The: When Travelling By Taxi - Discussion

[jpod]

I had two funny taxi experiences. Lost in London I jumped in one gave the address he said nothing and he drove me 30 seconds around a corner and stopped outside the venue ......and my mate who inexplicably can't drive called a cab about midnight from my gaf..........taxi turns up and honks horn a few times........I went outside and shouted at him........ "why don't you make a bit more noise mate" through the car window.........then gleefully waved off my anxious mate as he started his 20-minute cab ride home with a ****** off driver!

 

[Jean-F]

I had two funny taxi experiences. Lost in London I jumped in one gave the address he said nothing and he drove me 30 seconds around a corner and stopped outside the venue ......and my mate who inexplicably can't drive called a cab about midnight from my gaf..........taxi turns up and honks horn a few times........I went outside and shouted at him........ "why don't you make a bit more noise mate" through the car window.........then gleefully waved off my anxious mate as he started his 20-minute cab ride home with a ****** off driver!

I had a similar experience to the 30 second ride, but not in a taxi.
Sometime in the mid eighties, I had been visiting a girlfriend in Manhattan, NYC, and was due to get a night flight from JFK back to London.
At this time, the JFK Express was running from mid town Manhattan to JFK, so I boarded at W57th St.
After being held up at a station in Queens for a while, the conductor announced that there was a train stuck in the tunnel ahead, and we’d be held there until another train could pull it out of our way.
Icy fingers clutched my heart, it’s one thing to miss a train, another one will come along eventually, but I doubted that Air-India would see it that way if I turned up half an hour after the plane had gone.
Grabbing my case I galloped up the stairs at Howard Beach, hoping that I’d find a cruising Yellow Cab.
Standing by a set of lights, I was anxiously scanning the streets, when a car stopped at the light, driven by a young black guy.
I tapped on his window, and said “I’ll give you $50 to take me to JFK, okay?”
At that time the rate was almost two to the pound, so I was giving him about £28, he couldn’t get me in quick enough, and we roared away, within 5 minutes I was sheepishly thanking him as I got out at the terminal.

As for honking the horn, I absolutely hated that, and would never, ever, do it if I was picking up a cash/CC fare from a house.
I’d ALWAYS knock or ring at the door, or if the house was set back a long way from the road, I could push a button on my computer terminal, marked AAR for advise arrival, and the control room would immediately phone the fare and tell him/her that I was outside.

 

[ttaskmaster]

I'm just amazed so many people sit in the front of a minicab. Are you lot mental?

One only sits in the back alone when one's driver is using the Rolls.
Besides, the front has better airbags!!

 

[LeeUK]

I'd sit in front of taxi yes, if I have booked a taxi outside a venue then yes I'd ask if the taxi was for me but if I had booked a taxi to pick me up from home then no. If a taxi turns up to my door after I'd booked one then I'd assume it was for me. Taxi companies I use usually have all the bells and whistles like App booking, text messages etc, no radios in the cars, basically like Uber. Only time I get an old skool taxi with a radio and a fat smell slob at the wheel is usually at the taxi rank. As I don't live in London I hardly get taxis anyway.

Only ever used the AA once but they sent out one of their local contractor firms to me but it was only a flat battery. After a quick boost I was away 5 mins max.

 

[Gravitas]

I'd sit in front of taxi yes, if I have booked a taxi outside a venue then yes I'd ask if the taxi was for me but if I had booked a taxi to pick me up from home then no. If a taxi turns up to my door after I'd booked one then I'd assume it was for me. Taxi companies I use usually have all the bells and whistles like App booking, text messages etc, no radios in the cars, basically like Uber. Only time I get an old skool taxi with a radio and a fat smell slob at the wheel is usually at the taxi rank. As I don't live in London I hardly get taxis anyway.

Only ever used the AA once but they sent out one of their local contractor firms to me but it was only a flat battery. After a quick boost I was away 5 mins max.

The AA/RAC question was more about the attitude when they turn up.

 

[Gravitas]

Worst I'm not a bus ****er thread ever.

A what thread?

Possibly, but somehow I doubt it.



