All taxis operating in St Albans will have to accept contactless payments and can no longer be cash only.
The rule is intended to improve public safety by ensuring people are not left stranded because they do not have cash.
This follows a growing number of complaints from people who were unable to get a taxi late at night because they were only able to pay by card.
The decision to make a contactless payment option mandatory was made by St Albans City & District Council, which licenses taxis within the area, after consulting with taxi drivers and their representatives.
Taxi drivers will have until Wednesday, May 3, to comply with the new regulation by equipping their vehicles with card machines, or they risk losing their licence.
The machines are able to take contactless payments from mobile phone apps such as Apple Pay as well as bank cards.
Councillor Raj Visram, chair of the council’s Licensing and Regulatory committee, said: “Many taxis carry card machines already, but there are some that still choose not to.
“We felt there was clear public support for making contactless payments a mandatory option as more and more people no longer carry cash.”
Photo credit: Philafrenzy
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