yyzflyer

Has anyone taken a taxi from an airport hotel to Heathrow solely for the purpose of using AA's Park Avenue check-in? I mean the Hoppa bus is 3 pounds each - if you've got a party of 3 that's 9 pounds. A taxi that distance has to be cheaper, or is a taxi unlikely to accept a fare for such a short distance? Thoughts or actual experience?

SoCrazi

Here's the deal about taxi's in London. They'll charge you £5 per passenger to ride. Then it depends on the Fare rate they have you at. Weither it's a Code 2 or Code 3 fare rate you are looking at probably £15 or more just to take that quick of a hop.

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AA PLT, HYATT GLD, HILTON GOLD

OldAztec

I pretty sure that a "Black" taxi must take you anywhere inside the M25. That is they can't refuse the fare. Beside they will just pick up a fare at the airport.

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At 6'6" -'coach' is a dirty word!

Gaza

I have no idea where you got this information from!!! London Hackney Cabs (somtimes referred to as Black cabs, although they do come in different colours) are obliged to use their meter for all trips inside the London zone. For trips outside this, generally the M25 motorway, they have a chart with set fares which they will tell you before setting off. Using a cab from one of the hotels close to LHR is difficult. Few cabs cruise the streets around there and any cab in the area is likely to be queueing at LHR. Most hotels have arrangenments with "mini-cabs", which are largely unlicensed taxi's that cannot pick-up in the street and can only be ordered via the telephone. Depending on how much luggage you have you may struggle in getting it all in a sedan.

Efrem

I have taken taxis many times in and near London, often with multiple people, most recently last month (once in a group of 3, once in a group of 4). I have never been charged anywhere near GBP 5 to drop the flag, let alone that much per person.

If you pick up a cab that just dropped someone off at your hotel, they'll probably be happy to find a fare - even for a short trip. Once they're at the airport, they can choose to join the queue for another fare or not.

Otherwise, you can try to stop one cruising the A4 (not likely) or you're stuck with the local taxi company the hotel uses. They probably do lots of short trips, so that shouldn't be a problem, but they're probably also not on regulated fares so be sure you know in advance.

Dave Noble

If you ask a hotel for a taxi, then they must get you a taxi. This will be a metered "Black Cab" . If you ask for a cab or mini cab, then you may well get a mini cab. These have their own fare structure, though are normally cheaper ( with exceptions such as executive hires with cars like Mercedes for example )

Dave

yyzflyer

So in summary, it sounds like it may be cheaper and more practical to take a taxi from the Marriott (for example) to Heathrow for a party of 3?

(I've walked this before, but never with luggage and family, and the Hoppa bus doesn't stop at AA Park Avenue.)

MDSD

And, while Park Avenue is very nice, I don't think I'd jump thru hoops just to use it. I checked in last week and the elevator across roadway was inoperable, so we had to go thru departures terminal anyway, not a huge deal for elites. IMO, fast track is worth it all, and you get that either place.

Gaza

The cost will be very similar. If you insist on a taxi then you may have to wait. The hotel will get you a mini-cab quite quickly but it would cost the same as the bus.

How did you manage to walk???? Pedestrians are banned from using the tunnel.

KenF

I think a bit of clarification is in order here:

Within Central London there is a pilot scheme that works the way the poster says. I've seen it in operation at Paddington Rail Station, but I assme it applies to other heavily congested Taxi Queues. This "Zone based" system is optional, and is basically a "Taxi Sharing" system, allowing the queue to move quicker by putting more than one fare in each cab. It's optional, all London black cabs are required to use their meters unless agreed otherwise. This system does not apply at Heathrow, as far as I know, and in any event, it does not apply to Taxis you hail in the street, only at certain specified ranks (that will usually have a marshall from the LTOA (thats the "London Taxi Owners Ascociation") on duty).

