7 ms·

More UK cabs need to start allowing cars payments. Instead they use their local monopolies to force cash use and under declare taxable income.

Aethelwulf 9y ago
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/accepting-card-payments https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/accepting...
- microcolonel 9y ago
  If the anecdote and the law are both accurate, then that certainly goes to show exactly how effective all those stringent regulations are. It seems like this one would be simple to check.
  - foldr 9y ago
    You can just refuse to pay any other way except by card. There is not much a black cab driver can do in response to that, since they are now not even allowed to be on the road accepting customers if they don't have a working card machine.
    - microcolonel 9y ago
      Can you? I would think common law would take precedence over taxi regulations.
PaulRobinson 9y ago
All London black cabs must take card payments. If their machine isn't working, they're not allowed to be on the road.
- vixen99 9y ago
  And that applies to tips?
  - lmm 9y ago
    "Tips" are not a thing for London taxis. It's not the US, the price is the actual price.
    - Jaruzel 9y ago
      Well you kinda do... If he's done a good job (direct route, not taken the piss, been polite) then the custom is to round up the fare to the nearest £1.
  - abbot2 9y ago
    It's England. You don't tip here.
    - jamiegreen 9y ago
      Apart from restaurants
      - orf 9y ago
        Not really, it's a service charge that in most places is charged for groups over a certain size (4 or 5). There is no culture of compulsory tipping for anything, because it's ridiculous.
        jamiegreen 9y ago
        My experience does not match what you are saying. I was always taught that (unless a service charge is already included) you should tip 10-20% in good restaurants. Not to tip I believe is generally seen as rude/a sign that service was bad.
        vertex-four 9y ago
- mittermayr 9y ago
  True, but not taken seriously by cab drivers. I've had many broken card machines in a black cab, and when challenged, it almost always lead to a, "alrite, get out mate" — or a, "well I can try if it works again, it didn't earlier..." I didn't report them, and with their ongoing nonsense and this now, I'll definitely make sure I will from here on forward.
  - nailer 9y ago
    I have the same experiences.
  - PaulRobinson 9y ago
    You absolutely 100% must report them. Seriously. Every time. It's the only way we make it better for everybody. The requirement for it to always be available is a new one - it was introduced in recent months. So if your experience pre-date that, that behaviour may have changed. If it hasn't you absolutely 100% need to report the driver to TfL.
    - mittermayr 9y ago
      Was after October last year, I should've reported and will do so now. It's a bit intimidating to take a photo of the license, but I guess it's easier when outside the cab. Which is, again, one more thing I like about Uber, I open the app, and it's all there. If a driver takes a wonky route, I complain and don't need to proof it much and get into an argument with the driver, the evidence is there, I merely deal with customer support, and I always get my money back.
    - kodablah 9y ago
      > It's the only way we make it better for everybody. Not true. Alternatively, you can have competition and consumer choice which can also make it better for everybody. Not everyone wants to be a squeaky wheel on these things, nor should they be forced to.
    - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
      > It's the only way we make it better for everybody All the reporting in the world didn’t help my black friend hail a yellow New York City taxi. You know what did ? Uber exerting competitive pressure on the Taxi & Limousine Commission and its drivers.
salcoco 9y ago
"You wanna pay £8 with card? Really?" That's when I stopped using black cabs.
- lmm 9y ago
  "Yes", or if they make a fuss, report them - you've got their license number on the plate right in front of you, and actual accountability rather than an unaccountable star-review system.
  - mnx 9y ago
    Yeah, except most people won't bother. So it gives in fact less accountability.
    - vertex-four 9y ago
      If this is a problem, write an app that emails/faxes/whatever a report to TfL? Could even integrate some CV stuff to read a license plate number from the phone's camera. This is the sort of thing that takes large organisations a while to build, but could be a weekend project for an interested developer.
      - mnx 9y ago
        Still would need to be popularised to actually give any benefit (i.e. similar levels of accountability for minor shittinies as uber's ratings). people are lazy. Rating an uber takes seconds, and is built in to same app you need to order it. I am guessing many people don't rate anyway. Also, making an app that that does this well is NOT a weekend sized project.
  - tallanvor 9y ago
    Especially because the fees have been lowered specifically for taxis, so fees from the approved payment providers top out at like 3%.
  - aianus 9y ago
    Why would I pay more money for a higher chance of getting into an argument with some asshole cab driver instead of using Uber, saving money, and avoiding the hassle entirely?
overcast 9y ago
Had a terrible experience my first trip to London with black cabs. Headed to Heathrow express, late for flight as it is, He tells me 3/4 of the trip through, no cabs accept credit. We pull up to a stop light, and a cab directly to our left, has "we accept credit" on the window. So now I'm sitting here driving around with the cab guy to find an ATM at 5am just to pay him.
- throwaway287391 9y ago
  I've learned to always, ALWAYS ask when I first step into a cab whether they accept card payments, anywhere in the world. As far as I can remember, every time I've done this the answer has always been "yes" and the card payment worked without a hitch at the end of the ride. Yet just about every time I took a cab without asking about cards upfront, the driver would tell me his reader isn't working and he'd have to drive me to an ATM. Funny how conveniently finicky those readers are...
  - jackvalentine 9y ago
    Many places (check in advance!) require the driver to be upfront if their card reader isn't working or you're not obligated to pay. It's amazing how those finicky card readers miraculously start working when you say 'oh well, too bad I guess' and step out of the car!
    - throwaway287391 9y ago
      That's a great strategy too if you know the law is on your side and are bold enough to pull it off. But I'm pretty non-confrontational (even when dealing with people I know are trying to cheat me) and when I take a cab I'm usually in an unfamiliar place where I didn't have the foresight to check on the cab regulations beforehand, so I'm going to stick with mine :)
  - realityking 9y ago
    In Berlin it's now illegal for them to transport passengers if their card reader is not operational. Drivers have still pulled the ""my reader doesn't work" on friends.

