One of the nice things about Uber is simply knowing what you're going to pay beforehand. Even if you're paying more money, it removes stress of the passenger sitting in traffic watching the number count up and not knowing what it's going to amount to. With a service like Uber, if the fair was too high, the passenger will have known beforehand and couple simply decide to use another means if it was too high
So with Uber the price is just an estimate and the real fare can vary and is calculated when you exit. A family member once got scammed on an Uber Journey where the driver did a massive detour and the trip cost 3x the estimate. Uber eventually refunded them but it took days of pushing them.
"With a service like Uber, if the fair was too high, the passenger will have known beforehand" No, you wouldn't. You would know what your price is (in most cases. It can change depending on multiple factors), not if this price is too high compared to a normal taxi.
The only downside with Uber and other similar services is the price is determined by the current demand and other transport related events like if a major train line is suspended for the rest of the day because of an incident during the evening peak then the prices of those services will suddenly go insanely high.
I worked in Copenhagen 20 years ago. For a short while, there was a misconception amongst taxi drivers that they could earn more money if they waited more at traffic lights, so they drove like maniacs and braked hard at the last minute. Happily, the myth was quickly debunked and rides became a lot more comfortable.
There are some cabbies that give the whole group a bad game. We hailed down a cab at like 3am in Piccadilly Circus, and asked at the window to go to Premier Inn Brixton. He said £65. We, knowing the value of money, said £35, and he said we can to the journey using the meter. Was no where near £65. Whole journey, I felt like some who was nearly ripped off and getting an earful from my mate who will also use Ubers (when I tell him black cabs are just as good - then have to eat humble pie after this situation)
@@simonjohnson8018 Why did I ask him if he could take us to Brixton? Probably because that's what I wanted, and it's a normal way to start a conversation with a taxi driver - telling them where you want to go. He then started talking about money. We countered. Then we agreed to use the meter. The short version is, he was trying to rip us off. Hence, some people give others a bad name
I love your videos! You have to remember that people have bad opinions about taxi drivers because objectively taxi drivers as a category is dishonest in some countries/cities. London is an example of exellence, enthusiasm and hard work :).
London cabbies are the best in the world. Last time I took a taxi here in Adelaide, I had to give the driver instructions on how to get the biggest hospital in the state.
I remember in my city back when there was really only one priavte taxi company (no public ones available to this day), they told you “no, i am not using the taximeter, you will pay what i say or you stay here where the bus comes in 2 hours”
I'm in Glasgow and I remember people saying Hackney taxis are expensive because as soon as you get in the meter had a price. I drove private hire( mini cabs) and it was £3.50 for the first mile so basically it was £3.50 as soon as they got in but they just couldn't see it.
At one point I was using taxis twice a day as part of my commute. On a single occasion (e.g. VERY RARE) a taxi driver tried to defraud me by adding false "extras" - and he was VERY slick at hiding it suggesting that this was something he did a lot to other customers. I refused to pay and he called the cops who agreed with me that it was a civil case. I paid him a fair amount and reported him to the regulators and he had to waste a morning explaining to them rather than earning. Whilst there was no hard evidence - my word vs. his - his card was marked and another similar complaint would lose him his taxi license - so hopefully this stopped him from doing it again to other customers.
London Black Cabs are amongst my favourite things ever. Also, If you have more than a couple of people, a Black Cab has always been cheaper than that many Tube/bus fares. And you know where you are going. I live in the US, but have spent a load of time in London. With my fam. always a Black Cab. Thanks, Tom!
London cab drivers are not allowed to be agents for any company to sell to passengers. Now and again we are allowed to put charity collection boxes in the rear compartment.
The issue i have with Uber is, that it circumvents taxi regulations. They exist to ensure passenger safety. It might sound ridiculous, but read the horror stories from around europe before taxi regulation was introduced. I had some Uber experiences, particularly in Paris and Madrid, that made the necessity for Uber to be regulated like a normal taxi very clear to me.
I don't know about the rest of Europe, but in the UK Uber is regulated under the laws for private hire vehicles. Basically the rules for the kind of Taxi that in the pre-internet days you would have to phone in advance to book. These regulations aren't as stringent as they are for hackney carriages (the legal term for proper taxis that can use a taxi rank and be hailed down), but they do exist. That said, I suspect that bad Uber drivers (and drivers for other app-based taxi companies) can get away with worse behaviour than other private hire drivers simply because complaints will be directed at Uber, rather than at the authority who licensed the driver.
I also try to avoid Uber. But Uber doesn't only bypass taxi regulations, but also labour regulations and that irks me even more. My transportation priority is like this bike > walk > tram > bus > metro > taxi > bolt > Uber. Why do I make a distinction between bolt and Uber when they're pretty much the same? It feels to me bolt aren't as aggressive, and they're European.
