Star Taxi of Cambridge

I had a wonderful experience with this cab service. I called for an ASAP cab to catch a flight and wasn’t quite sure where I was located. The dispatch stayed in contact with me and was able to give me up-​to-​the-​minute information on where the cab was.
When the cab rolled up, he had his trunk popped, pulled right over to us, and hopped out to help with our bags (in a hastened fashion). I told him if he could get us to the airport promptly I’d greatly appreciate it and he delivered, with the pedal on the right! My only complaint is that their square card reader couldn’t put in a custom tip, as the built-​in options were not enough! Oh and we barely caught the flight :).

My driver was so nice! He waited for me for 10 minutes with no complaints. He even called in advance (30 min. earlier) to let me know he’d be there — and he was! Best cab experience I’ve had in Boston.

WORST CAB COMPANY EVER
And I’ve had to deal with some bad companies. I’ve had cabs come 10, 15, 20, sometimes even 30 minutes late, and sometimes they said they were unavailable, but none have come close to being as obnoxious and unprofessional as Star Taxi. I called Star Taxi on a Thursday night, asking if they could send someone over within a half an hour. I made it clear that I was running a little late to the event, and that I could use their cab only if they could send someone over within an a half an hour. They said no problem. After 30 minutes went by, I called to check up. They said someone would be over in a few minutes. After 15 more minutes went by, I called again– i heard someone pick up the phone, and then I heard a «click»… they just hung up on me! I called again a few minutes b/​c I was confused about what was going on, but they just hung up on me again!
These people are unprofessional, shameless, and clearly understaffed. My evening would have gone much much better if they did not lie and simply told me the truth and told me that they could not send a cab over my way. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS CAB COMPANY

We called Star for a cab on Wednesday night. They told us 30 min, which seemed a little long for a weekday, but we were willing to wait. After 40 minutes, we called to make sure they got the right address and that someone was coming. The guy on the phone said, «yes, they’d be right over in a few minutes and were on their way.»
…another 20 minutes passes and we call (note, we’ve now been waiting for an hour!) This time, the guy hangs up on us right after picking up, and we couldn’t even get a word in. I call from another number to ask what happened and to tell him that we would not be waiting any longer (we just decided to drive!). He says he sent a cab and then hangs up on me! We had been waiting by the door the whole time and knew this was not the case.
Now, we wouldn’t have been mad if he told us up front it would have been an hour. Then, we could’ve called another company, etc. But by lying to us, he deceived us and made us late to our event. Clearly, they don’t have enough cabs out there to take all of the calls they get. Also, my thought is that our driver picked someone else up on the way, which is another bad form of doing business.
As bad as all cab companies are in Boston/​Cambridge, we will never be using this company again.
Based on the other reviews, Star seems really hit or miss, so if you need to get somewhere important, on time, call another company.

I called Star Taxi for my boss who walks with a cane and can’t stand for long periods of time. They said it would be 15 – 20 minutes. An hour later they still weren’t there, and hadn’t even called to say they would be late. I tried calling them again, and when they asked what the destination was, and I told them ‘Belmont’ they hung up on me! While I was on the phone trying to find another cab, my boss ended up standing outside in the rain to hail one. What a mess.

Called the day before for my 3:45 am pickup. At 4:00 am when I called them to see where they were, they said they didn’t have any record of me, and that there was no way they could help me. Total nightmare.

Friendly without being excessively talkative, well-​educated in short cuts, and, in my experience, reliable. Seems to be a small operation where the dispatcher is one of the drivers on his cell, so maybe not the best bet if it’s a busy night.

