Chewed Out By Heathrow Cab Driver

And you say this happened "years ago"? If it still rankles then I guess you were wrong and the cabbie was right. He was just a working stiff, after all, as they all are, and because you hadn't properly checked out the location of your hotel, he lost out on a possible fare into London. Put yourself in his place for a minute ... how would you have felt?

Yes, he lost out on the higher priced fare, but he had to take you. It's the same thing in the US. Did he think you should have walked? Thoseines are a gamble and they know it. The cabbie was unprofessional. Pam

I am aware of the queue system and how a short ride to an airport hotel can hurt the profit for said cab drivers. Thus I have given some very generous tips on short rides, (e.g. give a $10 on a $4 dollar fare) That driver would not have gotten a single cent (or pence) in tip.

It's the same here in the U.S. Take my hometown of San Francisco. You want a cab to get to a restaurant about a mile away and they're in line looking for a fare to the airport about 30 minutes away. By law, they must take you where you want to go. In your case, I would have taken down the cabbies name and number, reported it and then moved on.

I was at a business hotel in NY the (few) cabbies who took short fares were making a kkilling, while the majority were sitting on their duffs waiting for a fare to the airport. So it happens all over, not just Heathrow

No excuse for the demeanour of the cab driver, but the reason is that this guy would have queued for an hour to get this. So for your fare of say $US7 that might have been 2 hours out ohis stay. Guess you wouldn't be in a geat mood to your boss if he paid you that amount for 2 hours work. The black cabs on the terminal rank have to take such fares otherwise they risk losing their licence Easier said than done but its always best for both sides if you make some effort to check out local customs and places before travelling.
A lot of the airport hotels have arrangements with private car companies geared up to local journeys for just this reason and you'd have saved money too by learning about lack of tipping in the UK and the availability of free buses to the hotel as well as the dedicated hotel buses.

We've had cab drivers at Berlin Tegel refuse to take us to a stop about a mile away. We just walked it. Bit of a pain, though.

The cue at CDG in Paris is at least two hours. Educational thread about this experience.

I live close to Sydney airport so I cop this behaviour from Sydney taxi drivers often. I can see their point of view but I never ever feel remorse, because whilst I live a short drive from the airport, it is still too far to walk with luggage. I don't argue with them, I simply ask them to drive me home.

Norma, I'm not rankled about it. I just remembered it. I'd just gotten off a 16-17 hour flight from Johannesburg. I was booked into the hotel by my office. I didn't have a clue if it was 100 yards or 5 miles from the terminal. All I had was a name on a piece of paper. I have some sympathy for the cabbie's potential loss of a London fare, but no sympathy at all for his rant. If taxis don't want to take people to airport hotels, then they ought to say so, or set up two distinct queues. Seems people could make some money running lots of fares on short trips while everyone else sits there waiting for a chance on a 50 quid ride into the West End.

I wish I'd read this thread before I queued for a taxi to Euston Station last summer at St. Pancras after arriving on the Eurostar. After a lengthy wait for our turn, the driver told us we should just walk to Euston Station, "right there", as he pointed to a brick building across the road and motioned to the next people in line. Well, it was close, but not "right there", and we had luggage, and it was in the middle of a heat wave, and the area was crowded and confusing to us tourists. I understand now why he lied and didn't want to take us. Useful information to have for future trips.

This explains why our cabby wasn't friendly at all to us when we asked to be taken to the Holiday Inn by Heathrow. However, he was a gentleman and didn't complain about it at all. I feel bad now because we only gave him less than a 1 pound tip because we were told to just round up the fare.

I have always had lovely cab drivers in London, friendly and talked a lot. But one year when my daughter (16 at the time) and I was in Paris, we took a cab from the train station to our hotel, when we got to the hotel the cab driver tried to charge us per bag that he handle, fine. Well then he even tried to charge us for Rachel's backpack that he hadn't touched. Well,
I started to say something, but then Rachel let him know that there was no way he would be paid for her backpack. She was nice to him but she stood her grounds.

Driving a cab is a tough job. We arriving tourists are usually just tired and confused. Cabbies have to deal with a lot worse every day. That said, getting to an airport hotel, especially with luggage, can be a daunting task. Everyone says they're really close to the terminal. But not everyone really is close. That said, cabbies ought to bear in mind that walking a short distance, say, from St. Pancras to Euston, is one thing without luggage and an entirely different thing with luggage. Especially if you aren't sure where you're going.

The hotel sounds like the ARIEL - it's just across the (A4) road from the airport, but NOT within walking distance. It's always best to talk to the driver before doing a short trip like that.

Thanks for sharing this and for all those who replied to this thread. It is helpful to think about the people who provide services to travelers and I hope will make me a more conscientious traveler in the future.

We had a similar issue in California (maybe Anaheim) where we checked out of one hotel and went to another. We asked the doorman if we needed a taxi and he said "Yes". Turned out to be a very short drive and the driver wasn't happy. If I knew the distance ahead of time I would have walked. However I still don't think cab drivers should ever take it out on the passenger.

Some thoughts on this: 1. If I was a driver waiting in at a Heathrow queue hoping to get a nice fare into London, and someone gets into the cab and asks to go someplace that's 500 yards away, I might politely explain that to the passenger before pulling away. I might also explain that, given the the way Heathrow's roads are laid out, walking might get the passenger there long before a taxi. Question: Could a Heathrow/London cabbie do that without violating a law or regulation? My understanding is that once a fare says where he wants to go, the driver is obligated. 2. Taxi ranks at airports are controlled by the airport. Even if drivers love the idea of long-distance and short-distances queues, it isn't up to them. 3. Do the hotels who advertise as "at Heathrow" collectively run a shuttle that loops 24/7 through the terminals and stops at each participating hotel? 4. Last fall in Edinburgh, I took a cab from Waverly Station to the George Hotel. That's about 4 blocks, 2 of them uphill. I could have easily walked, dragging a rollaboard. But I didn't want to do that. I told the driver as much. He didn't seem to mind, and we had a nice chat on our short journey. My tip was bigger than the fare.

I don't take taxis very often and have had this situation occur only once, in Germany, not England. The ride was only a few blocks, but my wife was having back problems. The driver was visibly disappointed because he obviously had waited for a while in a long line at the Freising bahnhof outside Munich, but he never complained. I know he was hoping for a trip to the airport, but my wife was in pain and really need the ride. The fare was only about 6 euros, but I gave him 15, something I would not normally do. But I was not out much, and it was not a total loss for the driver. If the driver had been rude, there would have been little or no tip.

j.c., regarding question #3, many of the hotels near Heathrow are served by the "hotel hoppa" bus. You can check the website below for the hotels on the route. www.nationalexpress.com/airporttransfers/heathrow-hotel-hoppa.aspx