Issue 290 - TAXI Newspaper

TAXI
HIGHLIGHTS THIS ISSUE
P2
P4
P7
CYCLE LANE HELL
Schemes could make traffic worse
MINICAB DRIVER KILLED BIKER
Family’s grief for ’wonderful’ man
SHOTGUN ROBBERY TERROR
Taxi driver targeted by thugs
P12 NOTHING BEATS SOMETHING
Ruined cabbie’s bonkers name change
The offical publication of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association | www.ltda.co.uk |
@TheLTDA
No.290 | 3 APRIL 2013
FIRST TX4
HANDED OVER P3
FACEBOOK ASSISTS
LTDA LEGAL WIN P5
EUSTON CIRCUS
PLAN OUTRAGE P6
More readers than the rest put together. Ask any driver!
LTDA

2 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
NEWS
Cycle lanes to make traffic worse
News in brief
Transport
A new cycle superhighway and the
extension to another will increase
traffic jam pain for motorists,
engineers have claimed.
Both routes will make cycling
safer, a report prepared for
Transport for London’s finance and
policy committee says, but will have
a negative impact on other traffic,
pushing it above capacity at
strategic points.
Cycle superhighway five will
stretch nearly six miles between
Victoria to New Cross Gate, and is
due to pass through the highlycongested
areas of Vauxhall
and Camberwell.
An extension to cycle
superhighway two will cover more
than a mile from Bow Roundabout
to Stratford town centre. Both are
due for completion this year, the
blue routes feature segregated cycle
lanes banned to other traffic and
“early start” facilities for cyclists.
According to the report however,
traffic on Vauxhall Bridge Road - a
key route for motorists avoiding the
congestion charge zone - will be
affected by the removal of traffic
lanes in both directions to make new
two-metre-wide cycle lanes.
The “degree of saturation” on all
approaches to the junction at
Francis Street will “exceed 100 per
cent” at peak hours as result of the
changes, according to engineers for
the project.
Traffic at the junction of Vauxhall
Bridge Road, Millbank and
Grosvenor Road will be affected by
the cyclist-only lanes and other
changes. Parts of this
junction are already
above capacity, and
the new scheme
will have a
“negative impact on
junction operation”.
Concerns over
the extension to
route two focus on
the impact on the
junction of three
roads - Stratford
High Street,
Warton Road and
Rick Roberts Way.
The proposals
will “impact upon
capacity” with “higher queues”.
The report says that where
possible, impacts on other roadusers
have been “mitigated”.
The AA said the schemes will
create “unwelcome additional traffic
delay to all traffic including buses”.
Adding the two new routes will cost
£15.7 million, bringing the total cost
of cycle superhighways to date to
£53.6 million.
The report says the Mayor’s
transport strategy contains an
“ambitious target” to increase
cycling numbers.
It says that four cycle
superhighways already
completed achieved an
average 77 per cent rise in
cycling trips, with 75 per
cent of users saying they
improved safety, comfort
and way-finding.
By 2026 says the report,
the benefits of more
people cycling will start
to outweigh the negative
impacts on other traffic.
The proposals go to the
TfL board for approval
on March 27.
Fake £50 notes warning
A taxi driver has reported being
given a fake £50 note by three men
he picked up outside the Pullman
Hotel in Ossulston Street.
The scruffily dressed trio have
London accents, are between 20 to
30-years-old and asked to be taken
to Exmouth Market on March 5.
The fare was £7 and one
passenger paid it with a “new
style” £50 note, which he said he
had won in a betting shop.
It has a green holographic
strip, which is “visibly different
but not easy to spot in the dark.”
Taxi Street, King’s Cross?
A competition has been launched
to name 10 new streets included in
the 67-acre King’s Cross
development.
The project has already created
a number of new streets, including
King’s Boulevard, Handyside
Street, Stable Street and Tapper
Walk. Anyone can enter before the
deadline on May 10, by visiting
the website www.kingscross.co.
uk/street-naming-competition
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More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 3
NEWS
First TX4 handed over
Trade
LTDA member David Scragg
was over the moon to be the
first person to be handed the
keys to a brand new TX4 by
staff at the re-launched
London Taxi Company.
David, who passed the
Knowledge three years ago,
took ownership of his Aero
Blue ’13 plate TX4
Elegance Auto at Brewery
Road on Thursday,
March 21.
David spent 27 years in the
print industry, working on The
Guardian, the Express and the Star
newspapers before retraining and
joining the taxi trade.
David said: “I can’t believe I got
the first one and I can’t wait to get it
out onto the ranks. The first thing
that the other drivers will look at is
the ’13 plate.”
The cab has already been subject
to improvements, according to LTC,
which says the steering boxes,
radiators, interior trim, checkstraps
and turbo hoses have
been replaced with superior
quality parts.
A spokeswoman for the company
said: “We have been through an
incredibly trying time as a business,
which has had a devastating effect on
our customers and suppliers; however,
we are now fully operational and
trading, with new customers already
benefitting from the strength of Geely
and the investment they are putting
into the business. As the market leader
we wanted to reassure that trade that
we were 'open for business.”
The company has taken orders
for around 130 vehicles, 70 of them
new and 60 used, in the three
weeks since it was back on its feet.
There were around 600 or 700
cabs
ready
for sale
when the
company
went
into
administration
and which have
been undergoing
improvements in
recent weeks. LTC says it
has “no plans to start production
until we have sold the bulk of
these vehicles.”
Customers are being advised that
there is a two to three week waiting
period for new vehicles, as all
existing stock now has to go
through a stringent vehicle
preparation inspection, which also
includes the fitting of components
of improved quality.
The TX4 Elegance (Automatic) is
still available from £35,995. New
vehicles can still be bought through
the £135 per week PCP deal, which
includes a four year extended
warranty with the option to buy
the vehicle for a guaranteed
residual value, trade up or simply
walk away at the end of the term.
All new taxis come with a
comprehensive three year, 100,000
mile vehicle warranty and three
year unlimited mileage core
engine warranty.
To find out more or to make an
appointment, drivers can contact
the Customer Relationship Team
on 0207 700 0888 or email
london@london-taxis.co.uk;
alternatively, information and
updates are also available at
www.london-taxis.co.uk
David: “I can’t believe I got the first one.”
Cartoon
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© LTI Limited reproduced with permission. Fairway and TX shape is a registered design. FairwayTM, TXTM, the LTI
device, the LTI, London Taxis International and The London Taxi Company logos are all trademarks of LTI Limited.

4 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
NEWS
Minicab driver jailed for fatal crash
News in brief
Court
The family of a motorcyclist killed by
a minicab driver who jumped a red
light have spoken of their devastation
at his “needless death.”
Anthony McKeith, of East London,
was struck by Muhibur Rahman’s
Toyota Previa in Tavistock Square at
the junction of Bedford Way.
The 52-year-old suffered serious
head injuries and was taken to the
Royal London Hospital, but died in
the early hours of the next day.
Rahman, of Aylesford Street, SW1,
pleaded guilty to causing death by
dangerous driving and was jailed for
15 months at Blackfriars Crown Court.
Mr McKeith’s sister Frances and
wife Lynda said in a statement after
the sentencing, “the driver was not a
young man but an experienced road user
who failed to take into account the
changes in the timing of traffic light
signals and it is this which killed Tony.
There is now very little in the way of
time-lag between the changing of the
traffic lights at junctions. More now than
ever amber means stop, not stamp on
the accelerator to get through before the
lights change.
The victim, Anthony McKeith, “a wonderful man.”
“Had the driver of the car in Tony's
accident stopped, in recognition of the
tiny margin for error now present,
instead of trying to beat the lights, Tony
would still be with us today. Instead, he is
gone, killed needlessly, his wife left
devastated and his little girl, just three
months old when he died, growing up
never knowing the wonderful man who
was her father. She was two this weekend
- and so like her dad.”
Rahman, 51, was disqualified
from driving for three years and
will also be required to take an
extended re-test.
The sentencing follows an
investigation into the accident, which
took place in July 2011, by officers
from the Metropolitan Police
Service's Road Death Investigation
Unit (RDIU) for north-west London.
Detective Sergeant Chris Osborne
said: "This is a tragic case for all
involved. Vehicles jumping red lights
have the potential to cause catastrophic
collisions with other road users and
devastate lives, as has happened to the
McKeith family. The length of custodial
sentence imposed to Mr Rahman should
be a warning to all road users the
seriousness and consequences of failing to
stop at a red traffic signal."
Driver volunteers
needed
The Albany Taxi Charity needs
drivers to help them take
children with special needs
to Hastings.
Sponsors are also needed for
the event, which is due to take
place on June 24.
The charity is also scheduled
to have its AGM on Wednesday,
April 10 at 4pm in the Anchor &
Hope Public House, Anchor &
Hope Lane in Charlton.
Any cabbies able to volunteer
for the event or who want to
find out more information can
contact Ray Ali on 07930 515225.
Potential sponsors can phone
Iain Burridge on 07947 400822.
Visit the website www.albanycharity.org.uk.
Please
visit us
for a chat
and the usual
good car
wash
Your favourite car wash T2 car valet
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1 Quaker Street
London
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Tel:
020 7754 5483
We are now open 24 hours!
Special Taxi deal: £7 for In & Out wash
Also our excellent emergency valet
service is available for soiled vehicles.
From as low as £20 only.
T 2 – si mply better