Open mouth, insert foot… because I have spoken too soon.
As my normal custom, I called Star Taxi 15 minutes before I needed to leave my house (in this case, headed to Mizu) and as normal, I got the super nice dispatch guy who knows which house is mine and kindly tells me 10 – 15 minutes.
After thanking him, I busied myself with getting together some last minute items. Well, I must have been reallllly busy because suddenly 25 minutes had gone by and there was no taxi to be found. I didn’t hear any honks. And there were certainly no missed calls on my phone. Hmph. I called the dispatch.
Dispatch: Hello, Taxi.
Me: Yes hello. I called for a cab almost 30 minutes ago and it’s still not here. I was told 10 – 15 minutes.
Dispatch: Yes, he’s coming down the street now. He’ll be there just a few minutes.
–CLICK–
Yes, that’s right. He hung up. No apology. Nothing.
Another 10 minutes goes by and by now I am furious. My hair is done up in a ridiculous bouffant, I have 2 huge bags and a rolling suitcase that weighs about as much as a small pony and now I have to lug all that shit over to the hotel by house and hail at a cab at their tax stand. This adds up to another 15 minutes of being late!
Once I’d found another cab, I called up the dispatcher.
Dispatcher: Hello, Taxi.
Me: Um, hi. I called for a taxi over 45 minutes for a cab. It never showed and
–CLICK–
Are.You.Serious?
After attempting to call back, I got sent right to voicemail.
Congratulations, Star Taxi. You have succeeded admirably in losing my trust in you as a reliable transportation company. It’s only happened once. But it’s enough for me not to chance it on the possibility of you bailing on me again.

Don’t take this taxi company!!!
We waited OVER an hour for a cab that never showed up. They told us it would be a half hour wait (since it was a busy night with the rain and all.)
called back a gazillion times and no one picked up. it went straight to voicemail. (like cell phone voicemail.) WAAAACK!
they finally picked up and were like «yeah 5 – 10 mins, we’ll call you.»
and NADA! don’t waste your breath and time on these mofos.
ZERO STARS!

Please don’t let these good reviews fool you. There is nothing good about this company. They only have a handful of cabs and stretch themselves far too thin.
I live only 2 blocks from their dispatch center (too bad there are never any cabs THERE) and on two separate occasions I have had cabs not show up. Once I was late for my husband’s office Christmas party and the other time I was late getting to a veterinary appointment because of their negligence.
Not showing up, when it’s your job is bad enough, however the dispatcher is an LIAR. The first time they didn’t show (for the party) I called the dispatcher back and no one answered, and then the phone was off the hook, and when he finally answered he told me he was the only one working and he never got my call and that I must have called Ambassador. Well hello douche bag, but your number was in my dialed calls and I just pressed redial… Asshole.
At that point we had been waiting 30 minutes on what was supposed to be «5−10» and I called Ambassdor — who suck about as bad by the way, but that’s another story.
The second time I called Star I was on the way to the vet with my dog, remembering what had happened the first time I called an hour before my appointment (which was in Somerville and I live in Cambridge), again I was told «5−10» minutes. I waited 20 and then called back and lo and behold the phone was off the hook again. I called back 5 minutes after that (at which point I had started to walk to Central Square to catch a cab) and someone picked up the phone and immediately hung up on me. I never did get my cab and ended up hopping in one at Central.
Avoid the headache and don’t even bother with Star.

I can’t stand taking cabs in the Boston/​Cambridge area. As far as I’m concerned, cabs are part of the service industry, and we pay a frickin crapload, so they should make an effort to be cordial and helpful and come when they say they’ll come.
Star Taxi is by far the BEST cab company in Cambridge… I actually found them randomly by hailing a cab in Inman, and my driver was so great I made sure I stored their number in my cell.
The operators are always friendly; they allow you to call ahead to schedule a cab instead of an ASAP situation only.
The drivers are _​always_​helpful, friendly, and NOT the type that roll their eyes if *gasp* you have luggage or *gasp* if they have to get off of their cell phones for a minute or two so you can tell them where you’d like to go.

Star Taxi was really really nice to me when I called late at night asking for a 4:30 am pickup on Christmas Eve. And not only did they arrive 5 minutes early, but when they did and the operator called to tell me she made sure to say «but take your time,» instead of rushing me out the door.
My cab driver was nice — very friendly and courteous despite the holiday and early hour. The fare was totally reasonable, although it wasn’t the cheapest that I’ve ever paid to get to the airport.
Overall, a really good experience and worth the peace of mind knowing that they’ll be there!
UPDATE — I used Ambassador cab recently and was not impressed (the operator had such a couldn’t care less attitude that they didn’t even bother to end the conversation with an «okay we’ll be there» before they hung up.) The next time I called star and got a fantastic operator, and they showed up in less time than expected. I still really like Star Taxi.