Hailing one of London’s famous black cabs will no longer mean making sure you’ve got money on you or stopping for cash.
In a move that will make travelling by taxi even easier, passengers will be able to pay for any journey using just credit and debit cards, including contactless payments, from Monday 31 October.
Although many of London’s black taxis have accepted cards for years, cash has remained the standard form of payment. From Monday all taxis will have to carry a card payment device, ending uncertainty for customers about how they will be able to pay.
It has the support of the campaign group Future Taxis, which represents the major London taxi driver associations (including the LTDA, the LCDC and Unite), the taxi booking apps (Hailo and Gett) and LTC, the largest London taxi manufacturer.
Until next year, card payment devices can be fixed or hand-held, but from January 2017 they will need to be installed in the passenger compartment.
Speaking on behalf of Future Taxis, Steve McNamara, said: `Card payment has been available in many taxis for years, but ensuring consistency for all customers is something our ‘StayFareMayor’ campaign repeatedly supported. We are delighted to see another part of our transformation plan coming into effect as we continue to build a faster, smarter, greener taxi trade.’
