Any moneysavingish taxies in London

QQQ

In my home country there are plenty of ways to avoid expensive taxies. Are there any alternatives at reasonable price in London?

dzug1

Mini cabs tend to be cheaper - but they have to be prebooked. You cannot hail one.

And there's big red ones called buses.

richardw

Some mini cab firms operate journey prices from one post code to the other, so knowing post code boundaries can be useful, ie only going as far as the post code boundary and not over into the next post code area.

Buses are great in Central London.

estelle123

I must disagree with the mini cabs are cheaper comment,that's not true.Black cabs charge on a meter basis were mini cabs make up prices to suit.When u get into a black cab you are guaranteed that the driver is CRB checked ,insured,Hackney carriage reg and most important has the legal right to work in the uk.I know which one i would use.

Doshwaster

richardw wrote: »

Buses are great in Central London.

My favourite way of getting around central London is on foot. It's free often quicker than a bus or taxi.

dzug1

estelle123 wrote: »

I must disagree with the mini cabs are cheaper comment,that's not true.Black cabs charge on a meter basis were mini cabs make up prices to suit.When u get into a black cab you are guaranteed that the driver is CRB checked ,insured,Hackney carriage reg and most important has the legal right to work in the uk.I know which one i would use.

Well maybe it depends on the journey - but for longer rides (eg to Heathrow) a minicab will be much cheaper than a metered taxi. You do need to agree the fare before rather than argue about it after.

estelle123

You can also agree fare with a black cab,and no a mini cab is not cheaper to heathrow then a PROPER TAXI.

tronator

estelle123 wrote: »

You can also agree fare with a black cab,and no a mini cab is not cheaper to heathrow then a PROPER TAXI.

Are you a cab driver by any chance? Or why else are you "defending" them so vehement? According to http://www.worldtaximeter.com/london a journey from where I live to Heathrow costs about £55, the last time I used a minicab it was £25.

I always thought that the cab driver must switch on the meter before the journey. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/taxisandminicabs/taxis/1140.aspx says

"Fares for destinations outside Greater London may be negotiated between the passenger and driver before the journey"

In my eyes that implies that you can't negotiate the fare in Central London.

estelle123

I defend the legal registered insured Drivers of our fair city.I will only use black taxis as i feel safe in them.As i mentioned earlier mini cabs can be driven by ant tom,!!!!!! or harry using ant piece of sh*t they can get their hands on.

spiro

And don't forget the "Boris Bikes".

Moonchild

Some people are mental. Big Red Ken did us all a massive favour with removing unregulated cabs off the streets of London. All cabs i've taken in the last few years have been clean, in good condition, and very trustworthy (there is a large degree of safety in pre-ordering) - as long as you only take one with the necessary 'stickers' on the window.

Black cabs are great - but 30-50% more expensive than cabs for my standard journeys (typically the late night 4-5 mile runs from central / east London to oop north). So I mainly get minicabs. Use Addison Lee if you're worried.

spiro wrote: »

And don't forget the "Boris Bikes".

Along with walking is the clear winner!