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How much will my journey cost?

Double swiping and estimates

Payment, cancellations and receipts

 

How much will my journey cost?

Taxis: 
Transport for London's Taxi and Private Hire Directorate sets fares for journeys made by licensed taxis. The metered fare will be shown on the Taximeter at the end of the journey. The Taximeter works on a combination of both distance and time.

Private Hire Vehicles:
Private Hire Vehicles have a minimum charge and then charge a fixed amount per mile. The contractor can tell you how much your trip will cost in advance.

The Taxicard scheme is subsidised by local boroughs and the Mayor of London, which means you pay considerably reduced fares. For most journeys you will pay a flat fare and your local authority will pay the balance of the limit shown in the table.

1. Member flat fare: In London boroughs, members pay either £1.50 or £2.50 flat fare up to the fare limit.

2. Borough trip subsidy: The 'borough trip subsidy' is the maximum amount the borough will pay towards each trip. In most boroughs, this amount is different depending on the time of day and at weekends in (Tables 1 and 2). This is because it is more expensive to travel at night and weekends than on weekdays.

3. Fare limit: The fare limit is the borough trip subsidy and member flat fare added together. If the fare on the meter is less than the fare limit, you only pay the flat fare. If the fare on the meter is more than the fare limit, you will have to pay the flat fare plus the difference between the fare limit and the meter reading.

4. Metered fare: The total amount on the meter at the end of the journey.

5. Additional charge: The amount you pay above the fare limit. This is the metered fare minus the fare limit.

The following tables and examples are meant for guidance on how the different subsidies work. They are based on the same journey being made at different times of the day or days of the week.

Each example shows the amount you could have to pay for the journey during these times. In practice, as the taxi meter works on a combination of time and distance, no two journeys, even starting and ending in the same place, are likely to cost exactly the same even during the same taxi tariff period.

Table 1

Table 1 shows pricing at different times as it applies in the following boroughs only:

Hillingdon,Tower Hamlets

Time of day	Member flat fare	Borough trip subsidy	Fare limit
From 6am to 8pm Mon-Fri	£1.50	£10.30	£11.80
From 8pm to 10pm Mon-Fri & from 6am to 10pm Sat-Sun	£1.50	£11.30	£12.80
From 10pm to 6am Mon-Sun	£1.50	£12.80	£14.30

 

Example

Time of day	Metered fare	Borough trip subsidy	Member flat fare	Fare limit	Additional charge (metered fare minus fare limit)	Total cost to member
From 6am to 8pm Mon-Fri	£12.80	£10.30	£1.50	£11.80	£1.00	£2.50
From 8pm to 10pm Mon-Fri & from 6am to 10pm Sat-Sun	£13.80	£11.30	£1.50	£12.80	£1.00	£2.50
From 10pm to 6am Mon-Sun	£15.40	£12.80	£1.50	£14.30	£1.10	£2.60

 

Table 2

Table 2 shows pricing at different times as it applies in the following boroughs only:

Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Havering, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Kingston,  Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond,Southwark, Sutton, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth

Time of day	Member flat fare	Borough trip subsidy	Fare limit
From 6am to 8pm Mon-Fri	£2.50	£8.30	£10.80
From 8pm to 10pm Mon-Fri & from 6am to 10pm Sat-Sun	£2.50	£9.30	£11.80
From 10pm to 6am Mon-Sun	£2.50	£10.80	£13.30

 

Example

Time of day	Metered fare	Borough trip subsidy	Member flat fare	Fare limit	Additional charge (metered fare minus fare limit)	Total cost to member
From 6am to 8pm Mon-Fri	£12.80	£8.30	£2.50	£10.80	£2.00	£4.50
From 8pm to 10pm Mon-Fri & from 6am to 10pm Sat-Sun	£13.80	£9.30	£2.50	£11.80	£2.00	£4.50
From 10pm to 6am Mon-Sun	£15.40	£10.80	£2.50	£13.30	£2.10	£4.60

 