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 5
FEATURE
PEDESTRIAN ATTACK!
By taxi driver Nathan Marks, who was put on trial after being wrongly charged
with GBH for defending himself when he was attacked following an accident
Just before Christmas 2011, I was
coming towards the end of my shift,
when I picked up a couple to the
Groucho Club. I turned from
Shaftesbury Avenue into Dean Street
at about 11.30pm. Soho was buzzing
with seasonal revellers, and people
were spilling over from the footway
into the road. I slowed down to not
much more than walking pace, and as
I passed a guy in the road, I
accidentally clipped him with my
offside mirror.
There was no real impact, and it was
obvious to me that no injury had been
caused. Although it wasn’t my fault,
and he had basically walked into me, I
decided to pull up and check that he
was ok. But before I could get out of
the cab he rushed up to my open
window shouting angrily “why don’t
you look where you are going?” I replied
that it hadn’t been intentional, and
that he’d have been better off staying
on the pavement. He shouted in my
face “you’re for it now”, and started
searching in his wallet as if looking for
some sort of ID, or perhaps a warrant
card. I told him that I didn’t care who
or what he was, and that he shouldn’t
have been strolling down the middle
of the road.
A single blow
He flew into a temper and grabbed me
by the throat, he was a stocky
muscular type, and he pinned my
head back against the partition. I
banged my foot down on the
accelerator and surged forward
causing him to release his grip. I
immediately stopped the cab and got
out as he rushed up towards me. He
was obviously about to throw a punch
so I tried to stop him by grabbing at
his jacket. He was a strong guy, and as
we struggled I hit him with a single
blow. With that, a couple of people
intervened and he calmed down.
Much later, on the February 29, I
received a call to attend Belgravia
Police Station, where I was
represented by the LTDA. I was
interviewed under caution and told
that I had broken the ’victim’s’ nose
and fractured his cheek. I was then
charged with GBH, fingerprinted and
DNA swabbed. During the following
months the LTDA went to enormous
lengths to gather evidence to support
my case of self-defence. Because I
had not been arrested at the scene of
the incident, and the police had
taken weeks to contact me, all the
street CCTV recordings had
automatically been deleted by the
time the LTDA started its enquiries.
Never the less, the LTDA team
trawled through the Dean Street
shops and restaurants, in an attempt
to trace any private recordings which
might have assisted my case; but
none were available.
Trial by Jury
Following many lower court
appearances, my case eventually
came to trial before a jury on
November 19 last year at Isleworth
Crown Court, where I was
represented by Mr Tom Dunn.
The prosecution produced a socalled
independent witness who
stated, amongst other things, that the
pedestrian had at no time attempted
to intimidate me by pretending to
impersonate a police officer. But the
LTDA had traced my female
passenger, who was able to refute
that evidence. Tom Dunn’s cross
examination of the alleged victim
was brilliant; it would have put
Rumpole of the Bailey into the shade.
But he kept his killer blow ‘till last;
when he raised questions about the
victim’s drinking habits. The
response, as expected, was that he
only drank in moderation and most
certainly was not drunk on the night
in question; in fact, his drinking
preference was: “for a quiet night in,
with a glass of wine”. But his jaw
dropped when Tom produced a
record of his Facebook page, which
the LTDA legal team had uncovered.
It depicted him in a flamboyant
pose, taken with a group of friends
during a recent six night drinking
binge in Wales!
The jury quickly returned with a
not guilty verdict, and a great weight
was lifted from my shoulders. I can’t
thank the LTDA enough for the work
that was put into my case, and to say
that Tom Dunn was brilliant would
be a big understatement. n
SUPPORT OUR DRIVERS
The LTDA will pay the out of
pocket expenses and
compensate for lost time, any
drivers (members
or not) who attend
court to give
evidence on
behalf of an
LTDA member
Nathan Marks at Taxi House
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© LTI Limited reproduced with permission. Fairway and TX shape is a registered design. FairwayTM, TXTM, the LTI
device, the LTI, London Taxis International and The London Taxi Company logos are all trademarks of LTI Limited.

6 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
The Massett File
ROAD PLAN
OUTRAGE
RICHARD MASSETT LTDA Executive, Chairman London Cab Ranks Committee
Crazy plans for Euston will be a red rag to drivers already furious about Stonecutter Street
Taxi drivers dismayed by the
closure of Stonecutter Street
in the City and Crazy
Camden’s closure of Warren
Street, will be completely outraged
by a new set of proposals issued
by Transport for London. This
time it is the Euston Road Circus
junction on top of the Euston
Underpass which will be the cause
of their wrath.
A new west bound contra flow
lane is proposed for the slip road
running between Gower Street
and Tottenham Court Road, which
will be for the use of buses and
cycles only. As part of the
proposal, traffic will be prohibited
from using the Hampstead Road
left turn, and amazingly, according
to the consultation papers, the
right turn at Euston Road/
LTDA Policy Statement
It is more essential than ever for drivers to be fully appraised of
the various trade organisations’ policies. In order to clarify the
LTDA’s position on the important issues facing the industry, the
Association reaffirms:
1. Its determination (despite opposition from certain trade organisations) to exclude
taxi drivers from any form of restriction on working hours or the compulsory fitting
of tachographs in cabs.
2. Its total opposition to the proposed computerised Knowledge testing system
(Quickie Knowledge), which is intended to speed up and churn out new licences.
3. Its support for a regular review of taxi usage in London in order to provide
effective management of the cab fleet which will prevent the streets of London
being flooded with empty cabs.
4. Its support for the introduction of ‘rest ranks’ to enable drivers to legally leave
their cabs unattended whilst visiting adjacent toilet facilities.
5. Its support for a complete ban on pedicabs.
6. Its insistence on meaningful consultation with Transport for London.
7. Its support for an effective minicab enforcement team, trained
to eradicate illegal touting by minicab drivers.
8. Its campaign for taxi access to all bus lanes.
9. Its insistence that taxis continue to be exempt from
congestion charges.
10. Its policy to recruit, support and represent licensed
taxi drivers only.
If you require clarification on these or
other important issues, please:
Call the LTDA on 020 7286 1046
Tottenham Court Road.
My first thought was that this
plan would only affect the first of
the two right turns normally
available at this junction. But,
according to the consultation
material, traffic on the eastbound
North West sliproad will be
directed to go ahead only, which
would prevent vehicles from
crossing over into Gower Street.
The LTDA and its colleagues on
the London Cab Ranks Committee
have formally objected to the
proposed traffic orders. In the case
of Gower Street, it will cut off
access to University College
Hospital and increase journey times
and fares for passengers on many
other routes. With regard to the
Hampstead Road restriction, we
have objected because vehicles
POLICY
would be forced to use roads that
are less suitable for traffic. We have
also argued that taxis should have
access to the contra flow bus lane.
I would not be at all surprised if
it turns out that the Gower Street
plan is some sort of mistake. If not,
I would have to wonder what on
earth is going on at TfL, if it is
going to come up with such a
ludicrous traffic scheme.
“THE LTDA AND ITS
COLLEAGUES HAVE
FORMALLY OBJECTED
TO THE PROPOSED
TRAFFIC ORDERS
”
Having said that, I have been
wondering what’s going on a lot
lately, especially since the Mayor
became hell bent on spending
ridiculous amounts of taxpayers’
money on cycle schemes. Extending
the cycle superhighway scheme
from Bow Roundabout to Stratford
is said to be costing £4.7M, which
may be fine for the cyclists who will
use it but the scheme will also
increase journey times for other
traffic. The scheme will have an
overall negative effect and would
normally have been ruled out.
This can be said for the other costly
cycle schemes which are in the
No left turn
No right turn
The LTDA wants taxi access to contra flow lane
pipeline, so what on earth is going
on at TfL?
Hammersmith Broadway
The rank outside Hammersmith
station has had to be suspended for
six weeks due to a collapsed BT
chamber under the road surface just
in front of it.
A temporary rank will be
provided in Queen Caroline Street
in the nearside lane, starting at the
stop line of the traffic lights just
around the corner from the station.
The nearside lane will be coned off
from other traffic to provide a rank
for four cabs. Unfortunately, as we
went to press there was a very late
objection from Streets London
Traffic Control Centre (SLTCC)
which said that the rank will
interfere with their traffic detection
system. So as I write, we are still
trying to get the temporary rank
established. If this fails, we will look
to site it elsewhere.
Oxford Street
Emergency work is being carried
out on Oxford Street to repair a leak
which is affecting the underground.
The works are due to last for six
weeks and will take place at night
between 11pm-6am, when there will
be a single width carriageway in
both directions on Oxford Street.
The stretch will be fully closed for at
least one weekend, when eastbound
traffic will be diverted via Park Lane
and Park Street. n
New Westbound
bus lane

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 7
NEWS
Victor was set upon by hooded thugs
Shotgun robbery terror
Image: Ljupco Smokovski / Shutterstock.com
Crime
A taxi driver fought with armed
robbers who demanded cash and
threatened to shoot him with a
sawn off shotgun.
Victor Patient, of Chelmsford,
was lured to a council block
and then set upon by hooded
thugs who demanded cash and
other valuables.
The 68-year-old attempted to
escape the estate in Westbourne
Park by starting the cab but the
robbers grabbed the keys from
the ignition.
Victor said: “We had a bit of a
tumble. It was a very shaky night but
I’m getting over it now. They were
saying ‘we are going to shoot you.’
You keep looking over at the gun and
thinking ‘what shall I do?’”
The cabbie picked up a fare in
Warwick Road in the early hours of
Thursday, March 21.
During the journey the young
man in the back took a phone
call and redirected the taxi to
Westbourne Park and a block of
flats close to the Cow public house
in Westbourne Park Road.
Two other men, wearing hoods
and armed with a shotgun
emerged from the flats and
demanded cash.
“I was trying to start the cab to get
away,” Victor said, “they took the
keys and £30 or £40 which is a
pittance considering what they went
through and what they could have got
if they managed to get my bag.
“I called the police and they came
down, loads of them, armed officers,
dog teams, the lot. I haven’t heard any
more from them yet but I hope they are
going to get some CCTV of the guy I
picked up in Warwick Road.
“The pick-up was there just to set it
up, he was talking to them on the
phone and they were telling him what
to do and where to go. It wasn’t a good
night. I won’t be going back to that
estate again.”
The police have impounded the
cab for forensic examination and
studying CCTV footage.
Krav Maga-nificent
0207 446 7678
Classes
LTDA members looking to get fit
and who want some extra piece of
mind should look no further than
our free self-defence classes.
Hundreds of drivers have taken
the opportunity to sign up for the
Krav Maga course, which has been
hailed as ‘life changing.’
The skill was developed by the
Israeli army and uses blocking,
grappling and wrestling style
moves to fend off attackers.
Taxi driver and instructor Ricky
Manetta puts drivers through
their paces at the Orwell Centre
in Wapping on Monday afternoons
and the next course starts on
April 29.
He says: “I want to give people the
confidence so they can choose not to
fight; that’s what the course is about”
If you’re an LTDA member and
can commit to an eight week
course on Monday afternoons
between 2-3.30pm, then call the
LTDA on 02071210501.
GET FIT FOR FREE!
[ ]
LEARN KRAV MAGA

8 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
NEWS
Dangerous limos uncovered
Transport
A private hire limousine was found
to have no indicators and exhaust
fumes were flooding the passenger
compartment when it was pulled
over during a transport police
operation.
More than two dozen limousines
and novelty vehicles have been
stopped and checked by officials in
London in the past two months.
During the latest operation on
March 2, Taxi and Private Hire
officers found one limousine which
did not have a licence to operate
and issued the driver with a
prohibition notice.
Two other vehicles stopped on the
same night, out of a total of 13 which
were subject to random inspections,
were immediately pulled off the
road, along with a party bus.
Around 320 vehicles have been
inspected by officers as part of
Operation Kansas, which involves
TfL and the Metropolitan Police
Service, in the past year.
One limousine which was pulled
over during a stop and check
operation in February was found to
One limousine was found to have 12 defects
have 12 defects, which included
having no power steering, no
indicators and exhaust fumes were
leaking into the passenger area.
During the same evening a party
bus was found to be operating with
a faulty anti-lock braking system,
which the driver said he was
aware of but which he had not
bothered to report.
Operation Cologne, which targets
Image: Marcio Cabral de Moura via Flickr.com
dangerous light goods vans, has also
uncovered a growing problem with
dangerous vehicles operating
illegally.
MPS and TfL figures show that
“light goods vehicles are involved in a
large number of collisions in London and
recent enforcement actions have found
that these vehicles have a high
percentage of defects leading to
immediate prohibitions.”
News in brief
Euro scam arrest
Police investigating a spate of
incidents involving fake Euros
being passed on in London have
made an arrest.
Taxi drivers who been a victim
of the conman are asked to
contact the LTDA to report
details of the incident and help
build the case against him.
Numerous reports of cabbies
being swindled have reached the
TAXI newsdesk including
several where the culprit
claimed he needed to get the
Royal Whittington Hospital in
North London to visit a sick
relative. Contact Paul on
020 7121 0501.
Witness appeal
The LTDA’s legal team is keen
to trace the driver of London
taxi, registration LFII LZC, and
in particular the person who
owned the cab on February
8, 2012.
The driver is urged to contact
John Luckhurst on 0207 121 0501,
as soon as possible.

