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The history of the London Black Cab Trade
2007-11-24 09:54:00 The first black taxi in London was the Hackney coach in the 17th Century. The name comes from hacquenée, the French term for a general-purpose horse. It literally means , ambling grouch. In 1625 there were only 20 for rent, operating costs, the Inn meters. In 1636, the owner of four buses wage workers brought in the beach outside the maypole Inn, and the first taxi stand was released. He noted that a tariff for the various parts of London, and his driver wore clothes, so that they would be easily recognizable. Hackney carriage is still the official name for taxis. Regulation of Trade In 1636 Charles I have a proclamation to 50 Hackney Carriagesriages ply for hire in London. He stayed up to the city councils to ensure that those numbers are not exceeded. After the Civil War, in 1654 by Oliver Cromwell creation of the Fellowship of Master Hackney Carriages by the Act of Parliament, and taxi driving is a profession. 200 wage workers were now allowed. The law was adopt...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
Winner of The Apprentice Georgia orders black cabs of London
2007-10-22 17:33:00 The winner of Georgia's version of The Apprentice said, You are hired for LTI Vehicles, the manufacturer of the iconic London taxi. Lomaia Luka, 20-year-old student, was chosen to fill the position of director of strategic projects at the Bank of Georgia after seeing off 13 other finalists will be chosen by the Eastern European equivalent of Sir Alan Sugar, Lado Gurgenidze, The Chairman of the bank. One of his first acts in his new role was to order a fleet of six vehicles LTI latest model, the TX4, working as a taxi in the capital Tbilisi. The Coventry built cabins have been painted bright orange to reflect the bank's corporate colors and are equipped with DVD players and screens with the publicity of the bank services to passengers. There are even plans to install telephones to give passengers a direct line to the bank if they see a product that there fancy. Nigel Walters, Overseas Operations Co-ordinator for LTI Vehicles, said that the bank was hopeing to cash in on the ...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
Livingstone shows lack of Knowledge for "Black" London "Black Cab " Trainin
2007-10-15 09:02:00 Yesterday I read that Ken Livingstone has created an ethnic assistance program for minority trainees for the London Black Cab taxi test, otherwise known as The Knowledge. And it has already received a storm of controversy. The Knowledge is about the three year study program that tests a knowledge of all London streets, in addition to general management and service knowledge, as well as overall skills relating to the vehicle.There is a mis-match between the the population average of black and ethnic minorities (BME) living in London, which is 30 percent on average, but in some boroughs even much higher, and the average of BME inside the cab trade.The London Development Agency, LDA, which is an authority Livingstone is directly responsible for, has decided to offer ethnic minority people special help, such as a free motorbike, which is needed to drive around London to learn the streets, language skills and other assistance and courses. Some have nicknamed this program the Ethnic K...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
South of the river? No, not me, mate.
2007-06-06 15:42:00 terry No, this isn't what Moses said before he parted the Red Sea! Is it just apochryphal that all black cab cabbies use this as a response when asked to travel over many of London's river bridges? Or do they actually use it? During a brief period when I was working in Leningrad, USSR (nowadays known as St Petersburg, Russia), I went out one night to celebrate with a couple of other Brits. Probably mid-June for the Festival of Lights when it doesn't actually get dark. Somehow, I ended up well after midnight on one of the islands, the other side of one of the main canals or river tributary from my hotel. No problem, you might think - just walk back. No could do, as in those days - perhaps it is still the same - most,if not all of the main bridges, canal and river, were opened at midnight to allow water-borne traffic to move freely. And they didn't bring 'em down until early morning. So I spent the night in some hotel lobby. But before realising all this...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
2,000th TX4 rolls off the production line
