JOB NICKED: Is taxi etiquette fading fast from the London cab trade?
- Perry Richardson
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
A recent incident around a Holborn hotel has raised a question not just for me as a working London taxi driver, but also for many London cab drivers facing similar scenarios recently. Is the long-standing etiquette between cabbies slipping away?
As a full-time taxi driver I let a black Mercedes cab out from a well-know hotel forecourt exit. We both had our orange ‘hire’ lights on. For decades the understanding has been etched into cabbie etiquette. If you are let out, you do not take the next job in front of the driver who showed you that courtesy.
On this occasion the rule was not followed. Around 150 yards later down the road the driver who had been waved out stopped for the next passenger. When challenged, he gave a hostile response. His badge number showed he had spent more than a decade in the trade. He knew the expectations and still chose to ignore them.
That moment led to a wider thought. If professional courtesy is no longer respected, is it time to stop letting each other out when both cabs are empty? For many, this unwritten rule has always helped to keep the jobs moving, ease congestion and keep friction between drivers to a minimum. But when a driver takes advantage of another cabbies goodwill, the whole arrangement breaks down.
The reaction from other cabbies paints a rank of drivers divided. Some drivers say the old ways are over. Others argue that the job should not lose its standards because of a minority.
Comments from working drivers show the shift. One said he now “lets no one out”. Another said he will still behave properly, but expects nothing back. Some voiced blunt views that trust between cabbies has all but gone.
A few still defend the tradition. They argue that most drivers still play fair and that the actions of a small number should not change behaviour across the whole circuit.
There is a common thread running through many of the replies. Most drivers feel the job is becoming more transactional, less respectful and more focused on grabbing whatever comes first. Some say they stopped following the old etiquette years ago to avoid flashpoints. Others say they will continue to maintain their own standards regardless of how others act.
The Holborn incident has opened a wider debate. If mutual respect fades, the practical benefits of helping each other in heavy traffic may also disappear.
Whether the tradition survives depends on how many drivers still see value in it. For now, the divide looks wider than ever.
