From October last year, it was compulsory for all London black cabs to accept payment by card. London cabbies aren’t always sunnily disposed towards Transport for London, but those I have spoken to since the move seem to welcome the ruling, and acknowledge that business has picked up since.
There are, of course, plenty of reasons why taxi drivers preferred cash. It’s quick and does not require equipment or entail the surcharges credit card payments do; it might also be a little more, ahem, tax-efficient. Never-theless, the case for cabs accepting card payments was compelling. Uber, for fair reasons and foul, was eating into their business. From New York, there was clear evidence that passengers tipped more when paying by card. And people carry less cash than they once did.
In fact, since contactless card terminals have become near universal, until October a cab journey was the last remaining reason that Londoners needed routinely to carry more than £20.
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