Accessible Taxi or Shuttle in Vancouver

Yet one more question regarding bringing my power chair...

We’re cruising out of Canada Place in Vancouver on July 9th. We’re doing a cruise/land tour.

I’ve managed to confirm ground transportation that can accommodate my power chair for every leg of the trip except travel to the pier from our hotel the morning of. We’ll be staying at the Days Inn Airport Vancouver.

I found a shuttle company but they said they cannot take the chair, even if I have it disassembled.

Can anyone remember which company they’ve used in Vancouver?

Thanks in advance!!! [emoji16]

We took a wheelchair accessible taxi (with roll on ramp) from the airport to our hotel (which was adjacent to Canada Place). On our return back to Vancouver, we had arranged with the taxi for a pick up from Canada Place back to the airport. We did not have an advance reservation for the taxi at the airport--we just requested it after we arrived. It took about 30 minutes for them to get the wheelchair accessible taxi there.

THANK YOU!!! [emoji16]

So, basically we just find the ground transportation area at the airport and ask for an accessible taxi at that time. And we’ll just call the same taxi company the following morning. And it doesn’t sound like it’s too big a deal.

Does it cost more for an accessible taxi? I assume it would?

I’ll admit, I REALLY want to bring my chair as I know it’ll enable me to enjoy the ship more versus having to lie down 4-5 hours a day.

But since I’ve never traveled with it (other in the back of my own vehicle), it’s made me very anxious.

I contacted Special Needs at Sea. They quoted me over $300 for a wheelchair or power chair for our seven-day trip from Vancouver to Seward. And I just can’t afford those rates.

Accessible cabs, by law, charge the same as all others here, and the fleets have to provide a minimum number of them (IIRC it's 17% of the total) so at YVR's walkup cab line, you generally find that every 4-6 cars is an accessible van. Even if the person organizing the queue doesn't do it without asking, politely asking the folks ahead of you in the queue if you can go ahead of them if you see a van appearing should be easily and politely granted - I know when we're taking a cab if a van appears I check behind me to see if there's someone who actually needs it before getting in. You may find a few d-bag tourists in the line with you, but us Canadians are super-nice;-)

NB: have you checked to see if the Days Inn hotel shuttle can handle the chair? If they do have an accessible shuttle then you can also get them to drop you off back at YVR next morning, which enables you to use the fixed-price cabs ($35 to the pier) as well as saving the cab fare to the hotel.

If you plan to cab to the hotel from YVR, then the fixed-price zoning is going to bite you - while pricing far away is very fair compared to the meter, all the places close by the airport have been jacked up significantly (cheapest zone is $20, and that hotel would be about $10 on the meter). From the hotel to the pier, no fixed rates available - they only apply when leaving YVR. A typical metered fare from Days Inn on a cruise morning will be $40-45 (traffic bottlenecks near the pier, so even if you come in after rush hour you can easily watch the meter tick over a few bucks worth just covering the last block or two).

I'm guessing that cost is the main factor in being out at the airport for your overnight stay - have you considered the YWCA Hotel downtown? It's even cheaper than the Days Inn (and much better-reviewed), and they have 4 accessible rooms (you have to call to book them, toll free 1 (800) 663-1424). The value of the Y just cannot be beaten, ballpark US$120 a room in high season - and it is a real hotel, with normal en suite bathrooms (in all the accessible rooms as well as many others) as well as even cheaper 'jack & jill' shares and hall bathroom setups. Great location for exploring too, tons of restos within a couple of blocks and only a mile to the pier next morning. A fixed-rate cab from YVR to here would be only $31, and metered to the pier about $10-12, so cheaper than a cab from the Days Inn for both rides!

I arranged for the pick up with the same taxi who took us to downtown. We went to the Pan Pacific Hotel and met him there outside in the pick up zones. (Many shuttles and taxis pick up in this location). Because our hotel was downtown, we got the cheaper zone rate from the airport which martincath mentioned. I believe that we got a zone rate on the return as well (although martincath can correct me if I don't remember accurately).

The hotel we stayed at downtown was across the street from the Pan Pacific and the hotel also collected the luggage and took directly to the ship. We stayed there on points. But it was close enough for us to walk--basically just across the street and through the Pan Pacific and parking garage. A porter took our luggage to the Pan Pacific pick up the return taxi to the airport.

