Hi Tom, thought I'd share my experience as a Blackpool Cabby. My best job I ever got was 3am one Sunday morning. I was just about to knock off (the clubs kicked out at 2am back then) when a guy jumpped into my cab and said "Can you take me to my Hotel" sure i replied which one. This is where it got complicated. He had absolutely no idea of the name of hotel he was stopping in. At first I thought this is barmy there were then around 3000 hotels and guest houses in Blackpool. I said look give me a clue what was the fist pub you went in he told me The Manchester Hotel great I thought we could start there and circle out till we found where he was staying. However he then said he and his mates had got a cab there. More questioning did he have his room key perhaps the name of the hotel was on that, then followed by, where you near the sea front or on the prom. No room key his mate had that and no idea but he knew he wasn't on the prom. All he could remember was that it had a glass door. I was dumbfounded and said look mate we could be at this all night and might not find it anyhow. He begged me to try and showed me £200 and said that whatever it came to he would pay. He then explained he had a flight to catch later that day and that his passport and tickets were in the hotel room. I took pity on him and said look we will do this on the meter whateer the meter says when we find the hotel thats all you pay. He agreed and off we went. We had been driving around for about 1 1/2 hours zig-zagging up and down the side roads off the prom and around central area when we found his hotel his mate was sitting on the front step waiting for him. The guy was over the moon the meter was £48.60 he said thank you and gave me £100 I said no if you want to tip me just give me £50 that would be fair. He refused and said that he had tried 7 other taxi's before mine all had refused to help him and stuffed the £100 into my hand. He couldn't stop thanking me then offered me the other £100 to take him to Manchester Airport later. I agreed and later that day another £120 was gratefully given when I dropped him off at terminal 1. I didn't work the rest of that day :)
I don't think you've talked about it before, but do you ever get truly oddball jobs like "Follow that car!" or "Follow that guy who just robbed me!" or "Follow my cheating husband!", or "I'm bored/tired/lonely, just drive anywhere for 30 minutes!"? When I was a teenager, I had a friend who liked to ride around London in taxis when she was bored.
As a taxi driver on a Fri and sat night I get about 10/15 wait and returns. Taking taking from a house to another house and back to the original. 9/10 it's buying drugs.
I love getting rides in taxis, provided they don't get lost trynna find my house (not exactly like the airport, town, or a tourist spot where the driver will actually know where it is), I can understand why someone would like to just go around in a taxi for 30 minutes (although I wouldn't do that because I'm too much of a cheapskate...).
Flew into Heathrow in the late 90’s from the US to visit family, with no plans on how to get from the airport to Broadstairs. Went to the taxi rank, and all the drivers were saying no to the job. One finally agreed, so had an interesting 80 mile drive, in a proper London black cab, and before the motorways were as good as they are today. Was near my destination, and I wasn’t sure exactly how to get to the house I was staying at, so the cabbie asked someone walking by…he wasn’t much help. Always remember the driver saying “Cor blimey…trust me to get the village idiot!”…makes me laugh to this day.😂😂 I think the cost for the trip was around £70-£80, and I know I gave him a £10 tip.
As soon as I saw Yes Theory's video I immediately wondered if you had similar stories of long journeys! Thanks for your great content Tom, I'm moving to London to study in September and your videos really help me to soothe my anxiety and know things will be okay :)
I think the is one of my favorite videos from your channel Tom!! I like the different topics, the stories, seeing London on the background when you talk, and seeing the Google Street Views and video clips of the places from some of your destinations! I felt like I was there visiting all the different places. I like all your videos. This one has been my fave.
My Longest Job was 2 years ago. I picked up 2 elderly ladies in Albion street who wanted to go to the Cotswolds to have lunch with their friend. They were both in their 80’s. I metered the job there and then I waited in the grounds of the house for them to finish lunch and took them back to london for free. Job there 386 pounds
I was in a taxi last week and asked the driver his biggest fare, he went from Runcorn to Plymouth and the fare was £675. He heard the customer took a taxi back, so he spent £1300 just on fares. Crazy
Thanks for all your super interesting videos! I'm living in Sweden and have only been to London as a Tourist - about 15 times.. About 30 years ago, I flew into Stansted airport - AND forgot a very expensive bag on the plane. I just had to get it back, so the next day I took a Taxi from Craven terrace W2, to Stansted to pick up the bag. A return trip with the same driver. He was a very happy man. I think I made his day. All my experience with you guys are positive. Keep up the good work!
Love your videos Tom, do you ever do courier work? Back in the late 1990's when I was a cabbie I picked up a job (the late Paddy Ashdown MP had given him my card) from Yeovil Junction Station to his home near Shepton Mallet (not a bad little run in itself TBH, very unusual though as they'd normally go via Bristol?), he was something to do with a 'specialist engineering company' in Bath and needed a component urgently taken to the other side of London as a courier run. No idea of how much to charge, but quoted £350 which he was happy with. Picked up a very small but heavy crate and headed off to "Near Greenwich" (no satnavs then neither .... the component was I think a big locking pin(?), and it was for the Millennium Dome, which is now of course the O2 arena! Apparently one had failed some test, so they had to engineer a new one. About a year later in 2000, I had a special licence to work from Pilton in Somerset, off the Glastonbury Festival site. When someone asked how much to Bermondsey I knew roughly how far it was so charged the same again.
As a TfL-licensed cabbie, If you find yourself in some crazy place like Colchester or Manchester, are you able to pick up passengers and take jobs in those places?
As someone who lives in Colchester, we do get London taxis sometimes, but they rarely stay here. Obviously i'm not a cabbie so I don't have extensive or correct knowledge of this but as a resident of one of the places you mentioned, I don't believe that he can.
The longest Taxi Journey I ever did was in the 1990’s from Newton Aycliffe in County Durham to Basingstoke, wait for approximately 1 hour and return. All on a guys company expenses, total cost if I recall correctly was around £400
Great video! Your whole manner is amazing, empathy with intelligence is a rare thing. Love just watching you break things down that I didn't even know that I needed to know about. Thank you so much.