As a retired Black Cab driver, I realise that I’m probably skating on very thin ice here, but I’ll take a swing.
As to asking the driver who has he come to pick up, I subscribed to a computerised radio circuit, that had a slew of corporate accounts in The City, investment banks, law firms, insurance companies etc.
A trip offer would appear on my monitor screen, e.g. Company UBS, customer Mr. Bloggs, ext 7308, pick up at Finsbury Ave. destination Canary Wharf.
On arrival at Finsbury Ave. I’d go to reception and say, “Taxi for Mr. Bloggs, ext 7308 please”, then return to my taxi and wait for the client to come out and say, “Are you for Bloggs?”
Very often, in inclement weather, or if someone had been waiting for what they deemed too long, they’d approach the taxi and say, “Who are you waiting for?”, I’d say “Bloggs”, they’d say “that’s me”, and get in.
I’d say, “Where do you want in Canary Wharf?”, they’d say, “Not going there now, take me to Putney.”
Then, Bloggs would emerge to find his taxi had gone, he’d make a call, and a message would come up on my screen, Can you confirm you have correct passenger on board?
Passenger would lie through his teeth and say he was Bloggs, so another taxi would have to be dispatched for the real Bloggs.
Eventually, when asked who we were picking up, we had to politely say, “Tell me your name sir, and if that’s the one on my screen, then that’s okay, I’ll take you.”
So no, it’s not always acceptable to ask the driver who he is picking up.
As for unhelpful or surly drivers, I only use Black Cabs, so as every driver is self employed, if the guy I hailed was surly, who could I report him to, himself?
Only using Black Cabs, that means that I always travel in the back seat, there is nowhere else to sit, I know that out in the boonies they use saloon cars, but in London, the only real taxis are Black Cabs, anything else is a poor imitation, usually driven by an immigrant wannabe, whether its Acme minicabs, or Uber.
AA/RAC? Can’t remember the last time I called them, but don’t recall any intransigence.
I tip the same amount that I’d like, (NEVER EXPECTED) when I was the one hopefully getting the tip, £4.60-£4.80, give him a fiver, £10, give him £11 or £12, £27.40, give him £30.

Thanks for that. On the issue of - ... And would the company screen him out from coming again - if you complained? Assuming you phoned on a landline and on a mobile when returning.

Would they have the capacity to do this, on their system?

After being a cabbie for 6 years this should be a interesting thread

Can you answer the question above about them being able to screen this driver out on future call-outs? On the landline, I just press one and the car comes "automatically" without speaking to anyone.

 

[TacticalFish]

Is it unreasonable to ask the driver who has he come to pick up?

No

Have you ever had a particularly surly and unhelpful driver? And would the company screen him out from coming again - if you complained?

No

And to make this thread even more interesting: do you sit in the front or back?

Back, because bourgeoisie.

Also, how much do you tip?

Company I use include a 5% service charge, so no.

 

[Jean-F]

Is it unreasonable to ask the driver who has he come to pick up?

No

Have you ever had a particularly surly and unhelpful driver? And would the company screen him out from coming again - if you complained?

No

And to make this thread even more interesting: do you sit in the front or back?

Back, because bourgeoisie.

Also, how much do you tip?

Company I use include a 5% service charge, so no.

5%!! As much as that, (in a sarcastic tone), the corporate clients on the computerised radio circuit that I subscribed to when I drove a London taxi were billed 10% to 12.5%, according to how much was negotiated in their contract, Fixed Price jobs attracted zero gratuity.

Thanks for that. On the issue of - ... And would the company screen him out from coming again - if you complained? Assuming you phoned on a landline and on a mobile when returning.

Would they have the capacity to do this, on their system?

If you mean could a corporate, or private client, then I’m unsure, but probably yes.
Personally I never had the kind of disagreement with a fare that would invite censure, arguing, bad language, etc., the closest that I ever came was perhaps something like, aware of an obstruction on a normal route, I’d taken a minor deviation, and the client had said, “This seems a funny way”, and I’d smiled in the mirror, and said, “Really, then why aren’t you laughing?” before explaining the reason for the deviation.
I know that if a driver DID incur a client’s displeasure, the circuit board of management would ask the driver his side of the story, and if it was an extreme case, or if the driver in question had a history of complaints, then he could be dismissed from the circuit, or perhaps had his connection to the circuit cancelled for a period of time, meaning he’d be paying his subs for that period, but would be unable to ‘sign on’ for radio dispatched work.
As for street work, as I previously said, if someone walked up to my taxi on a rank, or hailed me in the street, and I said something he didn’t like, he’d just have to remember my face, and avoid me in future, although if it was something really bad, like telling him to F.O., or ordering him out before the end of the trip without a valid reason, or ****** and blinding at him, calling him the N word for example, he could take the Identifier # on the green square on the front windshield or rear window, this is the same # as the green badge around my neck, or take the Hackney Carriage plate #, and/or taxi reg and report me to TFL, they would then invite me to the Public Carriage Office to explain my side.
That’s where even if the job had been at 10.30 a.m., I’d have sworn blind that the guy was drunk, and had threatened to kill me if he missed his train/meeting, whatever, and the Carriage Officer, in his infinite wisdom, would have had to exercise the judgement of Solomon, and decide who was nearer the truth.
If the driver had already had a complaint or two against his name, he could have his badge revoked for a period of time, and be unable to earn a living.

