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?

It's 'unbelievably thick' to learn something? What Just because it's rlectronically saved... there'd be no point ever learning anything then! As many PP have said, it's not just map learning.
They're not fleecing anyone. It's what they charge for the service they provide. I'd rather pay the extra and have the black cab every day of the week

tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/private-hire-driver-licence

I live in London I have the Uber app. It can show 200 cabs in 3 mile radius but if click on accesable cans it normal shows 4. That's usually one at airport and 3 going around mile in centre of town. Are they going click on accept my job to take me 2 miles down the road and back, from zone 5, no way!

I would always opt for licensed minicab over black cab.

I was offered a "bag of weed" from a black cab driver at the end of a journey. I said no and he offered me a ready rolled joint instead! I know that the Public Carriage Office has very strict rules and was amazed that he took this stupid risk.

He was your stereotypical black cabbie - middle-aged, over-weight, white, Kent accent. Made me feel really uncomfortable and I couldn't wait to get out of the cab.

I'd also rather go for someone who uses a satnav, as they can indicate where hold-ups are, in a way that a black cab driver wouldn't be able to.

satnav doesn't tell you things like which roads are almost guaranteed to be blocked at certain times of day

Google maps and all its serious competitors provide very up to date traffic information (roads are highlighted in red, orange or yellow for heavy, medium and light traffic, there are warnings on the map if there have been accidents or there are road works, etc.)

Technology really is a marvellous thing.

Good riddens to black cabs, the amount that refused to take me home to Dulwich made me hate them.

A modern sat nav with internet is far superior to the knowledge with all its live information.

I hope money grabbing black cabs die out, they are just used to have it easy for so long!

Death of black cabs would suit me fine - why not replace them with an affordable service? Come off it the people acting like the knowledge is some mystical skill. 'Oh dear no point learning anything then' - i don't learn something off by heart for work when i can type it in and look it up. The feigned shock is almost as irritating as the arrogance of black cab drivers

Yes yes to the people who understand that satnav and google maps are helpful. And superior.

I use black cabs, purely because I feel safer in one.

I would rather have a more expensive cab fare than not making it to my destination.

The amount of dodgy private cabs in my area is increasing all the time and I prefer to be safe.

With regard to new black cabs being £29,000 surely they can also be used when not cabbing i.e. as the family car. I object to getting into really old cabs and then being charged an extortionate rate for a journey. I understand that cabs will have to be off the road if they are over 15 years old now and about time too. So approximately £2,000 per annum which most people pay to get to work anyway.

I used to use black cabs around 10 times a week (for work mostly, could not afford that on my own dime!). However, since Uber happened we all use that instead.

There are clearly some great black cab drivers out there (the majority). But with surprising frequency - would say three to four times out of ten - one of the following happened:

• Massive sigh when realising my address is south of the river. Like they're doing me a favour. Or completely refusing to take me.
• Surly, then again massive sigh when I want to pay by card (one even wanted to take me to a cash machine - tax evasion, anyone?). I said no, of course.
• Racist/uncomfortable conversation, especially around the referendum. I look and sound English but I'm from an EU country. When I point that out, I either get awkward silence or borderline racist comments.

I will absolutely never get a black cab again for the above reasons. And for those talking about wheelchairs - my DH's brother has a severe disability, and very often black cab drivers would just ignore us and drive past (no hassle with ramps etc). Magically, that never happens when I'm on my own.

I regularly go to London and have used Uber many times. I've never had a bad experience and have had some good chats in an Uber cab. Its so much cheaper. Crazily cheaper than a black cab. Many of the drivers are desperate for their star rating that they go above and beyond. One had cans of pop and snacks for this passengers. I would use black cabs if they matched prices and had a similar user friendly app.

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

Why does visibility matter? One of the key distinctions that you seem to be missing is that public hire cabs are allowed to pick up off the street whereas private hire must be booked by phone/internet. Because public hire can pick up off the street there are tighter controls generally on the type of vehicle and the checks the driver must go through. If you don't want to use black cabs, just don't.

In my job my employer uses a private cab firm to ferry us the 30/40 miles back to depot at the end of a night. The company pays the black cab firm absolute peanuts. The cabbies struggle to do it for that price. But it's do it for that price or lose the contract to a competitor.

Anyway other the drivers and the cars are a lot to be desired. They often don't have a clue where their going. Directions can be difficult due to language barriers. The cars are not always in the state. They are often sleepy at 1/2am in the morning. One of my colleauges had to get a driver to pull over into the service station and then refused to go further as the driver kept falling asleep. Turns out the driver had been doing a full shift in a restaurant every night before driving taxis into the rest of the night. I had to give one of them a huge telling off for driving me 63mph though a tight 30mph residential street at 1am. We do sometimes get one guy who is brilliant and professional. He often dispairs of his fellow drivers.

My extensive weekly experiance is private cab drivers are often not very safe, especially in the early hours of the morning. You get what you pay for. Black cabs could never compete on a level playing field with a cowboy and satnav.

Should read company pays private cab firm peanuts*

Exactly - and that is not fair. Why can't minicabs wait at airport pick ups? Or outside stations? Why do black cabs with their contrary notions get to do this and NOT other valid vehicles? I want to be able to use other cabs at my convenience - i don't want to see black cabs everywhere unless i get out my phone to book a different car

Manchester

Manchester, where I was a regular taxi and mini-cab customer for years. The main problems were the few really bad tempered and unpleasant black-cab drivers and the even fewer stoned mini-cab drivers.

The best driver I've ever seen drove a mini-cab based in North Manchester. He was eastern European. Every manoeuvre was so clean and precise.

How can you demand cheapness for cabs? Unless you are disabled, they are not essential but a luxury.

I lived in London for 8 years, worked and went out all over the place. You can always get from A to B using the and bus and ....walking.

And maybe, on a night out, a cab home is nice (and safe, and dry) but surely that is still a luxury, not an essential. I used to hate mini cabs, still do, so many bad drivers who don't know their way around). Any time I have used a black cab, it has been worth the money IMO.

@1dad then taxis should be more regulated. Why is everything designed to allow black cabs to assert some unfounded notion of superiority?

They'll just need to knock their prices down to be competitive.
They work well for tourists not Londoners.
Uber do larger cars for wheelchair users btw.

@ruby i am not demanding cheapness - i am demanding a reasonable fare. Black cabs don't meet this requirement. And getting a cab isn't a luxury, or shouldn't be. The hospitality industry will inevitably lose out if uber for instance do lose their licence. I'm assuming you're all rich mums and have a cab fetish if you think getting a cab is a luxury and you've never been in a position where it would be better than a tube or a bus. What planet.

I would say yes let's regulate all taxis the same. The checks, standards of professionalism, standards of presentation and configuration of veichle type that allows for min of 5 people and a wheel chair etc. But then I think you'll find that will result in the end of cheap taxis.

Its a bit like choosing to have Botox done by some salesperson at a Botox party who has has 6 hours training and going to have it done at a proper clinic where you are paying for their training, their experience, their insurance and a better , cleaner more comfortable atmosphere.

Using a sat nav is not the same as knowing where you are going!

Satnavs are so fantastic and reliable that the ambulance using one to to pick up my seriously ill grandmother in an emergency went to the wrong place.

Genuine knowledge of an area still beats technology.