I've only ever been in the back of a taxi on a "roader" once. I was on a train that was severely delayed, meaning I missed the last connection to take me home 60 miles away. So a taxi paid for by the train company it was, shared with a few others and having to go the longer way to drop people off. Overall it was probably a 70 mile journey, but done on the meter because nobody at the station could find anyone with the authority to negotiate a fixed price. That was a decent payday for the driver, even allowing for the dead time heading back home.
In some countries it's common to share taxis. In Greece, the driver can pick up strangers along the way and drop them off, and they pay the full fare for their part of the ride. You still have to pay your full fare too, so it's super annoying if you have to ride with an annoying person or take a detour to drop them off. (Note: this was how it was the last time I was in Greece a long time ago.)
After I wrote off an Austin Maestro (yes this was well back in the day) in a crash a long way from home, the AA offered to taxi me home, leaving the wreck in a garage near the accident. It was the quickest way to get me, a toddler, and a dog home. It also saved the AA shed loads of money because i had Relay cover and to get home i could have insisted on the wreck being repatriated too. This way was cheaper for them and faster and less stressful for us all, especially the toddler. So it was a Cambridge-based taxi from somewhere just South of Cambridge on the M11 to near the middle of Manchester. Not quite the distance of this video but getting on that way. Nobody hurt; my daughter complained that her lolly "wooshed" or of her hand in the crash, and the car took out a lamppost. The insurance covered everything but were a bit upset: after years of claim free motoring I'd had an attempted theft where the thieves had reversed into a wall before the steering lock clicked in, needing extensive repair work. They'd only just paid to have the damage sorted, and then the write off within the same month. I never found out what the taxi fare was, the AA had an account, apparently.
Just a general comment, I really enjoy your videos, your honest approach is really cool and you give some very interesting niche insights which is really passionating, even for someone like me who lives on the other side of the world and haven’t been to London in years! I really appreciate what you do and wish you many more years of success!
I was at Heathrow Terminal 5, waiting to catch a shuttle or taxi to the hotel assigned to me by BA due to a cancelled flight to Chicago. For nearly 1hr or so when I was there it was a constant queue with ppl waiting to get a taxi most with cancelled BA flights hoping to get to a local hotel. This was around 11pm. Tom not sure how you feel about working at that time, but it might be a good hunting ground for you at that time, with BA cancelling flight around that time.
Tom, love your videos. You are very engaging and always watch through to the end. It's fascinating finding out about cab life. You always keep it real.
I've learned a lot from this channel about taxis/cabs so thank you, i will be continuing to watch your videos and they are very entertaining. it is funny how you said $10,000 and on the captions its £10,000 and your in the uk talking about cabs/taxis. Much love
My longest job was Cornwall and Kings Lynn from Heathrow, and a recent delivery from the City to Wells next to the sea ..I once was on the old T2 rank and a Scotsman came out and wanted Aberdeen for a grand cash the first six drivers didn’t want it. I had already loaded up the face on the driver when I shouted to the cabbie at the back do you want an Aberdeen ..
Nice vid Tom. I had an amazing job at the beginning lockdown. The woman was convinced the army was about to lockdown the country and she had to get to Birmingham to pick up her daughter (who was at Uni). She DID not want to get on a train / coach or be with other people. She had no car herself. Hailed me, told me to put the meter on and take her to Birmingham. I was like "Birmingham... Midlands?!?" You can imagine how hard it was to keep that scream to myself LOL ;) £445.80. Massive fair, but work pretty much dried up after that :(
No, don’t do that. Staines is in the fair is fair zone. Which means it is a fixed price and a driver is allowed to return to the terminal. The driver can turn it down, but the people who love working Heathrow a lot usually love taking them
@@TomtheTaxiDriver Ah that’s great to know mate - thanks! Had drivers turn down locals jobs at T5 before (hotels etc) so understand if they don’t fancy it. What’s the difference between “Fares fair” and a “Local” Heathrow job?
Hi Tom, 1st off great videos you do, am looking for chef work ATM & great for killing time!! I'm nearly 60 & would like to have been a London cabbie, grew up in Kent & have always loved London. Lastly, I had need of a cab a few years ago. Living in at a pub/restaurant in Broxbourne, I was at a concert at O2. Missed last train from Liverpool St, so grabbed one from outside, think it was about £50 or there abouts back then, not bad considering it was close to midnight I think. Keep up the great work you & the other ladies n gents driving black cabs do. One question: you use the word Comply when do directions???
Not horrendously long jobs, but my partner took Taxis between Harrogate and Leeds as a student, about 40 minutes each way, only paying about £1.80 per journey! Excellent for them, and actually decent for the drivers, seeing as it was on the meter, with most of it paid by DSA bar that £1.80.
I do courier work here in the US (STL to be specific), so I know what you're talking about. I would've offered that customer a deal to London the next day, even better rate, if I had someone cheap or free to crash for the night in town, I mean I have to go back, I'm not likely to get paid, so anything that covers my gas or more will do. I've actually done that here on courier routes, taken a dirt cheap rate just to get home or back to my preferred area.
Can you do the long distance with the EV? I've lived with an EV for around a year with a range of ~250 miles so even on long journeys it was never an issue but I'm not familar with the taxis range or charge speed, the ID3 can charge at ~120kW but even on a 50Kw its still quick enough for a good charge on a comfort break with something to eat as well.
I was a minicab driver for Trident - I was asked if I wanted a job from LHR to Liverpool - why not I thought, better than trundling around the M25. And then they said, BTW theres a pickup from Manchester to LHR you can do. Best day ever for money.
Interesting how you spoke about the resentment of the meter. This uncertainty is the reason why Uber is more popular. People prefer to know what they will be paying in advance.
my taxi driver got a very lucky job with myself easyJet cancels my flight to edinburgh at 4;30 am but re booked me for 8:30 but in Gatwick first taxi I got into had just started his shift made 225 quid and easy jet refund me the money because of a cancel flight fair to say couldn't of had a better start
Hi. I'm an expat living in California for the last 25 years. Came from Mill Hill / Edgeware/ Finchley area. Would love to see videos in that area if you can. Thanks!