 

[TacticalFish]

5%!! As much as that, (in a sarcastic tone)

If I have change on me and feel the service was good I'll chuck some extra their way, so it's not never. The bookings are all done on card. Of the past 5 journey's I've made with them, I've had to provide directions to pretty easy to find places (why they don't use their sat nav's, I don't know). Generally, if I'm having to help someone do their job, I don't feel that more than the 5% is warranted. I wouldn't tip anything if I went to a restaurant and had to set the table myself.

 

[Tomsk]

Is it unreasonable to ask the driver who has he come to pick up?

From a safety point of view, I would expect the driver to be able to say who they're picking up and where they're going.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

From a safety point of view, I would expect the driver to be able to say who they're picking up and where they're going.

Here in Stoke they ring you up when they're outside your door/pub

 

[Tunney]

I used to do some work with Dyson and regularly visited their HQ. Their office is in the arse end of nowhere so I had to get a taxi from the train station.

There were two local cab firms. Both are staffed by former Dyson factory workers, so there was always some opinionated conversation on the way there.

One time, I was in a cab coming home and the taxi driver got into a crash. It wasn’t technically their fault but they definitely could have avoided the crash if they’d been paying attention.

Next time I went, I unsurprisingly decided to phone the other taxi firm. When the taxi turned up, it was the driver who’d been in the crash. It’d phoned the wrong firm by mistake. Such an awkward journey.


I don’t ever really see the same cab driver twice in London. Feels I’ve heard the same Nicklas Bendtner story a million times though.

 

[jonessa]

Here in Stoke they ring you up when they're outside your door/pub

Many a happy time using Castle Cars when I went to Uni @ Keele...

THE cheapest and best cab firm ever. £5 to do 8 miles once. Even picked up some oatcakes on the way. Bonza.

EDIT: Telling lies - that journey was with Sids!

 

[Jean-F]

From a safety point of view, I would expect the driver to be able to say who they're picking up and where they're going.

The unfortunate side of that, as I may already have pointed out, is that you cannot rely on people’s honesty.
If a few people are waiting for a taxi at a venue, particularly on a cash booking in inclement weather, and a taxi stops, and the driver says, “Taxi for Cholmondely-Warner, to Camden”, anyone can say “That’s me, but I’ve changed my mind, can you take me to Fenchurch St. Station instead?”
The driver will hardly ask for photo ID as proof.
If it had been a CC booking, it would be settled by production of the CC.
When I was driving, and accepted a CC job from the onboard computer, we had to see the CC before picking up the fare, as apparently on a couple of occasions, someone had ordered a taxi to take for example their boy or girlfriend home, then disputed the fare, as before chip and pin came in, the CC slip had to be signed, and the signature would be different.
When chip and pin started, we’d only take the fare if the rider had the CC at the end of the journey, to physically enter the pin.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

The unfortunate side of that, as I may already have pointed out, is that you cannot rely on people’s honesty.

Like I said above, in Stoke they ring you so nobody can lie.

 

[Tone1979]

Is it unreasonable to ask the driver who has he come to pick up?

Have you ever had a particularly surly and unhelpful driver? And would the company screen him out from coming again - if you complained?

Similarly, are the RAC (and similar) mechanics who come out when you breakdown (the car that is - not you when you say, see the smarmy grin of Emily Thornberry on the telly yet again) surly and uncommunicative like so many used to be? Or have they now eradicated that problem?

And to make this thread even more interesting: do you sit in the front or back?

Also, how much do you tip? Do you tip whatever the "service"? Or just give small sums if it's close to the next pound up i.e. if it comes to £4.90 hand over a fiver and say something like, call it a fiver for cash?

Now I know there's a lot of questions there for some, but have a crack if you fancy it.

Ta lars!

I always ask who they are hear to pick up.

