A licensed London black cab can be hailed directly in the street whenever its yellow "TAXI" sign is lit, picked up at a taxi rank, or booked through the Gett app or by phone. Fares run on a meter with a minimum charge of GBP 3.80 at all times, confirmed on TfL's taxi fares page, and increase under one of three time-based tariffs: Tariff 1 on weekdays 05:00-20:00, Tariff 2 on weekday evenings and all weekend daytime hours, and the higher Tariff 3 overnight (22:00-05:00) and on public holidays.

There are no extra charges for luggage, extra passengers, or an assistance dog in a black cab, and every licensed taxi must have a working card reader and accept contactless with no card surcharge. Booking by phone, app, or online rather than hailing adds a fee of up to GBP 2. A GBP 4 surcharge applies for journeys made between 20:00 on 24 December and 06:00 on 27 December, and between 20:00 on 31 December and 06:00 on 2 January.

Private hire (Uber, Bolt, Addison Lee): pre-booked, pre-priced

Private hire vehicles operate under a licensed operator, and by law must be pre-booked — through an app, by phone, or online — before the journey starts. Uber, Bolt, and Addison Lee all run as licensed private hire operators in London, and each shows you a price before you confirm the trip, rather than running a meter. Because the price is agreed in advance, it does not creep upward if traffic is heavy, but it can rise sharply during high-demand periods through app-based surge pricing, which a metered black cab fare does not do.

A private hire vehicle you have not booked is not legal to use. Visit London's own guidance is direct: unbooked minicabs are illegal, and an unbooked or unlicensed vehicle is uninsured to carry you as a fare-paying passenger. Every licensed private hire vehicle must display a Transport for London licence disc in the front and rear windscreen.

Comparing the two on the details that matter

The table below compares black cabs and app/phone-booked private hire on the questions that usually decide which one to use.

Option How you get one Luggage and access
Black cab Hail in the street, use a rank, or book via Gett/phone No luggage surcharge; all vehicles are wheelchair accessible
Private hire (app-booked) Book in advance through Uber, Bolt, Addison Lee, or similar Wheelchair-accessible options vary by operator and vehicle type shown in-app
Unbooked "minicab" approach Never — this is not a legal way to get a ride Uninsured; avoid entirely

Accessibility and airport pickups

Every licensed London taxi is designated wheelchair accessible by law, and TfL's driver handbook states drivers have a legal duty under the Equality Act to carry a passenger seated in a wheelchair, carry the wheelchair itself if the passenger transfers to a seat, and carry an assistance dog at no extra charge, with medical exemption the only recognised reason to refuse. Private hire operators offer wheelchair-accessible vehicles as a specific option within the app rather than as a guarantee across the whole fleet, so select that option explicitly when booking if you need one.

For airport pickups, a black cab from an official rank at Heathrow carries a GBP 2 rank pickup fee, and drop-off at a Heathrow terminal can add up to GBP 5.20 to cover the airport's own Terminal Drop-Off Charge — check current terminal charges on TfL's taxi fares page before you travel, since airport-set fees can change independently of TfL's tariff. Private hire pickups from the airport must also be pre-booked through the app, with the driver typically meeting you at a designated pickup point rather than a taxi rank — check your app for the current pickup zone at the terminal you land in.

How to check a private hire vehicle is licensed

Before you get into any private hire car, confirm the licence disc in the windscreen matches the vehicle and, where the app shows one, the driver's name and photo shown on your booking screen. TfL provides an online licence checker where you can verify that a driver, vehicle, or operator holds a current London licence using the details on the licence disc or your booking confirmation.

What this comparison does not cover

This guide does not cover fixed-price airport transfer services booked as a separate product before you travel, night bus or rail alternatives to a taxi, or current exact private hire pricing, which varies by app, time of day, and demand rather than following a published tariff. Confirm the fare shown in your chosen app before you confirm the booking, since none of the app-based prices are regulated the way the black cab meter is.