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 9

10 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
LETTERS
STAR LETTER
“The A Team”
I
’m sure almost everyone reading
this has at one time used the
Texaco garage on Albert
Embankment. I was recently at
the garage purchasing fuel and a
jet wash.
Earlier this year, I received a
Penalty Charge Notice from the
company that monitors the
parking at the site, which claimed
that I had been illegally parked. I
appealed and stated that I was
indeed at the garage on that day
but as a valid customer. I said the
very poor quality photographs
that they offered as evidence
showed me in the car wash area,
the cab having just emerged.
The next thing I heard was that
on February 20, a debt recovery
company was trying to collect
£159 from me. I duly phoned them
to explain the situation only to be
greeted with the most arrogant of
responses. I was basically
informed that “we are taking this
all the way,” and I should pay
up or be prepared for a
court appearance.
To plan your
ad campaign in
TAXI magazine
contact:
Dave
Challenor
After trying to deal with this
myself, I decided it was time to
call the ‘A Team.’ I phoned the
LTDA and was quickly reassured
that there was no case to answer.
Rather than ignore the debt
recovery company and have the
matter drag on, I wrote them
another letter and this time
mentioned the LTDA and its
advice. A few days ago, I received
a letter from the parking
enforcement company, which said
that after careful consideration of
the photographs and the officer’s
notes the fine had been cancelled.
It appears that a cowboy parking
company has had to ride off into
the sunset without its bounty.
Thanks to the LTDA I
had the right advice
when I needed it.
D Cronin
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“He had a smirk on his face”
Hotel stitch up
Iwas approaching Seven Dials in
Convent Garden, on Wednesday,
March 13, at 10am when a concierge
from the Mercer Street Hotel put his
hand up to hail me. He gestured for
me to pull in on Mercer Street at the
side of the hotel.
From where I was sitting I could
see the concierge who had hailed me
talking to two foreign ladies with
suitcases, I began to tease myself by
thinking this could be a flyer. But as
the ladies picked up their suitcases
to walk out to me, the concierge kept
engaging in conversation with them
as if to stall them. This went on for a
few minutes. Just then a silver car
with private hire stickers pulled up
in front of me, the driver walked
straight up to the concierge and
walked back to his car with the
women’s cases. The two ladies
followed, looking a bit confused
as to why they were not getting in
my taxi.
I walked straight up to concierge
and asked him what was going on
because I had £5.80 on the meter. He
said "can I help you?” and blatantly
lied, saying he never hailed me. I
reminded him of the gesture he gave
me to pull in and the thumbs up he
had given me to say thanks but
somehow he had no recollection of
it. He did have a smirk on his face
whilst he said he didn't remember!
I walked back to my taxi and
grabbed my camera and snapped a
couple of photos of him to attach to
this letter, that's when he turned
aggressive leaning in my taxi trying
to grab my camera out of my hand,
he then said he was going to report
me. I asked him "report me for what
exactly?" He replied "you’ll see.”
I think we can all agree that the
licensed taxi trade will not be
getting any airport runs from the
Mercer street hotel while people like
this are working on the doors, all the
decent work will go straight in the
back of minicabs.
D Shannon
Follow @TheLTDA on Twitter
for news, updates and warnings
Bad manners
Over the past year or so, a
number of my colleagues and I
have experienced an increase in the
amount of drivers behaving in such
a manner as to query whether they
have ever been advised of
unwritten cabbie etiquette, such as
not overtaking the plying for hire
cab in front etc.
Imagine the working day where
every driver is breaking their neck
trying to get in front of each other,
no one letting anyone else out just
in case they then go for hire and
take the first job.
I’m not even sure if a talk on
cabbie etiquette takes place
nowadays; it would seem either it
doesn't or those that are taking part
don't take any notice.
Terry McEwen
Now, that’s what I
call service
Ijust wanted to write in to thank
the people who helped get my
taxi back on the road. In particular I
would like pass on my thanks to
Barry Hooper, who gave me advice
regarding the LTC website in
relation to the goodwill warranty.
After researching this avenue
because my TX4 was suffering from
a failed radiator and alternator after
48,000 miles, I was put in touch
with Roland from Coventry. He was
more than helpful in guiding me
through the procedure with regard
to the terms and conditions of the
good will warranty, which I had
met. Roland then asked what issues
I had encountered and then advised
me that there was no problem
getting them sorted out. He said
it was all covered and that the
work would be authorised and
that it must be carried out by an
LTC agent.
I proceeded to contact Putney
Bridge Taxis, which undertook the
work after it was authorised by
LTC. The staff there were very
efficient in sorting out the
problem and getting my cab back
on the road.
My thanks to Wendy, Carol and
Ben at Putney Bridge Taxis for
their help and the prompt service
I received.
Alan Gray

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 11

12 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
NEWS
Nothing is better than something
News in brief
People
A bankrupt taxi driver formerly
known as George Devlin has
discovered he is better off with
Nothing Left.
When his skip business went belly
up, taking his two homes with it, and
his wife walked out, the cabbie
decided a swift name change would
better represent his dire situation.
Now the proud owner of a new
licence declaring his real name as
Nothing Left, the 50-year-old is
finding life has taken a turn for
the better.
His new name has raised a laugh
with the police, at the carriage office
and even with gloomy recession
troubled passengers,
who he is finding
more generous
with their tips.
Nothing, of St
Neots, said:
“I had a skip
business and two
homes. I put all
my money in the
business and I lost it
all and my wife left me. I never lost my
sense of humour though; it’s just a bit of
a laugh in bad times. It all seems to be
doom and gloom at the moment but
everyone just laughs when I tell them
my story.
“Bailiffs used to come around chasing
debts but funnily enough there aren’t
many people chasing a guy called
Nothing Left.”
Record numbers of people are
handing over £30 to change their
name by Deed Poll in the UK, mostly
to John Smith, but there are not
many as bizarre as Nothing Left.
Since getting his new bill a month
ago, Mr Left has even been asked to
speak at a business school and
almost reduced police officers taking
a witness statement to tears.
He said: “The
police were
asking me
what’s my
name and I
said ‘Nothing.’
They said ‘you
have to give us
your name,’
which went on
for a while. I
said ‘my name is
The new licence
Nothing Left. You don’t believe me do
you?’ When I showed them my ID they
fell about laughing, and one of them said
“in 12 years as a copper that’s the best
name I have seen.
“You can’t change what’s in front of
you or what’s behind you but you can
have a laugh about it can’t you.”
But now things are looking up in
the cabbie’s life, he says it may not be
Nothing forever.
He said: “I have met a lovely lady
called Sarah and life is better than it was
before. I have decided I’m going to change
my name as life dictates, so if I win the
lottery I’ll change it to Cracked It.”
Bogus cabbie alert
A conman who pretends to be a
taxi driver to get a free ride to
the car pound in Lots Road is
back in action.
The elderly man operates
around the Gloucester Road area
and shows a real badge with the
number 50777 on it. He says he
needs to retrieve his cab from
the pound but has no cash.
Charity boxing
extravaganza
Tickets are on sale for the Lord
Mayor’s annual charity boxing
extravaganza, the Great City
Grand Slam.
Celebrity boxers both past and
present will feature in a bill
which includes a performance
by Britain’s Got Talent winners
Spelbound in Smithfield Market
on May 18.
Tickets range from £35-£65
and are available from the
website http://www.ourtime
promotions.co.uk/ with all
funds going to Lord Mayor’s
appeal charities.
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More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 13

14 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 15
[ ]
DiSPLAY YOUR LTDA DIARY & TAX
DISC HOLDER & YOU COULD WIN!
Awesome for Audrey
and great for Godwill
Spring may not quite have
sprung but things were
looking up on the weather
front when our diary spotters
once again took to the streets
armed with a fistful of Marks and
Spencer vouchers.
After a couple of false starts
and one refusal, things were soon
back on track when they caught
up with Audrey O’Brien, who had
just started her afternoon shift.
She was over the moon when
we flagged her down after
spotting her LTDA membership
diary on display in the window
of her cab.
Audrey, of Bayswater, said:
“I can’t believe it, that’s fantastic.
Audrey: “I can’t believe it.”
I think I’ll share them with mum.
Thanks very much.”
Godwill Noruwa, of Stoke
Newington, who was waiting at
the rank in Finsbury Park was
equally pleased with his windfall
of £100 worth of vouchers, just for
using his LTDA taxi disc holder.
He said: “Thanks – it’s much
appreciated. I’m not sure what I’ll do
with them, but they’ll probably go on
food or clothes, something like that.”
Each year we give away almost
£8,000 worth of vouchers, so the
odds of coming up trumps are
pretty good. Just make sure you
have your LTDA membership
diary and taxi disc holder on
display and let us do the rest.
DIARY WATCH
£200
M&S vouchers
won every fortnight!
GET SPOTTED!
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from CabCard
Allows You To Control
Card Payments
Fast hand held terminal
goes where you go with no wiring
or connection to your meter
Allfares,plustipsand
commissions paid directly to
your bank account every week
Earn More
Bonus payments made to you
on every card payment you take
No maximum limit.
Bonus rate increases with the
more payments you take
Convenient For You
and Your Passenger
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no long term contract
Passenger pays only a
10% processing fee
No merchant account needed
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PCI compliant
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Chip & PIN payments
Low Costs
Only £2.50 per week plus vat
Just £25 for 12 months airtime
£12.50 for 12 months
terminal protection fee
£10 delivery
ONLY
£2.50
per week
plus vat
Take fares by all major credit and debit cards
WIN
£100
HOLDER WATCH
M&S vouchers
Godwill: “Much appreciated.”
Sign up now with CabCard!
Call us
0845 491 8410
or sign up at
www.paycabs.com/London

16 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
[FIRST TWO MONTHS FREE FOR NEW MEMBERS]
✁
APPLICATION FORM
JOIN FOR £16.80 PER MONTH WITH
£12.80 ALLOWABLE AGAINST TAX!
Name
Address
Tel
Email
Date of Birth
Mobile
Postcode
Badge No. Green (G) or Yellow (Y) When obtained - Month Year
Have you been a member of the LTDA before? (Please tick) YES NO
Please tick if you DO NOT wish to receive information from the LTDA and other related organisations
in the future
I understand that my application for membership of the Association must be approved by the Council of
Management and that a Share Certificate will be issued to me if my application is confirmed.
Signed
Please complete parts 1 to 5 below to instruct your branch to make direct payments from your account.
Then return the form to the LTDA, FREEPOST, (PAM 2005), London W9 2BR
LTDA Basic Direct
Debit Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS TO YOUR BANK/BUILDING
SOCIETY TO PAY DIRECT DEBITS:
To the manager of
Address
1. Please write the name and full postal address of your
branch in the spaces above.
2. Name of account holder
3. Account number
4. Bank sort code
Date
5. Your instructions to the Bank/ Building
Society, and signature:
• I instruct you to pay direct debits from my account
at the request of the LTDA LTD.
• The amounts are variable and may be debited
on various dates.
• I understand that the LTDA LTD may change
amounts and dates only after giving me prior notice.
• I understand that if any Direct Debit is paid which
breaks the terms of this instruction, the Bank/
Building Society will make a refund.
Signature(s)
Date
For Office use only
Originator’s Identification No.
9 1 4 4 2 8
Originator’s Reference
CALLING ALL CABBIES
Bank/Building Societies may not accept instructions to pay Direct Debit from some types of account
Phone 0207 286 1046 now!
[ CAN
LTDA
YOU AFFORD NOT TO JOIN? ]

