As a local, who cycles a £16 cab journey in about 7 minutes, these prices seemed ridiculous.. However, thinking about a group, or someone in a business suit, or a tourist, and the boat-load of expenses behind your business, knowledge you've learned, and a friendly door/door service, I think I get it now. Excelent series, busting so many mis-conceptions I've heard from people with "Uber"
Thank you for stopping by! 🙌🏻🙏🏻 Yea it’s all down to circumstances. If I’m solo, I’m happy to walk across London. If I was late for a job interview, or end of a long day out with family/relatives… cab every time 🙌🏻
I generally cycle everywhere in Central, but I was more than happy to spend £16 to get to the bike shop on Long Acre from Waterloo when one of my wheels seized. Whilst it is a folding bike, I probably couldn't get a bus, the tube required a change (and stairs) and an uber probably wouldn't take me. Plus, I don't like cycling over Westminster Bridge anymore after TFL ruined the cycle lanes.
Black cabs are worth their weight in gold. We had an appointment and it turned out we were at the wrong place. No panic, I knew a taxi would pass within 60 seconds. Hopped in, cost a few quid, saved the day.
I checked these same fares on Uber London just now. For an XL Uber, the fares are roughly the same. The black cab has the advantage of being much quicker to pick up. If you are solo though, a regular Uber works out cheaper, but I find Uber in London to be a really poor service. They constantly cancel before picking you up as they fish for better fares. For a couple quid extra, just jump in a black cab and have a chat with the driver imo.
Central London is really weird for me as an occasional 'tourist' due to how every part has a completely different feel to it, as a result you feel like you've travelled far more than say the 3 mile journey between Kings Cross and Paddington if that makes any sense whatsoever! As a northerner King's Cross is special because it marks both the start and finish line of my London trip!
I can definitely see that as a London Resident; The City of Westminster looks vastly different from outside Victoria Rly STN to say Cambridge Circus despite being only a
@@wclifton968gameplaystutorials you seem to be the stereotypical person from London who needs to make sure everyone knows they’re from London. Boooooring.
About three years ago, I took a taxi from Waterloo to Euston. Came to about £12. Quite reasonable I thought, I was expecting more like £18 - 20. Gave the driver £20 anyway.
I was working in London yesterday. I collected a load in Manchester on Wednesday PM for delivery at 8am yesterday morning at UCL School of Pharmacy on Brunswick Square. Delivered at 8.30am and then got told by my boss to find somewhere park in a 26t wagon. I cant remember the whole route I took to get in. I remember going over an under pass and down Gower Street and around Russel Square. After I left, I did drive past the Great Ormand Street Hospital twice as I had to come back out that way after a loop around. I ended up going up Bloomsbury Street aimlessly driving to find somewhere to park for a break and wait for a return load. Ended up parked opposite Aldi Local on the Kilburn High Road before getting a 'return' job from Erith upto Paisley near Glasgow.
I am jealous of people that take a trip like paddington to kingscross in a taxi. spending £15 when the tube is £2.50. the journey to the taxi ranks is not much further than hauling your bags to the tube
As a disabled person using the underground is pretty hard to do. You also learn a lot from a good taxi driver who are always friendly and very helpful.
Fair enough when people ask directions but there has been numerous times when I’ve been flagged down simply to be asked directions then you see two or three cabs overtake you
I think the question where all asking is make a video that shows what you make during each stop like on a average day and Mayb do a counter on the side of the screen
Thank you for your fantastic content Tom, was you apart of the cabbies all lined up along the mall yesterday in respect for the queen? Looking forward to the next video mate
I recently discovered your channel Tom and as a northerner in Scotland who loves visiting London and is fascinated by this great city, I really enjoy your videos. All the best, Doug.
TfL also lists the proper tariffs used by the meters on their site. The actual lengths and times per 20p increment are very weird. Don't know what units if any they are meant to be in to give round numbers.
Just FYI: if your doctor works at a state hospital, their salary is often a public record, so you can find out state paid salaries fairly easily. My state has a website for every public employee from janitor or road worker all the way up to the governor or college president.
Saw you the other day at traffic, said hello and how you looked tired haha maybe you remember, will probably see you again as I’m a motorcycle courier in london. Hopefully can take a pic next time!
