How to tip a taxi driver

Tips are a large part of a taxi driver's overall income. If the taxi services you used were courteous and offered good service, it's important to provide him or her with a tip that is in line with the level of service you received. Most people have no issue giving a tip, but can become confused on how much is appropriate.

You don't have to tip the same amount on every ride. Unlike restaurants, there is no expected percentage and most reasonable tips are met with appreciation. So how do you know if your tip is an acceptable amount that both you and the driver can live with? The location where you're catching a ride can dictate how much is considered adequate. Higher income cities such as New York might require a higher tip.

Most people tip their taxi cab driver by simply telling them to keep the change. This rounding up is considered an acceptable practice in most places and is often considered the standard. The amount of the tip will vary depending on the denomination of the bill that was used to pay for the fare. As an example, if your fare was twelve dollars, you could use a twenty to tip the driver eight dollars, or you could use a ten and a five dollar bill to tip him three dollars. You would just round up the amount to equal the amount of the cash that you were using to pay for the ride.

Occasionally you won't pay your cab fare with cash. Most cab companies now allow payment by used of a credit card. For business travelers, this is a convenient way to keep track of expenses. In these cases you should be safe tipping the driver 10-20 percent depending on the level of service you received.

If you want to get tipping for taxi services down to a fine science, you can download and use any number of mobile apps designed for this purpose. These apps will help you quickly determine the appropriate amount and keep track of how much was used for a tip. These are convenient and easy to load on your smartphone. They can be used to calculate tips for many other services you use on a daily basis and will help you to feel confident that you're not tipping too much, but not stiffing the driver for a job well done.