AT THE START OLYMPIC BOOM STALLS - TAXI Newspaper

TAXI 

The offical publication of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association | www.ltda.co.uk 

SEE PAGE 3 

OLYMPIC 

BOOM STALLS 

AT THE START 

More readers than the rest put together. Ask any driver! 

HIGHLIGHTS THIS ISSUE 

P4 ADDISON LEE RAGE 

Minicab shunts cyclist MP 

P10 MOTORISTS QUIT THE ROADS 

Fuel prices to blame 

P14 OFFENCE NOT INTENDED 

Fare row man let off 

P21 LONDON TOPS PARKING CHART 

Driver fined every 4.6 secs 

No.270 | 12 JUNE 2012 

Ticket sales 

slow, hotel 

bookings down 

by a third 

LTDA

2 TAXI |12 JUNE 2012 www.ltda.co.uk 

NEWS 

Olympic ‘boom’ goes bust 

Business 

Hotel bookings for the Olympic 

period are down more than a third 

on last year, according to the 

latest figures. 

And more than half of 1,255 hotels 

in London checked by TAXI still had 

double rooms available for the first 

full week of the games, which get 

underway on Friday, July 27. 

The expected boost to the 

economy that the government 

hoped the games would bring has 

not occurred. 

Tens of thousands of tourists 

appear to be snubbing soaring 

prices, congestion and heightened 

security in favour of other 

European capitals, travel experts 

have claimed. 

France has experienced a 50 per 

cent rise in tourism bookings while 

Barcelona and Berlin have seen their 

tourist numbers soar by 100 per cent 

over the summer. 

The London Organising 

Committee for the Olympic Games 

(LOCOG) has come under fire for 

block booking 40,000 rooms over the 

period for officials and their families. 

It meant hotels increased prices 

for the remaining rooms only for 

LOCOG to return a fifth of the 

rooms earlier this year. 

Travel expert Terry 

Williamson, whose company 

JacTravel works with travel 

agents and hotel websites, 

says LOCOG has distorted 

the market. 

He said the idea that “prices are 

going to stand up and people are going 

to come” has not held up. 

Mr Williamson said: “If you lose a 

third of your availability and believe 

that that’s sold for you in the market 

place then that’s probably going to 

change your approach to how you price 

your remaining stock. The fact is that 

that stock did not sell when you look at 

our data with seven weeks left to go 

in market.” 

TAXI newspaper easily found 

plenty of hotels with available 

rooms, many of them at exorbitant 

prices, including a one bedroom 

apartment in Camden for £7,260. 

Double rooms for six nights from 

July 31 are still available at the Best 

Western Hotel in Shaftesbury 

Avenue for £1,350. Further afield in 

places like Hackney and Bromley, 

hotel rooms were available for less 

than £600 for the same period. 

Four-star London hotels are 

charging up to £415 per night 

which is nearly four times the 

normal price. A survey by 

Hotel.com found that prices in 

London have increased by 104 per 

cent with the average room costing 

£213 this summer. 

Mr Williamson added that 

“normal tourism” in other Olympic 

capitals such had Sydney, Beijing 

and Barcelona had dropped 

significantly during their events 

and “took some time to recover”. 

News in brief 

Games tickets sales 

slow 

Hundreds of thousands of 

London 2012 tickets are unsold 

after a dramatic slowdown in 

take up. 

Five out of six of the 300,000 

Olympics tickets made 

available in May are still up for 

grabs but many of them are in 

the higher price range. 

A further 43,000 tickets, 

also for popular sports such as 

boxing and beach volleyball, 

were released on Friday. 

They are just a small part of 

another 300,000 tickets still to 

be issued before the games get 

under way on July 27. 

There are also 550,000 

contingency tickets - seats held 

back until the venues were 

finished and broadcast and 

other spaces confirmed - left 

to sell. 

Up to 1.25 million football 

tickets are still also currently 

available, making around three 

million tickets remaining to 

be sold.

More readers than the rest put together! 12 JUNE 2012 | TAXI 3 

Top Trade Story 

YOU ARE ‘A CREDIT 

TO LONDON’ 

STEVE MCNAMARA LTDA General Secretary 

Taxi drivers win consistent praise from Londoners but are being used by LOCOG 

The LTDA logo is a common 

sight on the streets of the 

Metropolis, partly as a result 

of our various advertising 

campaigns, but mainly due to the 

thousands of diaries in cab windows 

and the predominance of our badge 

lanyards. The upside of having this 

tremendous brand awareness, both 

within and outside of our trade, is 

that virtually everyone we deal 

with, from local councils to senior 

ministers and civil servants, is 

acquainted with who we are before 

we step through the door. But the 

downside is that every member of 

the public who leaves something in 

a cab or has a cab related query 

calls us! 