I recently did this hire over the summer, It was just north of Edinburgh (by the bridges) and it went to Preston (212 miles each way). we did a set fare for them for this job which was £400, I ran the meter on the way back up the road for a laugh and it ended up being £637.20. Saying that we where i work we have the 2nd most expensive fares in Scotland.
ì got a cab from monument to heathrow. it was a sunday morning and city / circle line was down. i couldn't be stuffed getting out a cab again to switch to the HX as i had some big bags because i was flying to australia. cheaper to pay 100 quid for a cab than the cost if i miss the flight
Hey buddy. I drive a cab in Edinburgh and my biggest job was at the end of September. Picked up in George street Edinburgh … Dropped off tower bridge road LONDON! (Bermonds Locke) £1250 plus £120 cash tip. She also asked if I needed a room for the night,but I declined and drove back up the road to Edinburgh. 17 hour round trip 3 stops. (Never again) 👍🏻 Love your vids,keep them coming. 🏴🚕🏴
reminds me of a trip i did, 10 years ago, my trian was 1,5 late. so missed my connection train, and that train was also the last train so we got a taxi. i think that ended somewhere like 6000-7000 sek for a 90km trip. around (500-600 pound) The longest journey i allmost gotten was , when our bus missed our bustaion, and we had tickets for connecting train . i could been a trip around 700 Kilometers for the driver. he had about 1,5 h working time left. it ended with fastet cab ever been in 110 Kilomers in less than 40 mins , we had a 5 min spare to the out connection train., i think the cab was peking 195-200km/h when we were outside small villages. Longest trip my dad sent a cab wa from Linköping to Landvetter airport. thats a short trip of 250 Kilometers when he had towed a customer that was gonna catch a plane. a few hour laters he got out for an other break down about 100 kilometers south of Linköping . and a other customer i hurry. saw he was in luck, waved in a taxi about 2 Am i the middle of nowhere. and it was the same cabdriver that he sent from linköping to landvetter.. This time the cabdriver had a new short trip of 300 Kilometers. when he got to arlanda, , he got a call from his dispatcher. that asked him if he could go and pick up a kindney in karolinska (one of stockholms bigger hospitals) and bring it to Linköping for a transpant . Cabdriver ended with driving 250 + 150+300+200 Kilometers that day, i Heard he was a bit tireed when he got home.
What’s the general feedback like on prices? Just always wondered how the general public react. Really like the new camera set up with the taxi mate. 👍🏻
My longest journey in a taxi was between Gothenburg and Kalmar train stations. Me and one other guy had missed our connecting train. So instead of getting us hotell rooms the train company booked a cab. About 4,5 hours and 223 miles one way for that driver. The absolute longest i have heard of was back in 2010 when the volcano Eyjafjallajökull had its big eruption. There was fixed fares between Stockholm and Hamburg and other big cities on the continent. The price for going to Hamburg was30.000 swedish crowns or 2160 pounds in todays exchange rate, quite alot back in 2010. Edit: Also found an article about a family taking a cab from Madrid back to Sweden for 40.000 SEK, adjusting for inflation that is 54.767 today or 3947 GBP
my longest job was liverpool 700 and something 4 hrs there 4 hrs back falling asleep an all that i had to check out john lennon a paul mccartneys houses while i was there
About 8 years ago I got East Kilbride to Tilbury Docks. 480 Quid. I got a w&r to a hospital in Macclelsfied. I was transferring a psychiatric patient with 2 Male nurse escorts. 400 Quid happy days
That's crazy. I do remember personally getting a bolt with 3 other people when the coach meant to get us to the airport broke down and never arrived from Birmingham to Luton. That's the longest ride I've had in a taxi.
I knew a minicab driver about 40 years ago who did this regularly. A repeat customer who didn't drive and had a train phobia or similar. No cheap flights in those days.
Currently a grey area issue that has been debated in parliament called "cross border" hiring. Each authority licenses their own cars, but there's no central database that all authorities can access if there's any wrong doing. Effectively, Uber get licensed in London, but then work all around the country, it kinda side steps the whole notion of being licenced to one authority. My understanding of it, and the way legislation wants it to be; A to B and B to A. A being London. I am pre-booked or publicly hired in London. Pre-booked to take into London. Similar to many PH from outside of London coming into London to pick up their passengers.
@@TomtheTaxiDriver so in theory, I can pre-book you to pick me up at Manchester airport and take me to a London hotel? Definitely just theoretical because trains from Manchester to London work just fine.
Tom, just on what you said about the lady going to Colchester, would it be one of the exceptions to the ranking system if a passenger wanted to go somewhere but the drivers ahead didn't want to take it, can you then take that job even if you're not at the head of the rank?
Not London based but best paid job I've had is from my seaside town in Weymouth to St Pancras AND back for a contract customer with the private hire firm. £740 approx for a day's work ain't bad.
I drive for Uber in Manchester, and if a job pops up on my screen for more than half n hour and or to London it’s enough to give me headache and make me cringe. How do other people do these jobs?
Considering starting a TH-cam channel for the taxi journeys in Suffolk(probably not as interesting!) did you have to inform the council as well as get permission from your passengers? Thanks in advance !!
Can do it for any fare. But generally anything in town, will always run the meter. Everytime I offer a fixed fare, I usually run the meter to show the passenger what it would come to… I.e. if a Stansted is usually £120 meter and I agree £60. I say “I’ll run the meter and if it’s less than £60, you can pay that” just so they know they are getting a deal. If no price is negotiated beforehand, the driver cannot charge more than the amount shown on the meter👍🏻
G'day from new Zealand I was a taxi driver 9 yrs ago I had one jammy fair from Christchurch airport to Picton ferry $1150nz I drive for ten yrs I was only 23 when I started til I was 33 I killed it and met many celebrities and had some insane experiences while making very good money but after a decade I needed new challenge do moved on if you want any good stories I got plenty
so if there is a late night train arriving at a train station where many passengers have missed their connection you dont go there? in germany there was always a rush towards the train station in such a scenario. the longest job i created was a 300 km job with 2 other people going the same direction. I was at a late train and stranded in a city (not the destination) halfway down to the destination. train had 2 hours delay and the last train left 1 hour ago. train company said: there are 3 of you going the same long distance direction, share a taxi and we will give you taxi vouchers.
