$90.00 charge for taxi with dog to Red Hook?

I hear ya and feel your pain Island Hopper. The same thing happened to me when I brought my cat here.

I just about fainted when I was told it would cost me $90 to drive my cat 6 or 7 miles. For gosh sakes, it had only cost me $80 to FLY him from Miami!!!! I therefore very discreetly approached a local who was quite thrilled to earn $50 to drive me from the airport to Red Hook. I say quite thrilled because now you tell me that he probably would have done it for $25 :)!!!!

Don't get me started on the taxi driver monopoly around here. Suffice it to say, that I hope someday there will be some major changes with that whole system.

" by Coconut Telegraph I have heard of 3 tickets issued on St.John in the last couple of weeks because dogs were not in a crate while riding in a passenger vehicle. Something about, "...if there were to be an accident then the dog would be running all over and the police dept. would then have to catch the dog.""

Check the St John Tradewinds archives. I think this was longer ago than a couple of weeks. But the irony is that people are allowed to transport small children, sometimes in large numbers, in the back of a pick-up truck. I am frequently a stranger in a strange land.

This is actually true??!!! My girlfriend and I are bringing a greyhound with us in the fall.....will that be like 180 bucks? Come on, is this really true? What about the crate thing? This is really disturbing.

Sorry Andy - it is true 🙁 it happens to anyone with a pet.

Pia

So, technically it would be cheaper to have a rental car, even if you are only using it to get home or to your motel from the airport and returning it the next day?

I doubt it's a law that you have to take a private taxi with a pet but who knows? Does sound like a nice little scam because lots of times drivers don't want to take any kind of animal in their vans, period. This taxi association really has a death grip here.

I had to laugh at the editorial written a few weeks back by the attorney for the taxi association who was spouting about how "green" the drivers were trying to be by cramming as many as possible in their vans so they could make the max per load. Of course, if they were REALLY so ecologically aware, why haven't they done the water taxi from the docks to downtown & cut the traffic way back?

There is a sanity issue having a pet in the cab. They are to spray after transporting a pet. Who's to say that the person sitting next to you may be allergic to animal hair or not. This is the basis for which the commission allows for this rule. You can't blame the drivers but the now defunct taxi commission.

RL

It does make sense. People can be allergic or honestly fearful of animals. It isn't fair to make the ride with an animal. The taxis down there have to sometimes consider things like a public bus.

If they have to take the trip with no other passengers on board, that's lost revenue for them. Then, from Ronnie's post, they have to spray.

It stinks for the people with animals, I'm sure. (P.S, Please don't misread my post as "it stinks FROM people with animals". Don't want to be accidentally flamed. I just meant that this is a hassle for people with animals.)

There's a new idea. Private Pet transportation in the VI.

OK, Ronnie...a sanity issue? I suppose there are some pets that could drive a person insane. There's really a spray that will help one regain sanity? I'm all for that! I might want to stockpile a case or two of it, myself!

Sorry, old pal....just couldn't resist.

Gerie

I will market it pretty soon Gerie!! Ok, it's a sanitation issue.

RL

I think it has more to do with a corrupt taxi union. The dogs or cats are in a crate if they are coming from the airport. You're not going to get anymore hair from them then from a pet owner clothes. In a 30 minute drive there is no way they are going to leave any permenant smells in the van. But thats just my two cents. I would definitely rent a car rather then pay them anything.

At least you CAN get your pet a taxi. I can't get one just to take me to my home because I'm way up in the hills & not on the hotel route here on STT. It's cheaper for me to leave my car in the airport lot for 2 weeks.

I was so glad I went with the "local" option. We met a really nice guy who we still continue to run into on occasion and are friendly with to this day. And we saved money too!!!

This is not to say that I don't use taxis when necessary (airport runs, having car in the shop, etc.) -- just not to transport my pet.

Betty - sorry but have to disagree. Some people are highly allergic to animal hair/dander and a cat or a dog in a shipping crate in a taxi is probably going to be sending off a bunch of it via stress. And crated animals, even if mildly sedated, can reach their destination and then have to "go" bigtime. Ergo, I would verge on the side of the taxi drivers and equivocally say that this has nothing to do with any "corrupt taxi union" but totally in line with Ronnie's post.

Trade - I utilize the help of friends to drop me off/pick me up on the very rare occasions I go off-island and I wouldn't leave my car at the airport for any amount of money. Real island beater is the current one and all before but...

Ronnie - loved the insanity post and its corrections. Too damned funny! Oh, and I have some pets who try once in a while to make me insane. No doubt they've succeeded in some respects to at least getting me from "quirky" to nuts."

To all who are shipping animals with them, might not be a bad idea to post on this board once your travel plans are finalized and ask if someone on the board can either pick you up or recommend someone who can do it. Specify all data including animals transported, size of crates and to where you're going. Posters here can more often than not be extremely helpful. A word of caution, though. Don't tag onto this post but create your own new post. Cheers.

Gee, I even used to leave my car at the OLD STT airport. I've never had any problems at all.

Hi Trade,

I used to leave my car at the airport too and have never had any problems.

My problem now (and the reason I won't leave it there anymore) is that they raised the parking rate to $10 per day :X :X :X

SttResident thank you for your comments about animal allergies. I love animals, but I am very allergic to dogs and cats particularly. Recently I was on an airplane and the person next to me had a cat in a carrier under the seat. That should be illegal. I asked if I could move, but no seats were available. That was a direct violation of my rights as a passenger. By the end of the flight I could barely breath Live animals should not be allowed in the passenger section of airplanes.

I know that others don't think this way, but allergies can be very serious.

I think it is awful that they did not have someone change seats with you. Even on a full plane they could have switch you with someone else. This has little to do with this thread but if you have a serious allergies you should always travel with your medicene. A ant bite or a bee sting could kill my sister and she is never without her meds even at the beach. And unfortunately we have little rights as passengers these days.

Just thinking outside the box (or pet crate) a bit, but would a one-day car rental be a less expensive option?

Gerie

yep...was suggested near the top by beth 🙂

Oops!

Thanks Betty. I read that a couple of days ago and I guess it stuck in my head. Of course, when I retrieved it I gave myself credit for an original idea....LOL. Sorry Beth.

Gerie

Aw, Mell then they raised it since last May. Bummer. It was one of the few deals on STT.

Hi Trade,

At $5.00 per day it WAS one of the few good deals on STT -- you're right. It seems like it went up last summer or fall 🙁 -- I can't remember exactly when.

I have to chime in here about allergies and expectations while in public places.

I know people who are allergic to dust, allergic to perfume, allergic to certain chemicals used to treat fabric, allergic to...whatever.

Shouldn' t there be a certain precautionary expectation that, if you are allergic to a common "thing", you should prepare for that "thing" being present during your daily travels and activities?

If we had to ban every "thing" that casued allergic reactions, we'd be without flowers, bees, peanut butter, dust, any animal with shedding hair etc, etc, etc.

This isn't an attack on people with allergies, I just don't understand why a person with severe allergies 1. wouldn't carry ,or 2. wouldn't take, as a precaution, the medication of their choice before flying, going on the train, cabbing it, going out to eat, going to a concert, etc. You cannot expect the public to respect your allergy or even understand it.