Consideration 

Fortunately, the vast majority of the 

calls that we receive, are from 

members of the public wishing to 

thank or commend drivers for 

acts of kindness or service 

above that which was 

expected. These vary 

from returning lost 

property, to carrying 

bags up nine 

flights of stairs 

because the lift 

was broken. 

The best one 

last week 

was from an 

elderly lady 

wishing to 

thank the 

driver who, 

after helping her indoors, then spent 

over an hour dealing with a flood 

that had occurred whilst she was out 

and then refusing to take any 

money! These experiences highlight 

that many individual drivers don’t 

just go out to work; they go out to 

provide a service, but it’s not just 

individuals, as I learned from a 

woman I spoke to yesterday. She 

had been in London for a few days 

with her son who had been severely 

injured in Afghanistan and had lost 

both legs and was undergoing 

various rehabilitation treatments. 

During the course of their visit, they 

had combined a bit of sightseeing 

and shopping, and had taken quite a 

few cabs because her son wasn’t 

sufficiently comfortable with his 

prosthetic legs to use the tube. She 

was calling to thank all the drivers 

for their kindness and consideration. 

It was only after we had been 

chatting for about 10 minutes 

that I realised that not one 

driver had charged the fare, 

and all had taken the trouble 

to show interest and support. 

It was the first time since he 

had been wounded 

that her son 

actually felt 

valued and 

that people 

appreciated 

his sacrifice 

and that “Your 

drivers are a 

credit to 

London”. 

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Incompetent 

Its just a pity that the people 

responsible for the Olympics - I 

deliberately don’t use the word 

‘organising’ because there’s been 

precious little of that - don’t value 

our services as much as so many of 

our regular customers do. The more 

than adequately remunerated 

members of the amusingly titled 

‘London Organising Committee for 

the Olympic Games’ (LOCOG), 

whilst happy to use the image of a 

London taxi when it suits them have 

deliberately ignored the advice and 

experience offered by the taxi trade. 

“THE VAST MAJORITY OF 

THE CALLS THAT WE 

RECEIVE, ARE FROM 

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC 

WISHING TO THANK OR 

COMMEND DRIVERS 

” 

The best example is the taxi rank 

that will be sited at Hackney 

Marshes by Homerton Road which 

is going to be one of the main exits 

from the games. When it was 

pointed out to LOCOG that, in order 

to get a supply of taxis to the rank 

cabs will need to be able to exit the 

A12, their response was that it 

wasn’t necessary as the detour was 

‘only a few miles’ via Hackney Wick 

and a plethora of small residential 

streets. Expect to read somewhere 

that this cab rank went unserviced! 

LOCOG is an incompetent, 

authoritarian group with precious 

little knowledge of anything let 

alone the impact that its ‘plans’ are 

going to have on working 

Londoners. Its transport master 

plan appears to be to try and 

persuade as many Londoners as 

possible to go elsewhere for the 

duration of the games, and then 

hope and pray that the tube can 

manage two whole weeks without a 

major catastrophic breakdown. 

There are no answers forthcoming 

to simple questions about the 

impact of the ‘Zil’ lanes on 

London’s already poor air quality or 

how housing the Olympic family in 

Park Lane, a round trip of 18 miles 

from the main stadia at Stratford, 

can be justified when there are 

ample quality hotels within an 

existing secure cordon at Canary 

Wharf, less than a mile from the 

games. The truth is that LOCOG’s 

sole agenda is to facilitate the 

whims and demands of the Olympic 

family and corporate sponsors at 

whatever cost, and irrespective of 

the resultant effect on Londoners in 

their own city. It has a well oiled PR 

machine, created to suppress and 

curtail any criticism of its decisions, 

or the Olympics in general; quite 

whether it will be able to drown out 

the voice of the growing number of 

Londoners who are fed up with the 

ineptitude and intransigence of 

LOCOG is still to be seen. n 

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NEWS 

Addison Lee driver shunts MP 

Transport 

An MP has written to Addison Lee 

to complain about an incident when 

one of the firm’s drivers bumped 

her back wheel while she waited at a 

junction on her bike in London. 

Mary Creagh, the Labour MP for 

Wakefield and Shadow Environment 

Secretary, described the incident in a 

letter to the minicab company’s 

chairman John Griffin, and which 

appeared in the Times newspaper. 

The incident comes after Griffin 

prompted a ‘die in’ at his office by 

cyclists angered at his remarks 

that they were the cause of their 

own injuries. 

