[buro9]

In London, UK... it depends.

Late at night when the roads are relatively empty, the black cab is still damn efficient at moving you from A-B cheaply. The key is to be moving fast and not get stuck in traffic.

When there is traffic, then the minicab that doesn't meter the fare depending on time... solely distance... proves to be the cheapest. These are nearly all small, local firms, so your mileage on price may vary.

Uber do work out cheaper for the non-perfect conditions that tend to exist most of the time... some traffic, some speed.

What would be good is an app that polls Hailo, Uber, Lyft and some local firms and gives you the cheaper of all options.

But then, you know this is a race to the bottom, and service will eventually suffer if people buy purely because of price.

[xorcist]

London has the well known taxi test you have to take. Can Uber drivers manage this? Can you navigate London by car successfully via GPS?

[yardie]

Uber is competing with the minicabs in London. The black cabs are in a different, heavily regulated market; more knowledge (roads and traffic patterns), reserved lanes, and availability catered to central London.

I've spoken with Uber drivers that used to be minicab drivers. They used to pay weekly rent on the GPS/meter/radio they are required to use. 200£/week + petrol + insurance + maintenance really adds up.

Black cab drivers come from the pool of minicab (and now Uber) drivers. To become a black cab driver requires passing the knowledge and to learn it you need a lot of practice. Only practical as a minicab or hired driver.

[SandB0x]

Only black cab drivers take The Knowledge. Minicab (pre-booked private hire) drivers in London mostly use GPS.

[tim333]

The GPSs work OK in London. The black cabbies are probably a bit better at knowing which routes will be quickest but there's not much in it. Black cabs have an advantage in that they can use taxi only lanes / roads such as Oxford Street while Uber can't.