I'm sure someone who is more London-based will correct me on this, but AFAIK the "region" within which London Cabs are regulated is artificially extended to include Heathrow, and the immediate surrounding area. Operationally, if you think about it, it would have to be, or Black Cabs could charge what they liked for trips to Central London, which defeats the object of regulation. As I have found to my cost, this "Bubble" is quite small, so it seems to include most of the Bath Road airport hotels, and extends to the Stockley Park office development, but doesn't go as far as, say, Sunbury (And from this the detectives in the audience will probably be able to work out which companies I visit regularly ). Technically, within this bubble, the London regulations apply, and fares are regulated, and as stated in the cab. It is also true that the regulations say that a cab cannot refuse a legitimate fare, but many Black Cabs tend to have their own, slightly different, interpretation of this rule.

The other key thing to understand is that Black Cabs at LHR do not like short fares! In fact they will do virtually anything to avoid them! From their point of view, at peak times they have had to wait 30-45 mins. in a queue in order to get a fare, and the reason they do this is that they want a GBP 60++ trip to London out of it. If they end up with someone who just wants to go down the road, they are not happy. In fact, in my experience, they can be *?!*ing dangerous, because they have a 10-15min window to get back and "reclaim" their position at the head of the queue. When you've been in a Black Cab driving a 70mph with a driver who is swearing like a docker and repeatedly questioning your parentage, you know the meaning of the word "fear".

Because of this, and the inadequacy of the Hotel Hoppa service, most LHR hotels seem to have deals with more (or less) reputable mini-cab firms for airport runs. These usually cost a lot more than a Black Cab. It is also worth noting that Metro. London is the only area in the UK where mini-cabs are not subject to licensing and regulation. Caveat Emptor.

I'm sure you can request that a Hotel calls a proper Hackney Cab, I'm just not sure if one would turn up that quick. I guess it depends on the time of day. However, the chance of one peeling off from the 45minute queue for your measly GBP 3.00 ish fare is pretty small, if you think about it.

Though it's off-topic, I'm not a fan of the Hotel Hoppa, and I think it's probably time to start making a stand and insisting on using a Black Cab when going from LHR to a Hotel. If there are two or more of you, it's cheaper, and it'll get you there quicker (with a roller-coaster ride and lesson in Anglo-Saxon thrown in free!). Since the LTOA is probably one of the most powerful lobbies in London, if we all did this, you can bet the problems with the Hotel Hoppa would be fixed very quickly

Ken.

"It's folks like you wot cause unrest!" - Monty Python

[Edited bekcos I carnt spel]

[This message has been edited by KenF (edited 04-04-2002).]

KenF

[Dupe - Sorry!]

[This message has been edited by KenF (edited 04-04-2002).]

PAUL PALMER

Sorry, YYZflyer, I may have missed the point. Are you doing this in order to use the Park Lane check-in or to save on the fares over from the hotel?

If the latter, that sounds perfectly reasonable but in all probability will not be anything other than a minicab. Effem is right, the likelihood of finding a cruising black cab is unlikely, but they do come along if the driver decides that he will not queue for hours for a ride into town.

Checking in at Park Lane confers little benefit from what I have seen, it always seems busy so I don't bother any more.

Kovich

A minor techniocal note to KenF's excellent thesis is that the Mayor of London is introducing regulation of the minicab market.

yyzflyer

So we found out the hard way. I should have said we went the last leg on a city bus, much to the amusement of the driver. It's just that when you're at an airport hotel, it looks so close.

yyzflyer

It started as a question about saving money. I've always found it somewhat annoying that a service that one takes for granted in North America (shuttle to/from your hotel) costs at LHR. It's not a big deal when the company is picking up the tab, but out-of-pocket for a family it can add up. Then I figured if I'm being driven to the airport, might as well use Park Avenue. (The novelty of first non-coach flight out of LHR.)

Bottom line: I figured you folks would have all the answers and I wasn't disappointed. It looks like we'll be Hoppa-ing over to Heathrow as usual. Thanks again.

Edited for spelling.

[This message has been edited by yyzflyer (edited 04-04-2002).]