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?

My biggest problem is the dangerous cowboy private hire cars I get given every week. I think all taxis should meet the same standards, same as Hackney cabs.

Including route knowlage

@viques no. Having botox in your face by someone qualified versus unqualified is not the same as whether someone has the 'knowledge' or can read satnav directions. Idiot.

I think all taxis should meet the same standards, same as Hackney cabs.

Yep that's about right the whole Taxi/ private hire thing needs modernising and an overhaul.

Everyone praising the black cabs for that rare and highly intelligent / laudable quality that enables them to have a sense of direction and learn maps - does it ever occur to you that they might use that to their advantage? Ever had a 5 minute journey take 20 minutes? And cost more? Plenty of other black cab users have

Satnav and google maps are NOT superior to proper local knowledge. Just like having to type and search how to do your job is, at best, second rate!

Do you want cops checking the law on Wikipedia next?!

I don't live in London but prefer black cabs. They are only a couple of pounds dearer. They are safer, more comfortable, cleaner, the driver knows where they are going, they are easy to get, they are good for wheelchair users and pushchairs and also allow dogs. They also have a meter on full display that you cannot miss!

All round a much better service.

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

But you seem to be almost totally London-centric. As I have previously said, lots of rural places have a huge postcode area and it is hard to find exact places from a postcode only. Often sat-navs send drivers ridiculous routes just to save 5 minutes off the journey.

Also, not everywhere outside of London has good public transport and Addison Lee (I had to google who they were as they do not operate in my area.) so options can be more limited.

Wow userlavender, aggressive or what? If you take time to read my post you will see that I am saying that having Botox by a qualified INSURED person, in a place that is clean and comfortable is a better experience than having it done in an potentially unsafe environment by someone who has limited qualifications and probably no insurance .

I suggest you go and dab a bit of that lavender on ASAP and inhale. All this aggression can't be doing your blood pressure any good at all.

@52 i've never seen a black cab in a rural area of london. Only a minicab - local ones. Which I have used with no problems.

Minicabs aren't always less expensive. Where I lived in South London, black cab was cheaper to go to or from the centre of London. (But could rarely get one to go in, sadly).

Uber themselves are pretty scummy, but that type of technology is a big improvement on regular mini abs or hailing a black cab. It's going to takeover and we need to think about if and how we ensure we don't lose anything in the transition.

I do love the shape of black cabs though. I always love riding in them when I come back to London.

Uber doesn't even give you the option for disabled or pushchair access. At least at normal minicab companies you can call to request it. Whereas all black cabs have it as standard. Uber needs to step up - at the moment it's not working for the people who need taxis the most and definitely doesn't work for it's employees.

@viques your comparison was stupid. Not aggressive just - stupid. Sorry!

@boombooms yes i think it will take over. Eventually - but i have never used uber as greyball made me uncomfortable. If they sort themselves out i will try them i think!

No User it's you who is the daft idiot. And I'd be incredibly surprised if you don't live under a bridge.

Ps you save time by knowing what you are doing, not having to search and read instructions

Admittedly I don't use cabs all that often, but would choose a black cab any day. Having a satnav is not the same as having The Knowledge, and can easily be distracting in traffic for someone who doesn't know the road, never mind how to get around temporary congestion/hold-ups etc.

@triptrap thanks for the tip xxxxx good to know - don't know how i ever got my 80k job without it!

And yes i could afford black cabs if i wanted to, but the majority of londoners and my customers can't - and i think that's wrong. And still thought it was wrong when i was younger and skint.

Haven't read the full thread, so I apologise if I'm repeating what anyone has said.

Black cabs do not 'fleece' the public, as you so aptly put it.
The fares that Licensed Black Taxis charge are regulated by TfL. If you have an issue with how much they cost then you're best complaining to TfL directly, the drivers themselves have no say in the matter.

Taxi Drivers study for YEARS, often whilst doing multiple other jobs, to ensure that they are at a fully equipped with the knowledge they need to gain their badge.
They put in an incredible amount of time, effort and money. Going by your OP you don't seem to have used a Black Cab, an therefore have never seen them using the information the worked amazingly hard to learn. Who are you to rubbish the Knowledge as irrelevant?

@nettleelf i'm a consumer and i think the knowledge is rubbish. I'm not interested - i want black cabs gone. As do many other people - i'm entitled to my view. Yes i have used black cabs - no i don't like them. I refuse to give them my business. Was interested to hear what people think / who their target market is. Which i have now found out - on here anyway.

Also don't you think it's stupid to study for years when you don't need to? Not kind of redundant? I'm sure there are better things they could be doing - technology has made their knowledge pretty pointless. I can't get past that but others seem to think different

@52 i've never seen a black cab in a rural area of london.

But I was not talking about London, rural areas or not. I was talking about other places in the country, where sat-nav is not reliable (some places don't even have a signal so sat-nav fails) and where other forms of public transport are unreliable. You do realise that black cabs exist outside of London don't you?

www.spectator.co.uk/2014/02/the-case-against-london-black-cabs/

@52 i do - i've just never seen one. In the last month i have been in tunbridge wells and birmingham and i never saw one. Thank GOD.

Andrewofgg the meters are set at the price the cab drivers are to offer.
If a driver was to fiddle with the meter, even to make the fare cheaper, it would land them in a lot of hot water.