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 17
NEWS
The walk of life
Charity
Three hardy taxi drivers braved
freezing temperatures, blisters and
cramps during a gruelling
fundraising walk around the
marathon route.
Sean Blackman, Micky Boyd and
Paul Keogh, came up with the plan
“It was rough but worth it.”
in an effort to raise funds for the
charity Irish Autism Action,
which supports Paul’s son Callum,
who has been diagnosed
Asperger’s Syndrome.
With barely any preparation the
trio, who aim to raise £2,000 for
the charity, set off the day before St
Patrick’s Day and completed the
26 mile course in nine hours.
Sean, 48, of Bexley, said: “It was
rough. It was a very cold and damp
day, the last section where you turn
back in at Billingsgate was very slow,
but it was worth it. We were
knackered afterwards.
“We all have Irish connections
and we had a few beers for St Patrick’s
Day the next day but there was
no dancing.
“We have decided to do something
every year for a different charity but
whatever we do, it won’t be walking.”
Irish Autism Action helps
thousands of people in Ireland but
needs funds to continue providing
its lifeline services.
To support the boys efforts and
make a donation visit the website
www.mycharity.ie/event/sean
News in brief
You’ve got to be in it to win it
Lawrence Opher walked away with a cool £5,000 after becoming the
latest LTDA member to scoop our monthly lottery jackpot.
What makes the win even sweeter for Lawrence, of Covent Garden, is
that he has been a long time member of the association but only decided
to join the lottery last year.
“It was nice little touch. I have been a member of the LTDA for about 27
years but I’ve only been doing the lottery for eight or nine months – so it was a
pleasant surprise. It’s much appreciated. ” The lottery costs £5 per month to
enter. To join contact Jenny on 020 7121 0504.
One-to-One
Personal Service.
Martin Cordell & Co.
Accountants & Tax Specialists to the Taxi Trade
Our services include:
– One-to-One personal service
– Annual confidential meeting
– Preparation of accounts
– Tax enquiries & investigations
– Limited company trading advice
– PAYE, VAT & company registration expertise
– Loss of earnings claim advice
– One point of contact for ongoing continuity
– Easy payment terms
We’re here to help. We want to meet
you as we understand your business.
Let us take the strain of dealing with
your tax obligations.
With over 45 years experience of the
taxi trade, and more than 40 expert
staff members, we are the leading taxi
drivers’ accountancy firm in the UK.
Phone us today on: 020 8980 7161
See us at: 1-5 Alfred Street, Bow,
London, E3 2BE or
9 Church Road,
Stanmore, HA7 4AS
Email: info@mcordell.co.uk
Web: www.martin_cordell.co.uk
CALL US FOR A FREE FIRST CONSULTATION
TIO
N IN PERSON OR OVER THE PHONE

18 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
THE BIG ONE!
The membership of the LTDA is 40 times greater
than some other driver organisations!
HERE’S WHY...
CAUTION
The LTDA legal service is
the only trade scheme which
defends members for ALL
alleged offences (traffic,
hackney or criminal), anytime,
anywhere in the UK. Non
members are advised to
check carefully the exceptions
and exclusions contained
or imposed by other
legal protection schemes
circulating in our trade.
BADGESAFE SCHEME
The LTDA retains experienced
barristers with specialist knowledge
of the London cab trade. Normally
when drivers accumulate 12 points on
their licence they receive an automatic
6 month ban, but in the case of
LTDA members over 90% of those
represented by our barristers receive a
ban of just 1 month or in most cases
no ban whatsoever.
EXPERTISE = SUCCESS
The LTDA’s in-house lawyers are
proud of their unrivalled record of court
triumphs; in fact the rate of acquittals
for members defended
in court by the LTDA is 4 times
higher than the national average. This
unparalleled level of success is due
entirely to the expertise acquired by the
LTDA over many years of specialising
in cab related legal matters.
YOUR FUTURE
The LTDA remains the only trade
body resolutely opposed to the
computerisation of the Knowledge of
London testing system.
(No to the quickie Knowledge
campaign).
INLAND REVENUE
ASSISTANCE AND ADVICE
Many drivers and accountants refer
to the LTDA for specialist advice on
Inland Revenue investigations.
(Free to members).
SICKNESS AND
ACCIDENT PROTECTION
When trouble strikes it’s comforting
to know that you’ve got the strength
of the LTDA around you. (Scheme
available to members only).
LTDA HOLIDAY CLUB
Many members have saved
thousands of pounds by taking
advantage of special offers and prices
(members only).
WIN £5,000 EVERY
MONTH IN THE
LTDA LOTTERY
12 big prizes every year, but you have
to be in it to win it (members only £5
per entry).
ACCESS TO
‘SIMPLY HEALTH’
Great value health care from
the LTDA. The Association pioneered
this scheme in the taxi trade and it
still offers the cheapest rates. (Special
rates for LTDA members only).
HEATHROW OFFICE AND
REPRESENTATION
Call in to the LTDA office at Heathrow,
first door on the right in the canteen
block. The LTDA’s representatives will
give you a warm welcome. (Open to all).
WELFARE DEPARTMENT
LTDA officers make home visits to
members who are in severe distress
or with special needs and authorise
contingency payments where
appropriate.
RANKS AND HIGHWAYS
REPRESENTATION
The LTDA has negotiated taxi access
to most bus lanes and leads the way
negotiating on issues that affect you,
the licensed taxi driver.
GENERAL ADVICE
If you are new to the trade and you
don’t know your `roader’ from your
`legal’, give us a call. We’re always here
to help. (Tel: 020 7286 1046 - non
members are welcome to call).
24 HOUR TOUT LINE
Seen a tout in action? Take the details
and phone them in, we will do the rest.
(Tel: 020 7266 4769).
HEALTH AND SPORTS
PROMOTION
We regularly run promotions with
leading health and sports companies
resulting in big savings to members.
LEISURE DISCOUNTS
Huge savings on weekend breaks at fine
hotels and holiday centres. You will not
believe these prices! (Members only).
VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS
Continually representing members’
interests in disputes with vehicle
manufacturers and suppliers.
AUTHORITIES AND MEDIA
The LTDA is the largest and most
respected driver organisation in
the trade. We lead the way when
negotiating with the Government,
GLA, TfL, Police, Mayor’s Office,
Heathrow, Rail Authorities, Local
Councils and when dealing with all
sections of the media.
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
Many cab drivers are discovering to
their cost that their licences are at
risk due to the TfL’s interpretation
of the new DVLA Group 2 Medical
Standards. The LTDA has successfully
challenged many decisions by the
TfL to revoke members’ licences on
medical grounds.
FANTASTIC VALUE
LTDA subscriptions have not
increased for 12 years! It costs just 4
quid a week to join the trade’s biggest
organisation and 3 quid of that is tax
deductible!
(Payable monthly).
To learn more about LTDA benefits and current joining offers
call: 020 7286 1046 or visit www.ltda.co.uk

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 19
Taxi Talk
ALF TOWNSEND
THE CURTAIN
COMES DOWN…
The farewell party for BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane bring back some fond memories
It’s amazing to think that the BBC
Television Centre complex was
first opened on June 29, 1960. In
the early days it wasn’t fully
centralised and able to broadcast the
whole shebang. It was backed up by
Riverside Studios in Hammersmith
and Kensington and Union Houses,
Shepherd’s Bush Green, as well as
Lime Grove Studios.
I worked nights in the 60s and
was also a loyal member of ‘Lords
Radio Circuit’ – now known as Dial-
A-Cab. The taxi rank, which was
then on the offside of Shepherd’s
Bush Green, was the calling point
for the TV centre and we all
gathered there at around 10 o’clock
at night to wait for ‘the burst’.
Stirling Moss
Before the advent of the hordes of
paparazzi, ‘A’ List celebs were a
dime a dozen in the back of your
cab, mainly because top American
stars took part in a popular TV
show, Sunday Night at The London
Palladium. I found the majority of
major stars quite friendly and very
polite, almost as if they had learned
the art of conversing with the
‘peasants’. Household names like
Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jnr and
Eartha Kitt were very chatty. The
English stars like Max Bygraves,
Tommy Cooper and the loveable
comedian Les Dawson, who never
stopped ‘Lord-Mayoring’ for the
whole journey into the West End,
were a pleasure to drive around. On
the downside, you had three top
comedians who were as miserable as
sin; Frankie Howerd being the
worst- he really was an old misery,
Benny Hill was very quiet and a bit
weird, and so was Kenneth
Williams. Only after their deaths did
their darker sides emerge.
Anyway, you were allocated your
job and drove up the slope to the
reception after booking in at the
desk. Talking about driving up the
slope, I was doing that quite
sedately one dark night, when a
souped-up mini whizzed past me
like a bat out of hell. Okay, so I’ve
got a big mouth and proceeded to
yell out at the driver, ‘who do you
think you are, bleedin’ Stirling Moss?’
The familiar bald head with scars on
the face peered out of the window
with piercing blue eyes – luckily for
me, with a slight twinkle in them!
The very posh lady staff
members who manned the
reception desk appeared to be on a
different planet. They seemed
programmed into believing that the
Director General – or ‘The DG’, as
he was called in reverent whispers -
was on the same plane as one of the
royals. This reverence manifested
itself one evening while I was
sitting there waiting for my fare.
A very smart, elderly gentleman
approached the desk and asked to
speak to the Director General. Well,
the lady behind the desk nearly had
a touch of the vapours. The look on
her face said, ‘people just couldn’t
speak willy-nilly to the almighty’.
‘And who shall I say is calling’? she
enquired with a sour look on her
face? ‘Could you tell him it’s King
Gustav of Sweden’, said the elderly
gentleman. The lady started
pushing her buttons and obviously
got connected with the DG’s
private secretary. Putting her hand
over the mouthpiece, she asked in a
very loud, rude voice, ‘I’m sorry sir,
who are you the King of?’ That’s a
classic isn’t it?
“BEFORE THE ADVENT OF
THE HORDES OF PAPARAZZI,
A LIST CELEBS WERE A DIME
A DOZEN IN THE BACK OF
YOUR CAB
”
Those days are now gone with
the programme makers moving to
Salford Quay, near Manchester. The
whole of the corporation’s news
output – including the world news
from Bush House - recently moved
into the newly-built extensions at
Broadcasting House. As for the
licensed radio circuits, well
before the move, they were only
allocated ‘locals’ and guess who got
‘the roaders’?
‘Foul play’
Like many other cabbies, I love my
football and, again like many other
cabbies, I am strictly an armchair
Image: Dave Smith via Flickr.com
Farewell to the BBC TV Centre
fan! The mere thought of having to
stand on a windswept terrace in the
perishing cold, amongst an unruly
mob of foul-mouthed supporters, is
simply not for me!
But, the recent sacking of Reading
manager, Brian McDermott, who
achieved wonders last season by
getting his club into the Premier
League, reeks of foul play. It is also a
move which has probably sealed the
club’s early return to the
Championship. Okay, so Reading
had a run of poor results after a
promising start to the season, but
their manager was always an
outside bet to be sacked. Suddenly,
the bookmakers put out a press
release which reported a sudden
wave of bets on him being the next
manager to lose his job! The fact that
the vast majority of the bets were
from Berkshire and the surrounding
areas, suggests that the tip-off must
have originated from within the
club. So a ‘grass’ in the club told a
mate, and he told his mate and so on
and so on, which saw the odds
tumble from 25-1 to 4-9 in just 53
minutes! The bookies decided to
suspend the market after the stakes
started to increase.
What a way for the loyal and
passionate Brian McDermott to
discover his fate by reading the
bookie’s press release about, ‘the
flood of bets’ laid on his sacking. We
all like to win a few quid from the
bookies, but those who made a few
hundred quid in this instance must
be choking on the stench of
treachery filling their nostrils!! n

