British tourists shouldn’t ‘trust’ some taxis in Europe due to scam – ‘never get in’

Reasons why the UK could face a summer of travel misery

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Rob Staines is a travel expert with experience in the aviation industry. He told Express.co.uk that Britons need to take care using taxis in Europe.

Rob said: “Don’t trust drivers who say attractions are closed or shops you’re visiting are no good.

“This happened to me many years ago and I was taken to an attraction that was fake and a makeshift version of where I wanted to go.

“The driver most likely got a cut of my admission cost. Insist on where you want to go and do not trust anyone trying to convince you to do anything you don’t want to do!”

Unscrupulous taxi drivers may try to take Britons to alternative attractions or accommodation to make money.

Rob said: “Take the names and places of the driver’s recommendations. Taxis can be a great source of local information.

“They could always be genuine but you can research this in your own time.”

Tourists could also ask their hotel concierge or Airbnb host about an attraction if they are unsure if it is legitimate.

Rob told Express.co.uk: “Don’t trust taxis with broken meters, this is nearly always a way of charging grossly inflated prices.

“Never get in an unregistered taxi, always book via your hotel or use apps like Uber or Bolt.

“Most taxi apps allow users to share their trip with a friend or relative not using the service so they know exactly where they are and when.”

Unregistered taxis could be very dangerous, particularly for solo travellers and tourists should never get one.

Hotels or apps should always have security measures in place to ensure taxi drivers are legitimate.

Rob added: “Pin your destination on Google Maps and leave your location services on so you can follow your journey.

“This way you’ll know your taxi is headed in the right direction.”

Some taxi drivers may try to take tourists on a longer route to earn more money from the fare.

Using Google maps or a similar location service should help tourists to make sure they are on the best track.

Tourists could also check the average time for their journey so they have an idea of how long it should take.

Traffic can always disrupt a journey but taxi drivers should never take a longer and less convenient route.

Many Britons are expected to head off overseas this year in the first peak period since the pandemic began.

Britons have already faced travel chaos at airports with long queues at Bristol and Manchester.

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