Not always guaranteed. The rank moves a lot slower so you could be waiting for a very long time for a job that just takes you around the corner. Also I don’t like to work very late. So taking a long job will erode into the nighttime and affect my sleep. Consistency is key 👍🏻
Spent most of my life driving cabs once did Harlow to Stansted then ended up going all the way to Edinburgh this was after a 12 hour shift this was the longest day of my life think I slept for about 14 hours lol
Best job ever, Edinburgh to Blackpool wait and return then onto Newcastle wait and return. Total time approx 17 hours fare up front £1200 this is twenty five year ago.Just dropping off near Waverley station when surrounded by cops,Drug dealers.Hauled out the cab and asked after a couple of minutes if I had been paid answered as quick as a flash NO and they replied unlucky. Found out they would have confiscated the fare to be used as evidence. Dodged a bullet that day. The fare would be about three grand now.
0:57 Ayy!! Thats right in my neighbourhood. Know that road well. Great for getting out North. Very familiar with Dulwich as well. Really fun video. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Here's a customer perspective on a roader. A barrister I know took a black cab from Manchester to London, because all the trains were cancelled. At his bill rate the client calls he made paid for the £300 fare. Not sure how the driver felt about running unpaid back to Manchester, but he could have turned down the job
this is not much more than first class ticket by train. £255.00 is a cost of "antytime Single 1st" If You add cost of transfer in and out of station - cab is not a bad choice.
Very interesting that you can turn down fares. I drove in Sydney back in the 1980's and you weren't allowed to turn down fares when hailed on the street except for specific reasons, overly drunk, abusive, infectious disease or it was the end of your shift and the job was going in the opposite direction to your garage. Shifts were from three to three if you didn't own your own cab and you had to hire one. On ranks you could pass the job onto the taxi behind. Long jobs when it was busy were annoying as you missed out on the flag fall, the starting fare, conversely on quiet days they were a godsend.
@@TomtheTaxiDriver interesting. the area we had to cover was huge. Here's an image of Sydney metropolitan area which we had to serve compared to London. You could end up anywhere within. i.imgur.com/rT6zlcV.png
The job where you drove all the way to Ipswich for £180 and crashed at your mates place. You said the customer wanted to get back to London the next day, so I'm curious if you offered to pick him up in the morning. Seemed like a win-win situation :) Loving the videos btw.
i once asked a black cab driver in Liverpool (why they call them London taxis i don't now) i asked him his longest fare. he said a bloke jumped in at Lime street station after missing a train and was important to get to work, ok 'where's work?' ...'Aberdeen' ..off they went. he was an oil worker on the rigs needed to connect with helicopter at Dyce (aberdeen) airport. long trip.
Wish I could understand why this channel is such compulsive viewing. Tom, the host, helps tremendously of course but its blindingly interesting and entertaining, just noy sure why. Keep up the good work Tom !
Also don't forget! I was 1 of 100 taxis that drove to 🇫🇷 Disneyland Paris! 🇫🇷➡th-cam.com/video/_Eb1f1O4F4M/w-d-xo.html
Hi Tom, thought I'd share my experience as a Blackpool Cabby. My best job I ever got was 3am one Sunday morning. I was just about to knock off (the clubs kicked out at 2am back then) when a guy jumpped into my cab and said "Can you take me to my Hotel" sure i replied which one. This is where it got complicated. He had absolutely no idea of the name of hotel he was stopping in. At first I thought this is barmy there were then around 3000 hotels and guest houses in Blackpool. I said look give me a clue what was the fist pub you went in he told me The Manchester Hotel great I thought we could start there and circle out till we found where he was staying. However he then said he and his mates had got a cab there. More questioning did he have his room key perhaps the name of the hotel was on that, then followed by, where you near the sea front or on the prom. No room key his mate had that and no idea but he knew he wasn't on the prom. All he could remember was that it had a glass door. I was dumbfounded and said look mate we could be at this all night and might not find it anyhow. He begged me to try and showed me £200 and said that whatever it came to he would pay. He then explained he had a flight to catch later that day and that his passport and tickets were in the hotel room. I took pity on him and said look we will do this on the meter whateer the meter says when we find the hotel thats all you pay. He agreed and off we went. We had been driving around for about 1 1/2 hours zig-zagging up and down the side roads off the prom and around central area when we found his hotel his mate was sitting on the front step waiting for him. The guy was over the moon the meter was £48.60 he said thank you and gave me £100 I said no if you want to tip me just give me £50 that would be fair. He refused and said that he had tried 7 other taxi's before mine all had refused to help him and stuffed the £100 into my hand. He couldn't stop thanking me then offered me the other £100 to take him to Manchester Airport later. I agreed and later that day another £120 was gratefully given when I dropped him off at terminal 1. I didn't work the rest of that day :)
I don't think you've talked about it before, but do you ever get truly oddball jobs like "Follow that car!" or "Follow that guy who just robbed me!" or "Follow my cheating husband!", or "I'm bored/tired/lonely, just drive anywhere for 30 minutes!"? When I was a teenager, I had a friend who liked to ride around London in taxis when she was bored.
No one can afford that shit anymore
Next time i go to London I plan to take a cab from Manor House to Gibson Square just to troll the cabbie.
@@RD-ht6go knowledge run no. 1 pls driver!
As a taxi driver on a Fri and sat night I get about 10/15 wait and returns. Taking taking from a house to another house and back to the original. 9/10 it's buying drugs.
I love getting rides in taxis, provided they don't get lost trynna find my house (not exactly like the airport, town, or a tourist spot where the driver will actually know where it is), I can understand why someone would like to just go around in a taxi for 30 minutes (although I wouldn't do that because I'm too much of a cheapskate...).