20 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
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More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 21
NEWS
MoT tests toughen up
Motoring
The new stricter MoT tests could see
thousands of motorists failing
because of defective warning lights
and faulty car seats, according to
the AA.
Changes to the test came into
force last week and are designed to
bring Britain into line with the rest
of the EU and reflect the increasing
sophistication of modern cars.
But the AA’s patrolman of the
year, Andy Smith, fears it could see
motorists footing hefty bills to get
their vehicles to comply.
He said: “If you’ve been happily
ignoring a warning light because it’s
not part of the MOT, these changes
mean your car could now be on the
MOT scrap heap or you’ll need to fork
out on expensive repairs.
“While it could
have expensive
consequences for
someone running an
old car on a tight
budget, these changes
are long overdue as
airbags, for example, have
been widely fitted since the mid-90s.
Other key changes will include
testing whether an array of
dashboard lights are working
properly, including seat belts, brake
fluid and headlights.
Tyre pressure monitoring systems,
which became compulsory on all
new cars from January 2012, will
also be checked.
Car seats must be able to move
forward and backwards, to ensure
that drivers can reach the pedals.
The electric motor fitted to
many seats in modern cars will
also be checked
separately.
Car doors
will have to open and close
properly. The warning light, which
shows whether the doors are fully
shut, will also be checked.
Other additional items subject to
the tougher testing regime include
airbags, electronic stability controls,
the speedometer and the catalytic
converter.
Mr Smith said: “It’s important that
these systems remain safe and effective
throughout the life of the vehicle.
“A typical modern car has 40 or more
computers and a level of technical
sophistication a world away from that
seen in the early 1990s when the MOT
test last underwent a major revision.
These changes are important and help
bring the MOT test in line with 21st
century car technology.”
The testing interval will remain
unchanged with the Government
resisting EU proposals to delay the
first inspection by 12 month
to four years after the first
registration.
Subsequent inspections will
take place every year rather
than after 24 months, as takes
place in many other parts of the EU.
News in brief
Poetry in motion
Entries are pouring in for our
poetry competition but there is
still plenty of time before the
closing date.
The LTDA teamed up with
poet Veronica Gaylie in an effort
to find the cab trade’s own Byron
or Keates.
Each driver is limited to one
entry and it should be no more
than 10 lines. The first prize is
£150, second is £100 and third
gets £50. The deadline is April 30.
Veronica says: “Write as you
speak, it doesn’t have to be poetic
language, just tell a story.
“Who knows - the next People's
Poet could be out there driving
around London.”
Any subject is fair game but
avoid using real names or bad
language as we plan to publish
the best poems in TAXI.
Send the poem with your
name, badge number, and contact
details to: London Cab Driver
Poetry Contest, TAXI, Woodfield
Road, London, W9 2BA, by April
30. www.londoncabpoetry.com

22 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
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24 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
FEATURE
TAXI TO THE GAMBIA
Waiting up to three days for a fare is commonplace in The Gambia where taxi driver
Chris Ackrill discovered there are always people worse much off than you
One evening during my holiday in
The Gambia I spent about £11 on a
wait and return to my favourite
Indian restaurant. The cab’s
windscreen was severely cracked,
one door didn’t work, the exhaust
was falling off, and it conked out on
the way back. The apologetic driver
soon got it going again. He picked
me up the following evening and the
exhaust sounded even worse. He
told me he was going to get it fixed
and I suspected that tomorrow was
going to be an expensive day for him.
The Gambia is one of the smallest
countries in West Africa, with a
population of around 1.6 million.
Agriculture and tourism provides
the majority of the country’s
employment but the first thing that
became clear, is that the trade is
different from London, or anywhere
in Europe for that matter. Things that
we take for granted, such as
wheelchair ramps, radio circuits,
credit card readers, and even meters,
are non-existent. For air
conditioning you need to open the
window, if the winder’s working.
Any car can be used as a taxi, so
long as it’s painted the appropriate
colour. One local cabbie told me the
vehicle can be in any condition “so
long as it has an engine.” There are
cabs which exclusively serve the
tourist resorts, and these are painted
green. For the most part, they pick
up at ranks and have fixed prices
displayed on a board. Yellow cabs
can work anywhere and are the
ones used by locals. The fares are
negotiated but are lower than the
tourist cabs. A controller takes walkup
bookings on the rank and
distributes work in order, noting the
cab’s number on a sheet of paper.
Cabs are inspected prior to
licensing, although from what I saw,
I’d say this was rudimentary.
I doubt any of the cars I rode in
would be allowed anywhere near
British roads, let alone the taxi
trade. I didn’t even bother to ask
about such things as emission tests.
Drivers of bigger cars charge more,
and there are some Thai-style motor
scooter conversions around.
“ON THE SURFACE THERE
SEEM TO BE FEW
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CAB
DRIVING IN THE GAMBIA
AND LONDON
”
Although English is the official
language, tribal languages dominate
and communication wasn’t as
straightforward as I imagined. It
wasn’t easy to find out how the
drivers actually gained their
licences. One group of drivers told
me it takes four years study to gain
a licence from the department of
Police Traffic Department, while
another driver gave the impression
it was much easier than that. Drivers
are trained how to treat tourists, and
how to cope with mechanical
breakdowns in rural areas. Alex, 33,
told me licensing has recently
become stricter and existing drivers
are unhappy at having to undergo
the new tests. The country currently
has number of initiatives designed
to increase opportunities for
women, the country's vice president
Isatou Njie-Saidy is a woman but
there are no women taxi drivers.
I took a yellow, access-all-areas,
cab driven by Abdoulie, 30.
He drove a filthy, decrepit, VW
Passat, which looked older than he
did. He drove a mini-bus before
becoming a taxi driver. Like other
drivers, he gave the impression it
was a good job if you got to own
your own cab, but this is difficult to
achieve with earnings being so low.
Abdoulie works 14 hours a day for
seven days a week, most of which is
spent waiting around, while other
drivers only work six days. For this
they can expect to earn about £35
per month! Tourism is low key
with little night time activity, but
Alex said he does well at night
because the majority of drivers have
gone home.
Tamba, 52, got his licence in 1976.
He started his cab with a hesitancy
that suggested hope rather than
expectation. He said it was a good
job even though the money is poor.
I guess having any regular job is
good in a country with such a poor
economy. Like other drivers, he gave
me the impression that his aim was
to become an owner driver. Sadly,
only a few drivers seem to make it.
I initially thought they had a good
life driving to nearby resorts for £11
a go, but I was told the cabbie
would see only about £2 of that
“The driver started the cab in hope rather than expectation.”

