London cabs have been voted the best in the world in the annual global taxi survey from Hotels.com. London picked up 22% of the votes, a clear runaway winner followed by New York with 10% and Tokyo with 9%.
London’s iconic black cabs won nearly a quarter of the vote in the survey, which also saw Berlin reclaim its position in the Top 5 list, in fourth place with 5%, and Madrid, Mexico City and Amsterdam in joint fifth with 4%.
The world’s best taxis:
- London 22%
- New York 10%
- Tokyo 9%
- Berlin 5%
- Amsterdam 4%, Madrid 4%, Mexico 4%
Alison Couper, of Hotels.com said: “Six years running and London cabs are still leading the pack when it comes to travel – it’s great to see! Our iconic black Hackney Carriages and their well informed cabbies can pride themselves on being globally recognised for their expert knowledge and quality of driving, maybe next year we can top the list for all categories!”
Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said: “Once again, the expertise, professionalism and in depth knowledge of our great city has seen London’s taxi drivers voted as the best in the world. Clearly, their friendliness, dedication and pride in the trade, helps visitors not only get to their destination quickly and safely, but enhances the whole experience of a visit to London.”
Of the 30 countries surveyed, London topped the list across five of the seven categories, including cleanliness (23%), knowledge of the area (27%) and quality of driving (30%). While London cabs were also voted top for friendliness (23%) it was this category that was deemed the least important to travellers, meaning London’s friendly cabbies could be seen to put some punters off. Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) voted safety their No1 priority when travelling by taxi, which London’s cabs also ranked highest on.
New York and Bangkok taxis came joint first for value for money (20%); interestingly the latter didn’t quite make the overall top five this year. New York’s recognisable yellow taxis grabbed the top spot when it came to availability (23%).
The survey also revealed the world’s more obscure objects that travellers have admitted to leaving behind, including a wig and a bird in a cage left behind in a US cab, a prosthetic leg and an ex-boyfriend in Australia and a trombone in Finland!