@@stephengray1344 no that last part is incorrect, all Uber drivers must hold a private hire license from an issuing authority, and therefore complaints can be made to that authority against individual drivers
@@billymcmedic4221 You've misunderstood what I was trying to say. Complaints can be made to the licensing authority. But I'm fairly sure it's less likely that they will be made to them than it is with a more traditional private hire setup. The overwhelming majority of complaints will be made via the Uber app, rather than to the people who could revoke the license.
I think the meter is fair for both us the drivers & the passengers. We don’t set the prices so we are bound by it. I wonder how other countries taxis pricing systems are like.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was similar in other first world countries and I wouldn't be surprised if other places, like in India, have loads of scam artists that charge extreme exorbitant fees.
I've basically encountered three systems - variations on London's, with regulated time and distance meters - negotiate for your destination before you start - time and distance meters with rates set by the driver (and posted on the side of the car.)
I think it would be nice if black cabs could suggest the fare beforehand or guarantee it not exceeding something. Uber has an advantage there, especially for those not familiar with the city.
had to use a taxi a couple of months ago, as the driver asked me for my destination said I wasn't sure where it was but I did, he took the long way round which doubled the fare, used a bus for the return journey
In my opinion, as for a passenger, the meter system is in some way not so obvious for the normal people. In the app like Uber, you see directly the final fix price for a trip, and you think that no mater what's going with traffic, you will pay only this amount, no penny more. With the meter, a normal person won't calculate the final price because it's too much work for a consumer to find out how long is a drive and how much will I pay. And it goes a little tricky, when the meter just goes up while the cab just stands. The passenger just doesn't understand, why he must pay just for standing, and from that comes the opinion, that cabs want to bump the meter in the traffic because they will be paid just for standing and doing nothing. Maybe it will be a good thing, when cabs will implement somewhat of a fix price system. In Munich, it is already a thing, and everyone can just decide whether they want to drive with a meter or with a fixed price.
Well the price uber says(at least in the US) is not the final price. I've had times when there was an accident or heavy traffic and my rate increased after my ride was over
ANOTHER THING TAXI DRIVERS ABSOLUTELY HATES IS THE LAME QUESTIONS "YOU BUSY, WHAT TIME YOU START, WHAT TIME YOU FINISHING. PLEASE JUST BE GENUINE AND SAY HELLO HOW ARE YOU TODAY.
there was a taxi driver once that wanted to go on the m25 to get to my destination. the only issue is, i was going from terminal 4 (heathrow) to hayes 🙄🙄🙄 he probably thought i was a tourist, when in fact i live near the airport lol
I understand the cash vs card comments and concerns. As you said, we nearly all get our wages/salary paid into our bank accounts so it is quick and convenient to pay by card, especially tapping our card. I can honestly say that since tapping my card became a thing I have been using my card a lot more where I would have used cash before because putting the card into a machine and entering my pin for every purchase was a bit of a faff. I still carry cash with me but use it less these days. I do understand the concerns about moving to a fully cashless society which I am not in favour of and I do still see and appreciate a need for cash.
Black cabs should not be allowed to charge passengers when the cab is stationary. I accept traffic conditions are out of the drivers control equally the same traffic conditions are out of the passenger control. A cafe/ restaurant do not charge customers for sitting at the table once they have finished their meal even though the table isn't earning the cafe/ restaurant any money until the next customers are sitting at the table, same principle in my view.
The stopping distance is basically like your own car... When you want to park in front of a building, you can't always do that and need to ya know... drive a bit further... Unless you like just parking your car in the middle of the road really...
For myself, one of the only things I heard people say about taxi drivers bumping the meter was by taking longer routes than necessary, and it sounds like from your descriptions this would indeed actually work! I imagine it still runs the same thing of quick turnover being more important, but if a driver knows it's a slow couple of hours what's to stop them taking a few extra diversions?
You drive like snails towards the end of a journey (when heading outside of the centre). You dart around in the centre trying to ping as many rides as you can. That's how it will always be.
So during less busy times, it's better for a cab driver to be stuck in traffic as they'd make more money per fare since there's longer waiting between fares?
I will never use Black Cabs. Why? Because the meter is continually going - even if the black cab is stationary for 10 minutes. This is just wrong. I'd rather get a mini cab.... and in fact I do. Always - without exception. Also I would rather not listen to a black cab driver blab on about Brexit not delivering, or the merits of Nigel Farage. I'm not great at small talk, and even krss interested when they start saying Farage is a 'man if the people'. At this point I just turn up my ear buds, and let them continue to talk ....witg bo one listening.
Hi tom good morning hope you have a good day today making a lot of money 🤑💰 keep going Londons greatest son of your generation 😊 ali walsall west midlands england junction 10 m6 Walsall churckery 10 m6 Walsall churckery up the walsall
@@miguelcardoso1903 but they will more than earn it back when the demand for uber (say in the evening) goes up. The fairs can go up by 3,4,5,6 times or more than it is in the day.