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 25
FEATURE
amount; the rest goes to the
vehicle’s owner. Drivers do get to
keep their tips, so I tipped well after
they took me to a restaurant where
the missus and I spent as much on a
decent meal as they would earn in a
month. I’d also given the driver a
London cab fridge magnet that I
brought over.
I donated a copy of TAXI to the
group of drivers on the rank
opposite my hotel. We chatted while
chickens ran around and the drivers
made tea. They concurred that £35
was about average for a week’s
work. The shocking reason why £2
fares only add up to such a poor
monthly total is because they might
wait three days for a job!
These green tourist cabs can only
work from specified ranks, but they
can go anywhere. Sadly, their
business is affected by tour
companies offering arranged tours.
The mushrooming of all-inclusive
hotel deals are also keeping people
inside their “luxury prisons.” The
group complained they need to be
able to market themselves to get the
message across that they can be
cheaper than organised tours and
that they are the local experts.
Gambian taxi drivers don’t seem to
have an LTDA-type body, or powers
of any kind.
Occasionally, cabs will tout you in
the street with a whistle but they
never appeared busy. Much of their
work is wait and returns to
restaurants in other resorts.
The prices listed include two
hours waiting.
A run to the airport is £14, but
only yellow cabs can pick up there.
All drivers have had jobs crossing
international boundaries. The
Gambia is surrounded on three sides
by Senegal. Senegal’s capital,
Dakkar, is six hours away. A day trip
will set you back £220, but how they
would manage something like that in
their rickety cabs boggled the mind.
On the surface there seem to be
few similarities between cab driving
in The Gambia and London.
There’s no traffic to speak of and
the main road linking the coastal
resorts is jokingly referred to as the
“Gambian M25.” There are no
motorways, and locals proudly point
out the first set of traffic lights in the
country. At the ranks they passed
around a photo of me by my
gleaming TX4 and we found we had
something in common after all.
The group all smiled when we
agreed on the worst thing about the
job – the passengers! n
“Yellow cabs can go anywhere and are used by locals”
“There’s no traffic and only one set of lights.”
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26 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
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More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 27
NEWS
Fuel duty hike scrapped
Motoring
The Chancellor George Osborne
announced that he has cancelled a
planned fuel duty rise for September
which would have added around 2p
to the price of a litre of petrol.
Fuel duty rates will instead remain
at 57.95ppl until September 2014 in a
decision that is likely to cost the
Treasury around £1bn in lost
revenue over the next 12 months.
The Chancellor has already moved
the scheduled increase twice in the
Chancellor George Osborne cancelled fuel duty rise
past year and was under increasing
pressure to scrap it altogether.
The fuel lobby hailed the
announcement as a massive relief for
beleaguered motorists, who have
seen petrol prices soar to as much as
138.32ppl in February.
Mr Osborne said: “Together with
the British people we are, slowly but
surely, fixing our country’s economic
problems.”
Axing the increase means petrol
will be 13ppl cheaper than if the
duty had not been frozen over the
Image: DFID - UK Department for International
Development via Wikimedia Commons
last two years.
The Chancellor said the savings
would be substantial and added that
“for a Vauxhall Astra or a Ford Focus
that’s £7.00 less every time you fill up”.
Mr Osborne said: “We inherited a
fuel duty escalator that would have seen
above inflation increases in every year of
this Parliament. We abolished the
escalator and now we’ve now frozen fuel
duty for two years. This has not been
easy. The Government has foregone
£6billion in revenues to date.”
Edmund King, president of the
AA, welcomed the news, but with
“relief, rather than joy”.
Professor Stephen Glaister,
director of the RAC Foundation,
said: “Through this move the
Chancellor will lose about £1 billion a
year in duty and VAT income, but tens
of thousands of people will be saved
from being forced to give up their cars
against a backdrop of generally rising
running costs.
“It is welcome that George Osborne
has listened to the concerns of the
nation’s 35 million motorists about
the inflammatory issue of near-record
pump prices.”
Bilker Watch
[ ]
Don’t Lose out!
LTDA Bilking Fund
Incidents involving passengers
who fail to pay their taxi fare,
especially at night, are on the
increase. LTDA members who
experience this problem can
request the LTDA to
investigate the incident and
endeavour to recover the
unpaid fare. If the LTDA is
unsucessful, but the member is
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28 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 29
NEWS
Courier scams on the rise
Crime
Thousands of pensioners have been
ripped off after being caught up in a
credit card fraud which uses minicab
drivers and couriers.
Confidence tricksters have netted
more than £2.5m in two years from
the con by preying on vulnerable
people, according to the police.
Detectives have staged a number of
events across London to raise
awareness of the complex scam, which
Image: Anna Lurye / Shutterstock.com
has affected at least 2,229 since 2011.
Thieves telephone the victim
pretending to be from an official
body in order to extract pin details,
and then a minicab driver is sent
round to pick up their bank card.
Since January 2011, 130 suspected
fraudsters have been arrested and
93 charged.
Metropolitan Police commander
Steve Rodhouse said the thieves put
a huge amount of time and effort
into being convincing because "the
2.5million pounds has been stolen from vulnerable pensioners
pay-off is immense."
He added: "We want people to
question even truly genuine sounding
calls and, most importantly, remember
police and banks will never ask for your
pin or bank card, so you should never
give these away."
The conmen usually claim to be
someone from the police, bank or
Serious Fraud Office.
They tell the target that their bank
account has been compromised and
that they are to phone a number.
The fraudster stays on the line
unbeknown to the victim, who uses
the keypad to type in their pin.
Once in possession of the card
and the victim's bank details,
criminals are able to empty
their account, taking an average
of £4,000.
The most someone has been
convicted of defrauding is £244,500.
Around 2,500 police cadets have
dropped flyers at homes around
London, given presentations to
elderly residents and set up
information stalls at transport hubs
and in other community areas,
warning of the scam.
News in brief
Persistent tout fined
A car mechanic from Islington
was fined £320 and disqualified
from driving after illegally acting
as a minicab driver without
insurance for the fourth time.
Samuel Ntim-Addae, 47, was
pulled over by police in
Hampstead on February 21 after
picking up passengers in
Tottenham Court Road.
The father-of-three from Upper
Holloway was fined and
disqualified for 56 days at
Highbury Corner Magistrates’
Court after pleading guilty. He
had previous convictions from
2004, 2006 and 2007.
Police probe
‘assault’ claims
Any taxi driver who has picked
up a person from the Oceana
nightclub in Kingston, claiming to
have been assaulted and asking to
be taken to hospital should
contact police. Email PC Kevin
Hyde at Kingston Police Station at
kevin.hyde@met.police.uk or
telephone 0208 247 5139.
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30 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
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More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 31
CAUGHT ON CAMERA
If anyone can, cabbies can…
It’s another week and yet
another fine selection of
photographs for our Caught on
Camera page.
We may never get to the bottom
of why the woman in this week’s
entry was in her birthday suit but
hats off – and nothing else - to the
eagle-eyed photographer, who
gets a handy £30.
The newsdesk has been
absolutely inundated with all
manner of weird and wonderful
snaps in recent weeks and we put
them all to an office vote.
We do our best to get as many
as we can in the paper each week
but don’t be deterred if you
haven’t seen yours yet – it may
appear in the near future.
As you should know by now –
the winning snap gets the
photographer £30, which is not
bad for a few seconds work.
Anything that makes you
laugh, sends your blood pressure
soaring or just leaves you baffled
is fair game.
Keep your eyes peeled and your
cameras, or phones, at the ready.
Send your entries to us via the
MMS line on 07908 640017 or
email them to editor@ltda.co.uk.
[ ]
Send us your pIC!
“Do you know a good dressmaker?”
THE
WINNING
PIC!
£30 PRIZE!
Should of gone to SpecSavers! Confused.com Demolition derby
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A two for one deal

32 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
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More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 33
Two Fingers
AL FRESCO
It’s back to the drawing board after Al’s fictional creation is surpassed by the real deal
For more years than I care to
remember, I’ve been writing a
fictional cartoon story about a
London cabbie ‘hero.’ I have pages and
pages of characters and plots, and
hundreds of story lines. The fun part
about my ‘super cabbie’ story is that all
the characters are named after places
in London, including the protagonist,
Forest Gate.
Forest Gate’s girlfriend is Stepney
Green; her model friend is Chelsea
Cloisters. The slippery villain is Gants
Hill and his sidekick, the garlic
munching Chepstow Villas. I even
used the story as part of my Open
University ‘creative writing course.’ I
passed, not quite with the flying
colours I expected, even after half a
lifetime penning articles for the cab
trade, mainly because I couldn’t
explain my work in the academic style
the examiners required.
Scathing
My Open University tutor was
particularly scathing about my street
name characters. They were “too
parochial,” she said. I said I thought
they were clever, and through them, I
hoped to introduce the reader to the
mystery and fun of London. She
retaliated by saying no one would
understand the references to Forest
Gate’s mates, Bromley Bybow or Bevis
Marks, or the ‘plastic police’ duo of
Buckingham and Crystal Palace who
are always on Forest’s ‘case,’ or the
‘faces’ he dined with in the little green
cab shelter, Upton Park; Hatton Cross;
Paul Spondroad; Brian ‘The Narroway’
(after he’d lost nearly 14 stone with his
guts stapled and his jaw wired up) the
honorary lady cabbie, Maida Vale and
the ‘larger than life’ Rastafarian,
Kingsland Road. When I introduced
the spy element of Rodney Millbank-
Towers, US Major Canning Town and
his willowy daughter, Summers, and
gave Forest Gate some electromagnetic
powers,’ she poo poo’ed my story as a
very weak cross between James Bond
and Marvel Comics, with a dash of
Only Fools and Horses thrown in for
no particular reason.
Well, I needn’t have bothered. I
woke up a couple of weeks ago in the
Ultra High Dependency unit of the
Clementine Churchill Hospital after
yet another fiendishly delicate
operation on my lower spine, to find
MAD MAX MEETS
THE KUMARS
my anaesthetist, Doctor Brunner,
sitting at the end of my bed chatting to
my family. Groggily, I sat up - only to
be poll-axed by a stabbing pain to
my abdomen.
It was Doc Brunner who leaned
towards me and said “did you see that
programme on BBC2 about the London cab
driver driving a taxi in Mumbai?” I
shook my head slowly, and a pain
wafted up from my groin, bubbled
around my belly button and stabbed
me in the eye. “You’ve gotta see it” he
said, “it’s brilliant. I once tried driving in
Mumbai - and it’s the maddest city in the
world. Your mate did a fantastic job!” I
drifted back to sleep and slept fitfully
for the next two days...
“MASON: I DON’T KNOW HOW
THEY DO IT BUT THEY DO IT
WITH DIGNITY AND GET ON
WITH THEIR LIVES
”
When I did finally get my act
together, I logged into my BBC iPlayer
and found the programme, entitled,
‘The Toughest Place to be..’ and read the
notes which explained London Cabbie,
Mason McQueen had travelled for
Mumbai to test his skills on some of
the busiest and most chaotic streets in
the world in what he describes as Mad
Max meets the Kumars. His host is
Pradeep Sharma who lives with his
extended family in a tiny, twobedroomed
house and earns less than
£10 a day for his long and stressful
shift. As Mason takes his life in his
hands to learn the Knowledge,
Mumbai style, he also begins to
understand the plight of millions of
migrant workers who flood into
India’s cities looking for work.
It reminded me that last year I had
applied for the gig, after someone from
the Beeb had called, and asked me
would I be interested in driving a cab
in an Indian city.
Taxi wallah
Thankfully, I wasn’t even on a long
list, let alone a short list and the bloke
they finally selected, couldn’t have
been better. Even the cabby’s name,
Mason McQueen, had a roguish
appeal; and his cheerful, confident
yet vulnerable Cockney charm and
charisma put my skillfully
constructed Forest Gate cartoon
cabbie character, deeply amongst the
non-starters. In a nutshell, Mason
was a star, from the moment he
tugged his lawn mower into
spluttering action, till the moment he
bade farewell to his taxi wallah host!
Mason seemed to take everything
in his stride. He showed a genuine
compassion, not just for the poorest
cab drivers but for the thousands of
homeless families he encountered –
such as the mother and three children
who eked out a precarious living
selling hand-made brushes and who
lived beneath the spans of a concrete
motorway. He respected Pradeep and
his fellow Mumbaikers’ daily prayers
to the Elephant God, Lord Ganesh, he
TREATING PROSTATE
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stoically tolerated the sweltering
heat, deftly negotiated the
gridlocked roads, carefully
circumnavigated the sacred cows
and even managed to navigate the
blank roadmap of Mumbai he
started off with, all with a jovial
bonhomie and spiritual empathy.
Mason not only showed himself
worthy of being amongst the best
cab drivers in the world, but proved
himself as being a respectful,
genuine fellow traveller on a harsh,
demanding journey.
In the programme’s final sequence
the camera captures Mason
philosophically contemplating the
end of his long, hot day...”I don’t know
how they do it” he says, “but they do it
with dignity and get on with their lives.”
Well done, me old china - you set a
fine example. n
T
tate
Treating
prostate
cancercer
Questions and answers
Prostate Cancer Research Centre • 67 Riding House Street • London • W1W 7EJ
Tel: 020 7679 9366 • email info@prostate-cancer-research.org.uk • www.prostate-cancer-research.org.uk

34 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
Comcab radio circuits fitted in all TX4 loan cabs
C&S Taxis London Ltd - have now purchased new Vito Merc's to coincide with six
existing TX4s, specially allocated for their crash repair body shop - A Class Of Their Own

