subject: Calculating A Tip For A Taxi Driver [print this page] Tipping a taxi driver is something which is commonly expected in the United States. When you call taxi services for a ride, the driver is typically going to expect that you will tip them at the end of your ride. Many people worry about tipping in any situation though, as they are unsure what the right amount is to tip for the services that they are receiving. Luckily, there are no hard and fast rules that you need to follow when tipping a taxi driver, but just some general guidelines that can help you make the right decisions.
Generally speaking, if you're trying to tip a taxi driver, the easiest thing to do is to simply provide the driver with the nearest bill amount to the amount of your fare. For instance, if you're taking a $17 dollar taxi ride, simply provide the driver with a twenty. Telling the driver to just keep the change is usually a large enough tip, and is much easier than trying to calculate any kind of specific tip.
If you're paying a taxi driver through a credit or debit card, you may have a different option for tipping them. Most taxis now have machines which accept these types of payments, and most of those machines are going to have an option that you can add either a percentage or dollar based tip to the fare. If you want to add a percentage, general tipping rules apply, with 10-20% being a good tipping range.
If you're only going for a very short cab ride, you should be careful not to tip to little. In most places, its going to be considered very rude to tip for less than a dollar at any time. So, if your ride ends up too close to the amount of a bill, you should throw in some change to go with the bills to ensure that the tip that you provide is at least more than that dollar.
If you're really worried about tipping, there are some other things that you can do to really make sure that you tip the right amount every time. There are now a number of mobile apps for most smart phones that are designed to help you in the tipping of any service professional, including cab drivers. You can find an app to help you with tipping for your iPhone, Blackberry, or other Smartphone.
