London cabs voted 'world's best'

LONDON has been voted the world's favourite city for taxis, as long as cabbies do not take "the scenic route".

The capital topped a global list in five out of seven categories in a Hotels.com survey involving more than 2,600 respondents from 30 countries.

The overall result meant London taxis were considered the world's best ahead of second-placed New York, with Tokyo third and Berlin fourth.

But the poll found the biggest pet hate for UK travellers was taxi drivers taking a longer route to their destination.

London cabbies were seen as the friendliest as well as having the cleanest cabs, the best knowledge of their area, and being the safest and best drivers.

New York and Bangkok taxis came joint first in terms of value for money, while New York's famous yellow taxis grabbed the top spot when it came to availability.

The survey also revealed strange objects left behind in cabs. These included:

:: A wig and a bird in a cage left behind in a US cab;

:: A prosthetic leg and an ex-boyfriend left in an Australian taxi;

:: A trombone in Finland;

:: A Rubik's cube in Italy;

:: Dentures in Germany.

Globally, the survey found that people tend to text or email while in a 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, Britons came out top, with 14% admitting to displaying passionate behaviour - 10% higher than the global average of 4%.

Hotels.com senior communications director Alison Couper said: "London cabs are still leading the pack when it comes to travel - it's great to see."

By Press Association reporter