Black cabs and credit cards

Travelling in one of London's iconic black cabs is about to become easier.

The move has been approved by the Board of Transport for London (TfL) following a consultation in which an overwhelming 86% of respondents backed the move.  Every London taxi will be required to accept card payments for their fares by October this year.

TfL has also said that it is committed to working with the card industry to link card payment devices directly to the taximeter in future. 

Clearly competition is having an effect with ‘cabbies’ now having to contend with Uber as well as private hire companies.  With satellite navigation the traditional ‘knowledge’ has to a certain extent taken a back seat, although the taxi trade will say that while the GPS is fine, it is not always right, and there is nothing to beat experience when it comes to London’s road.   www.ltda.co.uk

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OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Norman Bartlett, UK

Another benefit of black cabs is the informed observations on the political scene from the driver.

Barry Graham, Washington, DC

You mean to say that isn't the case now? And they wonder why Lyft and Uber are taking away their market share (although that's just one reason).