LONDON, ENGLAND, May 31, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- 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.
Source: Hotels.com
Website:
http://www.hotels.co.uk/---
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