Flew into Heathrow in the late 90’s from the US to visit family, with no plans on how to get from the airport to Broadstairs. Went to the taxi rank, and all the drivers were saying no to the job. One finally agreed, so had an interesting 80 mile drive, in a proper London black cab, and before the motorways were as good as they are today. Was near my destination, and I wasn’t sure exactly how to get to the house I was staying at, so the cabbie asked someone walking by…he wasn’t much help. Always remember the driver saying “Cor blimey…trust me to get the village idiot!”…makes me laugh to this day.😂😂 I think the cost for the trip was around £70-£80, and I know I gave him a £10 tip.
As soon as I saw Yes Theory's video I immediately wondered if you had similar stories of long journeys! Thanks for your great content Tom, I'm moving to London to study in September and your videos really help me to soothe my anxiety and know things will be okay :)
You’re gonna do amazingly!! London is literally the best place on earth to live in and study at uni in! (I might be a bit biased… 🤭)
I think the is one of my favorite videos from your channel Tom!! I like the different topics, the stories, seeing London on the background when you talk, and seeing the Google Street Views and video clips of the places from some of your destinations! I felt like I was there visiting all the different places. I like all your videos. This one has been my fave.
My Longest Job was 2 years ago. I picked up 2 elderly ladies in Albion street who wanted to go to the Cotswolds to have lunch with their friend. They were both in their 80’s. I metered the job there and then I waited in the grounds of the house for them to finish lunch and took them back to london for free. Job there 386 pounds
I was in a taxi last week and asked the driver his biggest fare, he went from Runcorn to Plymouth and the fare was £675. He heard the customer took a taxi back, so he spent £1300 just on fares. Crazy
Yay Runcorn.
That sounds to me like the days during the rail strikes!
Any clued up taxi driver asks 'how you gettin back mate/luv'? Gives you the chance of a return
Thanks for all your super interesting videos! I'm living in Sweden and have only been to London as a Tourist - about 15 times..
About 30 years ago, I flew into Stansted airport - AND forgot a very expensive bag on the plane. I just had to get it back, so the next day I took a Taxi from Craven terrace W2, to Stansted to pick up the bag. A return trip with the same driver. He was a very happy man. I think I made his day.
All my experience with you guys are positive. Keep up the good work!
Love your videos Tom, do you ever do courier work?
Back in the late 1990's when I was a cabbie I picked up a job (the late Paddy Ashdown MP had given him my card) from Yeovil Junction Station to his home near Shepton Mallet (not a bad little run in itself TBH, very unusual though as they'd normally go via Bristol?), he was something to do with a 'specialist engineering company' in Bath and needed a component urgently taken to the other side of London as a courier run. No idea of how much to charge, but quoted £350 which he was happy with.
Picked up a very small but heavy crate and headed off to "Near Greenwich" (no satnavs then neither
.... the component was I think a big locking pin(?), and it was for the Millennium Dome, which is now of course the O2 arena!
Apparently one had failed some test, so they had to engineer a new one.
About a year later in 2000, I had a special licence to work from Pilton in Somerset, off the Glastonbury Festival site. When someone asked how much to Bermondsey I knew roughly how far it was so charged the same again.
As a TfL-licensed cabbie, If you find yourself in some crazy place like Colchester or Manchester, are you able to pick up passengers and take jobs in those places?
Interesting question
Well you won't be licenced by Manchester City Council.
@@unarmedduck for sure, I just wondered if there might be an 'understanding' between the two licensing authorities for this sort of situation
@@ijmad……if there was London would be full of Manchester Taxis !
As someone who lives in Colchester, we do get London taxis sometimes, but they rarely stay here. Obviously i'm not a cabbie so I don't have extensive or correct knowledge of this but as a resident of one of the places you mentioned, I don't believe that he can.
The longest Taxi Journey I ever did was in the 1990’s from Newton Aycliffe in County Durham to Basingstoke, wait for approximately 1 hour and return. All on a guys company expenses, total cost if I recall correctly was around £400
Great video! Your whole manner is amazing, empathy with intelligence is a rare thing. Love just watching you break things down that I didn't even know that I needed to know about. Thank you so much.
Just started watching your channel. You’re an excellent ambassador for the black cab, keep it up and well done.
I've only ever been in the back of a taxi on a "roader" once. I was on a train that was severely delayed, meaning I missed the last connection to take me home 60 miles away. So a taxi paid for by the train company it was, shared with a few others and having to go the longer way to drop people off. Overall it was probably a 70 mile journey, but done on the meter because nobody at the station could find anyone with the authority to negotiate a fixed price. That was a decent payday for the driver, even allowing for the dead time heading back home.
In some countries it's common to share taxis. In Greece, the driver can pick up strangers along the way and drop them off, and they pay the full fare for their part of the ride. You still have to pay your full fare too, so it's super annoying if you have to ride with an annoying person or take a detour to drop them off. (Note: this was how it was the last time I was in Greece a long time ago.)
Well that's annoying. The only benefit in that is when the fare is shared.
Not anymore
My best ever fare was about a year ago.... London St Pancras to Manchester, passenger paid £600 up front.
After I wrote off an Austin Maestro (yes this was well back in the day) in a crash a long way from home, the AA offered to taxi me home, leaving the wreck in a garage near the accident. It was the quickest way to get me, a toddler, and a dog home. It also saved the AA shed loads of money because i had Relay cover and to get home i could have insisted on the wreck being repatriated too.
This way was cheaper for them and faster and less stressful for us all, especially the toddler.
So it was a Cambridge-based taxi from somewhere just South of Cambridge on the M11 to near the middle of Manchester. Not quite the distance of this video but getting on that way.
Nobody hurt; my daughter complained that her lolly "wooshed" or of her hand in the crash, and the car took out a lamppost.
The insurance covered everything but were a bit upset: after years of claim free motoring I'd had an attempted theft where the thieves had reversed into a wall before the steering lock clicked in, needing extensive repair work. They'd only just paid to have the damage sorted, and then the write off within the same month.
