London Cabbie Etiquette
 

I am going to London in 23 days (Whee!) and I was wondering if there are any &quot;rules&quot; to remember when dealing with London cabs. I know to approach the driver and tell him where I want to go through his window and to pay him through the window after exiting, but are there any other things to remember? I live in the US Midwest and drive myself everywhere and don't have much experience with taxis, except a crazy cab driver I had once in Miami. <BR>Is it ok to engage the driver in conversation and ask questions? (After all, I am a tourist) I have heard that the British are more reserved than Americans and I don't want to seem pushy.<BR>Thanks for any help!

The real question is will you be able to get a word in edgewise. I've found the London cabbies to be very talkative and gregarious. It makes the trip a lot more fun.

Hi Allen<BR><BR>Actually, London cabbies are known for being talkative and opinionated - your main problem may be getting your driver to stop talking! :-) <BR><BR>Basically, start up a conversation if you want - you'll soon tell if the cabbie is chatty or not. <BR><BR>Re: tipping - it's not obligatory, but I usually round up to the nearest pound, and then put an extra pound or two on top (depending on how much the fare is).<BR><BR>Remember, if you hail a cab with it's light on, he is obliged to take you anywhere in central London - if you get any trouble (e.g. he refuses) you can write down his number and report him. On the whole though, cab drivers in London are excellent, so you shouldn't have a problem.

<BR>Dont worry London Black cap drivers are famous for their chat. In fact you might have problems shuting them up!<BR>They are a great source of information and most have strong views on both London, National and World politics. Use them as an educational resourse.

Could anyone give an estimate on what the cab fare would be from Pettycoat Lane to Kensington Palace? or other site designations that would give one an idea of what it might cost to &quot;splurge&quot; on a cab rather than deal with tube or bus on one's first day in London?<BR>Thanks<BR>

It would really depend on what time of day you're travelling &amp; how bad the traffic is. <BR><BR>Off the top of my head, I'd say about GBP15 - quite possibly more.<BR><BR>For getting around in the daytime, I'd really advise using the tube, esp since you could do the journey you mentioned on one line (the District line). Assuming it's not delayed the tube is generally the quickest/cheapest way of getting round.

I always talk to London cabbies. So intensely, sometimes, that I switch to 'the confessional' - the pull down seat by the little hole in the window - all the better to talk to him. <BR><BR>They're not all right wing racists. Most of them love to talk about their children, the hours they do, the traffic in London, congestion charging, and of course the weather. Some of them are grumpy and don't want to talk. I mean, obviously - they're just people.

The Cabbies we've encountered have been very talkative and make the ride more fun than one would expect. We always tip. Have a great trip!

My favorite cabbie took us from Edgeware Road to So Kensington, talking all the while about the Spice Girls and his daughters wanting to Be Spice Girls! It was quite entertaining.

As a Londoner, I've had too many rude, unpleasant taxi drivers and can't agree with this stereotype of the cheeky Cockney chappie in a black cab. <BR><BR>Even if you're female and struggling with luggage, most of them won't get off their fat backsides and help you. In a city which is 25% minority ethnic, virtually all of them are white men - they're one of the last bastions of institutional racism in London.<BR><BR>Watch out for the scam where they pretend they don't have any change, thereby trying to get you to round up say a &pound;16 fare to &pound;20. <BR><BR>A variation of this is to accept a large note, say &quot;Thanks Guv&quot;, and not offer any change. The bemused tourist is too embarrassed or confused to protest.<BR><BR>

Thanks, Julian; my experience with London cabbies is consistent with your portrayal. A quote from the Times, “ The truth is the capital's black cabs are a white working class mafia holding the capital, its hard working population to ransom. They have been granted a monopoly right to pick passengers up, and do their utmost systematically to abuse it. They are greedy, selfish and arrogant and ruthlessly achieve higher fares every year: every year the Pathetic Public Carriage Office and the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, give into their one-sided lobbying.”<BR>

From what I understand, London cabbies are required to attend a 2 year training course, learning the sites of London, their histories, and the city itself.<BR><BR>The few times I've availed myself of their service, I've been lucky enough to get a pleasantly gregarious cabbie, who was more than happy to chat about each site we passed, as well as his family, his 3 times he went through cabbie school (!), etc...<BR><BR>I say it would be a waste not to get into conversation with them.... they're trained for it! :D

Julian and ron, I sure am sorry to hear things have changed so much. One of my treasured memories is arriving in London some years ago for a trade show. In addition to my luggage, I had two large and VERY heavy bags filled with samples. <BR><BR>The black cab that took me across London from one train station to another was driven by a middle-aged white man. Not only did he help with my bags at both ends of the journey, he wouldn't take the extra pounds I tried to tip him for his trouble. What a gentleman!

London is the only city in the world where I have ever had a cab driver give me money back. He told me I had tipped him too much!

Every time I have taken a cab in London I have been treated so nicely by the black-cab drivers that one would think I was a personal friend. They help with the luggage and carry on good conversation and more than once have given me BACK money when they thought I had tipped too much. <BR><BR>They go through a rigid schooling and are thoroughly tested and are professionals. You have to be sure they are true registered black-cab drivers though.

There's a good article about London cabbies at http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlond.../cabbies.shtml

My husband and I are laughing at this as I read it as we have never had a cabbie that has spoken to us!

That is strange, I have a personal friend who just retired from driving a black-cab for most of his life, I know some of his black cab driving friends and they are fun-loving men who are proud of their jobs. I can't believe they wouldnt speak to you, unless lately they have lowered the standards for cab drivers.

We got tube passes for the week we were in London -- other than the tube or the bus, the only transport we took was a limo to the Eurostar (we were headed to Paris) from our hotel which, for some strange reason, we were never charged! (The front desk at the hotel arranged the pick up and when we started to pay, the driver said &quot;oh no, the hotel already paid...&quot; ) There was nothing extra on our hotel bill when the credit card statement came....

I will take London cabbies over those any place I've ever been, including my home of San Francisco (where they are awful). They are polite, helpful, full of good advice and interesting info and for some reason don't give me the creeps when they call me &quot;luv&quot;. I have had them admonish me for tipping too much and never had them try to shortchange me. <BR><BR>Three days ago in SF a taxi driver told me he didn't have change for $40 (the bill was $27) and to hurry up because he needed to get back to the airport since my trip was so short. Sorry, next time I guess I will just have to walk.