Taxi's in London
 

Does anyone know the approximate price for a taxi from Paddington to the So. Kensington area?
Thanks

normally £10-£12-ish but more if there is a lot of traffic. Also depends one where in S. Kens you are going.

Probably about £10, more in rush hour

BUT if youb are coming from LHR why aren't you just taking the Tube direct to South Kensington? total cost will be under £5 instead of over £20 per person

Because we have a free Heathrow Express pass.I know it is easy to take the tube I have done it several times before. I was just wondering about the price. Thanks for answering.

The plural of taxi is taxis. No apostrophe.



(Sorry. Pet peeve.)

I know this post if from a year ago but I have a similar question and didn't want to start a new topic.

How much would it cost to go from St. Pancras station to Earls Court? Also are there extra charger from more people and extra luggage?

"<i>How much would it cost to go from St. Pancras station to Earls Court?</i>"

A small fortune - they are all the way across central London from each other. At least £30. More in heavy traffic and more for extra luggage. How many people/how much luggage. If you pack sensibly you can hop on the tube at St Pancras and hop out 10 stops later at Earls court.

If one is arriving at St Pancras (and if they can't deal w/ the tube) Earls Court is about the last place I'd stay.

There are no charges for "extra" passengers or luggage in London.

BUT, taxis are limited in how much of either may be carried. Max 4 adults: max whatever will safely fit into the sum of the luggage area, the boot and in unoccupied passenger area space.

Which, in fairness, is more than most groups of four ever carry. A fifth person, though, CANNOT be carried and a separate cab must be hired.

St P - Earls Court is a classic example of the shortest route not being the fastest. The fast route (about 7.5 miles) is about 25% longer than the short route, but may well cost less since for journeys that length the fare (to simplify hugely) is 20p for every 95 metres or 20.4 secs, whichever is reached first. That'd average a bit over £30.

Thanks for the information. We are trying to figure out whether to take a taxi or use the car service that is offered throught our apparment which cost 50 euros.

There are 4 of us with 3 rolling duffle bags of luggage. I though it would be easier to take a taxis to the apparment then the tube because I don't think we could take all that luggage on the tube. Plus I don't think other people on the tube would like my faimly, who have never been to London trying to figure out where do go will all of our luggage.

Another factor is the long taxi lines. Arriving on a Friday afternoon at King's Cross (adjacent to St. Pancras) a couple years ago, we waited in a taxi line for 1.5 hours. TGhen it took us an hour to get across town to Sloane Square.

I wondered if the effect of the congestion charge had waned. But it was even busier on the weekend -- when the tube line was shut down and we had to take a bus.

Lindad17 There are times when making things easy is more important than doing the cheapest thing, this is probably one of them...

"<i> . . . which cost 50 euros</i>"

Is the car service €50 or £50? £50 is a lot -- €50 a bit less but still fairly pricey.

"We are trying to figure out whether to take a taxi or use the car service that is offered throught our apparment which cost 50 euros."

I would try paying a London taxi driver in Euros, you probably won't get the response you're expecting.

I made a mistake in my last post, I went and reread the email from the place in London. The company we went through also rent places in Paris and the car services is for Paris, not for London. My mistake, I know the in London its pounds which made me have to go reread the email again.

So are taxis easy to find at the station or difficult?

"<i>So are taxis easy to find at the station or difficult?</i>"

re-read mimar's post above >><i>Another factor is the long taxi lines. Arriving on a Friday afternoon at King's Cross (adjacent to St. Pancras) a couple years ago, we waited in a taxi line for 1.5 hours. Then it took us an hour to get across town to Sloane Square.</i><<

Now -- 1.5 hours would be worst case/exceptional. But when a Eurostar arrives -- that plus the regular Kings Cross arrivals-- you will have to queue for sure. And Sloane Sq is a shorter ride than to Earls Court.

If you are landing at Heathrow , try justairports.com . It is cheaper than HEX and a taxi if there are 2 or more people. I paid 55 GBP for a round trip transfer. If the 50 GBP your apt. is offering for a 1 way transfer, you are being ripped off/

""So are taxis easy to find at the station or difficult?"

You join the queue at St Pancras, not Kings Cross. The queue length is completely unpredictable.

Roughly 700 people get off a Eurostar at once- more than off any UK train, and far more than arrive at St P to get a train in a normal 10 minute period. How long it takes for them all to get a cab depends on:
- What proportion get a cab
- How many other trains arrive at more or less the same time
- How many cabs arrive, bearing intending passengers.

It's by no means rare to wait an hour to get to the front of the queue at major London stations, especially those like St P, Euston and Paddington with a high number of long-distance trains (by and large, pewak arrival times aren't the same as peak dedparture tiimes, so there's an inevitable mismatch: it's also by no means rare to find taxis waiting for you, even at what you'd normally think of as peak hours.

The total unpredictability of all this is why most of us just do the easy thing and get on a bus or tube.

4 people with 3 roller suitcases is not bad as long as you can handle lifting them onto the tube. People riding the tube are used to people getting on the tube with luggage at that station (especially the piccadilly line which I assume you will use as it doesnt require any changes and it also runs out to the airport so lots of luggage room), just remember some etiquette:

1. Know your route BEFORE heading to the tube
2. If you get confused or are walking slowly pull to the side to get your bearings so that others can get past
3. Dont stand in the doorway once you get on, alot of tubes have a spot beside the doors to put your luggage so tuck it in and ensure people can move around you
4. When you get on an escalator stand on the right with your bag behind you or in front of you so that people can still walk on the left side beside you
5. When you get off the escalator dont stop at the bottom to get yourself together, pull to the side out of other people's way

For the tube you may also need to carry those suitcases up or down shortish sets of stairs.