Collegetown Cab

Do not, I repeat do not call collegetown cabs. Have a friend pick you up or get a carshare, or there’s only one option — call them 2 hrs before you are supposed to reach at your destination.
I called a cab for the airport 1.5 hrs before the flight. The cab did not arrive at time, it arrived 35 minutes late, and guess what, I missed the flight. The cab driver was not helpful at all, the service operator doesn’t pick up the phone.
This is the worst experience that I have had with the cabs in Ithaca.

I called them two hours before I go to my dentist to make sure If the cab is there on time. The cab did not come event hough I called them five times. In the last one they hang up on my ear. I missed the appointment which the other available space was one week later.

An absolute disgrace of a business. Have called ahead twice on separate occasions for a cab and they didn’t show up both times. Called them when they were late to hear that they «wrote down the wrong contact phone number» or that they completely forgot to note the call ahead. Useless.

I had a really good experience with Collegetown Cab! I had a terrible experience with Ithaca Dispatch (our driver tried to rip us off because she didn’t «remember» the prices, conveniently «didn’t have any change», talked about how she would have drugs/​alcohol while she drove, drove recklessly going fast on turns, picked up other people without letting us know/​giving any sort of discount and overall made my 3AM ride to Syracuse Airport a sketchy experience…) so I was really hesitant on using another taxi service. It was probably a bad apple, but it me scared enough to never call them again.
I had to do some paper work so I decided to call Collegetown Cab. Collegetown Cab had it’s drivers info on the front seat. I called for a 1PM pick-​up and the lady answering was swift and efficient, and got my place right in one go. The driver came at just the right time, about 1 minute early. I called for a pick-​up from north and a car came in about 15 minutes. Needlessly to say I tipped both drivers well.
Politeness and respect goes a long way! I hope you guys don’t get jaded by drunk college students, but I really appreciate the service. You definitely have a returning customer!

I booked a cab from Mary Donlon on ²⁄₂₂ at 10.25PM. However, when I reached Mary Donlon at 10.23PM, no cab was present. I called the company at 10.30PM to check where my cab was — they told me that the cab had left and they would call it again to come back. I did not receive an apology nor a time frame as to when it would return, except that it would be in a few minutes. It’s currently 10.50 and almost half an hour past my original pick up time. I am disappointed with the services offered.

It’s a crapshoot, no matter which of the three main cab companies in Ithaca you call. There is Ithaca Dispatch (which is every cab company except Collegetown Cab and Green Hornet — Do not use Green Hornet.) Your driver may or may not be professional and may or mat not take on other passengers. If you are a girl — always sit in the back. Ithaca dispatch at least has an actual dispatch.
Collegetown Cab and Ithaca Dispatch work about the same way — you get drivers in various types of vehicles — some newer and well maintained, others not so much. Some drivers are also newer and well maintained, others not so much. Collegetown cab does usually tell you the rate up front, and can be expensive. Both companies often will pick up other cab fares while you are on your own cab fare (or someone else will be in the cab already when you get in), and charge both of you, even though you are sharing the ride — nothing is metered or regulated, as far as a price, — which is a failure of the City of Ithaca to protect its citizens — and frankly to guarantee a decent cab company operates in the city. Ridesharing causes myself to question whether I will be able to get somewhere on time and without sharing it with someone else — because of this — I do not use either cab company at all costs and pay more either for a private limo service to drive me, or for a friend to give me a ride. $ 20 to or from the airport — when you have to share a crappy, smoky cab with two other people is deplorable. However — I do have to use these companies occasionally — its NEVER a pleasant experience. Due to fewer smart people wanting to take cabs anytime they need them — and people not tipping — you possibly have drivers that do not like their jobs and declining sales — hence the cab-​sharing policies adopted by the companies to eek out as much revenue as they can, but I’m sure it does not increase sales in the long term.
I am a local. I’d like a better cab company. There’s too many cabs that suck, (except at 1AM when you need one, even a sucky one, from the bars).
Recently — I took a cab from Collegetown to up by the airport. The cabbies play gangster rap «nig**r this» «nig**r» that, loudly in the cab. Several other people got in for the ride. In under 15 minutes the guys had completed 3 fares at $ 15+ each. The cab companies should realize they are not competing with each other — in my mind — they are competing with buses, my feet, my friends car, my own car, and frankly all the cabs I have ever taken anywhere in the world. Cabs in Bangkok, Thailand are way better than those in Ithaca. $ 45 in 15 minutes — and we are listening to foul language. There are a few professional drivers out there, but most are not, and the companies are not checking on it — hurting their prospects at more people taking their cabs — but instead are packing people in to devalue the customer experience and fatten their own pockets.
Sorry but that it no way to run a business. Cabs suck here. Cabs are a very last resort for me in Ithaca, whereas in other cities I have lived (Rockville, St pete, NYC) The drivers were professional, cabs were consistent and available, and I used them frequently — absolutely NO REASON to do that here, the bus is nicer and much cheaper and takes about the same amount of time with all the pickups on the way… Anyone who says the cabs are «so great» is f-​ing crazy or living in a twilight zone.
Plus you know when the bus is coming, and get on it, — half the time you call these guys and the phone is BUSY or you get voicemail. yeah voicemail — for a cab! And the worst part is that they think that that is OK. Voicemail is NOT OK for a cab company. NOT NOT NOT.

What a rip off! This company charged my friend and I $ 13.50 to go 1.25 miles. Their cabs aren’t even equipped with meters. The driver was friendly but didn’t even know how to get to Ruloffs and took the longest way possible.

Great! On-​time pick up, business-​like… Everything I need in a taxi service. Much preferred to Cayuga by far!!!

I think I had the same driver. First he lit up a cigarette. I had to explain to him it was illegal to smoke. He looked startled as if no one ever told him that before but then he told me it was the first time he had ever driven to Syracuse and he didn’t know the way so maybe he was really new.
Then suddenly we stop. We already were running late because he had had another passenger before me but he was hungry so he went into a restaurant to get his lunch. I waited for a long time hesitant to get out because he left the keys in the car with the engine running and my bag in the trunk. Finally he comes out with his lunch half eaten and starts to drive again very fast while eating his lunch driving. He was speeding and eating because he realized how late he was. All the while he complained about how he was losing money. I just caught my flight with minutes to go.