The well-heeled London borough of Wandsworth is the capital’s most stingy when it comes to tipping taxi drivers, fare data has revealed.
The payment app Lopay analyzed 57,816 fares paid to more than 2,000 taxi and minicab drivers in the capital and found it fair 1 out of 5 Passengers disembarking in the affluent enclaves of Wandsworth tipped their driver – barely half the number recorded at Hillingdon.
According to Lopay data, London’s worst tips were Wandsworth, where only 21.3% of passengers added a tip to their fare, followed by Barnet (22%), Greenwich (22%), Brent (22.5%) and Westminster (23rd %).
The front-runners were Hillingdon (38%), Havering (35%), Lewisham (34%), Hounslow (33%) and Richmond (30%). The generosity of taxi customers disembarking at Hillingdon could be due to the fact that West London is home to Heathrow Airport, so the data includes a high number of passengers with luggage.
Table credit: Lopay
The numbers come as London cab drivers face a growing array of threats to their livelihoods. Transport for London’s Finance Committee recently heard that the number of registered taxis in the capital has fallen by a quarter since 2020 as the post-pandemic switch to hybrid power erodes passenger numbers.
Prime Minister Liz Truss and her newly appointed Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng own homes 350 meters apart in a millionaires row in West Greenwich, while Truss supporter Lord Frost and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly are also within walking distance.
Interestingly, Lewisham – considered by many to be Greenwich’s shabbier cousin – was among the capital’s three most lavish neighborhoods, while Greenwich falls behind in the bottom three.
Further analysis of the data shows that the average tip paid to drivers across the capital was 10% or 10% £3.10, and that passengers are most likely to tip in the evening between 7pm and midnight. In contrast, night owls are the least likely to leave tips, with the worst times for tipping being recorded between midnight and 5am.
Londoners were more likely to tip on weekdays than at weekends, suggesting those who can reclaim their fare as a work expense may be more generous than those who pay out of pocket.
Richard Carter, co-founder of Lopay said: “Cabs and minicabs are part of the capital’s lifeblood, keeping Londoners and visitors alike moving. But while London’s black cabs are global icons, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a living behind the wheel of a cab.
“Tips give a welcome boost, but as our data shows, they cannot be relied on. That’s why taxi drivers, like all small companies at the moment, have to pay attention to every cent at the point of sale.
“Lopay’s fees are the lowest offered by any payment app. We charge less than half what the big business providers charge, so drivers, dealers and all small businesses can keep more of their money on every sale.
“Liz Truss and her team of ministers may now be using government limousines to commute between Westminster and Greenwich, but taxi drivers who are still struggling to keep ordinary people’s business and grappling with high fuel costs can at least save on their business costs by switching to Lopay.”
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