To not understand the point of black cabs now?

[Userlavender]

Aside from all the uber controversy (i use addison lee and local minicabs) can someone please tell me - what is the point of black cabs in 2017?!

They are insanely expensive, surely the knowledge is irrelevant now that everyone has satnav and they love going the long way round to get extra £££? This has happened to me a few times. Cab to the airport using my local minicab which sends driver details and tracking is £18. With a black cab the estimate is 'about £80'. Surely they are no longer sustainable due to prices? Am I missing something? Who are all these people who pay black cabs their ridiculous prices?

Isn't that the beauty of a free market? You can pay for all the superior benefits, convinience of a Black Cab and the added safety or you can pay far less and get some person with a car and a sat nav. It is your choice.

@1dad it's irritating though - other cabs can't use bus lanes or park at airport pick up points. Black cabs bully consumers to choose them - they demand first refusal

Sat nav may show the way or quickest route but this isn't always the case.the black cab driver is more likely to know that xxxx road at 4pm is a nightmare and to go xxxx road 500metres extra distance but 10 mins less sat in traffic. Black cabs knowledge is excellent and they are very professional.

@sunnydays do you trust them though? The few times i've used them they have gone the longest way possible on a route they thought i didn't know in order to secure a higher fair.

Black Taxi fares are set by the Hackney carriage office, which is part of Transport for London, which in turn is run by the London Assembly. The cabbies don't set their own rates. Everything TfL runs is too expensive.

I am guilty of using Uber but I do use Addison Lee more. In my London, Black cabs are for tourists and people who can afford them, like lawyers, bankers and businesses people. It IS unfair that black taxis are the only private hire option tof wheelchairs and until TfL cut the fares, people with extra needs will get fleeced.

@heathen i fully agree

My father run a hackney cabs company for over 40 years, the prices for licencing, plating, testing, insurance the list was endless was so expensive the last few years before he retired, it costs a lot to run a black cab firm today with all the new rules & regulations, hence why the councils set the high tariffs for fares now x

it's unbelievably thick to learn something off by heart when it's already saved electronically for you. That's what i think anyway

Sat-Navs tend to need a post code though. You don't always have that to hand. I was on holiday (in the UK) once and had to go to the local hospital as an emergency. When they discharged me I decided to get a mini cab back to my accommodation. The driver was relying on Sat Nav and asked for the postcode. After some faffing around on the internet I found it, but because it was on a farm the postcode did not take you right to the entrance of the accommodation. The driver then kept asking me where he had to go, I did not know as I was not local to the area - nor was he. It took ages of driving around (which he charged me for) before I vaguely recognised somewhere and managed to direct him. By the time I got out of the cab the fare was probably the same as if I had taken a black cab but the driver would have had the local knowledge to get me home much quicker. So Sat- nav is good if you have postcode which takes you to the exact place you want to go, and if you can step in and direct the driver if needs be.

Also, if they invest so much money in their vehicles and travel experience - is there any particular reason why only some of them have card payment method installed / accepted?

Black cabs knowledge is excellent and they are very professional.

I've only used black cabs maybe 5 times in the past 5 years so my anecdotal evidence is not statistically significant, but out of those 5 times the driver took me the wrong way twice and a third time he only got there because I was on the ball and told him which turn to take. So either their knowledge wasn't quite so excellent or their professionalism was debatable.

I am an Uber supporter but black cabs have a place. If I ever take a cab I am never paying (clients would be and I need someone instantly - quicker than Uber who speaks very good English) so cost is not an issue. Also I don't often use a mobile telephone and nor do loads of people. My neighbour does not even have a computer or use email.

@52 i think 99% of places in non rural areas you can google a postcode so i still don't understand the appeal of the black cabs. They leech fares from people - they make a living at the expense of normal Londoners looking for a safe and affordable transport option which we currently don't seem to have

Black cabs are a huge rip off. Coming back from Heathrow, drove through the traffic caused by a Chelsea match he knew nothing about, had to stop to use the toilet in a petrol station - costs me £75 with Addison Lee and the black cab was £100. Never, ever again.

Once when I was 8 months pregnant a cab with his light on refused to take me as I wasn't going in the direction he wanted ('on me way 'ome luv'). When I pointed out he wasn't allowed to do that he replied 'who the fuck do you think you are, the fucking police?' so yeah, not had a great experience hailing these wonderful cabs either.

BicyclesInBejing

Almost all cars autolock nowadays, whether black cabs or not. This is not a special black-cab only feature. Both my family cars do it. You can still open them from the inside, just not the outside.

So yes, the doors are usually locked in an uber car. You're not trapped in the car though.

The hackney carriage office sets the maximum fare - there is nothing to stop cabbies competing by offering less, and so they will have to to beat Uber or IRS successor.

Heathen4hire you are probably joking about feeling guilty about using uber but in fact you are encouraging innovation.

@oldie i have never used uber. I use addison lee or a local minicab. I accept that people aren't all computer literate or are in a hurry but if other licensed private cars were allowed some visibility on the roads then that would be fair to people who want a basic safe cab at a reasonable and fair price

satnav doesn't tell you things like which roads are almost guaranteed to be blocked at certain times of day. My brother used to get ridiculously excited about black cabs because you didn't really get them where we lived so presumably there's a tourist element to it. Also you can get 5 passengers in a black cab with enough leg room and sit talking to each other, you can only get 4 in a taxi and its more squashed.

I recently got off a train at Waterloo and since time was short for my appointment I jumped into a black cab. My destination was a very well known large hospital, and I was surprised that the driver asked me if I had a preferred route!
Obviously he wanted to know if he could get away with a longer route to charge more.

@sparklyunicorn that's fine but on the off chance that you might be getting a cab with less than 5 people at a time when there isn't much traffic - is it acceptable to pay a less than extortianate fare at that time? Also I'm sure addison lee and minicabs have people carriers that fit more than 4 people

There was a mini cab company near here doing airport runs and when the people returned from holidays they had been burgled. Not just one, but a regular thing.

I appreciate being able to stop a black cab in the street (to be told they won't go that way because they are clocking off and live in the other direction) but I do think they are a bit expensive. I prefer the fact that they have taken time to to the knowledge and are licensed rather than someone with a car that may or may not be a good driver, be insured, be roadworthy depending on who they work for.

@gladallover this - every single time. They are always the same.

Last time I used a black cab was 20+ years ago. He spent 20 minutes arguing with the bloke at Heathrow as the location I was going to was 1/2 outside the auto return to the front of the queue area. Bunch of robbing bastards. Uber all the way for me. Simple, safe, cheap used it across the world and it’s brilliant.

I've never had an uber driver say "Nah mate, I'm not going South of the river, I finish soon."
Black cabs (who are not meant to refuse) often get the ache about journeys away from thier preferred area.

I am really confused about this: people saying black cab drivers are 'licensed' - minicabs and addison lee are also licensed though?!

Well if you propose that all cabs are the same that leaves you with two options.

One, make all cabs conform to black cab standards and abillities and thus massively hike the price of cab rides for every one.

Or

Two, give every cab equal ability to pick up and use bus lanes etc. Lowering the standards for everyone because no way could a Black Cab with its costs and superior standards compete with a driver in a second hand car and satnav. If would be the death of the black cab. Unfortunate for wheel chair users, people who are concerned about standards/safety/safeguarding and the uk black cab manufacturing industry.

Either way you eventually reduce choice.