Ldnn1

A few weeks ago after my Thameslink was cancelled I cycled on a Boris bike from Angel to Victoria, balancing a full-size carry-on case on the front.

It was a desperate dash but turned out to be so efficient I did the same on the way back.

stut

Cycling in London is a tremendously liberating experience, especially now as it's possible to avoid much of the chaos on the roads.

Ldnn1

Oh indeed I cycle everywhere - by far the best way to get around. Was more highlighting that it can even be done with luggage - carefully of course.

Jimmie76

There was and it bugged me, gone now though in exchange for an extra 20p on the minimum fare. https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/pr...n-london-s-tax

Analise

London black cabs are a ripoff. It took until 2016 for them to accept credit card payments?

I have taken car service from both Just Airports and Simply Airports when I have had early morning LHR flights when the tube isn't an option. They are reliable, take credit cards, and are MUCH cheaper than taxis and cheaper than Uber.

http://www.justairports.com
http://www.simplyairports.co.uk

Mizter T

No, what's changed is that they have been required to accept card payments since October - beforehand many (most?) did already, but there was no guarantee of card acceptance if you hailed one in the street or got one at a rank.

Analise

Perhaps the competition from much less expensive car services like Just Airports or even Uber had something to do with requirement to accept plastic.

jt82

If I take a cab and it costs £20, do I get a discount by paying by card instead of cash? If not, why on earth are you bringing up Uber being cheaper when the only difference the issue the OP has is convenience?

stut

Car services (minicabs) have been around for decades. The powerful drivers' association (LTDA) would have been thoroughly against anything that ate into the drivers' income, such as the cost of credit card machines, transaction fees, etc, so it was the case, for years, that these were passed on to the customer directly (as it permitted here) and not entirely popular as a result.

More recently, the cost of cash processing has gone up, and credit cards down, and companies like Uber have given a different kind of competition - one that can be booked at short notice (only licensed cabs can be hailed in London) as opposed to minicabs that will take a good half hour to show up. Apps for black cabs have come and gone - Gett seems to be persisting well now, though - so I can understand drivers' reluctance to get firmly behind a single one.

Morland

Hailo still works well for me, although it's merging with mytaxi so we'll see what happens there - get Avios on them too. I still tend to use them rather than Uber as I live in an awkward part of Zone 1 which Uber drivers often can't find (i've had multiple experiences of Ubers going round the block twice and then cancelling the ride)... but my corner of time is on one of the test routes for the Knowledge so black cabs know it. Given my average black cab ride is under a tenner, I'm happy to pay a bit more for a cab which is more likely to show (whilst being well aware that different people have different preferences)

Analise

Taking a taxi between Lancaster Gate and LHR 8 months ago was nearly double the cost than that of Just Airports and Simply Airports…maybe Uber.

£20 on a black cab? Not at 5am this past April from Lancaster Gate. Black cabs need one heck of a discount to compete with car service that arrives within a few minutes of requesting one online and charges at least 1/2 the fare even when customers pay with a credit card. I paid with cash to get the cheaper car service fare. Maybe a savings of £3 to pay in cash? I don't remember the exact amount.

Interesting.

Often1

Don't forget that not only will Uber directly bill a credit card, thus no sitting around and fiddling with a reader, but one can choose from multiple cards and it can now feed directly to several common business accounting software packages. This permits the business passenger not to have to do anything more than perhaps fill in a purpose for the trip and never otherwise touch the transaction.

That form of convenience makes a difference as well.

jt82

Point seems to have flown way over your head so I'll leave this topic here

stut

To be fair, with contactless cards now the norm here, the payment takes seconds.

The_Diamond_Z

I've been in a few black cabs lately that had the stickers for credit cards but a little-handwritten sign that you only see once you get in that says "CASH ONLY".

Also, be aware that (at least using Amex) what shows up on your statement is not always obvious. It took me a while to figure out what "Creative Mobile Tech" was but very few show up as "taxi".