A company spokesman later said 

it would fit forward-facing video 

cameras to its vehicles and 

provide cycle awareness training to 

its drivers. 

“I was interested to hear you a few 

weeks back on Radio 4, saying that 

your minicabs should be allowed into 

bus lanes,” she wrote. 

“Perhaps you would be interested to 

hear my experience of one of your 

drivers today? I was at the junction of 

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Bloomsbury Square and Tottenham 

Court Road, which is left turn only for 

vehicles, with an exception to go 

straight ahead for cycles. The lights 

changed and the road was blocked by a 

bus. I was on the right hand side of one 

of your vehicles and behind a van 

which could not move because of 

the bus. 

“The lights changed back to red, the 

van ahead of me curled around the 

corner but I decided to wait at the red 

light rather than risk crossing the road 

as my sight line of any oncoming 

traffic was obscured. Your driver 

bumped into the back of my bicycle. 

“When I observed that the lights had 

changed to red some five seconds 

earlier, he shouted and yelled at me. 

“It was the first time I had been 

bumped in well over 10 years. I am a 

slow, careful cyclist with excellent 

hand signals and always make eye 

contact with drivers. 

“It was certainly an interesting 

experience to be barracked for obeying 

a red stop light when driver mythology 

has all cyclists down as light-jumping 

lunatics. Based on today’s experience, 

your drivers’ reputation for careful 

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MP ‘barracked for obeying stop light’ 

driving may be just as much of 

a myth.” 

A spokesman for the firm told 

The Times: “Obviously this is not the 

standard of behaviour we expect from 

our drivers. 

“As with any complaint we receive, 

we will work to identify the driver 

involved and take appropriate action. 

“Addison Lee invests heavily in 

driver training and is currently 

Thank you LTDA 

By Antonio Novais 

I picked up three young men to take 

them various places and finish in 

Barnes. On the way one of them 

vomited in the cab, so I told them 

they would have to pay £50 for it, 

plus the fare (£39). 

When I arrived at the Green by 

Church Road they all got out saying 

that they were getting the money 

out of the ATM (I let them out is 

because I had already taken two of 

Bilker Watch 

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 

able to provide evidence of a 

police report reference, a 

compensation payment (max £50) 

may be available from the ‘LTDA 

Bilking Fund’. 

consulting with cycling groups to 

help us 

launch London’s first taxi/cyclistspecific 

training for our drivers later 

this year.” 

Following Griffin’s comments, 

the company told cycling groups 

that it planned to equip its vehicles 

with forward-facing cameras to 

provide independent evidence 

of incidents. 

them to Barnes before and they 

paid without a problem). They all 

ran away. I chased them but had 

no luck. I phoned the police and 

reported it. The week after I went 

to LTDA and explained what 

happened and gave the reference 

from the police. I was told I would 

be sent a cheque for £50. Two days 

later it arrived. 

Thank you very much. Joining 

the LTDA was one of the best 

things I've done. 

Image: Blazej Lyjak / Shutterstock.com


Long serving LTDA member Peter 

McCarthy agreed to drop his wife 

at her regular hair stylist in 

Ingatestone on Thursday, May 10. 

“THE LTDA INVITED PETER 

TO POP INTO TAXI HOUSE 

AND PICK UP A CONTINGENCY 

PAYMENT TO OFFSET 

THE COST 

” 

He left his cab in a nearby car 

park and, after seeing his wife into 

the hairdressers, he bought a coffee 

and a newspaper with the 

intention of settling down in the 

back of the cab, before returning to 

pick her up. Unfortunately, the 

only sign left of his taxi was a 

patch of broken window glass on 

the very spot where it had stood 

JVBrights 

Tel: 

020 7803 0803 

just 10 minutes earlier! 

Peter had left his mobile in the 

cab, so was grateful that the staff in 

the hairdressers allowed him to use 

their phone to report the theft to the 

police and arrange to put a stop on 

his O2 network. 

Two hours later, Peter received a 

message from the police that his cab 

had been located a couple of miles 

away in Hutton; but unfortunately 

minus his Bill, badge, money bag, 

satnav, Heathrow tag, toolbox and 

his wife’s favourite sunglasses. To 

add insult to injury the police 

impounded the vehicle for forensic 

examination, arranged to transport 

it to Basildon and then charged 

Peter £150 for the pleasure of getting 

it back from the private contractor! 

On hearing his tale of woe, the 

LTDA invited Peter to pop into 

Taxi House and pick up a 

contingency payment to offset the 

cost of his stolen property and 

lost earnings. n 

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Peter rests on his new window after collecting his LTDA cheque 

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The Massett File 

If you thought that everything in 

London will return to normal after 

the Olympics think again; Victoria 

Station is one place where big 

changes are afoot. 