If you do stay at a hotel where you need to take a cab, have the hotel call the evening before and make a pick up reservation as it is much harder to get a taxi very quickly unless at the airport. This is what we did two years before, but even then the taxi was late and so the next year we decide to use our points on a very expensive room where we could just walk.

^Zone fares are only supposed to apply inbound from YVR, but I've heard multiple reports of cabbies asking for a fixed fare going to YVR as well. Without much traffic - and outbound straight from a cruise is always against commuter flow, even on weekdays - the metered fare is more like $32 from Canada Place, whereas it's the heart of the $35 zone (as you'd expect given the name of the zone is Canada Place/Downtown!). Later in the day, the meter can definitely sneak up to more like $40. If you got the $31 Downtown Zone rate to or from the Pan Pacific, the driver did you a solid or just screwed up in your favour - they should have charged you $35, so I definitely wouldn't be complaining!!!

Thanks for all the input! You guys have given us some things to think about.

I’m traveling with my SIL. We’re only 10 days out from our trip, so may be too late to switch over to the YWCA, but I’ll mention it to her.

We’ve got a land tour following our cruise, and they will be transporting us to the Fairbanks airport at the end of our tour. They’ve assured me they can handle transporting my chair.

So really it’s just my anxiety about obtaining a taxi from YVR to our hotel and then the hotel to Canada Place. Thanks to you guys, I feel reassured that I won’t have difficulty obtaining a taxi.

One last question - these taxi fares, they’re not per individual passenger, are they? I’m assuming it would cover both my SIL and myself?

The taxi cost is per taxi for the two of you. In addition, remember the charge is in Canadian dollars. I don't know if the taxi drivers convert American currency (I know they take it, just don't know if they convert it for you since the Canadian dollar is not as strong as the American dollar). We spent several days in Vancouver before both of our cruises and brought Canadian money.

I hadn’t even thought about Canadian money. How silly of me! Is there somewhere to exchange money at the airport? Or maybe there’s an ATM there where I can withdraw Canadian funds?

Or can we just use a credit card?

I’m afraid I’ve gotten spoiled the last couple of decades. Whenever I’ve been out of the country, my husband has always been with me and handled all these details!

^MFM has all the info correct as given. In terms of exchange rate from a cabbie, it seems to be very random - some will give you an actual exchange (not as good as bank rates, rounded for easy math, but still better than par) while others will take the Canadian amount in USD and not offer change (basically getting a very generous tip since for a while now it's been USD$3=CAD$4 so a 30%+ bump) while yet others will happily let you hand over CAD amount + a typical 15%ish tip in USD and pocket the lot without saying anything...

If you have a Credit Card, even one with a typical 2.5% Foreign Transaction Fee, use it to ensure you pay a fair rate (and if it's a good travel card with no FTF, use it for everything!) Unless you take Transit, cash is really only needed for tips - and everyone here will happily take an 'at par' USD tip, as the inconvenience of exchanging it is more than offset by the 30%+ bonus income. Since Canadian bills start at $5, everything smaller is coinage, it's rather unnatural for US folks. Nobody will be offended if you bring a bunch of US$1 notes and use those as you would at home for shuttle drivers, bag handling at hotel etc.

Unless you have a long stay - where hitting an ATM will definitely get you the best exchange rate, never swap funds at airports they are almost always the worst rates in town wherever you travel - cash is simply not needed in daily life here. We are way more credit-friendly than the US with virtually no cash only places, even food trucks will swipe credit cards!

If you exchange money at the airport you will be hit with massive service fees. The best thing to do is always use a credit card. The exchange is always done. There are alot of shops in Vancouver that will not give you the exchange rate if you use US money.

I hadn’t even thought about Canadian money. How silly of me! Is there somewhere to exchange money at the airport? Or maybe there’s an ATM there where I can withdraw Canadian funds?

 

Or can we just use a credit card?

 

I’m afraid I’ve gotten spoiled the last couple of decades. Whenever I’ve been out of the country, my husband has always been with me and handled all these details!

Thank you all for this information!

We’re in Vancouver less than 24 hours...basically just for a night’s sleep before boarding the next morning. So we’ll just use a credit card for the taxis.

You guys have eased my anxiety to the point I feel I can finally just relax! I’m going to bring my chair and all will be just fine. :)

THANKS!