London Taxi Drivers Launch “CabCoin” for Peak-Hour Payments

Surge pricing meets meme mining.

By Zara Khan – Satire & Markets Columnist

From Cash to CabCoin

London’s black cabs are an institution. Tourists snap photos of them, locals swear by them, and drivers pride themselves on knowing every shortcut in the city. But according to viral rumours, cabbies have introduced a new form of payment called CabCoin. Instead of cash or card, passengers are now asked to pay fares with a taxi-themed token minted on blockchain.

The rumour spread after a TikTok video showed a driver refusing a £20 note while pointing to a QR code stuck to his dashboard. The caption read: “Sorry mate, fiat not accepted. CabCoin only.”

Passengers Left Confused

Clips online showed bewildered tourists fumbling with digital wallets while drivers explained “gas fees” and “staking discounts.” One video showed a passenger joking, “My ride from Heathrow cost me 0.03 CabCoin plus congestion charge.” Another TikTok went viral of a man stuck in traffic yelling, “Why is my fare pending confirmation?”

By Sunday morning, hashtags like #CabCoin and #LondonTaxiCrypto were trending across Instagram and Twitter.

Fake or Real?

As always, audiences split. Polls revealed 52 percent believed the rumour. One commenter wrote, “Feels real. London drivers already charge like they’re running a decentralised monopoly.” Another added, “Fake, but believable. Surge pricing already feels like crypto.”

The mix of plausibility and parody made CabCoin a perfect subject for memes.

Meme Avalanche

Memes flooded social feeds almost instantly. One showed a glowing black cab with the caption “Proof of Ride.” Another edit replaced taxi meters with candlestick charts, reading “Fare volatility high.”

Twitter threads filled with parody policies:

• “Late-night surcharge? Paid in Doge.”
• “Tip your driver by minting memes.”
• “Surge pricing equals bullish market.”

Even Camden stalls joined in, selling T-shirts saying “All roads lead to CabCoin.”

Top Comments from the Internet

• “Finally, a coin slower than London traffic.”
• “At least CabCoin comes with a polite chat.”
• “My ride to Shoreditch cost me more than Ethereum gas.”

Drivers Respond

According to the rumour, cabbies defended the scheme as modernisation. One driver allegedly told passengers, “Cash is outdated. CabCoin keeps us ahead of Uber.” Another joked, “At least CabCoin never runs out of change.”

Critics mocked the stunt as ridiculous. A transport blogger wrote, “London taxis don’t need gimmicks, they need lower fares.” Still, the satire resonated, with thousands reposting fake screenshots of CabCoin wallet balances.

Why It Resonates

The rumour works because black cab fares already feel unpredictable. Tourists often complain they paid more than expected, while locals shrug it off as part of London life. Turning that unpredictability into a volatile token exaggerates reality until it becomes comedy gold.

An LSE professor noted, “CabCoin is funny because taxi fares already behave like crypto prices: confusing, inconsistent, and always higher than expected.” The line itself became a meme across TikTok finance pages.

Satirical Vision of the Future

Imagine London’s entire transport system tokenised. Tube rides charged in Oyster NFTs. Santander Cycles unlocked with “PedalCoin.” Even Thames Clippers require staked tokens to cross the river.

A parody poster already circulates: a black cab glowing neon with the tagline “Don’t just hail a ride. Validate it.”

Passenger Reactions

Tourists found the rumour hilarious. One American tweeted, “I thought London cabs were expensive before. Now I need a crypto course just to get home.” Another TikTok showed a group of friends joking, “We pooled our CabCoin to afford Soho.”

By Monday morning, memes showed passengers trading snacks for rides with captions like “Barter 2.0.”

The Bigger Picture

Beneath the humour lies commentary on rising costs and gimmicky innovation. Londoners already struggle with expensive transport. Satirising it through CabCoin reflects frustrations about both fare hikes and the endless march of meaningless financial experiments.

Cultural critics argue the popularity of the rumour highlights a generation’s exhaustion with hype. Whether it’s crypto or cab fares, everything feels like speculation.

Conclusion

Whether London taxi drivers truly launched CabCoin no longer matters. The rumour has already become part of Britain’s meme economy, a symbol of how tradition and absurdity collide on city streets.

So the next time you wave down a cab, don’t just check your wallet. Check your crypto balance. Because in 2025, your ride might depend on CabCoin.

By Zara Khan – Satire & Markets Columnist
zara.khan@londonews.com