Black taxis are purpose-built vehicles which can be any colour, not just black. Private hire vehicles cover a wide range of vehicles, including minicabs, chauffeur and executive cars and limousines.
Have a 'for hire' light on their roof. This means they can be hailed on the street or from a taxi rank
Must carry assistance dogs free of charge and are 100% wheelchair accessible. Taxis have an induction hearing loop, high-visibility grab handles, and minimum vehicle dimensions for safer access; and must carry wheelchair users. Find out more
Have fares which are regulated and set by us and are calculated by meter (known as the taximeter
If you want to know if the taxi and driver you're using is licensed by us, these are the things to look out for:
Drivers must have a badge and they must wear it while working. A badge shows that they have passed the Knowledge of London exam. Drivers with a green badge are licensed to pick passengers up anywhere in London and drivers with a yellow badge specialise in local suburban areas
Your driver must display one of these licences in the front and rear windscreens of their taxi. This licence shows the driver's badge number. If it is green, it means that you have an All London taxi driver and if it is yellow, your driver can work in local suburban areas.
As well as the driver's badge number, your taxi must display this white plate on the back of the vehicle. As well as the vehicle's licence number, it shows the licence expiry date, vehicle registration number, and number of passengers the vehicle is licensed to carry.
Must be pre-booked through a TfL-licensed private hire operator, who must provide a booking confirmation to a passenger before their journey starts; the booking confirmation must contain, as a minimum:
Must give you an accurate fare estimate before your journey starts (unless you've pre-agreed a fixed fare). We don't regulate private hire fares, although they are typically distance based
Must carry assistance dogs free of charge, and if they are designated as wheelchair accessible vehicles must carry wheelchair users. Find out more
If you want to know if the vehicle and driver you're using is licensed by us, there are a number of things to look out for:
Private hire drivers must wear their ID, like this, while working. This shows the driver's name, photo and licence number.
Private hire vehicles must have licence discs displayed on the front and rear windscreens. They will show: the TfL licence number, licence expiry date, vehicle's registration number, and the number of passengers the vehicle is allowed to carry. Vehicles and drivers are licensed separately, so make sure to check both.
Sometimes, private hire vehicles will have a pre-booked sticker on display. This is optional and should not be taken as proof that it is a licensed vehicle.
Taxi and private hire drivers are obliged to carry assistance dogs for no extra charge. Our taxis are also wheelchair accessible, and enable the user to travel easily around London - find out more.
If a taxi driver helps you to enter or leave their vehicle, or secure your wheelchair in the passenger compartment, they should not leave the meter running. Drivers who refuse to help with wheelchairs or assistance dogs face prosecution. If this has happened to you, please contact us.
Black taxis are designed with a range of accessibility features specifically included to help disabled and elderly customers. These include: an induction hearing loop, high visibility grab handles and minimum vehicle dimensions to enable safe access.
Pick-Up Point: Write the address of the pick-up point on the bottom of the screen under “PICK UP” or drag the yellow pin on the map to the desired location and the system will autocomplete the address.
Book a taxi in OrlandoSet Pick-Up: Once the pick-up location has been chosen, press the yellow “SET PICK UP” button on the bottom of the screen.
Hailing: You can always choose to hail the vehicle that you want just by tapping its icon on the map. Once you tap on the vehicle, you will see the name of the taxi company, type of vehicle, driver name, and the license plate of the vehicle.
Destination: Next you will set the drop-off address. At the bottom of the screen under “DROP OFF” type in your destination address and tap the yellow “SET DROP OFF” button.
Vehicle Type/Taxi Company: Tap the yellow taxi icon to choose the taxi company and vehicle type that you would like to book. You can even add a message to the driver such as the number of bags you have or any other important information.
Date & Time: Select whether you want to book a taxi right away (asap) or reserve one for a specific time and date.
When you book, the app confirms that the booking has been made and shows all the details of your ride, like the price and the assigned driver and vehicle.
Under “My Trips,” the app also saves the history of all your bookings so you can see all of the rides that you have booked from your account.
Under “My Trips,” the app also saves the history of all your bookings so you can see all of the rides that you have booked from your account.
Your booked trips that have not been taken yet will be shown under “Open” and will show all of the details of your future ride(s).
Your previous rides will be shown under “Closed” along with information including the trip duration, price paid, the vehicle and driver you rode with, and the date and time of the ride.
This site uses affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Taking a taxi in Almaty has finally become a more streamlined and painless process but not without a lot of trial and error over the years. This Almaty taxi guide will instruct you on how to successfully take a taxi in the Kazakhstan city as well as give advice to ensure you don’t put yourself in harmful situations like I have endured in the past. It will also give you a couple of apps to help you successfully take a taxi in Almaty.
Taking a taxi in Almaty has been a huge learning curve for me over the years. In fact, the Almaty taxi situation was the main reason I left Kazakhstan a bit early in 2016 when I lived here for the latter part of the year.
I want to be that person who promotes walking and taking public transportation everywhere around Almaty. But, unfortunately, it isn’t always feasible for me and the biggest problem is that I am claustrophobic.
The Almaty Metro runs in areas that I don’t live, so getting there is quite the walk. The buses are pretty efficient here but they always seem to be jam-packed. And it stresses me out just gazing inside of them more often than not.
I do tend to walk more here than in any other city I live in or visit and I usually lose weight when here. Maybe I should visit Almaty more often?
But, I do take a taxi fairly often in Almaty. They are extremely affordable here- more so than anywhere else I’ve ever been. And the city is spread out so it is difficult to walk from the bus station to the area of the city that I live in. It would take me hours and hours to do so! I often stay out late at night here because I am the world’s worst at getting over jetlag, so I tend to get lazy in the late hours and call a cab.