I never found out what the taxi fare was, the AA had an account, apparently.
Just a general comment, I really enjoy your videos, your honest approach is really cool and you give some very interesting niche insights which is really passionating, even for someone like me who lives on the other side of the world and haven’t been to London in years! I really appreciate what you do and wish you many more years of success!
I was at Heathrow Terminal 5, waiting to catch a shuttle or taxi to the hotel assigned to me by BA due to a cancelled flight to Chicago.
For nearly 1hr or so when I was there it was a constant queue with ppl waiting to get a taxi most with cancelled BA flights hoping to get to a local hotel. This was around 11pm. Tom not sure how you feel about working at that time, but it might be a good hunting ground for you at that time, with BA cancelling flight around that time.
Tom, love your videos. You are very engaging and always watch through to the end. It's fascinating finding out about cab life. You always keep it real.
For real! I've been busy but I managed to watch this video in 5 minute intervals and got all the way through. normally i;d give up!
I've learned a lot from this channel about taxis/cabs so thank you, i will be continuing to watch your videos and they are very entertaining. it is funny how you said $10,000 and on the captions its £10,000 and your in the uk talking about cabs/taxis. Much love
So look forward to this time of week... another great informative video.. so much information presentedin a non boring way.. keep up the good work
Love the videos. just started my second day as a taxi driver here in the us.
Woodbridge is my hometown! Never expected to see it pop up in one your vids, but expect the unexpected with what you do I guess!
Kesgrave here watching too!
My longest job was Cornwall and Kings Lynn from Heathrow, and a recent delivery from the City to Wells next to the sea ..I once was on the old T2 rank and a Scotsman came out and wanted Aberdeen for a grand cash the first six drivers didn’t want it. I had already loaded up the face on the driver when I shouted to the cabbie at the back do you want an Aberdeen ..
Glad you saw the Yes Theory video, I thought it would’ve been cool if they found you to do it
We spoke but it was clear. They needed someone with a real story. Also tried to help them get a vehicle
@@TomtheTaxiDriver oh no way, I thought you would’ve made a cameo. Good they reached out though
Nice vid Tom. I had an amazing job at the beginning lockdown. The woman was convinced the army was about to lockdown the country and she had to get to Birmingham to pick up her daughter (who was at Uni). She DID not want to get on a train / coach or be with other people. She had no car herself. Hailed me, told me to put the meter on and take her to Birmingham. I was like "Birmingham... Midlands?!?" You can imagine how hard it was to keep that scream to myself LOL ;) £445.80. Massive fair, but work pretty much dried up after that :(
At Heathrow next week and going to Staines - feel bad using a black taxi as it’s not a long job so will probably have to use a minicab.
Number 8 bus from Terminal 5 to Staines Bus Station is an option.
@@katrinabryce Ta - but don’t like buses.
No, don’t do that. Staines is in the fair is fair zone. Which means it is a fixed price and a driver is allowed to return to the terminal. The driver can turn it down, but the people who love working Heathrow a lot usually love taking them
Fares fair
@@TomtheTaxiDriver Ah that’s great to know mate - thanks! Had drivers turn down locals jobs at T5 before (hotels etc) so understand if they don’t fancy it. What’s the difference between “Fares fair” and a “Local” Heathrow job?
Nice video from a colleague! My longest taxi ride was 550 kilometers, cost a total of 1150€. Took around 13 hours to drive to the destination and back
Wow - what amazing stories. Personally can’t think of anything worse than being stuck in a vehicle travelling to Manchester.I think you are amazing
Hi Tom, 1st off great videos you do, am looking for chef work ATM & great for killing time!! I'm nearly 60 & would like to have been a London cabbie, grew up in Kent & have always loved London. Lastly, I had need of a cab a few years ago. Living in at a pub/restaurant in Broxbourne, I was at a concert at O2. Missed last train from Liverpool St, so grabbed one from outside, think it was about £50 or there abouts back then, not bad considering it was close to midnight I think. Keep up the great work you & the other ladies n gents driving black cabs do. One question: you use the word Comply when do directions???
Not horrendously long jobs, but my partner took Taxis between Harrogate and Leeds as a student, about 40 minutes each way, only paying about £1.80 per journey! Excellent for them, and actually decent for the drivers, seeing as it was on the meter, with most of it paid by DSA bar that £1.80.
I do courier work here in the US (STL to be specific), so I know what you're talking about. I would've offered that customer a deal to London the next day, even better rate, if I had someone cheap or free to crash for the night in town, I mean I have to go back, I'm not likely to get paid, so anything that covers my gas or more will do. I've actually done that here on courier routes, taken a dirt cheap rate just to get home or back to my preferred area.
Can you do the long distance with the EV? I've lived with an EV for around a year with a range of ~250 miles so even on long journeys it was never an issue but I'm not familar with the taxis range or charge speed, the ID3 can charge at ~120kW but even on a 50Kw its still quick enough for a good charge on a comfort break with something to eat as well.
I was a minicab driver for Trident - I was asked if I wanted a job from LHR to Liverpool - why not I thought, better than trundling around the M25. And then they said, BTW theres a pickup from Manchester to LHR you can do. Best day ever for money.
Interesting how you spoke about the resentment of the meter. This uncertainty is the reason why Uber is more popular. People prefer to know what they will be paying in advance.
Uber has produced interesting evidence that people prefer a fixed fare even when a metered fare would probably be cheaper.
@@Tuppoo94 I doubt a metered fare would ever be cheaper.
@@OG_Rider Don't take my word for it. Tom has an entire video on this topic.
my taxi driver got a very lucky job with myself easyJet cancels my flight to edinburgh at 4;30 am but re booked me for 8:30 but in Gatwick first taxi I got into had just started his shift made 225 quid and easy jet refund me the money because of a cancel flight fair to say couldn't of had a better start
Hi. I'm an expat living in California for the last 25 years. Came from Mill Hill / Edgeware/ Finchley area. Would love to see videos in that area if you can. Thanks!
