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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Taxi journey - was I BU

69 replies

Bingowashisnameo · 08/12/2017 17:24

Got a taxi from local train station as I felt really unwell and couldn’t face the bus. It was 1.15 pm and the roads were quiet and there were no roadworks etc. It wasn’t booked I just got it in the taxi tank there.

The driver was going at 26 mph and the majority of the journey was through 40 mph zones. It was painfully slow. And for no apparent reason. There was a queue of traffic behind us. I’d had a crap journey both to the station at the start of my trip home And the train was late. I was in a shit mood so don’t know if what I did was plain unreasonable.

I asked the driver if he could speed up. He muttered and did for a bit and then went back to under 30:again. When we got to my street I commented that I’d never had such a slow journey and that I could only pay him £10 ( fair was £10.65 so not far off) as I’d never ever had to pay more for the same journey by the same firm and because (truthfully) I’d only got that much cash on me as I’d taken £10 out the atm to pay for the taxi. I sort of feel I was taking my irritability out on him now.

OP posts:
Migraleve · 08/12/2017 18:40

The company I use gives the price in advance, so it must be purely based on number of people and distance. However if that's not the norm then my idea was not practical. Companies can't give metered fares in advance. The meter does the calculations. The only way you can have a guaranteed price in advance is if it's a set fare.

ElephantsandTigers · 08/12/2017 18:41

YWNBU

I had a taxi pick me up from A & E. He tried to go the wrong way and when I pulled him up on it he flew over the speed bumps and hit a pot hole very fast. When I got home I left the cab without saying much and want dh out to pay. Some taxi drivers like to try and take the piss with lone females.

Migraleve · 08/12/2017 18:42

elephants. That's not even similar to the OP.

Bubblebubblepop · 08/12/2017 18:45

Lol at taking £1 in. Don't do anything so pathetic op, you'll look bonkers

Ermm · 08/12/2017 18:48

YAB sooooo Unreasonable.

ElephantsandTigers · 08/12/2017 18:48

He tried to lengthen my journey home to get more money. Similar enough to me.

FluttershysCutieMark · 08/12/2017 19:07

Unless you specify a particular route you want the driver to go when you get in then you can't moan about what route they take. I know a taxi driver who has had people argue with him at the end of a journey because they think he took a longer route, he usually hasn't, he has reasons such as less traffic lights or less traffic at particular times. Some people just think that a taxi driver would add 100m to a journey for that extra 20p.

Remember that a taxi is the drivers place of work and their livelihood, unnecessary miles means more wear and tear. I'm not saying that there aren't taxi drivers who take the piss but remember that drivers put themselves at risk a lot, especially when it comes to weekend driving and picking up drunk people.

cloudchasing · 08/12/2017 19:22

Of course there are bad ones, same as any profession. The vast majority of the drivers I work with are honest, hardworking and polite. And honestly, all they get is grief. Never a week goes by when one of them hasn't been attacked and/or racially abused. Makes me angry.

grannytomine · 08/12/2017 19:27

Roads have been icy/snowy some places today, where I live there have been alot of accidents and on the news they were asking people to avoid some places because of the traffic chaos the accidents had caused.

Perhaps he was being careful because the roads were icy? Might not apply as I know some parts of the country have been fine.

lazyarse123 · 08/12/2017 19:37

I used a taxi and got a quote from the radio operator of £10 and he said it wouldn't be any more than that. The fare was actually £13 but because I was alone I really didn't want to question it but it meant. I couldn't afford to make the return journey. Luckily a colleague offered me a lift otherwise I would have been stuck. So yanbu.

Migraleve · 08/12/2017 19:43

I used a taxi and got a quote from the radio operator of £10 and he said it wouldn't be any more than that.

Well unless it's a set price, the controller has no authority to do that. Metered fares can be estimated, but given the vast amount of contributing factors, they cannot be guaranteed.

LinoVentura · 08/12/2017 19:47

Lol at taking £1 in. Don't do anything so pathetic op, you'll look bonkers

If someone gave me a pound they owed me I wouldn't think it was pathetic.

Bubblebubblepop · 08/12/2017 19:52

Good for you. Not really relevant though?

SilverySurfer · 08/12/2017 19:58

YABU - even if the fare had only been £9.45 - you only took £10 with you so not even enough for a 10% tip so I think you are mean and stingy.

cloudchasing · 08/12/2017 19:59

If you've ever got an issue with the fare, phone the office. We will always try to help. That's why you're better off with private hire than just jumping in one on the rank.

LadyDeadpool · 08/12/2017 20:05

That's pretty shitty behaviour on your part OP, The taxi's I catch charge at £2.80 for the first mile and £1.40 for each mile after. They do have a resting charge but it's like 10p a minute. You owed the fare and you should have paid it, even in a restaurant if you dislike the service you need to take it up with management not short change on your bill.
If your fare had been less than the £10 I'm sure you would have expected your change.
Taxi drivers are self employed and have to pay a fee to the dispatch office which is based off the meter charges so you didn't just short change a company but a single working person at an expensive time of year too. Well done.

MissionItsPossible · 08/12/2017 20:22

I was actually going to give you the benefit of the doubt OP but then I read this!:

the fare going in the opposite direction 4 days earlier was £9.45. I suppose it could have gone up to £10.65 NannyOgg

Are you kidding me!? I thought you were going to say it's normally a £6.00 journey or something.

LinoVentura · 08/12/2017 20:44

Good for you. Not really relevant though?

Why isn't it relevant?The OP contacts the office, asks if they know who the driver was, and if they do then she takes in a couple of quid (money owed plus tip). It would be admitting she was wrong and making amends.

I've had to catch a lot of cabs over the years, and at least once I was a bit short so I got the driver to write his name down, then I took a couple of quid in to the office and gave it to the gent on duty, who swore the driver would receive it. So what if 2 pounds doesn't go far? It's the principle.

Tink2007 · 08/12/2017 20:50

£10.65 for 5.5 miles is a bargain. You should have told him you only had a tenner.

£7.75 for 1.4 miles from Bond Street to London Marylebone - I was nearly dying from the cost and would never have caught a cab had we not nearly missed our train.

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