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The anti-social social media club: Why the taxi industry’s biggest online battles are often the ones it should walk away from
Social media has transformed how the taxi industry communicates. News that once travelled through ranks, radio circuits and trade magazines is now shared within seconds across Facebook groups, X and other online forums.
Drivers can quickly warn colleagues about licensing changes, road closures, enforcement activity or passenger safety concerns. It has become an invaluable tool for networking and information sharing.
But alongside those benefits has come a darker side that many within the industry are beginning to recognise.
In his latest LTDA column, The Anti-Social Social Media Club, Steve Kenton argues that while social media was designed to connect people, it increasingly encourages conflict, self-promotion and misinformation instead.
“There are now around 5.8 billion users worldwide,” Kenton writes. “Roughly 70% of the planet is on some form of social media, with billions of egos all vying for online or virtual supremacy.”
For Kenton, the problem is not simply the scale of social media, but the behaviour it often rewards.
“These online supremacists expound their views, which are often poorly researched, as though the planet’s civilisation itself depends upon their latest post,” he says.
From useful discussion to endless negativity
Like many drivers, Kenton admits he has become increasingly selective about how he uses social media. After describing social media as “the cesspit of shame and disgrace”, he explains that he now deliberately limits his time online.
“I’ve even set myself a rule: only interact on social media if it’s helpful, humorous, positive or promotional,” he writes. “I’m tired of negativity, aggression, abuse and the endless online witch hunts seemingly designed to ruin people’s lives. It’s exhausting, puerile and, quite frankly, sickening.”
His comments reflect a wider concern shared across the industry. Many taxi and private hire drivers rely on social media to stay informed, but increasingly find themselves scrolling through arguments, personal attacks and speculation rather than useful information.
Misinformation spreads quickly
One of Kenton’s strongest criticisms is directed at those who comment confidently on subjects they know little about.
Within the taxi trade, discussions around licensing, regulation or enforcement frequently generate hundreds of comments, many presenting opinion as established fact.
“Within the taxi trade, a substantial amount of misinformation is spread by people who know absolutely nothing about the world of the London cabbie,” Kenton says.
He adds that some people seek to elevate themselves by attacking the industry, while others simply want attention.
“They deliver ill-informed opinions with such confidence that you’d think their words had been carved into stone tablets and carried down Mount Sinai by Moses himself.”
The issue is not unique to taxis. Across every industry, algorithms tend to reward posts that generate engagement rather than those that provide accurate information. Controversial claims often receive far greater visibility than measured analysis.
The industry’s own worst enemy?
Kenton also questions why drivers continue to engage with obvious online provocateurs.
“Knowing that this nonsense is nothing more than people deliberately typing provocative comments to agitate and generate clicks to earn a bit of attention (or cash), why do taxi drivers fall for it every single time?”
He believes many drivers still fail to recognise a basic truth about internet culture. “We’ve seemingly not learned that a troll is only a troll until you starve them of attention.”
Instead of ignoring inflammatory posts, lengthy comment threads often develop that push the original content to even wider audiences. The result is that the people seeking attention frequently receive exactly what they wanted.
The Believe Me controversy
One example Kenton highlights is the industry’s reaction to the television drama Believe Me, in which actor Daniel Mays portrayed serial rapist John Worboys.
Some members of the trade criticised Mays simply for taking the role.
Kenton argues this entirely missed the point. “Whether the trade likes it or not, this programme has been aired, and the industry’s reaction matters,” he writes. “The reaction should have been either to own it and show compassion, or say nothing at all.”
He continues by arguing that actors portraying criminals should never be confused with the professions they depict.
“His crimes do not define the licensed London taxi trade any more than Wayne Couzens defines the police service or Harold Shipman defines the NHS.”
Instead, he says the industry’s priority should always have been Worboys’ victims rather than attempting to defend its image through angry online exchanges.
You cannot win every online argument
Perhaps the most practical advice in the column concerns knowing when not to engage. According to cabbie Kenton, many abusive social media users have no interest in genuine debate.
“People throwing abuse online are not interested in discussion, they simply want a reaction.”
Trying to persuade them is, he argues, largely pointless. Before entering another lengthy argument online, Kenton suggests drivers ask themselves a simple but important question.
“Is it really worth arguing with someone who has 12 friends on X (formerly Twitter), no posts and a budgerigar as their profile picture?”
