02/09/2026
“How was my taxi more expensive this time? I went to exactly the same place.”
Probably one of the most common fare questions we get — and it’s actually a fair question.
Here’s the bit that isn’t always obvious.
When the taxi is moving, the meter charges for distance.
When the taxi is stationary, it switches to time.
So the exact same journey might fly through in 10 minutes one day, then spend another day sitting at traffic lights, crawling through roadworks or stuck in traffic for half an hour.
Same pick-up. Same destination. Very different amount of the driver’s time.
That’s why you’ll sometimes see waiting time on a metered journey, and why a fare you’ve done before isn’t necessarily going to finish on exactly the same amount every time.
It also means the driver is still being paid for their time when the traffic isn’t moving — which, for self-employed drivers, is only fair. Otherwise a 45-minute journey could effectively pay them the same as one that took 10.
Our drivers will always endeavour to take the quickest and most cost-effective sensible route they can.
But if there’s a particular way you’d prefer to go, just tell your driver at the start of the journey. They’ll be more than happy to take you that way.
