Driver revising with a smartphone and an open handbook in the front seat of a car parked on a London street, with a black cab behind

SERU study notes

Payment for Fares (Taxi)

Card and app payments and what to do when they fail, cheques, notes and deposits, receipts, and passengers who leave without paying.

What this topic covers

Card and app payments and what to do when they fail, cheques, notes and deposits, receipts, and passengers who leave without paying. The full SERU Revision: PHV & Taxi app contains 20 questions on this topic, each referenced to its section of the TfL handbook.

Worked examples

Here are a few practice questions from this topic. Try answering each before reading the explanation.

Example 1

By law, a London taxi driver ____ accept a passenger's cheque as payment for a fare.

A. does not have to ✓ correct
B. must
C. is not allowed to
D. needs TfL approval to

Explanation: The law puts no duty on a taxi driver to take a cheque, although being as helpful as possible with payment is good customer service. Saying the driver must accept a cheque is wrong because there is no such legal duty. Saying the driver is not allowed to accept one is wrong: the driver may choose to. The section sets no TfL approval condition for taking one. (Taxi Handbook s2)

Example 2

At the end of a journey, a passenger wants to pay the fare with a contactless card. What should the driver do?

A. Take the payment on the taxi's TfL-approved card device ✓ correct
B. Ask for cash instead, as card payments are optional
C. Refuse card payments below a minimum you set
D. Refuse card payments not agreed before setting off

Explanation: Taxi drivers must accept credit, debit and contactless card payments, and must use the TfL-approved device fitted in the taxi to take them. Card payments are not optional, so asking for cash instead is wrong. A driver cannot refuse a card because the fare is small, or because card payment was not agreed before the journey started. (Taxi Handbook s2: Accepting card payments)

Example 3

A taxi passenger may pay the fare through an app when they use the app on ____.

A. their own phone or device ✓ correct
B. the driver's own phone
C. a tablet the driver keeps in the taxi
D. a phone borrowed from another driver

Explanation: Paying through an app is allowed when the passenger reaches the app on their own phone or device. The driver's own phone is wrong: a driver must not put a passenger's card details into their own phone or device. A tablet kept in the taxi by the driver, or a phone borrowed from another driver, is not the passenger's own device either. (Taxi Handbook s2: Accepting payment via online services)

Example 4

Your TfL-approved card device develops a fault. A passenger wants to pay by card. Which of these can you use to take the payment?

A. An allowed method offered by the device's supplier ✓ correct
B. A hand-held card reader that you carry with you
C. Your own phone, with the card details typed in
D. A note of the card number, charged after the repair

Explanation: When the approved device has a problem, an allowed alternative method offered by the company that supplies the device may be used to take the payment. A hand-held card reader is an unapproved device and does not meet the licensing rules. Typing card details into your own phone to take a payment is not allowed. Keeping a card number to charge later is not part of the advice, which is to use the supplier's allowed method, another card or cash. (Taxi Handbook s2: Problems with card payments / Taxi Handbook s2: Accepting card payments / Taxi Handbook s2: Accepting payment via online services)

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More SERU study notes

Get all 20 questions on this topic in the SERU Revision: PHV & Taxi app.