Private hire drivers must wear their ID, like this, while working. This shows the driver's name, photo and licence number.
Private hire vehicles must have licence discs displayed on the front and rear windscreens. They will show: the TfL licence number, licence expiry date, vehicle's registration number, and the number of passengers the vehicle is allowed to carry. Vehicles and drivers are licensed separately, so make sure to check both.
Sometimes, private hire vehicles will have a pre-booked sticker on display. This is optional and should not be taken as proof that it is a licensed vehicle.
Taxi and private hire drivers are obliged to carry assistance dogs for no extra charge. Our taxis are also wheelchair accessible, and enable the user to travel easily around London - find out more.
If a taxi driver helps you to enter or leave their vehicle, or secure your wheelchair in the passenger compartment, they should not leave the meter running. Drivers who refuse to help with wheelchairs or assistance dogs face prosecution. If this has happened to you, please contact us.
Black taxis are designed with a range of accessibility features specifically included to help disabled and elderly customers. These include: an induction hearing loop, high visibility grab handles and minimum vehicle dimensions to enable safe access.
Pick-Up Point: Write the address of the pick-up point on the bottom of the screen under “PICK UP” or drag the yellow pin on the map to the desired location and the system will autocomplete the address.
Set Pick-Up: Once the pick-up location has been chosen, press the yellow “SET PICK UP” button on the bottom of the screen.
Hailing: You can always choose to hail the vehicle that you want just by tapping its icon on the map. Once you tap on the vehicle, you will see the name of the taxi company, type of vehicle, driver name, and the license plate of the vehicle.
Destination: Next you will set the drop-off address. At the bottom of the screen under “DROP OFF” type in your destination address and tap the yellow “SET DROP OFF” button.
Vehicle Type/Taxi Company: Tap the yellow taxi icon to choose the taxi company and vehicle type that you would like to book. You can even add a message to the driver such as the number of bags you have or any other important information.
Date & Time: Select whether you want to book a taxi right away (asap) or reserve one for a specific time and date.
When you book, the app confirms that the booking has been made and shows all the details of your ride, like the price and the assigned driver and vehicle.
Under “My Trips,” the app also saves the history of all your bookings so you can see all of the rides that you have booked from your account.
Your booked trips that have not been taken yet will be shown under “Open” and will show all of the details of your future ride(s).
Your previous rides will be shown under “Closed” along with information including the trip duration, price paid, the vehicle and driver you rode with, and the date and time of the ride.
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Taking a taxi in Almaty has finally become a more streamlined and painless process but not without a lot of trial and error over the years. This Almaty taxi guide will instruct you on how to successfully take a taxi in the Kazakhstan city as well as give advice to ensure you don’t put yourself in harmful situations like I have endured in the past. It will also give you a couple of apps to help you successfully take a taxi in Almaty.
Taking a taxi in Almaty has been a huge learning curve for me over the years. In fact, the Almaty taxi situation was the main reason I left Kazakhstan a bit early in 2016 when I lived here for the latter part of the year.
Taxi in Orlando, FLI want to be that person who promotes walking and taking public transportation everywhere around Almaty. But, unfortunately, it isn’t always feasible for me and the biggest problem is that I am claustrophobic.
The Almaty Metro runs in areas that I don’t live, so getting there is quite the walk. The buses are pretty efficient here but they always seem to be jam-packed. And it stresses me out just gazing inside of them more often than not.
I do tend to walk more here than in any other city I live in or visit and I usually lose weight when here. Maybe I should visit Almaty more often?
But, I do take a taxi fairly often in Almaty. They are extremely affordable here- more so than anywhere else I’ve ever been. And the city is spread out so it is difficult to walk from the bus station to the area of the city that I live in. It would take me hours and hours to do so! I often stay out late at night here because I am the world’s worst at getting over jetlag, so I tend to get lazy in the late hours and call a cab.
So, while I suggest trying to walk if it is feasible, do know that taxis are pretty standard in Almaty and a part of many people’s everyday life.
Hiking to Butakovskiy Waterfall in Almaty: Kazakhstan Nature at its Finest and a Day Trip from Almaty mountain
There are several ways to get a taxi in Kazakhstan but these are the two that I use regularly. It is rumored that Taxify is also looking to move into the Central Asian market which will be great and offer another option if they do (I have used them in other regions of the world and they have been great).
There are several ways to get a taxi in Kazakhstan but these are the two that I use regularly. It is rumored that Taxify is also looking to move into the Central Asian market which will be great and offer another option if they do (I have used them in other regions of the world and they have been great).
The Yandex taxi app is my go-to taxi app in Kazakhstan. It took me a while to start using it as it was not in English initially but the Russian app is now in English (among other languages) and offers the quickest service in Almaty. Now I use Yandex around 80% of the time here. Click here to download Yandex for iPhone and click here to download Yandex for Android.
Almaty Taxi Guide: How to Successfully Take a Taxi in Almaty, Kazakhstan yandexAlmaty Taxi Guide: How to Successfully Take a Taxi in Almaty, Kazakhstan yandexAlmaty Taxi Guide: How to Successfully Take a Taxi in Almaty, Kazakhstan yandex
Pros: Yandex has more registered drivers than Uber. So, the taxis are more ubiquitous around the city and tend to come within a short matter of minutes. Yandex also tends to be cheaper than Uber in Almaty.
Another thing I love about Yandex is that the rate you’re shown is the rate that you will be charged. And getting to the airport is easy as the rate is a flat rate of 1500 KZT which is half the price of hailing a cab upon arrival or from the street.
Cons: For some reason, my card will not register with Yandex so I can only use the app if I have cash. This sucks. I also find that Yandex drivers sometimes don’t really carry much cash on them so if you don’t have exact change, you may end up having to just leave them a tip. I, truthfully, think that they do this on purpose sometimes.
Uber was my go-to app of choice here a few years ago. But, times have changed and Yandex has become more user-friendly for tourists so now I use Uber only sparingly. Click here to download Uber for iPhone and click here to download Uber for Android.
Almaty Taxi Guide: How to Successfully Take a Taxi in Almaty, Kazakhstan uberAlmaty Taxi Guide: How to Successfully Take a Taxi in Almaty, Kazakhstan uberAlmaty Taxi Guide: How to Successfully Take a Taxi in Almaty, Kazakhstan uber
Pros: My favorite thing about Uber is that I know how to file a complaint if I have an issue. And don’t worry, I have in the past. Uber was quick to reply to me and reimburse me after the situation. Another thing I like about Uber is that I can use my card with the app.
I can also use Paypal if I wish. For some reason, I can’t seem to get this to work with my American bank card on Yandex.