Chapter 01 · The basics
Taxi or minicab? London has two, and the law treats them differently
In London, "taxi" legally means one thing: the black cab — a hackney carriage licensed by Transport for London, driven by someone who has passed the Knowledge, the exam that takes most candidates three or four years and some 25,000 streets to complete. A black cab can be hailed on the street, hired from a rank, or booked, and its fare is set by a meter on tariffs TfL publishes each April. Every one carries a wheelchair ramp, a card reader and a licence plate. There are about 16,000 licensed drivers and 13,700 cabs today — down by more than a third in a decade.
Everything else — the minicab, the app car, the executive saloon, the airport MPV — is a private hire vehicle. London licenses around 105,000 private hire drivers through some 1,800 operators, and the rule that matters most is simple: a private hire vehicle must be pre-booked through its licensed operator. It cannot legally pick you up from the kerb, however convincingly it pulls over, and a driver who offers is touting — a criminal offence, with your journey uninsured. Fares aren't metered: the operator quotes them, either fixed in advance (the Rushxo model) or dynamically in an app.
Neither type is "better". A black cab is the fastest answer to I need a taxi in the next ninety seconds in Zone 1. Private hire is the answer when you want a price before you leave, a particular kind of vehicle, a pickup at 4:15am, or a driver waiting at Heathrow arrivals with your name on a board. Most Londoners use both; the trick is knowing which one the moment calls for.
Black cab (taxi)
A hackney carriage licensed by TfL, with a driver who has passed the Knowledge.
- Street hails, 600+ ranks, or booked by phone and app
- Metered on TfL's tariff — £4.40 minimum, no luggage or card extras
- Must take you up to 12 miles within Greater London (20 from Heathrow)
- Wheelchair ramp and TfL-approved card reader in every cab
- Seats five or six; bags ride beside you
Private hire (minicab)
Any pre-booked car with a licensed driver — local firms, apps, executive and airport cars.
- Booked through a TfL-licensed operator, never hailed
- Fare quoted by the operator — fixed in advance, or dynamic in-app
- Choose the vehicle: saloon, executive, MPV up to eight, wheelchair-accessible
- Driver, vehicle and operator all licensed by TfL; discs front and rear
- Goes anywhere — including outside Greater London
Chapter 02 · Near you, right now
Four ways to find a taxi near you
Search "taxi near me" and you get a page of adverts. Here's what's actually around you, wherever in London you happen to be standing.
On the street
Look for the amber TAXI light on the roof — lit means free. Put an arm out anywhere a cab can stop safely; a driver can't refuse a hire under 12 miles within London without good cause. Plentiful in Zone 1 and around the stations, thin in the outer boroughs and after midnight.
At a rank
More than 600 marked ranks: every mainline terminus, the airports, the big hotels, and marshalled late-night ranks in the West End. You can't pre-book a rank cab, but you can nearly always get one — loading is quick, so the queue moves faster than it looks.
By app
Uber and Bolt book private hire; FREENOW and Gett book black cabs (FREENOW does both); Addison Lee runs its own fleet. The app is your booking record. Prices are dynamic, and the wait stretches at kicking-out time, in the rain and on strike days.
Through a local operator
Phone, WhatsApp or web-book a TfL-licensed operator — the original minicab, and the way Rushxo works: fixed quote, confirmed car and driver, 24/7. Search results for "taxi near me" are full of operators; check the licence before you ring (Chapter 05).
Chapter 03 · The decision
Which taxi to book, and when
Same city, same journey, three different experiences. The honest comparison — including where the black cab wins.
| Black cab | App minicab | Pre-booked fixed fare (Rushxo) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you get it | Hail, rank, or book by phone or app. | Request in the app and wait for a match. | Book by WhatsApp, phone or online — minutes ahead or months ahead. |
| Price | On the meter: £4.40 minimum, then distance and time on TfL's tariff. | Quoted when you request; moves with demand. | Fixed quote before you confirm; doesn't move. |
| 4am, rain, strikes | Same tariff (nights are Tariff 3), but far fewer cabs on the street. | Surge pricing, long waits, more cancellations. | Same fare; the car was booked and is waiting. |
| Vehicle & luggage | One shape: five or six seats, a ramp, bags beside you at no extra charge. | Whatever is nearest; bigger cars cost more. | Your choice: economy saloon, executive, MPV up to eight, wheelchair-accessible. |
| Beyond Greater London | Drivers can decline over 12 miles; fare negotiable past the boundary. | Coverage thins outside town; price keeps moving. | Any county in England, one fixed fare. |
| Payment | Card reader in every cab, no surcharge; cash too. | Card in the app. | Agreed at booking; monthly invoicing for business accounts. |
| Best for | Right now, short hops, central London. | Quick off-peak trips where a few minutes' wait is fine. | Airports, stations, early and late, groups, business — anything with a deadline. |
General comparison; black cab figures are TfL's from 25 April 2026, app behaviour varies by operator — always check the quote in front of you.