I recently did this hire over the summer, It was just north of Edinburgh (by the bridges) and it went to Preston (212 miles each way). we did a set fare for them for this job which was £400, I ran the meter on the way back up the road for a laugh and it ended up being £637.20. Saying that we where i work we have the 2nd most expensive fares in Scotland.
Thanks for uploading I needed this
ì got a cab from monument to heathrow. it was a sunday morning and city / circle line was down. i couldn't be stuffed getting out a cab again to switch to the HX as i had some big bags because i was flying to australia. cheaper to pay 100 quid for a cab than the cost if i miss the flight
Another great video Tom, love the stories.
A tom upload to start my day off w
Hey buddy. I drive a cab in Edinburgh and my biggest job was at the end of September.
Picked up in George street Edinburgh …
Dropped off tower bridge road LONDON!
(Bermonds Locke)
£1250 plus £120 cash tip.
She also asked if I needed a room for the night,but I declined and drove back up the road to Edinburgh.
17 hour round trip 3 stops.
(Never again) 👍🏻
Love your vids,keep them coming.
🏴🚕🏴
Long time viewer, rarely comment, but genuinely loved this video, so many interesting stories!!
Fascinating stuff Tom. Really enjoyed watching that 👍
reminds me of a trip i did, 10 years ago, my trian was 1,5 late. so missed my connection train, and that train was also the last train so we got a taxi. i think that ended somewhere like 6000-7000 sek for a 90km trip. around (500-600 pound)
The longest journey i allmost gotten was , when our bus missed our bustaion, and we had tickets for connecting train . i could been a trip around 700 Kilometers for the driver. he had about 1,5 h working time left. it ended with fastet cab ever been in 110 Kilomers in less than 40 mins , we had a 5 min spare to the out connection train.,
i think the cab was peking 195-200km/h when we were outside small villages.
Longest trip my dad sent a cab wa from Linköping to Landvetter airport. thats a short trip of 250 Kilometers when he had towed a customer that was gonna catch a plane.
a few hour laters he got out for an other break down about 100 kilometers south of Linköping . and a other customer i hurry.
saw he was in luck, waved in a taxi about 2 Am i the middle of nowhere. and it was the same cabdriver that he sent from linköping to landvetter..
This time the cabdriver had a new short trip of 300 Kilometers. when he got to arlanda, , he got a call from his dispatcher. that asked him if he could go and pick up a kindney in karolinska (one of stockholms bigger hospitals) and bring it to Linköping for a transpant .
Cabdriver ended with driving 250 + 150+300+200 Kilometers that day, i Heard he was a bit tireed when he got home.
What’s the general feedback like on prices? Just always wondered how the general public react. Really like the new camera set up with the taxi mate. 👍🏻
You mentioned some of the high-distance jobs occurring while you still had your TX4. Are such jobs less desirable with the TXE because of its range?
No, TXE is much nicer for long jobs 👍🏻 range extender works a treat
My longest journey in a taxi was between Gothenburg and Kalmar train stations. Me and one other guy had missed our connecting train. So instead of getting us hotell rooms the train company booked a cab. About 4,5 hours and 223 miles one way for that driver.
The absolute longest i have heard of was back in 2010 when the volcano Eyjafjallajökull had its big eruption. There was fixed fares between Stockholm and Hamburg and other big cities on the continent. The price for going to Hamburg was30.000 swedish crowns or 2160 pounds in todays exchange rate, quite alot back in 2010.
Edit: Also found an article about a family taking a cab from Madrid back to Sweden for 40.000 SEK, adjusting for inflation that is 54.767 today or 3947 GBP
my longest job was liverpool 700 and something 4 hrs there 4 hrs back falling asleep an all that i had to check out john lennon a paul mccartneys houses while i was there
how much would you charge to drive to scotland on a whim?
About 8 years ago I got East Kilbride to Tilbury Docks. 480 Quid. I got a w&r to a hospital in Macclelsfied. I was transferring a psychiatric patient with 2 Male nurse escorts. 400 Quid happy days
That's crazy. I do remember personally getting a bolt with 3 other people when the coach meant to get us to the airport broke down and never arrived from Birmingham to Luton. That's the longest ride I've had in a taxi.
I knew a minicab driver about 40 years ago who did this regularly. A repeat customer who didn't drive and had a train phobia or similar. No cheap flights in those days.
So a London cabbie can pick up a BookedJob anywhere in England?
Currently a grey area issue that has been debated in parliament called "cross border" hiring. Each authority licenses their own cars, but there's no central database that all authorities can access if there's any wrong doing.
Effectively, Uber get licensed in London, but then work all around the country, it kinda side steps the whole notion of being licenced to one authority.
My understanding of it, and the way legislation wants it to be; A to B and B to A. A being London. I am pre-booked or publicly hired in London. Pre-booked to take into London. Similar to many PH from outside of London coming into London to pick up their passengers.
@@TomtheTaxiDriver so in theory, I can pre-book you to pick me up at Manchester airport and take me to a London hotel? Definitely just theoretical because trains from Manchester to London work just fine.
Tom, just on what you said about the lady going to Colchester, would it be one of the exceptions to the ranking system if a passenger wanted to go somewhere but the drivers ahead didn't want to take it, can you then take that job even if you're not at the head of the rank?
Yea basically every driver has the right to refuse on distance. But it got to the point where so many drivers knocked it back
Not London based but best paid job I've had is from my seaside town in Weymouth to St Pancras AND back for a contract customer with the private hire firm. £740 approx for a day's work ain't bad.
How does the local system work? Don't you have cabbies who just act like they were local and come back anyways? Hows that controlled?
'Greased up' love that phase
6:20 "no, I want bed" 🤣🤣🤣
Have you done a video on why a driver can turn down a job?
I can understand if they are likely to puke, or do a runner (can you charge in advance?)
Another great video, thanks Tom.