Does this guy think people are stupid haha, it's marginally less earnings when driving half the miles (2m v 4m comparison), in the 4mile comparison you're using more fuel aswell.
I've never had a cabbie bump up the meter in those ways, I've had them go the long way round (not sure why) but one trend I've have notices, if drunk (yourself or someone in your group) they will drive less smooth or/and take a rough route (eg down a dock cobble road as apose to a tarmac road they used taking you into town ) is this due to the £75 they can charge for cleaning up the vomit? Even if its out the window and you offer to "clean" (wipe) the door?
London Taxi cabs are the reliable, efficient, safe way of getting around London when Buses and the Tube are not an option But don't expect a Tip - let me know when you Tip you tube driver, or bus driver?
Some people a pretty dim. If you do all jobs quicker, the more jobs you can do and the more money made. Get more cuustomers in quicker and the more you make in pull off charges.
In Australia in Victoria that's done by the commercial passenger vehicles Victoria and all our taxis a set up with cab charge cab charge also do the taxi meters the dispatch system and the payments system the security system for the taxis in Australia I also get half price taxes in Australia through the commercial passenger vehicles Victoria or CVPP because I am member of the MTPT I also get half price ubers because for my half price taxi card as well and all the taxis are regulated by the government in Australia and they have strict meter rules even Uber is regulated by the government in Australia
Having just spent a few days in Marrakech, Morocco where the official taxi drivers seemed to never want to turn their meters on, (and so you end up bartering for a fare). I'm so thankful of UK cabbies. If I tell you the minimum fare was about 60p and sometimes they wanted £8 for a fare, they were definitely taking the mickey.
If you get mad that a taxi driver asks for compensation for sitting in traffic for taking your lazy ass 2 miles down the road, go use your legs and walk, will be healthy too :)
Uber, like anything has it's uses, as does bolt and a few other of the apps... Especially when I travel alot with work or drop a car off in a remote area with little to no public transport.
Is there an actual mode change in the meter for the 10.4mph cutoff or is that just a consequence of the way the rules seem to say that the fare increments whenever you reach a distance or time limit since the last increment?
In Australia we only have one credit card provider that provides the terminals and the service in the taxes and that is cabcharge nothing beats cab charge because you can also get cab charge gift cards I wonder if they've got cab charge over in the UK
How bout this i called up the cab company(not in london) told them how many ppl and where we are going and coming from and asked for a price and they gave me a reasonable price… but then when we arrived he asked foe double but i had only that money in cash ( the the cab company had told me to pay) so i said no they told me it was that so i can only pay that… dont recall if he had a meter but it was not a traditional cab its was like a mercades and the driver had assumed me drunk as two of my friends were
remember being in a taxi from cardiff to barry, fare was meant to be 35, ended up being 70 due to them taking a 'diversion' didnt end up paying and complained to the company and ended up paying the agreed price for the pre-determined route
Does your second argument not go against what you said at the start? As a taxi driver would you not make more sense to go at 10.3mph rather that 40mph as you get the same money for the distance plus some more for the Time, while using less fuel ?
It will likely be a sliding scale at that point between how much of the cost is distance and how much is time based rather than a step change to stop abuse so the change would likely be negligible.
@@nottud time is time so won't be sliding scale, just on or off I would think. Just obviously if you're quicker ie going at 10.3 you will get there quicker than if you're doing 5 and therefore less time added so cheaper overall. The other thing that he does not mention on all of this is yes going faster does make give you the potential of more fares and more fares but in reality no taxi driver goes from job to job instantly there for getting more money from the fare you have make much more sense then hoping there is another fare around the corner, and if they are just going to sit in a rank after the fare they have again it makes sense to eek out the fare you have as your going to sit in rank for the sake amount of time. Let's face it taxi driver are pretty damn intelligent and they know how make money from the job they do, if they didn't, there wouldn't be so many of them, so I am sure there are plenty of tricks they do to maximise their income. The video I would like to see is some is some price comparison between uber or other taxi apps vs a London cab. Ie get 2 people get one to get an Uber and get the taxi to follow and see the difference, at different times of day, different distance etc
Nope… years ago we could add luggage. Only things now are Christmas/new years (added automatically), Heathrow drop off/pick up, and booking made by app/telephone
I am studying taxi in iceland and yes there are dark rides and semi uber things too but the question is (are they insured for the customers?) The answer is (NO) if there is an accident they are not insured. In the school we go through allot of training and practices such as accidents involvement and what to do and health training and what to do in cyrcumstences😊 thank you for that video❤ nice edit and keep it up🙏 i hit the sub button🎉
Do tfl charge to handle luggage? I've been in cars elsewhere and the driver appears to press a button for each case in the boot which suddenly bumps the meter fare up. This is when parked up, not driving, either at the start or end of journey
In Ireland I had some ahole driving 30 in a 60 zone than 20 in a 50 zone and when I said it to him he dumped me out in an estate where people usually get robbed so I didn’t pay him and he got really fcked off when I knew the people on the side of the road 😂 Next driver 5 mins later broke the speed limit and the fare was the same cost but he covered twice the distance he also nearly crashed the van swerving around a fox at 2am 😂
After watching the video I see that our systems are fairly similar but further proves my point as taxi a was a car and taxi b was a van also it being around 2am there was no traffic, so yes if you drive considerably slower the time factor will clock over the distance.