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 35
Licensed to Chat
MUSHER MEG
CLAW BLIMEY
THAT HURTS
A slow moving rescue mission ends painfully for Mr Meg who is attacked by a snooty pet
Our cat, Kitty, is 12 years old
and has steadily got slower
and sleepier over the years,
but she still has the same snooty
attitude she had as a kitten. Her
perpetual expression is one that
seems to ask “how come I ended up
with this dumb bunch of humans?”
When my cab is parked on the
front drive, Kitty likes a daytime
doze on the roof. Me closing the
front door, and rattling my keys, is
her cue to slide down the
windscreen and onto the bonnet,
before doing an elegant roll off the
front, followed by a four legged
scissor step into the nearby bushes.
I’m on nodding terms with most
of my neighbours; but I was
surprised when I started off to work
yesterday, and two of them
gesticulated frantically in my
TAXI TYRE SPECIALIST
direction. I was barely at the bottom
of the street when another crossed in
front of me, stabbed a finger at my
cab and mouthed, “bat!”
“OUR CAT’S PERPETUAL
EXPRESSION IS ONE THAT
SEEMS TO ASK, HOW COME I
ENDED UP WITH THIS DUMB
BUNCH OF HUMANS?
”
I hate bats. I am convinced that, if
I ever got close to one of the
bloomin’ things, it would dive bomb
my hair and set up home in there,
breeding baby bats in my curls.
Convinced that I had been told there
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was a bat on my cab roof I did an
emergency stop and called Mr Meg
to come and rescue me.
I was only a few hundred yards
from home, yet it took him 18
minutes to respond to my
emergency. My Batman had clearly
polished off his bowl of Honey Nut
Cornflakes at a leisurely pace, before
responding to my desperate plea for
help. I know this because there was
one stuck between his front teeth
and he had a
milk trail down
his chin.
I opened the
driver side
window, just a
sliver, in case the
bat was waiting
to pounce, and
before I could
explain the
problem he said
“why is our Kitty
on the roof of
your taxi?”
CAT? BAT? It’s
an easy mistake to
make, isn’t it? Mr
Meg leaned in to
tell me that I was
“stoopid”, when the
cat (which was by
now super-spooked)
leapt from the roof of
the cab onto his head.
Kitty buried her
front claws into
the side of his
forehead and
back claws into the nape of his neck.
Shock, doesn’t begin to describe
the look on Mr Meg’s face. He was
now wearing a live Davy Crockett
hat, which was drawing blood. He
raised his arms to try and prise Kitty
off, but she yelped, and sank her
claws deeper in.
It took a lot of “ows” and “ouches”,
along with a generous helping of
bleeps and a bit of gentle head
banging on the bonnet - Mr
Meg’s, not the cat’s, no
animals were
harmed in the
production
of this
column -
before
Kitty
finally
relaxed her
grip and slid
down his
shoulder. With a
little shake she
composed herself,
gave the two of us
one of her best “dumb
humans” stares and
strolled off in the
direction of our home,
leaving Mr Meg
bleeding and in need of
a puncture repair kit for
the holes in his head.
There must be a moral
somewhere in this tale,
but I haven’t a clue what
it is; just don’t tell me
I’m bats! n
UNIT 14 PETERLEY BUSINESS CENTRE
472 HACKNEY ROAD LONDON E2 9EQ

36 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
TXII
TX4
0203 03 1190015
01268 795895
Just Taxis (Hackney),
Richmond Road Cab Centre Ltd, 195 Richmond Road,
Hackney,
London,
E8 3NJ
© Fairway and TX shape is a registered design. Fairway, TX, the LTI device, the LTI and the London Taxis International logos are all trademarks of LTI Limited. Business users only. Finance subject to status.*On selected vehicles.

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 37
ROAD WATCH
MASSETT’S
CAMERA
HOTSPOTS
Southampton Row/Kingsway
Brick Lane
Harrods
Great Marlborough Street
Waterloo Road
Hammersmith Broadway
U-turns
Do not mount the footpath, set down on
the road
Zig-Zags behind the rank in Brompton Road
and no U-turns
Zig-Zags
Zig-Zags
Over-ranking
Extreme Hotspot 1:
Drayton Park - Unclear width
restriction signs
Extreme Hotspot 2:
Over-ranking at Selfridges
Eldon Street
Clapham High Street
Old Broad Street
Berkley Street/Piccadilly
Regency Place
Red Routes
Tower Bridge
Limehouse Link
Do not set down on Zig-Zags
Zig-Zags
No motor vehicles beyond Broad St Avenue
Yellow box junction
Yellow lines. This is a WCC special
enforcement action area
TfL is actively enforcing yellow box
restrictions
20 mph speed limit – average speed
cameras
30 mph speed limit
Ganton Street
No motor vehicles
• Drivers Wanted
• 11 Plate TX4 Elegance’s @
• 62 Plate TX4 Elegance's from
• TX4’s from
• TXII From
pw
pw
pw
pw

38 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
London Taxi License = 2 MOT’s a year
S&H
Cabs Ltd
TA
We are an authorised VOSA
TAXI MOT PLUS
VOSA Vehicle Testing Station (MOT)
As S&H Cabs Limited we have 25 years of experience in the Ta
axi Trade
in repair’s maintenance, overhauls & Licensing.
We have taken it one step further by refurbishing our workshop & premises
and have become an in-house MOT Te
esting Station.
1STOP
MOT CENTRE
STOP
Including 1st & 2nd MOT
Second MOT by appointment “while u wait”
020 8803 1437
MOT CENTRE
E
We have 5 testers, 2 bay fully automatic MOT test lane and can complete
two vehicles at a time.
We are in easy reach to the new NSL Inspection Centre
e in Enfield with our Taxi
experience combined with our MOT experience so you will NOT be dissappointed.
1) In our new campaign we are off
fering The London Taxi Driver a package
2) Just MOT presentation
(If exchanged units are damaged or not useable an extra surcharge will be charged) 6 months warranty
ALL FOR
£495
For further information & bookings please call us on
5 Fairfield Road, Edmonton, London N18 2QP
+ VAT

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 39

40 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
PUZZLER
Crossword Competition!
To complete our prize
crossword and be in with a
chance to win £50 send your
completed entry to Crossword
290, Taxi, Taxi House, 11
Woodfield Road, W9 2BA before
April 16. First name out of the hat
gets the cash.
ACROSS
7 Intense fear (6)
8 Ordinary test (1, 5)
9 Blood vessel (4)
10 Suspicion (8)
11 Charm (7)
13 Once more (5)
15 Nimble (5)
16 Commentate on (7)
18 Arresting (8)
19 Untie (4)
21 Show (6)
22 Noon (6)
DOWN
1 Dry or withered (4)
2 Calming drug (13)
3 Iron cooking plate (7)
4 Medieval contest (5)
5 Roundabouts (5, 2, 6)
6 Short-sleeved top (3 5)
12 The age of maturity (8)
14 Combat simulation (3, 4)
17 Portion of land (5)
20 To haul by cart (4)
[ ]
YOU COULD WIN £50!
Overheard by Brad Ashton
CROSSWORD NO. 290
“It was Abraham Lincoln who
said you can’t fool all the people
all the time, but our politicians
keep trying. Lately Cameron‘s
being compared to Blair and I
can see the similarity. Blair was
Prime Minister for 10 years and
with Cameron it already seems
that long. Tony Blair got us into
so much trouble they now refer
to him as the Prime Sinister. I’m
told the Lib Dems recently held a
membership drive. They drove
away 200 members.”
“Thanks to the current economic
situation my bank balance is so
low I have to kneel down to
read it. I went to my bank to
raise a loan, but all I raised was
a laugh. Banks are being forced
to cut back on executives’
bonuses. In those circles there’s
certainly gloom at the top. But I
hear they’ve found a devious
way round the problem. Instead
of bonuses, the banks are giving
their staff advice on tax
loopholes. The tax inspector
will no doubt be saying what
Dr. Watson used to say to
Sherlock Holmes, ‘what
brilliant deductions!’”
“I saw a West End play that was
all about sex. It got rave reviews
‘dirty…rotten…filthy.’ That sort
of thing‘s accepted these days.
The only obscenity the public
objected to, was the price to
get in.”
“My wife calls me her better
half because if she wants
something, I’d better have it. I
can read her like a book. It’s a
pity I can’t shut her up like
one. I now realise the best
years of my life were before
I gave her the best years of
my life.”
“I went past a GP’s house today.
I knew it was a GP’s house
because the mat outside said
‘WELCOME, BY
APPOINTMENT’.”
“I’ve just come back from a
cruise where the passengers
never stopped eating. They
swallowed everything but their
pride. They say travel broadens
the mind. It broadens the hips
even more. You have to realise
that too many square meals
make you round.”
“On cruises I never order wine,
for two reasons; either I can’t
afford it or I can’t pronounce it.
They have all sorts of theme
cruises now. The best trips
though are on the smaller ships
where you can dock at the
remote, less populated
picturesque ports. My last
trip stopped at one place that
was so small, the town clock
was a wristwatch. And the
local bank’s only protection
was a man at the door with
bad breath.”
SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD 288
Across: 7 Solemn, 8 Tremor, 9 Spar, 10 Yearning, 11 Old hand, 13 Voice,
15 Stunt, 17 Quietus, 20 Airspace, 21 Curb, 22 Tailor, 23 Uproar.
Down: 1 Gospel, 2 Deer, 3 Undying, 4 Atlas, 5 Beanpole, 6 Cognac,
12 Honestly, 14 Humerus, 16 Tribal,
18 Unreal, 19 Macro, 21 Card.
Congratulations
Issue 288 winner
Jane Bourne, Isleworth
Just for fun
Follow @TheLTDA on Twitter for news, updates and warnings
Have a go at
this medium
level Sudoku
puzzle. Fill
the grid so
that every
row, every
column and
every 3x3 box
contains the
numbers 1-9.

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 41

42 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
Magri ’ s
NOW OPEN!
We can
make to order!
Call us now on
07951786531
snack
bar
Located at
City Airport
at the end of the taxi
rank. Ideal for taxi
drivers! Delicious
homemade food!
Opening hours
5am-8pm Mon-Fri
5am-12pm Sat
Closed on Sundays
Yummy burgers, sandwiches, chips,
and piping hot tea and coffee...
TAXI
A selection of our numerous
Distribution Points
n A1 Taxis, Sidworth Street E8
n Abacus Accounts, Southbrook Road,
Lee SE12
n Astral Café, Regency Place SW1
n Bubbles Car Wash, E2
n C & S Taxis, Dunbridge Street E2
n Cabsurance, Seven Kings
n Camberfield Taxi Services
n Computer Cab, Mitre Way W12
n Coney Allen, Dunbridge Street E1
n CP Beehive Service Station, Beehive
Lane, Gants Hill
n Cricklewood Carriers, Cricklewood
n Dial A Cab, City Road N1
n Edgware Station Rank
n Euston Station Rank
n G & L Taxis, Crayford Road N7
n Globe Transmissions, Cudworth
Street E1
n The Ham, Brentford
n Heathrow Airport Canteen
n Hexagon Garage, Lukin Street E1
n Jet Garage, Clipstone Street W1
n Knowledge Centre, Caledonian Road
n KPM, Hemming Street E1
n London City Airport Canteen
n LP Motors, Dunbridge Street E2
n Martin Cordell, E3 and Stanmore
n Paddington Station Rank
n Public Carriage Office, Penton Street N1
n Putney Bridge Taxis, The Arches,
Putney Bridge Station SW6
n Richmond Road Taxi Centre, E8
n Safewise Supermarket, Harrow
n South Bank Service Station, Great Suffolk
Street SE1
n TAXI HOUSE W9
n Temple Place Shelter
n Tent Street Taxi Centre E2
n Turbo Accessories, Three Colts Lane E2
n Waterloo Station
n Wimbledon Station Rank
n WizAnn Knowledge School,
Watts Grove E3
PUBLISHED BY
LTDA
Taxi House 11 Woodfield Road,
London W9 2BA
T: 020 7286 1046 | www.ltda.co.uk
@TheLTDA
MANAGING EDITOR Steve Still
T: 0207 121 0508,
F: 0207 286 2494
E: taxinewspaper@ltda.co.uk
THE MASSETT FILE Richard Massett
THE CHAIRMAN SAYS John Thomas
TWO FINGERS Al Fresco
TAXI TALK Alf Townsend
OVERHEARD Brad Ashton
LICENSED TO CHAT Musher Meg
PRODUCED BY
Century One Publishing ltd
Alban Row,27-31 Verulam Road
St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 4DG.
T: 01727 893 894, F: 01727 893 895
E: enquiries@centuryone
publishing.ltd.uk
www.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk
DESIGN & PRODUCTION
Sarah Astington
ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE
Dave Challenor
T: 01727 739 196
E: dave@centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk
PRINTED BY Century One Publishing
Ltd
COVER IMAGE Shutterstock.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any
means electronic, mechanical or by photocopying without
prior permission of the publishers. The views and opinions
expressed in this publication may not necessarily be those of
the publishers. Please note that the last day for inclusion of
Classified lineage advertisements is five working days prior to
publication. No liability is accepted by the publisher should
advertisements not appear in the requested issue(s). Whilst the
publisher will take every care to ensure accuracy, no liability
can be accepted for loss or damage resulting from errors.