I like the luxury of taking a taxi, but, for me, as a single person, it is very expensive! Tom, I have watched your video about the cost of running a cab, and I do not for one moment think that you earn too much from the metered fare. Every penny you earn is well-earned and well-deserved. But to spend £15 - £18 (about one-third of my average supermarket bill) to get from Paddington to Kings Cross, when I can travel free on the bus (I have a national bus pass, being over pensionable age), would feel like an unwarranted waste of money, unless I were in a great hurry and could not spare the time even to take the tube. Sorry, this is a bit of a pointless comment, but I do want you to appreciate that, much as I love taking a taxi, and much as you deserve the money, I simply can't afford to do it at all often!
In twenty years of living and visiting in greater London, I can remember every trip in a London taxi because it was such a rare occurrence. If you're a broke student, a low-paid worker commiting, or anybody transiting London on your own to get a train or plane, a taxi is definitely an expensive luxury. I can't even remember a time I was traveling with 5 other people that would bring the price down.
i love the london taxi service cos they're so professional and knowledgeable - easily the best taxi service in the world, and i've lived in NY, tokyo, Berlin, Geneva, HK and singapore and they are all sh1t compared to Ldn but do tourists ever complain about the prices? i took a london black cab from heathrow to my home in SW Ldn ( treated myself cos it was a business trip on expense account) and the fare cost £100! i know you guys are good but do people ever say the prices are mental? you have to expect competition to arise from uber etc when prices are so high..god bless and be lucky.
Always found the London taxi drivers to be friendly and helpful and prices were not as bad as I thought. Ubers etc are cheaper, but You get what you pay for
@@b34rdy monday to friday most of out jobs are withing 2 miles . Weekend night surrounding areas maximus make 30 quid for 12 miles . Last year working 30 hours could do a grand a week doing nights . Now demand has gone and private hires are pretty much dead in water.
@@harrysmith5353 pretty much the same up here, now that the festival has finished and the schools are back. i did have a good summer though so cant really complain.
Now compare London cabs to ones in "Not in London but probably should be" such as those in Epsom & Ewell Borough Council or Slough District Borough Council
I always get a cab when I'm travelling through London. I have a phobia of the Tube and hate the business. So getting a cab between stations just takes the stress out of it.
In the Manchester cab game, cabs generally start between 06.00 and 07.00 then 17.00 to 18.00 if you share a cab. I notice you start at what we would call the quiet period(afternoon)is this just because you find this fits into your life style or do you actually think it’s financially better?
Hi Tom lovin the vid. I have a a question for you: I have watched recently the Ep1S1 of Sherlock and there is a taxi-chase scène (at min 52) in soho. Do you find this scene credible ? did the taxi take an optimal route ?
It nice to know what started price is and it nice that driver let person know what idea end price might be. I also you can not say I earned this end a day and say I earned this in one week. The only way to say it is taking a week or month times by 52 weeks or 12 months. To get idea what going be for whole year not including expenses.
Hi Tom. Can we expect in the next little while a video from you along the lines of "What was it like being a taxi driver in London during the events for our very dearly departed Queen"?
Thanks, it's a great idea but sadly I haven't captured the events despite a lot of changes to how I drive in London. I will be with the Magical Taxi Tour this weekend so will also be unable to capture this weekend.
I've gotten in a black cab once in my life and watching that price ticker tick up the whole journey and not knowing what it's going to finally cost was the most anxiety inducing thing in my life. I never rode a black cab again after that. Judge me how you will.
I would use a black cab if I needed to and would pay the fare happily but I would feel obliged to tip which I resent as no one ever tips me in my job. So if it came to £13.20 I feel that the driver would expect £15 at least and I’d feel bad for giving exactly £13.20
Not at all. Getting paid the legal amount on the meter is fine. It took me a while to figure out why people tip. And it’s not necessarily because of the service. It is a trust token. Because I provide the goods/service up front, and then the customer pays at the end. It’s a way of returning the trust. A bit like paying your barber after a haircut. Or paying the bill in the restaurant after you’ve eaten.
