There are numerous incidents involving people refusing to pay their taxi fare in many locations around the UK. Some of these incidents are reported in the press especially when the matter ends up in court but there will no doubt be a number that never become public.

There are a number of reasons why someone may refuse to pay the taxi fare such as not being happy that he or she is being charged extra for making the journey in unsociable hours, claiming that the taxi driver took a longer route to the address the customer wishes to get to or not being happy that the taxi gets caught up in traffic and the taxi fare increases due to the extra time involved to complete the journey.

There are no doubt many occasions when a taxi driver is asked to pull up near to a bank or building society hole in the wall cash machine so that the passenger can get out to take out some cash. There is always the danger that in that situation the passenger may just decide to never get back in the taxi and run off without paying.

So, what is the best way of making sure that a passenger pays for the journey? Well, if at all possible, a taxi driver could ask for a payment up front. If the fare ends up being less than the amount the passenger hands over the taxi driver can hand over the over-payment to the passenger but if the fare is greater than has been paid before the journey starts the taxi driver can ask the passenger to pay the shortfall.

Having a security camera fitted in the cab and having a poster in the cab visible to the passenger advising him or her of this fact may act as a deterrent.

If you are a private hire operator you will probably be involved in a number of airport runs that are booked well in advance. You will no doubt quote a fixed price for both the outward and inward journey. You could always ask for the fare to be paid in full at the time of booking or before commencing the outward journey on the day of the trip.

Do remember never to put yourself in danger but if you feel that you are then you can report the matter to the police.