I remember a friend wanting a taxi from Heathrow to Bristol but the driver would only go as far as Reading and there told to get in another taxi.
never forgot Feb 2018, had a stroke which paralysed me down my left side, awful time to remember
I drive for Uber in Manchester, and if a job pops up on my screen for more than half n hour and or to London it’s enough to give me headache and make me cringe. How do other people do these jobs?
Considering starting a TH-cam channel for the taxi journeys in Suffolk(probably not as interesting!) did you have to inform the council as well as get permission from your passengers? Thanks in advance !!
Hi Tom , great video. Always curious to know… Is fixed fare driver discretion? Or can you only do it for certain jobs
Can do it for any fare. But generally anything in town, will always run the meter.
Everytime I offer a fixed fare, I usually run the meter to show the passenger what it would come to… I.e. if a Stansted is usually £120 meter and I agree £60. I say “I’ll run the meter and if it’s less than £60, you can pay that” just so they know they are getting a deal.
If no price is negotiated beforehand, the driver cannot charge more than the amount shown on the meter👍🏻
I can't wait until Monday to meet you.
G'day from new Zealand I was a taxi driver 9 yrs ago I had one jammy fair from Christchurch airport to Picton ferry $1150nz I drive for ten yrs I was only 23 when I started til I was 33 I killed it and met many celebrities and had some insane experiences while making very good money but after a decade I needed new challenge do moved on if you want any good stories I got plenty
so if there is a late night train arriving at a train station where many passengers have missed their connection you dont go there? in germany there was always a rush towards the train station in such a scenario.
the longest job i created was a 300 km job with 2 other people going the same direction. I was at a late train and stranded in a city (not the destination) halfway down to the destination. train had 2 hours delay and the last train left 1 hour ago. train company said: there are 3 of you going the same long distance direction, share a taxi and we will give you taxi vouchers.
Not always guaranteed. The rank moves a lot slower so you could be waiting for a very long time for a job that just takes you around the corner.
Also I don’t like to work very late. So taking a long job will erode into the nighttime and affect my sleep. Consistency is key 👍🏻
You’re a natural at doing these videos. You have me glued. Hopefully we see you in London in a few weeks
Am I right saying the TX4 has Automatic transmission
Another good vid 👍. Do you use your taxi on days off ?
Spent most of my life driving cabs once did Harlow to Stansted then ended up going all the way to Edinburgh this was after a 12 hour shift this was the longest day of my life think I slept for about 14 hours lol
Best job ever, Edinburgh to Blackpool wait and return then onto Newcastle wait and return. Total time approx 17 hours fare up front £1200 this is twenty five year ago.Just dropping off near Waverley station when surrounded by cops,Drug dealers.Hauled out the cab and asked after a couple of minutes if I had been paid answered as quick as a flash NO and they replied unlucky. Found out they would have confiscated the fare to be used as evidence. Dodged a bullet that day. The fare would be about three grand now.
just curious, when out in Colchester, are you able to do taxi runs while there?
0:57 Ayy!! Thats right in my neighbourhood. Know that road well. Great for getting out North. Very familiar with Dulwich as well.
Really fun video. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Here's a customer perspective on a roader. A barrister I know took a black cab from Manchester to London, because all the trains were cancelled. At his bill rate the client calls he made paid for the £300 fare. Not sure how the driver felt about running unpaid back to Manchester, but he could have turned down the job
this is not much more than first class ticket by train.
£255.00 is a cost of "antytime Single 1st"
If You add cost of transfer in and out of station - cab is not a bad choice.
@@stanley3647 True. It can also be cheaper to fly to Scotland than take the train. Crazy transport economics
Very interesting that you can turn down fares. I drove in Sydney back in the 1980's and you weren't allowed to turn down fares when hailed on the street except for specific reasons, overly drunk, abusive, infectious disease or it was the end of your shift and the job was going in the opposite direction to your garage. Shifts were from three to three if you didn't own your own cab and you had to hire one. On ranks you could pass the job onto the taxi behind.
Long jobs when it was busy were annoying as you missed out on the flag fall, the starting fare, conversely on quiet days they were a godsend.
Can’t turn down jobs under 12 miles or 18 miles from the airport, even when you are ready to go home
@@TomtheTaxiDriver interesting. the area we had to cover was huge. Here's an image of Sydney metropolitan area which we had to serve compared to London. You could end up anywhere within. i.imgur.com/rT6zlcV.png
I love your videos, hopefully one day I’ll get in your cab and have a natter ❤
How can I catch a ride with you wile Im in London?
The job where you drove all the way to Ipswich for £180 and crashed at your mates place. You said the customer wanted to get back to London the next day, so I'm curious if you offered to pick him up in the morning. Seemed like a win-win situation :) Loving the videos btw.
What maps did you use outside of London Tom
Google usually, Waze is a little bit too chaotic
just switched onto the video you recommended at the end about fixed fairs. your skin so much better now good job mate
Great vid and thanks. You mention you sometimes have great conversations. Can you share your art of conversation. Thanks
did u ever have people bonking in the back of the cab lol?
Thk u! Love your videos!
the longest job i did was Madrid Spain to Hoddeson Hertfordshire, once in a lifetime job.
How do you calculate a fixed price?
i once asked a black cab driver in Liverpool (why they call them London taxis i don't now) i asked him his longest fare. he said a bloke jumped in at Lime street station after missing a train and was important to get to work, ok 'where's work?' ...'Aberdeen' ..off they went. he was an oil worker on the rigs needed to connect with helicopter at Dyce (aberdeen) airport. long trip.
North wales to Elgin in Scotland, £1200 for RAC
really nice explanation
Where in essex was you? I used to live in harlow
My longest job was Manchester to Newquay £500 that was about ten years ago 10 hour round trip had the week off then
Great vid Tom
Wish I could understand why this channel is such compulsive viewing. Tom, the host, helps tremendously of course but its blindingly interesting and entertaining, just noy sure why. Keep up the good work Tom !
A22 to Gatwick? Nope.
A23 to Gatwick? Nope. Not unless you're coming from Brighton!
😆👊
Great video Sir