Taxi driver hits back at card payments as he highlights cash concernshttps://www.express.co.uk/life-style/ca ... ments-cashA London Taxi driver has pushed back against card payments as he warned the decline in cash was affecting his business.
Cab driver Howard Taylor revealed that cash is only used for around one-tenth of his journeys every day.
The rest all use cards to fund their trips which forces Taylor to make less money on every journey.
Card payments take around two percent of the revenue he makes on every trip meaning he is missing out on extra income.
The news is likely to be replicated across the industry with the situation only made worse with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Taylor told GB News: “What happens in the future is anybody’s guess.
“When they’ve got the game to themselves and there is no cash, they can charge what they like – no one’s got any options.
“I don’t like anybody to have too much control over everybody else. Especially when you’re talking about something as basic as one’s finances.”
Transport for London warns all taxi drivers must accept card and contactless payments.
Meanwhile, they warn all vehicles must be fitted with a TfL-approved payment device with other tools not allowed.
Earlier this year, taxi drivers in Tunbridge Wells were told off by the borough council after reports from passengers that drivers were insisting on cash.
Some locals had reported being turned away by taxis after when explaining they could not pay with notes or coins.
But, drivers explained the fees are “very high” with added costs often not subsidised.
Clayton Berry of Cleggy’s Taxis told Times of Tunbridge Wells: “Taxi drivers are already paying for licensing, petrol, and the vehicle, and this is another cost on top.
“We are stuck to the meter price, set by the Council and we cannot increase our fares to cover the extra cost, unlike private hires can.”
Toni Conlon, from Tunbridge Wells 888 warned some firms could lose up to 3.5 percent of a fare by using a card.
Meanwhile, drivers can sometimes be left waiting up to a week to get paid by card companies after a transaction.
He also pointed out that a lack of signal can make it difficult to receive money from customers.
The Federation of Small Businesses warned transaction rates could increase in another blow for drivers.
They explained: “If we ended up with a cashless high street, then that is a big competitor to the card companies in terms of a payment method gone.
“Without that competitor, naturally that gives them more of a monopoly position.
“And so it's not that much of a stretch of the imagination that they could then put up their fees because, for a retailer, they may have no other way of taking payments.”
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