subject: Can I Use A Credit Card For Cab Fare? [print this page] For people who have not grown up living in a city where using taxi services is common, they may have many questions for they visit or move to a city where taking cabs is the norm. One of the most common questions that come up over and over is whether you can pay your cab fare with a credit card. We live in an increasingly cashless economy. Many people go days or weeks without handling cash, and use credit or debit cards for everything from paying bills online to buying a pack of gum at the corner store. There are some industries though, where cash is still king. Until very recently, the question of whether taxi services would accept credit cards was a resounding "no." But that is slowly changing.
Taxi services have been of the last industries in the United States to move toward adopting plastic as a method of payment. This could be for several reasons. One is that taxi drivers live by the credo that "time is money." The more passengers that they hustle in and out of their cabs, the more money they make. If they have to spend additional time running credit cards, then that is cutting into their profits.
Another reason is that a wireless way to accept credit card payments on the go didn't exist until just the last few years. With this invention, it has become possible for taxi services that wish to, to accept credit cards. Finally, many people who use a card will forget to tip. Cabbies have one motivation to want to accept plastic, though, as long as it's fast, and there is still a way for them to get tips. This is the fact that accepting credit means that they do not have to carry as much cash, and are thus not as big of a target for robberies.
In other parts of the world, such as Europe and Asia, almost no cabs accept credit cards (with the exception of in Japan). In the United States, you should assume that they will not accept plastic until you confirm otherwise. A growing number of cab companies are now accepting credit, but they normally do not advertise this, and many taxi services still do not operate sophisticated websites with an FAQ section. Your best bet is simply to call the taxi company and ask the dispatcher who answers the phone. They will be able to answer your questions for you quickly.
