Condition One

I havego to a friend's house in Osterley. Unfortunately, I have no transportation, light rain is to be expected, and I'll be in a suit. Will a taxi driver in central London have GPS if I give them a residential address in Osterley? Or should I book a car? And how much will all this set me back?

I suppose I can also take the Tube to the Osterley station, and call a cab. But I'll be on a short timetable.

colmc

I'd tube it to Osterely and cab it, unless price is no issue to be honest.

stut

They won't have GPS, they'll be expected to know it by heart!

But, depending on the time of day and your starting point, a tube/train plus cab option may be quicker.

Christopher

There should be no problem with a London black taxi driver finding an address in Osterley. But it will be very expensive (and unless you're going at some socially awkward time, like the middle of the night or very early on Sunday morning) it will probably be very slow too. If at all possible, I'd get the Underground (Tube) to Osterley (on the Piccadilly Line) and either walk or get a local taxi from there.

Also, just a friendly word of warning. The term "downtown" is not really used in the UK and may even cause confusion sometimes. (It is sometimes assumed to mean not the centre of a city but the not-so-good areas near the centre of a city.) It is particularly unhelpful, really, in London, which is a complicated city with no single "central" area – the City itself (where the financial institutions tend to be), the West End (which itself is large and quite disparate), Westminster/Whitehall (where the government departments and parliament are), SW1 as a whole (which also includes the Buckingham Palace and Victoria areas in addition to Westminster and Whitehall) might all qualify. Many major offices are in the Docklands/Canary Wharf area. And so on.

Which part of London will you be starting from? Are you used to using the London Underground?

Swiss Tony

A compromise might be to take the train to Richmond (c. 20 mins from Waterloo) then there's a taxi rank out the front of that...

Gulliver_UK

The Transport for London Journey Planner might be useful if you are considering taking public transport at all:

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/

donaghadee

There is a possibility that the address might be within walking distance of Osterley Station which is situated on the Great West Road. This is convenient to most Osterley addresses except those up Jersey Road. Hounslow East station is a bus ride away from some Osterley addresses and Hounslow West within walking distance of some other addresses. Look up the address on a map and consider your options. It might be diffiscuilt to get a cab from Osterley station although minicab telephone numbers may be displayed in the station. The Richmond option is a possibility but it is some distance away.

alanR

Could you buy an umbrella?

RichardInSF

I used to occasionally park at Osterley station when I had a rental car (it is the first station in from the Heathrow area with a parking lot) and I don't remember seeing taxis there. I think you might have better luck finding one going to Hounslow West, which is admittedly a bit farther away.

lhrsfo

If the tube is not your thing, or you don't want to risk trying to find a local mini cab on a rainy day, I would get your friends to give you the number of an Osterley mini-cab company (most people who live in outer London have a favoured company). Call that company - it will probably be very significantly cheaper for them to collect you.

Condition One

Thanks for all your advice. Normally my friend picks me up from the Osterley station, but he'll be a bit distracted this weekend, as he's getting married

If Hounslow West (or any other Tube stop nearby) has a taxi rank, I'm set. Otherwise, I'll see if he can find me a local mini-cab company.