Aethelwulf 9y ago

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/accepting-card-payments https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/accepting...

microcolonel 9y ago
If the anecdote and the law are both accurate, then that certainly goes to show exactly how effective all those stringent regulations are. It seems like this one would be simple to check.
- foldr 9y ago
  You can just refuse to pay any other way except by card. There is not much a black cab driver can do in response to that, since they are now not even allowed to be on the road accepting customers if they don't have a working card machine.
  - microcolonel 9y ago
    Can you? I would think common law would take precedence over taxi regulations.

PaulRobinson 9y ago

All London black cabs must take card payments. If their machine isn't working, they're not allowed to be on the road.

vixen99 9y ago
And that applies to tips?
- lmm 9y ago
  "Tips" are not a thing for London taxis. It's not the US, the price is the actual price.
  - Jaruzel 9y ago
    Well you kinda do... If he's done a good job (direct route, not taken the piss, been polite) then the custom is to round up the fare to the nearest £1.
- abbot2 9y ago
  It's England. You don't tip here.
  - jamiegreen 9y ago
    Apart from restaurants
    - orf 9y ago
      Not really, it's a service charge that in most places is charged for groups over a certain size (4 or 5). There is no culture of compulsory tipping for anything, because it's ridiculous.
      - jamiegreen 9y ago
        My experience does not match what you are saying. I was always taught that (unless a service charge is already included) you should tip 10-20% in good restaurants. Not to tip I believe is generally seen as rude/a sign that service was bad.
        vertex-four 9y ago
mittermayr 9y ago
True, but not taken seriously by cab drivers. I've had many broken card machines in a black cab, and when challenged, it almost always lead to a, "alrite, get out mate" — or a, "well I can try if it works again, it didn't earlier..." I didn't report them, and with their ongoing nonsense and this now, I'll definitely make sure I will from here on forward.
- nailer 9y ago
  I have the same experiences.
- PaulRobinson 9y ago
  You absolutely 100% must report them. Seriously. Every time. It's the only way we make it better for everybody. The requirement for it to always be available is a new one - it was introduced in recent months. So if your experience pre-date that, that behaviour may have changed. If it hasn't you absolutely 100% need to report the driver to TfL.
  - mittermayr 9y ago
    Was after October last year, I should've reported and will do so now. It's a bit intimidating to take a photo of the license, but I guess it's easier when outside the cab. Which is, again, one more thing I like about Uber, I open the app, and it's all there. If a driver takes a wonky route, I complain and don't need to proof it much and get into an argument with the driver, the evidence is there, I merely deal with customer support, and I always get my money back.
  - kodablah 9y ago
    > It's the only way we make it better for everybody. Not true. Alternatively, you can have competition and consumer choice which can also make it better for everybody. Not everyone wants to be a squeaky wheel on these things, nor should they be forced to.
  - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    > It's the only way we make it better for everybody All the reporting in the world didn’t help my black friend hail a yellow New York City taxi. You know what did ? Uber exerting competitive pressure on the Taxi & Limousine Commission and its drivers.

