HOW DO TAXI DRIVERS EARN MORE? Cabbie vlogger describes the workings of the black cab meter

Image credit: Tom the Taxi Driver (YouTube)

A popular London taxi driver vlogger has revealed how cabbies look to bump up their earnings by describing how the taxi meter workings.

Tom Hutley, a London taxi driver and successful YouTuber with more than 40,000 subscribers, posted his latest video sharing how the ‘mythical’ taxi meter works and what drivers are looking i for to raise their earnings during a shift.

All licensed taxis in the capital have a fully regulated taximeter, updated and controlled by Transport for London (TfL). The metered fare is displayed at all times during journeys, ensuring a fair and transparent cost for every trip. Every taxi carries a tariff sheet displaying the current metered charges.

Crucially there is a minimum fare on all taxi trips set at £3.20. Thereafter the taxi meter ticks over on the time and distance of the journey.

Hutley, who has a book about his time on the Knowledge and recently progressed to Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers, showed how turning over a greater number of jobs is more advantageous to cabbies than running longer and more expensive journeys.

The cabbie’s YouTube channel has been a massive hit with viewers ever since it first launched in March 2020. The London black cab driver and qualified taxi guide completed the ‘Knowledge of London’ in 2017 after 3 years of studying. Four years into the job he now has a fast-growing channel on YouTube and has recently launched his own blog.