The upgrade work has now 

reached the stage when the station 

forecourt will no longer be 

accessible, so a new station 

entrance/exit has opened up on 

Wilton Road. 

To service this new entrance, a pick 

up facility will be provided in 

Hudsons Place with what will be left 

of the existing feeder rank system. 

Passengers will still be able to 

leave from the front of the station but 

this will be heavily restricted and a 

plan to retain a rank on the forecourt 

has had to be abandoned. The 

temporary arrangements will 

commence in September and remain 

in place for five years. 

Now for the worst part; 

Westminster City Council has for a 

long time wanted to stop taxis from 

queuing in Gillingham Street because 

of the complaints it receives from 

residents. It has decided that now is 

the time to take action to prevent it. 

The council, with the agreement of 

TfL, has decided to install a new taxi 

VICTORIA STATION 

UPGRADE 

RICHARD MASSETT LTDA Executive, Chairman London Cab Ranks Committee 

The £700m station revamp is well underway and changes are taking place at the ranks 

“VICTORIA STATION IS ONE 

PLACE WHERE BIG CHANGES 

ARE AFOOT 

” 

feeder rank in Vauxhall Bridge 

Road, south of Gillingham Street. It 

will stretch back as far as the Queen 

Mother Sports Centre. To stop taxis 

from continuing to take the normal 

route through Gillingham Street, the 

council has also decided to ban the 

right turn into Vauxhall Bridge 

Road, hoping that taxi drivers will 

not simply ignore the new feeder 

rank. The measures will be put in 

place as a six month experiment 

starting in September. As part of the 

experiment the existing three cab 

rank in Gillingham Street will 

become an authorised rest rank. 

I did put forward an alternative 

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solution that would have greatly 

increased the available taxi space 

and provided respite for the 

unhappy residents. This would have 

meant rerouting the rank through 

the western section of Gillingham 

Street, then along the centre of 

Belgrave Road for as far as 

necessary. Westminster wasn’t 

willing to go along with this because 

the officers feared a backlash from 

residents in these two roads. So it 

seems that we will be stuck with the 

experiment. It is going to be very 

interesting to see where the excess 

cabs will go and what the effects 

will be. n 

Victoria Station 

Image: Ewan Munro via Wikimedia Commons

More readers than the rest put together! 12 JUNE 2012 | TAXI 7


NEWS 

Lower price demand ‘a bit rich’ 

Business 

Fuel retailers have criticised the 

government after it called for 

companies to pass on lower prices at 

the pump more quickly to motorists. 

Companies rounded on Transport 

Secretary Justine Greening’s plan for 

a voluntary code of practice, saying 

it was a distraction from the 

impending 3p price rise. 

The MP claims that a code would 

allow consumers to monitor daily 

petrol or diesel prices and warned 

that if the industry does not do 

it, then the government will 

introduce legislation. 

Motoring groups have long 

complained that retailers drag their 

heals when lowering prices 

following a global reduction in 

crude oil costs. 

Stuart Giles, of Phoenix Service 

Stations, said the scheme was 

unnecessary because “when we take a 

delivery, we check the prices and reflect 

them immediately, whether they are 

increased or decreased.” 

Joe Brough, of Manor Services, 

said it was a case of “the government 

trying to tell you how to run your 

business,” and said his firm would 

not join a voluntary scheme. 

Lobby group, FairFuel UK, which 

is campaigning against the 

government’s proposed 3.6p rise, 

rubbished the proposal. 

Spokesman Quentin Willson said: 

“It’s a bit rich for ministers to try to 

deflect the issue of pump prices to the 

oil companies and retailers. 

It’s the government 

itself that takes a 

staggering 81.5p 

per litre.” 

But AA 

director 

Edmund 

King 

welcomed the 

move and 

said “every 

driver knows 

prices shoot up 

like a rocket and 

fall like a feather.” 

But he insisted 

regulation had to 

be an option 

because record 

prices were forcing 

motorists to cut back 

and forcing a sales drop. 

Mr King said: "At last, we have a 

Transport Secretary who is prepared 

to act to win a better deal on fuel 

prices for consumers. 

"This month, the German 

government announced a move 

towards fuel price regulation. 

The Austrians have already 

implemented regulation and, 

even with a weaker euro, 

their pre-tax petrol 

prices remain cheaper 

than the UK’s.” 