I got a cab from LIverpool street a few years ago, I said to the driver "do you know where Little Britain is?" he then layed into me about how much he knows and why I should trust him. Got 30 meters, told him to let me out as at that point he had called me every name under the sun. Reported the idiot. He still got £3.20 from me as that was the min charge!

had far more trouble with private hire cars, of which my father is one of. Far too un-regulated.

 

[RaidenGB]

As a Black cab Driver on the Wirral i'll try an answer

Is it unreasonable to ask the driver who has he come to pick up? yes its unreasonable i always make the passenger tell me the name so they dont pinch someone elses Cab more so when its very busy

Have you ever had a particularly surly and unhelpful driver? And would the company screen him out from coming again - if you complained? yes the company i work for does stop certain Drivers going to certain addresses

Similarly, are the RAC (and similar) mechanics who come out when you breakdown (the car that is - not you when you say, see the smarmy grin of Emily Thornberry on the telly yet again) surly and uncommunicative like so many used to be? Or have they now eradicated that problem? am with the AA never had a problem with calling them even thou its a black cab

And to make this thread even more interesting: do you sit in the front or back? am a hack even thou i have a front sit 99.00% sit in the back

Also, how much do you tip? Do you tip whatever the "service"? Or just give small sums if it's close to the next pound up i.e. if it comes to £4.90 hand over a fiver and say something like, call it a fiver for cash? i'll also say 95% of people will give me the a tip lets if its £4.70 £6.70 so on round it off

Now I know there's a lot of questions there for some, but have a crack if you fancy it.

Ta lars!

 

[Tomsk]

The unfortunate side of that, as I may already have pointed out, is that you cannot rely on people’s honesty.
If a few people are waiting for a taxi at a venue, particularly on a cash booking in inclement weather, and a taxi stops, and the driver says, “Taxi for Cholmondely-Warner, to Camden”, anyone can say “That’s me, but I’ve changed my mind, can you take me to Fenchurch St. Station instead?”
The driver will hardly ask for photo ID as proof.
If it had been a CC booking, it would be settled by production of the CC.
When I was driving, and accepted a CC job from the onboard computer, we had to see the CC before picking up the fare, as apparently on a couple of occasions, someone had ordered a taxi to take for example their boy or girlfriend home, then disputed the fare, as before chip and pin came in, the CC slip had to be signed, and the signature would be different.
When chip and pin started, we’d only take the fare if the rider had the CC at the end of the journey, to physically enter the pin.

Your point is quite valid to prevent the customer and the taxi from losing out financially, but my point was for the customers own personal safety.

 

[Jean-F]

I always ask who they are hear to pick up.

I got a cab from LIverpool street a few years ago, I said to the driver "do you know where Little Britain is?" he then layed into me about how much he knows and why I should trust him. Got 30 meters, told him to let me out as at that point he had called me every name under the sun. Reported the idiot. He still got £3.20 from me as that was the min charge!

had far more trouble with private hire cars, of which my father is one of. Far too un-regulated.

i don't know what to make of this, it SOUNDS like a Black Cab, as you say that he got the zig when you asked if he knew where Little Britain was, every Black Cab driver in London is well aware that Little Britain is just off St Martin le Grand in The City so he was entitled to bridle at any suggestion that he may not know it, personally if anyone said to me, are you sure that you know where X is, I used to say, 'Is the Pope a Catholic?"
I'm having trouble seeing the £3.20 for 30 meters though, you say it was a few years back, let's say the flag fall was £2.40, that would be the minimum charge, the meter would have still read £2.40 at 30 meters, so where did the 80p come from?
FWIW the fare from Liverpool St. station a few years back to Little Britain would have probably gone £5.60 to £6.40, depending on traffic.

Like I said above, in Stoke they ring you so nobody can lie.

Okay, they call you and say, "Your cab's outside", you hang around to finish your drink, Joe Soap walks out, sees XXX Cabs and opens the door, driver says, "Mr. Fox?" Joe says, "Yes, that's me, Burslem please."
You come out, no cab.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Okay, they call you and say, "Your cab's outside", you hang around to finish your drink, Joe Soap walks out, sees XXX Cabs and opens the door, driver says, "Mr. Fox?" Joe says, "Yes, that's me, Burslem please."
You come out, no cab.

When they ring you, you tell them what you look like and how many there are.
They also confirm when you get to the taxi where you're going to.
There has been too many fights in Stoke for the old method to carry on.