Terms and Conditions of Use

RATES AND CHARGES

Crystal Cab uses a standard taxi meter to eliminate the guess work out of fares-standard meters accrue based on mileage and time the trip takes (trips during rush hour may be slightly more than those during non-rush time). We set our meters at the lowest rate possible during standard traffic conditions at non-holiday times.

Rates begin to accrue upon client pickup or waiting for client pickup, and may be influenced by number of passengers, excessive or weighty baggage requiring lifting by drivers, service to or from Airport locations, and greater distance outside the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown area for pickup locations.

Exceptions to metered fare may exist when rides are subcontracted to other taxi services Crystal Cab has an association with-some of these companies may operate on a flat-rate fare, and Crystal Cab is not responsible for price differences based on other companies’ price structure or algorithms.

We do offer city-to-city special low rates with advance reservation between Houston/Austin/Dallas/San Antonio, with rates slightly more if the pickup location is in a city other than Austin. Crystal cab‘s rates are competitive with other similar services in the Austin area, and specials may from time-to-time be available on repeat customers, round trips and group fares.

For airport pickups or destinations, the arrival time will be set based upon flight arrival or departure and by request of client. Waiting fees apply when drivers are required to wait for client, and Crystal cab is not responsible for airport delays or other factors outside its control that may incur waiting charges.

Rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notification. Special rates, extended minimums and alternate cancellation policies may apply, on special event days. (examples: Prom, Formula 1, Mother‘s Day, Father‘s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, New Year, SXSW, ACL, Christmas, Valentine‘s Day.) Waiting times are calculated by the minute.

Parking and toll charges will be added to fares when incurred for any reason. In the event a customer refuses payment for services or leaves the vehicle and absconds without payment for the metered fare, law enforcement will be notified immediately.

CANCELLATIONS

Crystal Cab reserves the right to cancel services which are not confirmed by the customer or in situations when the customer cannot be contacted or does not respond to a request for confirmation of date, time, address, or any other factor of a ride. In addition to this, if the number of passengers exceeds the vehicle’s capacity (# of passenger restraints in the vehicle), Crystal Cab reserves the right to cancel any trip where the passengers insist on exceeding vehicle capacity.

We request you notify us at the time of booking as to the number of passengers-groups requiring a non-standard vehicle (example, a minivan which seats 7 as opposed to a sedan which seats 4), as there are differences in fares when the passenger number exceeds 4 persons. At no time will Crystal Cab substitute a larger vehicle without at least 2 hours advance notice, for groups where the passenger number exceeds the original request.

For prepaid taxi services, a refund may not be given if a client fails to call before leaving the pickup location before the driver’s arrival and does not provide an alternate pickup address within 2 miles of the original address or respond to calls from the driver, or fails to cancel services within the required cancellation window. Crystal Cab requires a minimum of 2 hours advance notice for cancellations within the greater Austin area.

GUARANTEES

Arrival, starting, stop-over, and destination times of arrival cannot and will not be guaranteed by Crystal cab. Our drivers are generally punctual, arriving early or exactly on time for pickups, but at times unforeseen circumstances may delay arrival or pickup by a few minutes-please book your trip with prevalent traffic conditions at the time of your trip in mind.

For example: Booking a 7:30 AM airport pickup will almost certainly guarantee an encounter with heavy traffic, so you should book an earlier pickup time to compensate for the time delay caused by rush-hour traffic. Don’t call 30 minutes before your flight boards during rush hour and believe we will be able to arrive at your location and get you to the airport before your plane takes off-our vehicles are not equipped with wings and cannot approach warp speed.

All times given by drivers and/or dispatch are approximate and always dependent upon speed limits on roadways between starting and destination point, as well as traffic, road construction, accident, and weather conditions at the time the appointment is made. Crystal Cab drivers may, at their discretion, pause the meter when trip time is extended or delayed by factors unrelated to the customer so that the customer does not incur a charge for the delay, such as accidents between other parties in the roadway, acts of God (i.e. tornado, flood, lightning strikes), terrorism, fires, or for any other reason outside the driver and Crystal Cab‘s control.

In the event of declaration of martial law, terrorist activity, declarations of war, accidents caused by other drivers in which the taxi is damaged beyond safe operability, or extremely dangerous weather conditions which suddenly occur, Crystal Cab may need to deposit a customer at a secure location alternate to the original destination, for customer and driver safety. In addition to this, discounts and refunds will not be given for late pickups, arrivals, or dropoffs due to such conditions or other occurrences out of our control. In the event vehicle becomes non-operational and replacement is required, refunds will not include the segment of the trip already completed.

CONDITIONS DE SERVICE

Crystal Cab reserves the right to refuse service to any person for any reason, including the appearance of being intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, belligerent and/or threatening behavior to the driver or to other persons, attempting to smoke or eat in the vehicle despite instruction to the contrary, interference with or vandalism to any equipment in or on the vehicle, or any other reason at the discretion of the driver. Crystal Cab will not issue refunds for prepaid appointments when such behavior is in evidence, and shall not be liable for charges accrued when client behavior requires drivers to refuse service.

CLIENT SAFETY AND BEHAVIOR

Clients shall not interfere with the driver and shall safely conduct themselves inside the vehicle at all times. Safety belts are required to be worn by all passengers in the vehicle, and all arms, legs, heads, and objects belonging to the passengers must remain inside the vehicle at all times.

Child safety seats and/or booster seats as prescribed by law are required for all children under age 6 and/or 60 pounds when travelling with children, and must be provided by the customer for the child or children in question. Customers are required to know how to install and uninstall child safety seats-our drivers and Crystal cab are not responsible for correct and safe usage of child safety seats.

No weapons, smoking, smokeless tobacco, vaping, alcoholic beverages, drug use, eating, drinking, sexual activity, nudity, toileting (including changing of infants diapers), defacement of Crystal Cab vehicles, transport of non-prescreened animals or carrying of beverages that do not have a sealable top is permitted inside Crystal cab‘s vehicles, including concealed or unconcealed firearms (all firearms and weapons are banned in our vehicles-please set up an alternate form of transportation if you feel you must carry a weapon with you).

The aforementioned behaviors, as well as loud arguments, swearing, screaming, or violent conflict of any kind between passengers or passenger to driver are prohibited and will result in driver immediately stopping the vehicle, exiting all passengers, charging the fare based on points of origin and drop off, and possibly calling law enforcement dependent on the severity of the behavior involved.

UNUSUAL CLEANING

If, during or after transportation, Crystal cab is required to clean company vehicles due to any act, fault or incident involving any customer, the customer’s guests, or by any other means attributable to the customer (example: vomiting, bleeding, incontinence, smoking, spillage of food or drinks, breakage of any object, excessive trash left in vehicle, fecal matter/sand/dirt ground into carpets and/or seats), an extra charge will be incurred to cover the expense of cleaning and loss of use of the company vehicle during the time the cleaning is required. The minimum charge for regurgitation cleanup or cleanup of food or other bodily fluids is 200$ but may be adjusted upwards depending on the scale of cleanup required.

SMOKING POLICY

All smoking is prohibited in Crystal cab vehicles at all times, including pipe, cigarette, cigar, vapor smoking, or any other type of smoking, including marijuana joints and other drugs.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Crystal cab shall not be liable for any reason, in any event, including breach of this agreement, either directly or indirectly, to the other party or any third party for special, indirect, incidental, punitive, exemplary, or consequential damages, loss of use, or loss of profit.