Ms Greening 

said: "Petrol 

prices go up 

instantly when 

wholesale prices 

rise, but when 

wholesale prices 

fall, it can take 

weeks for them to 

come down again. It 

is indefensible that 

motorists should be 

ripped off. It's time the 

big companies started 

playing fair with the 

motorist, so I am giving 

them one last chance." 

News in brief 

Witness appeal 

A taxi driver who was 

shunted by another car in City 

Road wants to hear from 

anyone who may have 

witnessed the incident. 

The Nissan Almera drove 

into the back of his TX2, 

which has a white livery, close 

to Shepherdess Walk at about 

6.40pm on February 27 

Anyone who can help is 

asked to call Roger McDonald 

on 07867 575390. 

Share your memories 

A charity is attempting to 

put together a collage of 

photos and videos from 

London taxi outings for 

underprivileged children. 

Anyone who has anything 

from the past 60 years that 

they think may be of 

interest to Norwood Old 

Scholars Association is 

asked to contact Brian 

Turner on 07817550729 or 

email bodywise60@ 

hotmail.com.



NEWS 

Drivers get on their bikes 

Transport 

Increasing numbers of motorists are 

ditching their vehicles and traveling 

on foot or by bicycle, according to 

the RAC’s annual report. 

It reveals that spiralling fuel costs 

are to blame for the change and that 

30% of drivers want more money 

spent on safety campaigns and 

improvements. 

The proportion of young motorists 

aged 17 to 24 who admit getting 

behind the wheel after taking 

drugs has nearly doubled 

from 5% to 9% in the last 12 

months, the group’s 24th 

annual report shows. 

At least 13% of survey 

respondents in that age 

group either drove a 

car when they were 

under the influence 

of drugs, or were 

a passenger in 

one when the 

driver had. 

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w a aldegraves. 

co. 

u 

Smartphone use at the wheel and 

checking social networks and 

emailing, has soared by 50% 

amongst 25-44-year-olds. 

In his foreword to the report, 

ex-Formula 1 driver Eddie Irvine 

said the roads have changed 

significantly in recent years and 

many people “ignore the fundamental 

principles of driving.” 

He said: “With more and more cars 

on the road, safety is now 

paramount in the minds of 

drivers. It’s clear in this year’s 

report that what concerns 

drivers the most is the 

behaviour of their fellow 

motorists, and especially the 

potential for dangerous 

driving that puts them 

at risk. 

“You only have to 

venture out onto the 

roads for a brief period 

to see that mobile 

phone usage is all too 

common behind the 

wheel. The rise of 

smartphones, with the 

ability to email, use 

Smart phone use at the wheel up 50% 

apps and check social media is 

contributing heavily to that. 

“While it’s far harder to spot someone 

driving under the influence of drugs, 

that doesn’t mean the issue can be 

ignored. A doubling of the number of 

the new generation of motorists drugdriving 

is highly alarming – and yet 

still we don’t have a viable at the 

roadside testing procedure in place 

for this.” 

The RAC wants government, 

which has slashed spending on 

safety campaigns, to highlight the 

dangers of driving while under the 

influence of drugs or using a mobile 

phone at the wheel. 

Motorists themselves say they 

are more concerned about the 

behaviour of other drivers 

than ever. 

Almost half of those surveyed 

admitted feeling less safe on the 

roads now than in the past. 

Just under two thirds of drivers 

felt that there was a shortage of 

police officers enforcing traffic laws. 

Many motorists are cutting out 

non-essential journeys by car to save 

on fuel costs in the face of tough 

economic conditions. 

RAC technical director David 

Bizley said: “Government cuts have 

meant an extremely large drop in 

spending on road safety campaigns in 

the past two years, but the 2012 

Report highlights the damaging effect 

this is having. 

“The growth of the new breed of 

motoring offences, like drug-driving 

and social networking behind the wheel, 

is highly concerning. RAC urges 

Government to reintroduce high 

profile campaigns on these issues as 

soon as possible.” 

Referring to the increase in drugdriving 

and motorists using handheld 

mobile phones at the wheel, he 

said: “These offences don’t yet have 

the same social taboo that drinkdriving 

now holds, which thanks to 

years of concerted campaigns has 

continued to decrease as a problem. 

“We welcome recent announcements 

that Government will tighten 

enforcement around drug-driving, but 

the planned changes focus too much on 

penalties rather than prevention. 

Government funding should be directed 

to educating people through road safety 

campaigns to deter them from driving 

dangerously and putting lives at risk.” 