2007-05-26 12:20:00 Proud workers at LTI Vehicles, manufacturer of the world-famous London taxi, were celebrating as production of the TX4 model reached the 2,000 milestone. The TX4 is the latest incarnation of the motoring icon, keeping the distinctive shape that has made it instantly recognisable around the world but with a host of hi-tech refinements. Order books both in the UK and abroad have been bulging since its launch at Lords cricket ground last October, with production levels stepped up to keep pace with demand. So there was no rest for the team at the Coventry factory as the 2,000th TX4 was completed. As the milestone was passed, a team from the company showed off the TX4 at the Private Hire and Taxi Exhibition 2007, held at the Ricoh Arena in its home city. The vehicles captured the attention of both visitors and other exhibitors alike, with scores of test drives being completed over the two days as well as people being ferried from the site in a TX4 for a tour of the Holyhea...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
Pink Cab is Turning London Heads
2007-05-07 15:20:00 LONDON - May 6, 2007: A London cabbie who provides cabs for gay weddings told taxi manufacturers LTI Vehicles his new TX4 had to be pretty in pink. The vehicle, finished by the company’s paint shop team in eye-catching luminous pink, is among the latest vehicles to roll off the production line of the Holyhead Road-based manufacturer in Coventry. It was ordered by London cabbie Carlos Oliviera after he spotted what he believes is a gap in the market, and his pink cab is already creating a huge buzz in the capital. "It's certainly rocking London and women think it's absolutely fantastic," said Oliviera. "The Fairway was a fantastic vehicle but the TX4 is great and is a superb drive. It's an effortless way of working," he added. With a registration plate of E10PER, Carlos has named his unique motor the Pink Eloper and hopes to attract some of the 4,000 gay couples who tie the knot in the capital every year. London cabbie Carlos said...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
Kind-hearted cabbies revive charity tradition
2007-04-25 09:17:00 Martin Lea TAXI DRIVERS from Weymouth are reviving an old tradition. The kind-hearted cabbies are giving their taxis a polish, decorating their dashboards and treating children to a free day out in Dorset. Taxi drivers from Weymouth and Portland, with support from local businesses, used to organise a day excursion every spring for handicapped children throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Echo files reveal that one of the most popular years was in 1982 when 60 children were taken in a fleet of 28 taxis to an animal park in East Devon. Cars were decorated in bunting and carried adverts from sponsors. The winning taxi that year was the Echo-sponsored car and driver Philip Leahy won himself a dinner for two at the Portland Heights Hotel. Colin Stansbie has been driving taxis for seven years in Weymouth and Portland and thought about starting up the trips again after looking at some old photographs in a taxi office. He wrote to all Hackney carriage drivers asking for support, ...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
Chinese Automaker Unveils 'London Taxi'
2007-04-22 10:30:00 Elaine Kurtenbach It's not exactly the newest car model on display at Shanghai's gigantic auto show. But the made-in-China "'London taxi"' definitely reflects the latest realities of an increasingly global auto industry. As Chinese youths in red uniforms and Buckingham Palace-style black bearskin caps stood "'guard,"' Chinese automaker Geely Group unveiled a sparkling gold version of London's famed black cabs that it plans to build in a joint venture with Britain's Manganese Bronze Holdings Plc. The alliance of odd bedfellows is a godsend for Manganese Bronze as it seeks to expand outside Britain, and it may well bring Geely the technology and quality upgrade it needs to compete both at home and overseas. "'We've been looking for partners in China for many years,"' John K. Russell, chief executive officer for Manganese Bronze, said in an interview on the sidelines of the weeklong auto show, which forma...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
CONTROVERSY OVER NEW HACKNEY CARRIAGE PLATES
2007-03-13 10:56:00 A BARRAGE of complaints has flooded into the council over the way in which six new Hackney Carriage plates were allocated earlier this year. The council's Licensing Committee put 23 names in a hat at a special meeting in January and six names were pulled out. Those five individuals and one company, Sussex Cars, were allocated Hackney Carriage plates for wheelchair-friendly vehicles and the remaining 17 were placed on a waiting list. But the council's licensing department has come in for criticism for not informing enough people they could apply for one of the plates and the committee for the way in which the plates were allocated. One objector said, "The licensing department should have sent letters to all private hire operators as well as those who had expressed an interest telling them these six plates were to be made available. "Had they done that there would have been far more than 23 individuals or limited company applying to get one." In it...
By: Chauffeurs Blog
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