Attempts to strengthen the presence of minicabs at Heathrow have been thwarted by opposition from taxi drivers. Tom Otley reports on what this means for business travellers
London’s black cabs, along with its red buses, are as recognisable around the world as Big Ben or the Houses of Parliament. To become a driver of a black cab, hopefuls have to demonstrate detailed knowledge of the six-mile radius around Charing Cross, including 320 routes (or runs) and all the landmarks and places of interest along them.
It takes between two and four years to pass the All-London Knowledge, as it is known and, as a result, these drivers are admired the world over. Nevertheless, these taxis can be expensive – when coming into the capital from London Heathrow, a charge of £70 or £80 is quite possible, although Heathrow Taxis (heathrowtaxis.org) says the average is £50-55.
Competition from private hire vehicles (minicabs) might play a part in pushing down prices, but whether you are in central London or Heathrow, black taxis offer the advantage of being hailed in the street or from a designated rank, whereas minicabs must be pre-booked. At Heathrow, only black cabs can be in the rank.
Last year, BAA, concerned that it had little control over minicab firms operating in the airport, proposed having a preferred partner that would have a presence in the arrivals area. Passengers could simply walk out into arrivals, book a minicab and then either walk to their car or be taken to it. It did some research and chose “London’s largest minicab service”, Addison Lee (addisonlee.com).
What happened next? As John Griffin, Addison Lee’s chief executive, puts it: “The black taxis threatened to close down the airport. They were concerned we would have a profile there that they would find over-competitive. So they made their threats and BAA said it would be too disruptive. They said: ‘We just can’t take them on.’”
London’s taxi drivers are represented by a number of organisations, including Unite and the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) unions. The latter’s general secretary, Bob Crow, described the plan to deregulate Heathrow’s taxi rank system as “a kick in the teeth for those thousands of men and women who have spent years doing the Knowledge and who now find they are being squeezed out by the minicabs”. He added that the system would “make a mockery of the pre-booked status of minicabs”.
For the 1,800-2,000 drivers of black cabs who work regularly at Heathrow – each of whom pays BAA £6 every time they come through the feeder park on the outskirts of the airport – the distinction is crucial. A spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which represents the greatest proportion of drivers of black cabs, says their main objection was that placing a booth in the airport would have “destroyed the distinction between immediate hire and pre-booked”.
“The difference between black cabs and minicabs is clear,” the spokesman says. “Minicabs have to be pre-booked. What [BAA] was proposing was immediate hire. If you want a minicab you can go up to the info desk and they’ll supply you with a number and you can book them if you haven’t already. The taxi drivers pay for the privilege of being there.”
Michael Moran, the RMT’s Heathrow taxi representative, says: “Taxis are there by an act of parliament. Heathrow has to supply licensed taxi ranks at each terminal but the effect of this proposal would be to create two immediate-hire options. We have no problem with people being given the choice, but the private-hire companies have to abide by the legislation.”
For its part, BAA confirms it was concerned about the lack of guidance available to passengers on reputable private-hire firms, and so wanted to have a preferred partner. As a result of the opposition, it decided to alter the proposal.
“Instead of overtly advertising Addison Lee at the airport, we now recommend them instead,” a spokesperson says. What this means, in practice, is that if a passenger does not want to take a black cab and instead goes to one of the airport information points and asks for a recommendation for a minicab company, Addison Lee will be the name given.
How many passengers do this remains a mystery. For Addison Lee’s part, Griffin says: “It hasn’t made a great deal of difference to us. We still pick up at the airport – we have ways and means. We have a feeder rank with a small amount of cars and a larger rank outside the airport.” He says passengers who have not pre-booked can still do so after landing simply by phoning the company or using its new free iPhone app.
“The driver can go to any terminal, and with passport control and baggage reclaim [to go through] you don’t get out of the airport in less than 20 minutes even if you are travelling with hand luggage only. If you phone us we will still get there before you get out.
“The big plus of using us at the airport is that if you’ve made a booking you have the driver’s mobile number, so while you are waiting for your luggage you can sort out where to meet and how long you’ll be. We also know when planes are late.”
Griffin adds: “The black taxi has a different role – it is on a rank – but we are about 25 per cent cheaper. If we tell you a car is going to be £50, that’s what it’s going to be no matter what the traffic is like. Taxis aren’t like that – when you are sitting in traffic, the charge increases. But for us, each one of our drivers is encouraged to find the speediest route.”
It should be noted that it is possible to prearrange the price for a black cab – on the Heathrow Taxis website, set pricing is offered for Central and Greater London, train stations, other airports, local destinations and places outside London. This may work out more expensive, however, since the price is agreed at one of the taxi desks and incurs a 10 per cent fee if paid for by debit or credit card. A fare from Terminal 1 to Mayfair in Central London is shown as £62. (Visit tfl.gov.uk for information on how black cabs charge and the tariffs they set.)
As for the taxi drivers, Griffin says: “They are fearful of the sort of competition we are providing so they are using their muscle to try to stop us, but not very successfully because we are still providing it. The taxi is an archaic vehicle. We can carry six people, luggage, we have air conditioning and you don’t pay extra at night.”
As if the fight at Heathrow wasn’t enough, Griffin had also been campaigning for his drivers to be able to use the M4 bus lane linking the airport to the capital, which coaches and black taxis could use but minicabs couldn’t. He had been asking his drivers to use it so that if they picked up tickets he could take the matter to court. Last month, the government announced that the controversial lane was to be scrapped at the end of the year.
Griffin says: “We have received notice that more than 200 tickets and 130 summonses against Addison Lee for driving in the M4 bus lane have been dropped as the Crown Prosecution Service has decided prosecutions are not in the public interest. I have no doubt the decision to scrap the lane was, at least in part, the result of the pressure presented by this case.”
He adds: “I’m very pleased that people are starting to realise it is unfair to discriminate against private-hire vehicles that are licensed by the same authorities and compete for the same customers with taxis.” Griffin now intends to test the bus lane rules in another part of London, meaning minicabs may soon be piling the pressure on taxis elsewhere in the capital too.
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