FARE DODGERS: Taxi drivers share their most costly bilking experiences

Taxi bilking, a professional hazard for cabbies, involves passengers evading payment after a ride. Licensed taxi drivers got in touch with TaxiPoint and disclosed the highest amounts they've lost to fare dodgers.

Among the tales of financial loss, Alexa Hicks reported the highest single instance of bilking, losing £164 due to inexperience saying they were ‘naive and too trusting’.

Bradley Lake recounted losing a £150 fare from Kingston to Farnham, explaining his passenger was an escapee from a secure unit. Despite the loss, Lake expressed a philosophical outlook, acknowledging the passenger's desperate situation.

Lake said: “It’s a long story, so I will cut it short, she turned out to be an escapee from a supposedly secure unit, trying to make her way home to her kids, as the police later told me.

“I took it on the chin and thought that her troubles were much greater than mine.”

Other drivers shared similar experiences with lesser amounts. One driver successfully pursued legal action after being bilked for £55. Kieran Moles, another driver, was defrauded of £70 at an airport by a woman who fled into the terminal. The woman, a thief, was later reported by the family she stole from, who compensated Moles for the fare and apologised.

Additional reports included losses ranging from £43.50 for a journey from Shrewsbury to Wrexham to several around the £50 mark, highlighting the recurring challenge of fare evasion faced by taxi drivers.