London Cabbies

[John the Monkey]

Huh! You should try Paris cabbies! We took a taxi from the Air France terminus at Porte Maillot a short distance to our friend's flat in Neuilly and the driver went absolutely fecking mad!

Get the same at Manchester airport - we just ring a local private hire firm now, we got sick of the aggravation.

London cabs - I've only ridden in London twice - second time, a cab driver saw me signal left, and made haste to fill the gap before I could, still, that's why they call it a "lifesaver", right? Oddly, on the first ride, they seemed among the more patient and observant people on the road.

 

[XmisterIS]

It's not just London cabbies!

In portsmouth and southampton (particularly southampton), some (not all) of them are complete two-hats, second only to boy-racers in their anti-social driving behaviour!

They love cutting me when I'm on my bicycle, but so do lots of other drivers, so I don't think they do that any more than other motorists.

But when I am in the car, they tailgate me when I'm not exceeding the speed limit. That pi$$es me right off. And it does usually seem to be Southampton cabbies who do that.

What really, really, really winds me up is that more often than not those Southampton cabbies will deliberately move out to stop me from filtering through rush-hour traffic jams when I'm on the motorbike. That winds me up something chronic! On several occasions I have really wanted to connect biker boot with wing-mirror as I finally get to go past them! It seems to me that they do it out of nothing more than belligerent bloody-mindedness - "I can't go anywhere so I'm not going to let you go anywhere either".

 

[John the Monkey]

In portsmouth and southampton (particularly southampton), some (not all) of them are complete two-hats, second only to boy-racers in their anti-social driving behaviour!

They're very poor for illegal parking in Manchester, although private hire up here are far more worrying from a driving ability point of view.

 

[Jezston]

Cabbies, official 'yellow' cabs and minicabs alike in Derby are pretty decent I've found. Chatted to more than one about normally riding a bike in to work when I've had to use them and they've usually seen how it's a good idea. Official 'green' cabs in Nottingham are good around cyclist also, always let me go first when moving in and out of Nottingham train station - shame they are fairly useless as cab drivers though and pretty much every journey I've taken with them has involved repeated instructions as to where I want them to take me and showing them the map on my phone despite them all having satnavs!

Nottingham minicabs however are another story all together. Most of them seem fairly nice when you're a passenger, but I've had more than one run in with them when I've been on my bike. They REALLY don't like cyclists.

 

[trj977]

The problem with the Heathrow chit system is that due to the traffic a relatively short journey can take over the allotted time, 1 hour? I do have sympathy with a driver who has paid the fee queued for hours and then gets me, who only wants to go about 9 miles, at 7:30 am. No way is he getting back in time. However I do start getting annoyed when he continually moans and drives like a lunatic so as it to make it uncomfortable, especially when I give him the option of dropping me at Hatton Cross, gratis of course. Some do some don't, but it is their call. The local black cabs have no issues in completing the rest of the journey.
Of course all this could be solved by allowing local cabs their own ranks which I believe is always turned down. This system seems to work well in a lot of international airports including Paris CDG

 

[tjsc1]

Thats part of the job/risk of working at Heathrow, they dont mind it when they get jobs to the city!!

 

[Black Sheep]

TC, thanks for the clarification. I didn't know that. Whenever I see black cab drivers on TV though eg defending a protest, it always seems to be "These people are stealing our livelihoods" rather than "How can we make our service better so that people don't use these other services?". I'm afraid that just loses any sympathy I may have had. We're all facing tough times and all markets will become competitive. I don't think it's fair for cabbies to blockade London "Cos I've done the knowledge guv'nor"

They're very poor for illegal parking in Manchester, although private hire up here are far more worrying from a driving ability point of view.

Coventry keeps having taxi strikes as apparently there is not enough space in the taxi ranks and the council keep handing out licenses and taxi drivers park on the kerb / crossing / double yellow lines etc and get tickets for it.

why 20 of them don't park up in the rank opposite sainsburys on trinity street I have no idea, only time thats had more than one taxi in it was when they parked up to go on strike!

 

[Dan B]

This is where I can feel a bit 'Holy'.
Anyone riden along 'Marylebone Road' in the rush hour (or 2 or 3!!)?? Loads and loads of cyclists, It must be my age, I just let them go on their merry way, undertaking/overtaking, four/five deep at lights........life is too short!!

Is normal for cabbies to think of themselves as "holy" merely because they're not deliberately obstructing other road users? I mean, I've heard of having a god complex, but ...


Let's face it, nothing wider than a despatch rider is going to make any progress at all round the ring road at busy times, if you can't chill out and relax about it you should be on another road or in another career

 

[661-Pete]

I've no problems with local minicabs - at least not when off the bike and in the cab as a passenger!

My last experience of a black cab driver was a bit hit or miss though. With a plane to catch at Heathrow, I'd got myself stranded at a District/Circle-only tube station, on a day when LU had decided, unknown to me beforehand, to close down the entire D&C section for repairs. So I needed to get to another Tube station - fast. I was in a part of London I didn't know very well. So I hailed a black cab and my instructions were: take me to the nearest Tube station that isn't on the District & Circle line.

That totally beflummoxed him. Say a specific destination e.g. 'Oxford Circus' - fine. Submit a request loaded with negatives - no he couldn't get to grips with that. After floundering a while, taking me north and south across the Thames a few times, I finally spotted a station on the Jubilee I think it was. I yelled 'drop me here!'

He didn't get a tip. 'Knowledge' fail, I think.

dellzegg.........

Hope to meet up with you one day!!
Terry

Never

No chance! Upset the esteemed DZ just once, in the sin-bin for life, mate!