Table 3

Table 3 shows pricing at different times as it applies in the following boroughs only:

Bromley, Harrow and Westminster

	Member flat fare	Borough trip subsidy (same at all times)	Fare limit
Bromley	£2.50	£8.30	£10.30
Harrow	£2.50	£8.30	£10.30
Westminster	£2.50	£8.30	£10.30

 

Table 4

Table 4 shows pricing at different times as it applies in the following borough only:

Camden

Time of day	Member flat fare	Borough trip subsidy	Fare limit
From 6am to 8pm Mon-Fri	£2.50	£10.30	£12.80
From 8pm to 10pm Mon-Fri & from 6am to 10pm Sat-Sun	£2.50	£11.30	£13.80
From 10pm to 6am Mon-Sun	£2.50	£12.80	£15.30

 

  

Double swiping

Double swiping allows Taxicard members to swipe their cards twice during a journey instead of once. This means that they can use two trips and two subsidies.

For example, for a single trip, members pay a minimum fare of £1.50 and the maximum trip subsidy is £10.30 (for a daytime trip). If you use a double swipe you pay £3.00 and have a maximum trip subsidy of £20.60 (up to a total of £23.60 on the meter). You would also pay any balance above £23.60 on the meter.

If your borough has a minimum fare of £2.50 and the maximum trip subsidy is £8.30 (for a daytime trip). If you use a double swipe you pay £5.00 and have a maximum trip subsidy of £16.60 (up to a total of £21.60 on the meter). You would also pay any balance above £21.60 on the meter.

This allows people to choose whether to have fewer longer trips or more shorter trips.

Note: Under no circumstances can the driver swipe your card more than twice.

Participating boroughs are:

• Bexley
• Brent
• Bromley
• Camden
• Ealing
• Greenwich
• Hammersmith & Fulham
• Hackney
• Haringey
• Havering
• Hounslow 
• Islington
• Kingston
• Kensington & Chelsea
• Lambeth
• Lewisham
• Merton
• Richmond
• Southwark
• Sutton 
• Tower Hamlets

If you live in any other London borough, the driver is not permitted to swipe your card more than once.

Estimates

Taxis:

If you are concerned about exceeding the fare limit, please ask the contractor to give you an indication of the likely cost of your journey. It is important to remember that Taxicard journeys can be expensive if you travel longer distances. Due to the different combination of distance and time for each journey, depending on traffic conditions, the weather, route taken etc, it is not possible to give you an exact quotation.

The driver will usually take the shortest route to your destination. If you have a preferred route you would like to take please tell the driver at the beginning of your journey.

Private Hire Vehicles:

The contractor can tell you in advance how much your journey will cost.

Factors that may affect the final taxi fare

• Travelling in the rush hours and in heavy traffic. The amount on the meter continues to increase even if you are stationary, for instance at traffic lights
• Waiting with the meter running
• Extra stops on route
• Keeping the taxi waiting
• Roadworks where drivers have to take a longer route
• Very bad weather conditions
• Annual increases to taxi fares by the Transport for London's Taxi and Private Hire Directorate .

Tipping

There is no obligation to tip the driver. If you do choose to tip for good service the amount is at your discretion and is not refundable by London Councils or your borough.

 

 Payment

Note: It is important to ensure you have sufficient money on you to pay the full amount of the fare at the end of your journey. Failure to do so will result in the contractor refusing to book further journeys for you until the balance is paid.

Credit cards: The contractor will not accept credit cards for your booking.

Cancellations

If for any reason you decide not to travel after booking a vehicle please cancel it as soon as possible with the contractor.

Note: If you do not cancel the vehicle before it is allocated by the contractor to a driver your Borough has to pay what is on the meter and you also lose a trip from your allocation. This also means that that vehicle is not available to take another Taxicard booking.

Receipts

If you require a receipt for the amount you have paid, please ask the driver at the end of your journey. Receipts are not given automatically.

Taxi Tariff

For taxi tariff estimates please see http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/taxisandminicabs/taxis/1140.aspx Opens in a new window