Match the ride to the trip
- Under two miles, Zone 1, daytimeHail it — fastest by a distanceBlack cab
- Home after the pubsMarshalled rank or a booked car; never a street minicabCab or pre-book
- Early flightBooked and priced the night beforePre-book, fixed
- Landing at Heathrow with bagsFixed fare vs £70–£120 on the meterPre-book or rank
- Six people and luggageA black cab seats five or sixPre-book an MPV
- Wheelchair userEvery cab has a ramp; WAVs on requestCab or booked WAV
- Client in the car, invoice neededExecutive car, monthly invoicingPre-book executive
- Out of London — Brighton, Oxford, a cruise portCabbies can decline; apps thin outPre-book, fixed
Chapter 04 · The money · TfL tariff from 25 April 2026
What a London taxi actually costs
Black cab fares are among the most transparent anywhere: TfL sets them, every meter charges them, and they change once a year. From 25 April 2026 the minimum fare is £4.40, with three tariffs by time of day. The meter counts distance and time, so a crawl along Oxford Street costs more than the same mileage at 6am, and beyond about six miles it steps up to a higher rate.
| Tariff | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Tariff 1 | Mon–Fri 05:00–20:00 |
| Tariff 2 | Mon–Fri 20:00–22:00 · Sat & Sun 05:00–22:00 |
| Tariff 3 | Every night 22:00–05:00 · public holidays |
Once a journey passes roughly six miles the meter switches to a higher rate (Tariff 4, matched to Tariff 2).
| Distance | Tariff 1 | Tariff 2 | Tariff 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mile 6–13 min | £8.40–£13.00 | £8.40–£13.20 | £9.00–£13.20 |
| 2 miles 10–20 min | £12.60–£20.20 | £13.40–£20.40 | £13.60–£20.40 |
| 4 miles 16–30 min | £21.00–£31.00 | £23.00–£32.00 | £23.00–£35.00 |
| 6 miles 28–40 min | £33.00–£42.00 | £41.00–£45.00 | £41.00–£45.00 |
| Heathrow ↔ central London 30–60 min | £70.00–£120.00 | ||
TfL's published typical fares; heavy traffic or delays push them up. Source: TfL taxi fare card 2026.
Apps: the price is a forecast
An app fare is quoted at the moment you request and reflects how many cars are free against how many people want one. Off-peak it can undercut the meter. At 11pm on a wet Friday, on a Tube-strike morning or when a stadium empties, the same journey can cost double, and the quote you saw can vanish if you cancel and re-request. A screenshot is your only record of what you were promised.
Fixed fares: the price is the price
A pre-booked operator quotes the journey in advance — for a Rushxo booking, before you confirm — and that figure is what you pay whatever the traffic, the hour or the weather does. It's the model for anything with a deadline: you're not buying the cheapest conceivable ride, you're buying the certainty that the ride costs what you planned.
Chapter 05 · Safety · TfL's own advice
The checks that take ten seconds and matter most
TfL's rule for minicabs is blunt: if it wasn't booked, it isn't a minicab — it's a stranger's car. These are the checks TfL asks every passenger to make. They're also the checks that separate a good operator from a bad one.
Is the operator licensed?
Every London private hire operator, driver and vehicle is licensed by TfL, and you can look any of them up on the TfL licence checker. Rushxo is Operator No. 11588. A firm that can't tell you its operator number isn't one to book.
Did you get a confirmation?
A licensed operator must confirm your booking with at least the vehicle registration, the driver's first name and licence number, and where possible a photo. No confirmation, no booking. An app request counts — keep it open until you're in the car.
Do the discs and driver match?
