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Which city has the world’s best taxis?

Posted at 10:05 AM, Nov 06, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-06 10:05:31-05

By CNN Staff

(CNN) — When it comes to taxis, London reigns supreme.

For the sixth year in a row, the city’s iconic black cabs were voted best in the world in a survey by Hotels.com.

More than 25,000 voters from 30 countries took part in the annual global taxi survey, giving London 22% of the votes — well ahead of runners up New York City (10%) and Tokyo (9%).

Rounding out the top five, Berlin came in fourth place with 5% of the vote, while Madrid, Mexico City and Amsterdam came in joint fifth with 4%.

“Of the 30 countries surveyed, London topped the list across five of the seven categories, including cleanliness (23%), knowledge of the area (27%) and quality of driving (30%),” said Hotels.com.

Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) voted safety as their number one taxi priority, which London’s cabs also ranked highest on.

New York’s yellow taxis grabbed the top spot for availability (23%).

New York and Bangkok taxis tied for first in terms of value for money (20%). Despite this recognition, Thailand’s capital failed to crack the top five this year.

Survey categories ranked in order of preference by voters: safety (23%); value (20%); knowledge of area (17%); availability (14%); quality of driving (11%); cleanliness (8%); and friendliness (7%.)

If any cabbies are reading, that suggests most travelers would prefer their drivers keep their mouths shut during the ride.

The world’s best taxis

1. London (22%)

2. New York (10%)

3. Tokyo (9%)

4. Berlin (5%)

5. Amsterdam (4%)

5. Madrid (4%)

5. Mexico City (4%)

The Hotels.com taxi survey also found that people tend to text or email while in cab (19%), while sleeping was the second most popular activity (15%), followed by eating (10%) and kissing (9%).

When asked which nation was the most amorous in the back of a cab Brits came out on top, with 14% admitting to displaying passionate behavior — 10% higher than the global average of 4%.

More: 10 greatest taxis of the world

The-CNN-Wire
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