FACTS… 

£2.34m 

Safety campaign spending 

down from £18.6m in 2009/10 

to £2.34m in 2010/11 

9% 

44% of 

motorists 

say they feel 

less safe 

than ever 

22% 

Around 9% of 

17-24 yearolds 

drive 

after taking 

drugs 

44% 

Only 22% 

say that 

they feel 

safer 

Image: Konstantin Sutyagin / Shutterstock.com


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NEWS 

Nightmare minicab journey 

Crime 

A terrified woman feared she was 

about to be "kidnapped and killed" by 

a rogue minicab driver after she 

refused to pay the fare up front. 

Neighbours Deborah Grayson and 

Kelly Irvine, 29, ordered the minicab 

Deborah Grayson (right) and Kelly Irvine at the scene 

from a large South East London 

private hire firm to their homes in 

Middlepark Avenue in the early 

hours of May 20. 

As they started to get into the car, 

the pair questioned the £20 fare, and 

the driver cab sped off with 

Deborah Grayson inside it and her 

friend screaming her name on 

the pavement. 

The driver refused to let the 26year-old 

out of the car and took 

her to Eltham Police Station where 

two officers drove her home. 

Miss Grayson said: "It was 

actually terrifying. He wouldn’t 

tell me where he was going for a while. 

"That first minute I thought ‘He is 

going to take me off and kill me’. Kelly 

was shouting ‘Debbie, Debbie’." 

"I said to him ‘you’ve kidnapped me. 

I’ve asked you to let me out.’" 

It is unclear why the driver took 

her to the police station but it is 

believed he thought it was a way to 

settle the fare dispute. 

Miss Irvine says she got out of the 

cab after the driver demanded 

money and was on the phone to 

firm to check the process when he 

drove off with her friend. 

The support worker said: 

"I chased her to the end of the road and 

opened the door to try to get her out but 

he sped off. 

"I was left screaming her name. 

It was horrible. We are lucky she has 

come back." 

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She dialled 999 and told them 

she thought her friend had 

been kidnapped. 

The police confirmed Miss Irvine 

called at 12.35am to report a kidnap 

and that a driver arrived with Miss 

Grayson at Eltham Police Station 

shortly afterwards. 

The company has admitted 

having problems with the driver 

before and has sent the girls a bunch 

of flowers each. In response to the 

bouquet, the friends say it is still 

unacceptable and they want it to go 

down as kidnap. 

Police are waiting to hear the 

minicab driver’s explanation of the 

events. Data Cars were unavailable 

for comment. 

Phone Paul for further details on 

07949838458 or 0207 613 1113


The Westminster 

Taxi Policy 

This policy is managed by local agents 

and branches who have all been involved in the 

taxi trade business in some form. 

For details of your nearest office 

please telephone us on: 

0845 373 1336 

Or visit our website: 

www.mywestminsterinsurance.com 

Westminster Insurance is a trading name of Tradex Insurance Co Ltd. Tradex Insurance Company Ltd is regulated and authorised by the Financial Services Authority No. 202917. 

Registered Office: Victory House 7 Selsdon Way London E14 9GL. Registered No. 2983873. 

TAXIMAG/070611


NEWS 

Fare row man cleared 

Courts 

A man who shouted “I’ll rip your 

head off” and swore at a cabbie had 

no intention of insulting him, a 

magistrates’ court found. 

Daniel Fisher had been at the 

Faces nightclub in Gants Hill when 

he and his friends took a taxi to his 

home in Waltham Abbey. 

But taxi driver Sajid Rehman, 49, 

told the court Mr Fisher was 

aggressive, swore throughout the 90 

minute 

journey 

and 

twice 

used 

racial 

slurs 

against 

him. 

He said 

Mr 

Fisher 

hit 

and kicked the cab interior and 

forcibly pulled back the plastic 

security shield over the £100 fare. 

Mr Rehman said he dialled 999 

and was on his mobile to police 

when Mr Fisher was alleged to have 

put his hand through the broken 

partition and tried 

to grab his throat. 

He had already 

locked the doors 

and with the vehicle 

going about 5mph, 

the passenger was 

said to have 

climbed out of 

the window 

and walked 

off. 

Police 

arrived 

and 

arrested 

him in 

Abridge 

Road 

near the 

M11, between 

Theydon Bois and Abridge. 

Mr Fisher had told the 

To help you avoid 

unexpected collisions... 

Always fit genuine brake components. 

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court 

that he was in a state of panic after 

the cabbie refused to let him out 

until he paid the full £100 fare - he 

had only paid £70. 

He said: “I was panicking. All I 

could think was getting out the car.” 

He admitted that at one stage he 

had told the cabbie “I’ll rip your 

head off”, but said that was because 

he was scared. 