Private hire vehicles carry TfL licence discs in the front and rear windscreens, and drivers carry TfL photo ID. Check the registration and the driver against your confirmation. If either doesn't match, don't get in — ring the operator instead.
Never take a street minicab
A private hire driver who offers a lift you didn't book is touting: it's illegal, the journey is uninsured, and it's where the serious risk sits — a TfL sticker in the window changes nothing. Only a black cab, with the roof light and the plate on the back, can be hailed. Late at night, a marshalled rank or a pre-booked car beats "he seemed fine".
Chapter 06 · Booking · How it works with Rushxo
Booking a Rushxo car, step by step
Five steps, most of them yours to skip if you're in a hurry. The one that never changes: the price you're quoted is the price you pay.
-
Tell us the journey
Pickup, destination, date and time — on the booking page, over WhatsApp, or by calling 020 8888 9988. Add a flight or train time if there is one, how many of you there are, how much luggage, and anything we should plan for: a wheelchair, a client to impress, a 4am start.
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Get the fixed quote
One number for the whole journey. It won't change with traffic, the hour or the weather, and it doesn't come with a surge, a night rate or a bank holiday extra attached.
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Confirm
You receive a confirmation with the fare, the pickup time and the vehicle type. That's your booking record — the thing TfL tells every passenger to keep.
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Meet your driver
Before pickup you'll have the driver's name and the car's registration — check them against the car at the kerb, exactly as Chapter 05 says. At airports and stations we'll tell you which entrance or meeting point to use.
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Ride, pay, receipt
The fare you were quoted is the fare you pay. Business accounts get one monthly invoice instead of a pocketful of receipts.
Chapter 07 · Door to door
Airports, stations and the edge of London
The journeys where "which taxi?" matters most are the ones with a departure board at one end.
Airport transfers
Heathrow to central London is £70–£120 on the meter by TfL's own figures, plus a £6 drop-off extra at Heathrow and London City. A pre-booked fixed fare covers the same ground with a driver waiting: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton or London City. Give us the flight and terminal; the price is fixed before you take off.
Mainline stations
Every terminus has a black cab rank, and at 5am the queue of people can outnumber the cabs. For a first Eurostar out of St Pancras or the last train into Euston, a pre-booked pickup with the fare agreed the night before is the calmer option — our Eurostar guide covers St Pancras in detail.
Beyond Greater London
A black cab driver must take you up to 12 miles within London; beyond that they can decline, and past the boundary the fare is negotiable rather than metered. Rushxo runs to all 41 counties of England at a fixed price agreed before you leave — Brighton, Oxford, the Cotswolds, the cruise ports.
Chapter 08 · The Rushxo part · Fixed-fare private hire, London & the UK
The taxi that's priced before it moves
Everything above is how London works. This is how we work: you tell us the journey, we tell you the fare, and that number holds — at 3am, in the rain, on the day everyone else is travelling too.
Rushxo is a TfL-licensed private hire operator running 24/7 across London and into every county in England. No meter, no surge, no night rate. Real people on WhatsApp and the phone. And a driver whose name and registration you have before the car arrives — so the checks in Chapter 05 take you ten seconds, not a leap of faith.
Need one soon?
Message us on WhatsApp with where you are and where you're going. You get a fixed quote and a confirmed car — a licensed ride with a known price, without refreshing an app to watch the number climb.
Booked ahead
Airport runs, early trains, the theatre, the hospital appointment, the wedding: book the night before and the fare is fixed the night before. Door-to-door from anywhere in London — booked, priced, waiting outside.
Business & groups
Corporate accounts with monthly invoicing, executive cars for clients, MPVs for teams and families, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles on request. Events and cruise transfers too.
The right car for the trip
Solo with a suitcase? An economy saloon does it. Client in tow? Executive cars with monthly invoicing. Six of you plus the bags? An MPV takes up to eight with luggage. We also run wheelchair-accessible vehicles — just say so when booking.
- Zero surge pricing — same fare at 3am, on match nights, in storms and on bank holidays.
- TfL Licensed Operator 11588 — check us on the official TfL licence checker.
- Registered at Companies House — Rushxo Ltd, No. 16464640.
- Insured up to £10 million — with DBS-checked, fully licensed drivers.
- Real humans, 24/7 — WhatsApp, phone or email, answered by people, not bots.
Quick answers
London taxis, in short
Can I hail a minicab in London?