See you today at Heathrow mate with your GF , so thought best not to approach you, I was the dodgy looking guy with the cap on 🤣..anyway keep up the good content
Takings? On average - hours worked, taken fares = per week and/or month? And decuctions explaianed to give a true overall figure? No smoke and mirrors Tom.
"Taxi" de app de Luton a hotel Riu centro Londres me costó 70£,sin embargo del hotel llamado por recepción un Black Cab a aeropuerto Luton mismo horario que el anterior 154£+5'30£🤷🏽♂️creo que me estafaron de mala manera.Me podrían resolver la duda?y a quien podría reclamar (fecha 18/12/2023
Hi Tom I hope you are doing OK I went to London in the summer for 3 days I went to central London I so lots of black cabs I just didn't see you in them hopefully when I come next time with my mum and dad borther and sisters I can jump in your cab and get RU-vid fan discount🎉. I know that you are blackout driver but what app based company do you work for.
Back around 1970, I worked as a computer operator in Throgmorton Avenue and if things went wrong I’d take a cab from the Royal Exchange to Clapham Junction because the Drain had stopped running. The fare on the meter was usually a bit less than eight bob, so a 10/- note covered it, keep the change.
Tom, would like a video about you chatting about induced demand. For example London is making it worse for drivers so people chose not to drive. This will effect taxi drivers and construction workers but benefits The whole population by having cleaner air. I realise you have some bias as it’s your job but would like to know what you think about it. Cheers
Tom, do you ever do pickups from stadiums after football? Leaving White Hart Lane Weds night and looking to go a few miles west of there still in Zone 3, I was dying for a black cab to save me from the rain but I can never get any joy on the apps or see one for hire. I really try to avoid Uber but it does seem harder to get a cab once you’re outside central London. Heading to the stadium cabs on the apps often cancel on me after initially accepting. Maybe 2.5 miles to Tottenham isn’t long enough journey for them if they’ve got to come and get me first near Turnpike Lane. Cheers
P.s. love your vids - if I ever get you as my cabbie in central I’ll be giving you a huge tip for the hours of entertainment and learning these vids have given me!
Tom I must say I am prob not one of black-cabs customers, but I do enjoy your videos. But considering how spacious those cabs are got me wondering: - how much suitcases does a black cab accommodate with two passengers. - can a toddler travel in his travel buggy locked or does he need to be taken off the buggy and put in a car seat?
Love your videos! I live in Battersea (SW11) area and barely ever see black cabs! Do you often come down south west? Would love to have a journey with you one day! Cheers.
Hey Tom, do you ever come across issues when you wish to charge the taxi. I would expect you know lots of hidden gems that I expect you won't share! I probably do the same mileages some days in central as you would as a protection driver, it's only now I've decided to take out a Polestar 2 to arrive in January that I'm starting to engage my brain in the attention to detail of smart places to consider, what with time of day and of course going after the same chargers like everyone else on the road in need of charge. I see some cabbies who like a spot by modern hall park which is a way out by south Wimbledon but yeah, I get their intentions, just interested to know your approach to the charging situation out there 👍
Mobility issues. Large cases. Business. Multiple people sharing the trip. People who don’t want to deal with the chaos of London. I never understood why 3+ people would take a taxi to the Heathrow express. It’s generally cheaper and more convenient to take a taxi all the way
I get the fares for taxi's but surely from paddington to King's Cross. Just take the Hammersmith and City line for less than a fiver? Seems strange to pay X3 to get there. Convenient yes, but worth the money? Dont get me wrong, when I used to arrive to Kings cross and want to go to Shoreditch the cab was the man, rather than tube to Old street and walk but paddington to Kings cross is connected. Love the Vids and been a fan for a while but am I wrong?
If you have 5 other people the fare of the tube gets more expensive than a cab .. even if you’re a singular person a lot of times it’s expenses towards the company and not necessarily out of pocket
I have a question: Say you happened to be working a late night on a weekday around 11:30pm. Would you take a fare of Old Street (just off the roundabout) to Chiswick. Reason I ask, A good Few Years Ago (around 2012), I was trying to make that journey, and tried hailing cabs, and not one would accept the fare.
Unfortunately there are some drivers who are selfish and like to pick jobs. Which they shouldn't be doing. City rd to Chiswick is a great job. You obviously found a driver only wanting to get a job going the way of home.