Clearing Mr Fisher, magistrate 

Dawn Roche said: “While the 

defendant swore, at no time in the 

panic of his distress were racist 

comments made”. 

She said the bench doubted if 

the assault happened because the 

taxi driver in his 999 call had 

replied “no” when an operator 

asked if the passenger could get to 

him and while talking to police he 

never mentioned the grab to 

his throat. 

Magistrates found that the 

damage to the screen was 

accidental and that Mr Fisher had 

no intention of insulting Mr 

Rehman when he swore at him 

while in distress. 

The braking system is your first line of defence against any emergency situation 

that occurs on the road. At 30mph, a taxi is travelling 1.34m in a tenth of a second, 

and sometimes a metre can mean the difference between life or death. 

Genuine brake components have been through the rigorous checking and testing that we 

undertake for all parts supplied for our range, from TX1 to the latest TX4 (Euro 5) vehicles. 

We strongly recommend owners insist that only the right specification of oil is used in 

and that genuine parts are fitted to their taxis when serviced or repaired, and by a 

London Taxi Company Approved Service Dealer. 

GENUINE PARTS: THE PROFESSIONAL DRIVER’S CHOICE 

Visit www.london-taxis.co.uk to find your nearest London Taxi Company Approved Service Dealer. 

Bilker alert 

Bilkers left a taxi driver with an 

unpaid fare worth nearly £40 

after climbing out of a cab 

window at traffic lights. 

Four people got in Goher 

Masood’s cab in Swallow Street, 

W1, and asked to go Walm Lane 

in NW2. 

A woman and man then got 

out, leaving the rest to go to 

Queens Park, where a third 

passenger was dropped off. 

The last person asked to go to 

Bliss Mews but 

wanted to go 

inside to get 

money but 

refused to leave 

his phone as 

security. 

When he 

started to get 

angry about the 

fare, Mr Masood 

locked the doors 

and tried to take 

him to Harrow 

Road police 

station but the 

bilker escaped.


Cab sales down on last year 

The Cab You Drive 

Business 

We are well in to 2012 and the 

explosion of new cab sales has still 

not really materialised. May has 

only seen 113 new cabs added to the 

fleet, a figure that is actually down 

on last years total of 118. 

The TX4 has seen its market 

share go back up to 62% of sales. 

It follows some worrying months 

earlier in the year for the boys in 

Coventry when Mercedes was 

nudging the magical 50% of the 

market. The reasons for the 

resurgence in LTC’s sales are down 

to some good old fashioned deals, 

coupled with low finance rates and 

the increased appeal of the latest 

Euro V TX4, which drives so much 

better than the Euro IV model 

it replaced. 

KPM is still pleased with its 

average of selling 10 new cabs per 

week. Although, it recognises that 

the majority of these sales are on the 

£125 per week agility programme 

and must be concerned at how long 

Mercedes is going to continue its 

funding of the scheme. 

The next big peak in sales won’t 

be until September and with the age 

limit really kicking in towards the 

end of the year, it will be interesting 

to see what tactics and deals will be 

on offer in a bid to maximise sales 

during the months to come. 

160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

TX4 

VITO 

TX4/VITO Comparison 

13 Month Rolling Report 

2011 - 2012 Vito TX4 

May 25 93 

Jun 38 80 

Jul 25 67 

Aug 24 111 

Sep 51 117 

Oct 16 113 

Nov 40 82 

Dec 25 61 

Jan 56 113 

Feb 60 111 

Mar 87 120 

Apr 43 55 

May 43 70 

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May 

TX4/VITO (Licensed for the First Time) Comparison 2011 - 2012 

Image: Olga&Elnur / Shutterstock.com 

NEWS 

TM1


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ALF TOWNSEND 

Taxi Talk 

Alf hails the heroic cabbies who carried on regardless as the bombs fell during WW2 

Many of you would have seen 

me posing in the back of the 

lovely red Austin Low 

Loader the other Friday with the 

hood down, while we made our way 

through the City to the Fire Brigade 

Museum in Southwark Bridge Road. 

In fact, I know many of you 

recognised me because of all the 

rude comments thrown my way – 

especially when we were filming 

around Waterloo Bridge! Talking of 

Waterloo Bridge, did you know that 

many people in the past called it ‘the 

Ladies Bridge?’ I’ve never heard it 

called that even with my 50 

years of cabbing, but apparently it 

was built mainly by women during 

WW2 – while the guys were all 

away fighting. 

Massive explosion 

So how did I manage to get 

involved with the History Channel 

and its series How We Won the War? 