No. Only licensed black cabs can be hailed on the street or hired from a rank. Every other car with a driver — minicabs, app cars, executive cars — is a private hire vehicle and must be pre-booked through a TfL-licensed operator. A private hire driver offering you an unbooked ride is touting, which is illegal and leaves your journey uninsured.
How do I know if a taxi or minicab is licensed?
Black cabs carry a TfL licence plate on the back and the driver wears a green (all-London) or yellow (suburban) badge. Private hire vehicles carry TfL licence discs in the front and rear windscreens, drivers carry TfL photo ID, and the operator has a licence number you can look up on the TfL licence checker. Rushxo is TfL Licensed Operator No. 11588.
How much does a black cab cost in London in 2026?
From 25 April 2026 the minimum fare is £4.40, then the meter adds distance and time on three tariffs by time of day. TfL's typical fares are £8.40–£13.20 for one mile, £12.60–£20.40 for two miles, £21–£35 for four miles, £33–£45 for six miles, and £70–£120 between Heathrow and central London. There are no extras for luggage, extra passengers or paying by card.
Is a pre-booked taxi cheaper than a black cab?
It depends on the journey. For short daytime hops in central London a hailed black cab is usually quickest and often cheapest. For longer journeys, night trips, airport runs and anything with luggage or a deadline, a pre-booked fixed fare often undercuts the meter and always undercuts app surge pricing — and it's the only option where you know the price before you get in.
Do Rushxo fares go up at night, in bad weather or on bank holidays?
No. A Rushxo fare is fixed when you book and is the fare you pay — there is no meter, no surge pricing, no night tariff and no bank holiday extra. The price doesn't change because of traffic, the hour or the weather.
Are Uber and other taxi apps legal in London?
Yes. App operators are licensed by TfL as private hire operators, and every trip requested in the app counts as a pre-booking. Prices are dynamic and rise with demand. Never accept a lift from a driver who approaches you on the street claiming to be from an app — if it wasn't booked in the app, it isn't a licensed ride.
How far will a black cab take me?
Unless there is good cause, a black cab driver must accept any hiring up to 12 miles (20 miles if you're at Heathrow) or up to one hour if the destination is inside Greater London. Beyond that the driver can decline, and for destinations outside Greater London the fare can be negotiated before you set off — if nothing is agreed, it can't exceed the meter.
Are London taxis wheelchair accessible?
Every licensed black cab carries a working wheelchair ramp, and drivers must assist wheelchair users and carry assistance dogs at no extra charge. For private hire, wheelchair-accessible vehicles can be booked in advance — Rushxo provides them on request.
Can I pay by card?
Yes. Every black cab must have a TfL-approved card reader in the passenger compartment, accepting contactless, Visa, Mastercard and American Express with no surcharge. App rides are paid in the app. Rushxo fares are agreed at booking, and business accounts receive one monthly invoice.
Do I need to tip?
Tipping isn't expected or required in London taxis. Many passengers round up the fare or add around 10% for good service, but there's no obligation and no one will mind if you don't.
What's the difference between a taxi and a minicab?
In London, "taxi" legally means a black cab: a hackney carriage licensed by TfL, driven by someone who has passed the Knowledge, which can be hailed or hired from a rank and charges a metered fare. A minicab is a private hire vehicle: any pre-booked car with a licensed driver, arranged through a licensed operator, with the fare quoted by the operator rather than a meter.
How early should I book for an airport pickup or early flight?
As soon as you know the flight — the night before at the very latest for early departures. Booking ahead locks the fixed fare and means a car is assigned to you rather than found on the day, which matters most before 6am and on busy travel days.
Can I book a taxi from London to another town or city?
Yes. Rushxo runs fixed-fare journeys from London to every county in England — airports, cruise ports, universities, the coast — with the price agreed before you leave. Black cab drivers can decline hirings over 12 miles, and outside Greater London their fare is negotiable rather than metered.
Is it safe to get a taxi late at night in London?
Yes, if it's licensed and, for minicabs, booked. Hail a black cab, use a marshalled rank, or pre-book a car and check the registration and driver against your confirmation before getting in. Never accept an unbooked minicab. TfL's advice is simple: if it isn't booked, it isn't safe.
Sources & further reading
The official links, in one place
The fares, rules and safety advice on this page come from Transport for London, the licensing authority for every taxi and minicab in the capital. Bookmark these for the live versions.