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 43
CLASSIFIED
Accident Management
CORONATION
BLACK CABS LTD
ACCIDENT
MANAGEMENT
07719 454 606
IF YOU’VE HAD AN
ACCIDENT: STOP!
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING CALL US! WE’LL SAVE YOU TIME, MONEY AND HASSLE!
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BUTLER’S
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OVERHALLS SERVICING REPAIRS
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TXI, TXII, TX4’S FULL BACK UP 24-7
GARAGE: 0208 648 2444
RENTALS: 0796 098 2507
Mitcham & surrounding areas
Cabs for Rent
CABITAL TAXIS
✽ Best rental Company by Far ✽
✽ Great choice of Quality Cabs ✽
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Cab rental Hotline 07940-021014
Garages in
Bethnal Green,
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Cabs for Rent
RANDELL CABS LTD
CABITAL TAXIS
07940-021014
ask for Tom or Charlie
email info@cabitaltaxis.com
MEM’s 24hr Breakdown Service ✽ Spare Cabs always Available
Established 1970
TX4'S AVAILABLE NOW
Excellent customer service with the best
maintained cabs in London
• Modern air conditioned fleet • Spare cabs
• National RAC cover • Based in Bow
Call John on 07535 924370 or Paul on 07508 423769

44 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
CLASSIFIED
Cabs for Rent
PREMIER
CABS
TX1 / TX11
/ TX4 from
£165
Pay at
local bank,
1st week rental
only £99
All about
the service
Driver delivers
your taxi to
your door
CD player,
No adverts,
AA Relay
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garages in
Paddington &
Bethnal Green
Guaranteed
24hr access to
spare cabs at
Paddington
Call today: 020 8740 7444 / 07786 025814
Image © neovain
“C US 4 CABs”
Quality Rentals from £165 p/w
Full Back up 24/7
Spare cabs
Mitcham based
Tyres from £37.50
Recovery Service Available
Vito for £240 per week
Great Deals for Great Drivers!
Dennis 07775 931 439
Cabs for Rent
Cabs for Rent
FOR SALE
& WANTED
• R Reg TXI’s from £2000, TX2’s from
£3500 to late TX4’s from £10,999 all
plated. 1 Year Warranty Available.
• Cabs also wanted (cash paid).
• Cabs for rent from £120
per week - first week free, 2nd
week half price plus free
Christmas Week.
• Finance arranged.
Contact John on 07956354671
jj.fowell@ntlworld.com
Established 1993
Est
20
years
G&H TAXIS FLEET RENTAL
518 KING ST, OFF BRUCE GROVE, TOTTENHAM N17 8AW
BEAT THE RECESSION
TXI from £180 per week TX4 from £215 per week
• OVERHAULS • SERVICING • BODY WORK
• PAY IN AT ANY BARCLAYS BANK
• 24 HOUR RAC BACKUP
DON’T DELAY CALL THE TAXIS TEAM
WE HAVE
MOVED!
CALL: 020 8885 1844 / 07956 514179 WEBSITE: www.gandhtaxis.com
EMAIL: gandhtaxisfleet@aol.com
Cabs for Rent
LTDA Meetings
INDIGO
TAXI LTD
Garage in
Loughborough
Junction
TXI’s / TX2’s / TX4’s
✔ 24 hour back-up
✔ Spare cabs
✔ Competitive rates for full flat and double teams
✔ Pay at local bank. Special rates for monthly payers
✔ Special offers for new knowledge graduates
✔ Buy cabs for cash
Call Christos on 07711 418734 or
Keith on 0207 733 3228 or
visit www.indigotaxi.co.uk
Kingston & Wimbledon Taxis
Taxi MOT check and testing from March 2013
Fast fit servicing appointments for TXI, TXII & TX4
Mechanical repairs & servicing
Lucus & Cygnus meter agents - please book & bring your log book
Garage services open mon /fri- 8am to 5.30pm & sat 9-12.30pm
Taxis for hire from £145.00 ,all taxis available from our large fleet
Mercedes front & rear discs & pads for only £320.00 + vat
TX2 Battery £85.00 + vat Tyres £52.00 + vat
Bodyshop for accident repairs - CCTV for your insurance reduction
Non fault accident specialists-no excess to pay
We buy all Taxis at top prices
The Dell, Clayton Road, Chessington, KT9 1NN
Just off the A3, at the Hook turn off
0208 391 1600 sales@taxigarage.co.uk
WWW.TAXIGARAGE.CO.UK
LDTA Branch Meetings
SW and SE
First Monday of Jan and
third Tuesday of March,
May, June, Nov
NW and NE
Last Tuesday of Jan and
last Monday of April,
June, Sept, Nov

More readers than the rest put together! 3 APRIL 2013 | TAXI 45
CLASSIFIED
Cabs Wanted
Thinking of
selling your cab?
Want the best price?
Fairways, TXIs and TXIIs wanted!
Ring 078 8937 8639
Commissions
DOVER HOTEL
44 Belgrave Road
Victoria, London SW1V 1RG
020 7821 9085
£10 Commission Paid Per Room
Single Ensuite £70 - Double/Twin Ensuite £80
Triple/Family Rooms Also Available
MARBLE ARCH INN
49 Upper Berkeley Street
Marble Arch - London W1H 5QR
020 7723 7888
Drivers Wanted
Wright MOT Centre Limited
Drivers Wanted
TXI’s to Vitos – Full Back Up
Competitive rates
Running repairs,
MOT’s & Bodywork
Restaurants
Services and Repairs
The Best Kebab
Free Sky sports
1st tea on the house for
taxi drivers*
2 for 1 cups of coffee*
Half price humous
and taramasalata*
After 7pm free parking
All kebabs served with rice
*Eat in only
Tel: 0207 336 7036
118 Old Street
EC1V 9BD
Arin Garage
Cab hire, Running repairs, Overhauls, Crash repair
TXII, TX4 Engine rebuild specialists
FREE MOT & FREE ESTIMATE
First and second MOTs free for
cabs over £400 preparation costs
TX4 Engine rebuild £2,400
(2 Year or 50,000 miles warranty)
TXIs, TXIIs, & TX4s £160-£200 pw
Devon Wharf, Leven Road, E14 0LL
Cabs
Available
Now
0203 069 8352 / 07951 321566 / 07951 110152
Services and Repairs
Advertise here
in TAXI magazine
For all your TAXI advertising
requirements contact
Century One Publishing
CALL DAVE ON 01727 739 196

46 TAXI |3 APRIL 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA
CLASSIFIED
Cabs Wanted
LINAGE
Accomodation
TAXI DRIVER looking for a room in
London for long term let. Call
00353539238440. Will return call
Accountants
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS
specialising in the taxi trade.
Accounts and tax returns £295inc.
Based in North London & City.
Home visits. Call Andy Belej
02083601446/07967444687
Business for Sale
TAXI BUSINESS in East London.
9 Cabs all with excellent drivers
(3 TX4’s, 2 TXII’s & 4 TXI’s). Total
yearly income £80,000. Business
includes drivers and cabs £70,000.
Garage comes with full workshop
facilities including 3 ramps,
compressor etc, with long lease
£35,000 optional. Call 07785110300
or 0207 729 4815/0815
Cabs for Rent
ALL MERCEDES Vito’s for rent,
Starting from £230pw, Full Back-Up,
Excellent Service, Call 07508977592
CHEAP TAXIS – TXIs/ TXIIs / TX4s
from £150pw, Full Back-up, Bethnal
Green, Call Eric 07766542798
To plan your ad campaign in
TAXI magazine contact:
Dave Challenor
E16 RENTALS, TX4’s available. Full
back up. Ascotts Maintained. Pay by
Cash, in bank, online, driver friendly
fleet. 07957 465423
ROMFORD BASED TXIs, TXIIs &
TX4’s. Spare cab/Comcab, Own
Workshop & Bodyshop, AA
breakdown cover, From £160pw –
01708347288 or 07932740902
TXI & TXII’S from £160 p/w. VITO’s
£210 p/w. RAC Cover. No Adverts.
Garage Back Up. Essex Area. Call
01708 373 786
TXIS/TXIIS from £160pw, SW area -
Call Brian 07940 592367
TXIS FROM £170pw, TXIIs from
£180pw. 24hr back-up system, Clean
cabs – 02076132436, 07947644541 or
07702221672
Cabs for Sale
METRO CAB 6 – MOT’d good
condition. Cab Retired. £650 ono.
02087648242
METRO TTT – 52’ Reg. New Engine
replaced 60,000 miles ago. Extensive
recent bodywork carried out. Plated
until 22/11/13. £6,500 ono. Call
07918148825
R- REG TXI £4000 & 3 TXII’s all
plated good conditioned cabs from
£8,000 each. Call 0207 4859888 or
07794 247177
Scan this code on
your smartphone
to contact us now
t: 01727 739 196
e: dave@centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk
w: www.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk QR code reader apps are available for free from your app store or app marketplace
TX4 – BRONZE. 57’ reg. 154,300
Miles. Plated until March 2014.
Suspension Seat, can belt @ 140,000
miles, four new tyres, £13,500 ono.
07500847066
Cabs Wanted
AUSTIN FX4 or nice Fairway taxi.
Also chrome bumpers wanted. Cash
waiting, quick viewing & decision.
Graham 07435 562759
graham.waite@yahoo.co.uk
CASH PAID for all TXIIs and TX4s -
020 8150 7560
FAIRWAYS AND TXIS taxis wanted,
instant decision - cash paid. Tel:
07973335739 or 01253407500
Drivers Wanted
NIGHTMAN, DAYMAN or part-time
driver wanted. New Cab. 12’ Reg.
South London/Surrey Area. Call
07717854342
NIGHTMAN WANTED – TXII – 54’
Reg. Comcab Fitted. Stanford-Le-
Hope/Basildon area changeover. Call
Paul 07977 702447
Garage for Rent
BETHNAL GREEN/E2 Area.
Fits 5 Cars. Call 07947644541
or 07702221672
Reg for Sale
CA13 MEC. REGISTRATION for
the Mercedes Cabbies. £1000.
Call Paul 07568078704
LINAGE RATES:
Up to 10 words £20,
up to 20 words £30,
up to 30 words £37,
up to 40 words £40
(Plus VAT)
To book your linage in
Taxi contact
Century One
Publishing
and talk to Dave
on 01727 739 196
or email
dave@centuryone
publishing.ltd.uk
PLACE YOUR LINAGE
IN TAXI ISSUE 291
BOOK BY WEDS 10 APR
CALL DAVE ON
01727 739 196

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