salcoco 9y ago

"You wanna pay £8 with card? Really?" That's when I stopped using black cabs.

lmm 9y ago
"Yes", or if they make a fuss, report them - you've got their license number on the plate right in front of you, and actual accountability rather than an unaccountable star-review system.
- mnx 9y ago
  Yeah, except most people won't bother. So it gives in fact less accountability.
  - vertex-four 9y ago
    If this is a problem, write an app that emails/faxes/whatever a report to TfL? Could even integrate some CV stuff to read a license plate number from the phone's camera. This is the sort of thing that takes large organisations a while to build, but could be a weekend project for an interested developer.
    - mnx 9y ago
      Still would need to be popularised to actually give any benefit (i.e. similar levels of accountability for minor shittinies as uber's ratings). people are lazy. Rating an uber takes seconds, and is built in to same app you need to order it. I am guessing many people don't rate anyway. Also, making an app that that does this well is NOT a weekend sized project.
- tallanvor 9y ago
  Especially because the fees have been lowered specifically for taxis, so fees from the approved payment providers top out at like 3%.
- aianus 9y ago
  Why would I pay more money for a higher chance of getting into an argument with some asshole cab driver instead of using Uber, saving money, and avoiding the hassle entirely?

overcast 9y ago

Had a terrible experience my first trip to London with black cabs. Headed to Heathrow express, late for flight as it is, He tells me 3/4 of the trip through, no cabs accept credit. We pull up to a stop light, and a cab directly to our left, has "we accept credit" on the window. So now I'm sitting here driving around with the cab guy to find an ATM at 5am just to pay him.

throwaway287391 9y ago
I've learned to always, ALWAYS ask when I first step into a cab whether they accept card payments, anywhere in the world. As far as I can remember, every time I've done this the answer has always been "yes" and the card payment worked without a hitch at the end of the ride. Yet just about every time I took a cab without asking about cards upfront, the driver would tell me his reader isn't working and he'd have to drive me to an ATM. Funny how conveniently finicky those readers are...
- jackvalentine 9y ago
  Many places (check in advance!) require the driver to be upfront if their card reader isn't working or you're not obligated to pay. It's amazing how those finicky card readers miraculously start working when you say 'oh well, too bad I guess' and step out of the car!
  - throwaway287391 9y ago
    That's a great strategy too if you know the law is on your side and are bold enough to pull it off. But I'm pretty non-confrontational (even when dealing with people I know are trying to cheat me) and when I take a cab I'm usually in an unfamiliar place where I didn't have the foresight to check on the cab regulations beforehand, so I'm going to stick with mine :)
- realityking 9y ago
  In Berlin it's now illegal for them to transport passengers if their card reader is not operational. Drivers have still pulled the ""my reader doesn't work" on friends.