My dad was a Taxi Driver, his rank ditched the meters back in 2017 because of Uber and charged a flat rate, but not the black cabs but they where only used for city runs still on tick.
Just because your fees are set by a 3rd party, doesn't mean it isn't a ripoff. Even in the privinces where I am, the 2 mile trip to town was £10 before covid. Much cheaper than London and even that is a ripoff in my book. If you're able to and aren't carrying much, journeys of under a mile - you might as well walk it. You aren't going to be much slower! Or tube given their stations are basically walking distance apart. With the levels of traffic, I see no advantage that an off-peak taxi could offer.
Taxi drivers do sometimes take longer routes to charge higher. Also, a lot of your explanations don't cover the fact that customers aren't one after another, you often have to travel to a new location and have down time between customers.
We use taxis eveytime we go shopping as we live 10 miles from the nearest town. I have MS so public transport isn't an option. Lucky I have a mate who has a black cab in my town and he does it for cheap and will give us credit if needed. In a normal cab it's £33 on the meter. He dose it for £25 as we use him to go to and from town it's £50 total. Also he doesn't do school runs so when we go home during school time we don't get stuck.
I only ever had one cabbie pull a fast one. We got somewhere and he was like oops can’t do that turning, I’ll just have to go long way round. Which I’m pretty sure was a deliberate mistake. There was one time I got in a “cab” which looked a bit shoddy and I noticed the cabbie numbers in it didn’t match.
You say you don't like the banks taking a bit of every transaction with cash less payment, but people forget here that dealing with bank notes aren't free. ATMs doesn't magically restock, notes doesn't magically appear inside the bank of london. All these things carry a cost with them.
sadly the days of black cabs are over, the price they charge now is silly, uber and other such companies are the way forward, no one is loyal these days its all about cheapest cost.
The now-dominant local taxi company here went full-app with pre-determined pricing. In a market where taxi prices are completely unregulated that was a revolution and provides predictable and fair pricing while still having the taxi and driver regulated as a full taxi. You can also hail the same driver directly which may be cheaper or much more expensive depending on his fare so both options simply coexist.
I quit taxi driving as it's the lowest paid job i've ever done paying less than minimum wage. To make money many drivers love to tap the extras button.
Hi Tom, I've heard about (and experienced) taxi drivers here in Melbourne declining shorter trips as they can make more on the longer trips. Once I had to tell a taxi driver I was going to the next suburb after mine so they'd accept the trip after several refusals from others. How is this practice discouraged/prevented in London?
The only experience of a cab in gb i've ever had was a taxi from the airport to glasgow secc area. that was 50/50 experience, also was a public holiday. In my own country i've had some brilliant taxi drivers but also some horrible ones. If you have a horrible experience bias is quick. And some people just think bad no matter what.
Hi Tom. Love the vids, but ,can I ask a question. In this video, you showed lot of old cabs, obviously been taken out of service. So, what happens to the old cabs ? Do people buy them to use as regular cars as they're nice and roomy, and where are they sold. Cheers.
I was taking a cab in the US to a hotel chain(popular name) in a fairly large city and it wasnt specified which exact location even though I tried to make sure to was clear but was turned down as they knew the area and which hotel we wanted. Turned out we ended up at the wrong one more in downtown core as opposed to the other one in another part of town where the name was something like lets say (company) village instead of (company) hotel. However we called up the driver and they offered to come back and get us to the right one for free even though it was more distance out of the way and they had to turnaround. We of course left a good tip for the second trip and offered to pay the meter fare but the driver just wanted us to get to the right place safely. Was eye opening that they weren't just out for money and also paid off for that driver in the end as we called them for the ride back to the airport after our trip as well so they got multiple rides and extra tip for going out of the way to assist us rather then just trying to charge a high price.
So on the first point about traffic. Would driving an EV taxi make it more worthwhile? The engine is not running when the car is not moving meaning less fuel cost?
hi tom quick question what are your thoughts on cross boarding i am a taxi driver in stoke on trent with hackney rights we have many Wolverhampton and Ashfields drivers which for me i find it offensive that i paid more did more to get my licence. Get back to me when you can
