Could passenger-set pricing work for taxi booking apps? The case for turning end-of-shift and dead-mileage journeys into paid fares
- Perry Richardson
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Bolt’s introduction of Flex, which allows private hire passengers to propose a fare within a set range, has reopened an interesting debate that extends beyond the ride-hailing sector. Could a similar concept ever find a place within taxi booking apps?
For many licensed taxi drivers, the immediate reaction may be scepticism. Regulated taxi tariffs are one of the trade’s defining characteristics, offering transparency and consistency for passengers while helping ensure drivers receive a fair return for their work. Introducing any form of fare negotiation could appear to undermine that principle.
Yet there may be one area where the idea deserves closer examination.
The journey home already has value
Many London licensed taxi drivers do not live in central London. Thousands finish their shifts before heading home to places across Greater London, the outer suburbs and neighbouring counties such as Essex, Kent, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. Others travel towards airports or major roads before leaving the capital.
That means the final journey of the day is often made without a passenger.
The same applies in cities across the UK. A driver in Birmingham may head back towards Solihull, one in Manchester towards Stockport, or a Bristol driver towards North Somerset. Those miles are unavoidable, but they are also unproductive.
If a passenger happened to be travelling in broadly the same direction, many drivers might view a reduced fare differently from one taken during their main working hours.
A fare that earns something instead of nothing
Consider a London taxi driver who has decided to finish for the day and head home towards Reading. Rather than travelling empty along the M4 corridor, a passenger wants to travel from central London to Slough, Maidenhead or Reading.
The driver may be willing to accept less than they would normally expect because they were already making that journey. The alternative is earning nothing while still paying for electricity or fuel, tyre wear and vehicle depreciation.
Crucially, the passenger is not negotiating with every taxi driver in London. They are matching with a driver whose destination already aligns with their own. That arguably creates a different commercial equation for the driver to consider.
Similar thinking could apply during the working day
The same principle could also work before the end of a shift.
Whilst this scenario is granted very rare, a driver taking a passenger from Heathrow to Oxford, for example, may be happy to accept another fare heading back towards London at a reduced rate because it replaces what would otherwise be dead mileage.
Likewise, a driver working in central London but planning to finish in south-east London may welcome a passenger travelling in that direction.
Technology could identify drivers already travelling towards a destination rather than simply those closest to the passenger.
Instead of bidding becoming the norm, it would become an opportunity created by geography and timing.
The biggest risk is changing expectations
Despite the potential advantages, there are significant concerns. Taxi drivers have spent decades operating within regulated tariff structures. Passengers generally understand that taxi fares are determined by the meter or locally approved tariffs, not by bargaining.
Introducing passenger-set pricing, even on a limited basis, risks creating the impression that every fare is open to negotiation.
Once passengers become accustomed to suggesting a lower price, some may begin expecting discounts on ordinary journeys where drivers have no commercial reason to accept less.
That could gradually erode one of the taxi industry’s biggest strengths: price certainty.
Technology would need clear boundaries
If such a model were ever introduced, it would need to be tightly controlled. Rather than applying to every booking, it could be limited to specific circumstances, such as drivers who have indicated they are travelling home or returning towards their preferred working area.
The booking app would effectively be matching passengers with journeys that were already taking place, instead of encouraging widespread fare negotiation.
That distinction would be really important. The goal would not be to undercut regulated taxi fares but to reduce empty mileage where both parties benefit.
A tool rather than a pricing revolution
Modern dispatch systems already know where drivers are, where they are heading and, increasingly, where they intend to finish their shift. Using that information to match passengers travelling in the same direction is technically achievable.
The challenge is ensuring that any flexibility remains an exception rather than becoming the expectation.
For many drivers, earning something from a journey they were making anyway is preferable to earning nothing at all. Equally, many would oppose any change that encourages passengers to believe regulated taxi fares are merely a starting point for negotiation.
