Hotels.com Reports London Cabs Are Ranked Best In The World
Released
on: May 29, 2009, 4:21 am
Author: Hotels.com
Industry: Travel
Hotels.com
has revealed that London taxis have been voted the best in the
world for the second year running. A poll of international travellers*
has shown that 33% of those surveyed said that London's black
cabs were the best.
Despite
being named the most expensive city for cabs, London's taxi drivers
pulled in the most votes for a number of different categories
including friendliness of drivers, quality of driving and knowledge
of area.
The
capital's taxis beat off competition from New York (favourite
amongst 17% of travellers) and Berlin (which came in third place
with 6% of the vote). The Hotels.com survey found that the Spanish
city of Madrid and the Danish capital of Copenhagen completed
the top five. Bangkok, famed for its tuk tuk taxis, was a surprise
entry into the top ten, beating both Dublin and Paris to the number
seven slot.
Taxis
are one of the first experiences that many travellers have on
arrival in a new city, so it is significant that the capital's
taxis are making such a good impression on visitors to the UK.
In fact, the research found that cabs are by far the most popular
method of travel from airport to hotel.
The
European poll also looked at the top taxi destinations for cleanliness,
value, quality of driving, knowledge of the area, friendliness,
safety and availability. 16% of those polled found London cab
drivers the friendliest, with Dublin coming in a close second
with 11% while Paris was regarded by 16% of those surveyed as
the rudest taxi drivers in the world. London taxi drivers were
also commended by a third (33%) of travellers for knowing their
city better than other city cab companies around the world and
a quarter of those questioned ranked London cabs as the safest
overall.
Alison
Couper, Director of Communications at Hotels.com, commented: "It's
great to hear that London has won the best taxi vote for the second
year running. The journey to their hotel is often a traveller's
first experience of the destination they are visiting and so a
friendly, knowledgeable taxi driver can help form a positive first
impression. With the weak pound, falling prices among London
hotels and now this award, London is becoming an increasingly
attractive and affordable destination for visitors."
John
Thomas, Chairman of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, added:
"I am pleased to hear that London has been recognised as
having the best taxi service in the world. London's taxi drivers
must dedicate three years to completing the knowledge training
to qualify as a London taxi driver and that commitment is vital
to offering the very best customer service. This is what makes
London's taxi service stand out from New York, Paris and every
other major city."
Notes to Editors:
* Research was conducted amongst 1,400 travellers from the UK,
Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark in
May 2009.
About
Hotels.com:
As part of the Expedia group which operates in all major markets
with dedicated staff, Hotels.com offers more than 100,000 quality
hotels worldwide including a wide selection of Dublin
hotels, New
York hotels, Rome
Hotels and Paris
hotels. If a customer can find the same deal for less on a
prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com benefits from
one of the largest hotel teams in the industry negotiating the
best rates for its users, plus user-contributed reviews of its
properties. Hotels.com won the Gold Award for best hotel booking
site in Webuser magazine in February 2009. Travellers can book
online or by contacting one of the multi-lingual call centres.
Hotels.com PR contact:
Cordy Griffiths
PR Manager
Hotels.com
42 Earlham St
Covent Garden
London
WC2H 9LA
020 7019 2360
www.hotels.co.uk
2012
