet at the taxi line giving you estimates of the current prices to various locations)
posted by jindc at 7:32 PM on June 29, 2015


Uber.
posted by deadweightloss at 7:39 PM on June 29, 2015


I agree, taxis and Ubers are everywhere in DC. I can't recommend a particular taxi company as I always hail them on the street, or use Uber if I need to call a car.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 7:49 PM on June 29, 2015


If you'd like to use a car service, I like International Limo.

Diamond Cab and Yellow Cab are two large DC cab companies, if you need to order one in advance (which I don't really recommend). Mostly the taxi companies are interchangeable and you'll just hail one on the street or have the hotel call one for you.
posted by jindc at 8:00 PM on June 29, 2015


Nthing über.
posted by pearlybob at 8:10 PM on June 29, 2015


You can take a cab from the airport and your hotel very easily (ask at the front desk, they will hail one for you).

If you're in a busy commercial area or near tourist sites, you can almost always hail a cab on the street, but otherwise Uber is a good bet in DC. It usually only takes ~5 minutes for one to come. In DC you can use Uber to get a car service car or taxi.
posted by lunasol at 8:52 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


Uber, of course, but the metro from DCA to Woodley Park is quite easy, unless you have a lot of luggage. Even then if you do, there are escalators and even elevators in, I think, just about every station. It's not like the NYC subway.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 9:55 PM on June 29, 2015


There's 2 large hotels near the Zoo( Marriott and Hilton)which get frequent taxis.
posted by brujita at 10:53 PM on June 29, 2015


Metro will be fairly easy. Just remember that Woodley Park is Red Line (toward Shady Grove.)

DCA is on the Yellow-Blue line. From where you will be, you'll want the Yellow Line....it's way more direct. Change trains at Gallery Place. There's a good little WMATA app you can download for IoS that gives you more-or-less accurate schedules and a map.

Like it or hate it - Uber has been a great addition to DC simply because it forced the cabs to up their service standards. If you do not want to use Uber, then cabs are plentiful. If you're in an area where cabs seem sparse, you can hail them via smartphone (couple ways to do that) or simply walk to the nearest hotel. Cabs are ALWAYS available at/around hotels.
posted by Thistledown at 4:05 AM on June 30, 2015


The only cab company that has ever (EVER, in 20 years living here, in various parts of the city) responded to my phone request is Uber. So, yeah, I'm on that band wagon.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:09 AM on June 30, 2015


Response by poster: I haven't gotten on the Uber bandwagon because their press has been so bad. I thought about the metro, but we're staying at the Omni, so it's a far when trying to manage luggage, Boy, and the humans going into and out of the zoo, I decided it was way more hassle than I was willing to deal with. I know I'm likely to be cranky after dealing with the PitA that is flight travel now. I think I'll give Uber a shot though, if everyone has had good experiences in the area.

Thanks everyone!
posted by dejah420 at 6:06 PM on June 30, 2015


Response by poster: Follow up to say that uber was awesome, and it will be my go to choice in big cities from now on.
posted by dejah420 at 6:04 PM on July 30, 2015


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