Taipei City’s taxi service was voted seventh-best among the world’s major cities, according to the results of a global survey released by Hotels.com on Thursday.
London cabs got the nod for best taxis in the world for the fifth year in a row, with 11 percent of the votes this year, according to the survey conducted by the travelers’ accommodation booking Web site.
After London, the top six are New York City (6.4 percent), Tokyo (5.6 percent), Shanghai (4.8 percent), Bangkok (4.0 percent), and Berlin (3.9 percent), then Taipei (3.4 percent), the survey showed.
According to the results, Taipei cabs were in the top 10 for most of the survey’s categories, namely: cleanliness, knowledge of the area, quality of driving, friendliness, safety, availability and value.
The survey showed London was first in most categories, except for “quality of driving,” in which it placed at the bottom, with Bangkok taking first place.
New York cabs came second overall and were top-ranked for “availability,” the survey showed.
Overall, the survey suggested global travelers considered “safety” the most important factor, followed by “knowledge of the area” and “quality of driving.”
The survey also revealed that 56 percent of respondents have fallen asleep in cabs, kissed with partners in the backseat (26 percent) and put on make-up in cabs (19 percent).
The survey found that Australians were willing to spend the most on cab fares, while Italians spend the least.
“Taxis are usually the most-used transportation for holidaymakers and business travelers. They are key to giving travelers a good impression of the city,” Hotel.com’s Asia-Pacific region senior public relations manager Chen Chih-ya (陳芷雅) said.
“We are happy that taxis in Taiwan received high praise, and are highly ranked in most categories. We hope to see better results for Taiwan in next year’s global taxi survey,” she added.
The survey was conducted in July in 28 cities or countries, with participation of more than 1,600 individuals from around the world, she said.
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