Bargaining with taxi drivers?

StumpyPumpy

simmed wrote: »

If he says no then it's his loss and he can carry on driving around waiting for another customer.

Just to say that if he is "driving around waiting for another customer" that would imply that he is either a) a black cab or b) an unlicensed taxi, as legally, only black cabs are allowed to take fares off the street and a licensed taxi would be parked up somewhere. If they are a black cab, then as stated by upsadaisy, their fares are set and regulated by the local council. They risk getting their license suspended if they "go off the meter". If they are an unlicensed taxi, taking fares off the street, well good luck to you if you get into one, you might manage to get out of it at your desired destination with wallet and health (and virtue) intact, but it is not a given.

Good luck working your way down a taxi rank for the best price too. I once watched someone I worked with being refused from the front cab (not because of haggling, but because he was an obnoxious b...) and none of the other cabs would even talk to him. Taxi ranks can be very tribal, and it is not funny to be left high and dry at 3am in the middle of a city you don't know. (Well it was for us, as we waved goodbye, but not for him)

If you are calling/visiting a taxi office, state you want to go from a to b for £x at the outset. They may do it, they may not or they may contact the drivers and ask if any are willing rather than just take the next off the roster; and they may come back with a counter offer. If you are waiting at a taxi rank (say after a club has kicked out) ask if any people also waiting want to share - getting 5 in a cab will give you a much better discount than any amount of haggling to get a cab on your own or with one other.


SP

Gillyx

Normally haggle if its 3am and I wanna get home, I've been charged between £15 and £35 for the same journey, if the first is making a profit surely the second is daylight (or night time ) robbery!

escortg3

I always ask each taxi in the taxi rank line how much to X. I then go with the cheapest. Varies from £30.00 to £50.00.

Last night i learnt that if you get a taxi from the rank then you are charged on tariff 2. If you walk away from the rank and phone for a taxi you go on tariff 1. Making a massive saving. A taxi driver told me this yesterday.

simmed

escortg3 wrote: »

I always ask each taxi in the taxi rank line how much to X. I then go with the cheapest. Varies from £30.00 to £50.00.

Last night i learnt that if you get a taxi from the rank then you are charged on tariff 2. If you walk away from the rank and phone for a taxi you go on tariff 1. Making a massive saving. A taxi driver told me this yesterday.

Really? Some other posters like Stumpy seemed to say that doing this is not really possible.

flexrider

jenniewb wrote: »

Well don't bother coming to London then: bus journey no matter how far your going is £2.20, train fare even higher AND they don't take you direct to your doorstep,

YOu sure you aint from liverpool....:) same ere and its 1.90 for a single bus ride so 1.90 and 1.90 3.80 a day...your cheap up in london :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

6.00 quid not for a 20 min journey into cheshire from liverpool on train peak times 5.20 off peak!!! :mad: and teh underground system !!!!!!!!!



your often crammed in with a driver who is running ahead of time so likes to pause for up to 5 minutes per bus stop to slow down, then ends the service early, kicking everyone off..not to mention the litter, the chavs playing tinny music over their mobiles, not having a seat....

yep ur from round my way :T:T:T lol i hate that too.


I have no idea how much taxi fares are in London but would say that they offer a service and no one is forcing anyone to hitch a ride, by all means request a lower fare but remember its not an obligation to offer you the service they do, so if your not happy with the cost its a matter of looking elsewhere and not feeling hard done by as a result.

there a better way for the op: Learn to drive or buy a car: expensive but rewarding in its own merits?

Mk14:37

jenniewb wrote: »

Well don't bother coming to London then: bus journey no matter how far your going is £2.20,

You need to get an Oyster card!

SailorSam

I drove a Black Cab for 25yrs, it wasn't common for people to bargain but it happens quite often and whether you get away with it depends on, the time of day; day of the week; where the driver wants to go.
On a day shift the busy times are when people are going to and from work or school and if there's plenty of work you're unlikely to get a cut-price detail, Same thing of a night when the pubs and clubs are kicking out. But when a driver may only be sitting around he may take you. Similarly if the driver wants to go where his passenger wants to go, he may do a deal. Perhaps the driver wants to get back to his 'patch' after dropping a fare, and you'll take him in that direction, or perhaps the driver is finishing for the day and on his way home, if you got in going that direction he'd more than likely take less than the clock.

Dippypud

Mk14:37 wrote: »

You need to get an Oyster card!

Not always the best option...

http://www.visitlondon.com/travel/oyster/

Stigy

whatyadoinsucka wrote: »

licensed taxis are usually expensive so i always go to a taxi office and get a private hire,

I'd hope even the Private Hire firm you use is licenced...The difference is that private hire taxis don't use metres (or that's how it used to b e anyway...) and as such have either fixed rate fares or work it out according to mileage. I believe they'd still have to be licend by the local authority though. They're just not allowed to ply for trade at ranks etc though.

[Deleted User]

In my area, all the taxi rank taxis are on fares set by the council. Although they are just normal cars, not exclusively black cabs or anything. Best thing to do is to ring a private hire firm for a best deal rather than flagging one down on the street/taxi rank.