Apparently, the producer picked up 

a copy of my latest book, London 

Taxis at War, and enjoyed the tales 

of the wartime cabbies so much, he 

invited me on board. The presenter 

was the likable Jules Hudson who 

also presents Escape to the Country. I 

really enjoyed filming with Jules, 

he’s very laid back, he likes a fag 

and a drink and, he’s got no front. 

I was waiting for Doug Cheshire 

to pick me up from home in his 

beautiful red Austin Low Loader – 

built in 1934! It was a lovely sunny 

day, so down came the hood and I 

did my regal wave to all the 

‘peasants’ photographing our 

journey with much interest. 

The film crew and Director 

eventually arrived – albeit over an 

hour late - and it was straight into 

the gastro pub opposite for a drink 

and some victuals. Eventually we 

were wired up, ready to roll and I 

went into my wartime cabbie stories 

– prompted by Jules. 

When I first got my coveted Green 

Badge in 1962, there were still some 

older cabbies working who had 

driven in London throughout the 

war – without a scratch and, their 

stories are poignant, funny and 

sometimes hard to believe. I ask 

you, how are you expected to earn a 

living as a cabbie in the Blitz and the 

Blackout – well these guys did! 

Those who drove through the Blitz – 

when all other transport had ceased, 

were known as, ‘the Blitz Drivers’, 

later nicknamed by a national 

newspaper ‘the Suicide Club’! I used 

to ask them how they coped with 

the V1 and V2 bombs while they 

were driving at night. Apparently 

they had a simple plan, if the bombs 

were coming ever nearer, or the roar 

of the V1’s engine suddenly cut 

out, then it was out of the cab a bit 

lively and a mad dash into the 

nearest shelter. 

One night during the height of the 

London Blitz, a dozen of the 

regulars in the Leicester Square cab 

shelter decided to park on the rank 

and go down the tube and have a 

game of cards. Suddenly there was 

an almighty explosion from above 

and when they eventually resurfaced, 

their twelve taxis were 

completely wrecked. When you 

asked these guys what was the most 

dangerous, the bombs or the V1s 

and V2s, they would answer 

laconically, ‘it didn’t matter what was 

coming down me old mate, just as long 

as you weren’t bleedin’ under it’! 

One of the old boys told a funny 

story about picking up four 

American airmen who were 

returning to their base in Norfolk 

and wanted to go to Liverpool 

Street Station. 

“HOW ARE YOU EXPECTED 

TO EARN A LIVING AS A 

CABBIE IN THE BLITZ AND 

THE BLACKOUT – WELL 

THESE GUYS DID! 

” 

As the cabbie crossed over 

Holborn Viaduct, there was a 

massive explosion as a V2 exploded 

in nearby Smithfield Meat Market. 

The cab rocked with the force of the 

explosion and shattered window 

panes and showered the cab with 

rubble, so the cabbie decided to put 

his foot down and drive straight 

through the debris. When they 

finally arrived safely at the station, 

the Americans alighted somewhat 

gingerly and as one of them paid 

BLITZ 

DRIVERS’ WAR 

‘Jules Hudson, an Austin Low Loader – and Me’ 

him off he said shakily, ‘jeez, it’s safer 

in my damn airplane’. The last guy out 

walked away a bit like Groucho 

Marx and they asked him what was 

the matter, to which he replied, ‘I 

think I’ve crapped my pants’!! 

Brave souls 

The terrible Blackout was just as 

dangerous and early in the Blitz a 

staggering 600 people a month were 

dying from road accidents –with 

many drowning after falling into the 

Thames. But Blackout or not, the 

hardy cabbies still went to work at 

night. One of their tricks was to 

follow the tram lines in the general 

direction they were bound for. This 

worked to a certain degree, but if 

you reached a major tram junction 

like Nags Head and you made a 

mistake and turned right – which 

many cabbies often did, you’d finish 

up in the Holloway tram garage. The 

story goes that an American 

journalist hired a taxi in the Blackout 

and asked the old driver how he did 

it. The old boy replied in a rich 

Cockney accent, ‘well guv’nor, if you 

whacks a bike then you is too far left and 

if you whack a bleedin’ great bus, then 

you is too far right - easy mate innit?’ 

Apart from the London cabbies 

trying to earn a crust in horrendous 

circumstances, there were other 

brave souls putting their lives on the 

line by driving cabs adapted as 

emergency fire tenders, ambulances 

and troop personnel carriers. When 

war broke out Britain was woefully 

short of planes, tanks, guns and just 

about everything. The government 

were looking for suitable vehicles 

with heavy chassis and they chose 

the Austin taxi. The LCC 

requisitioned around 2,500 – which 

was about one third of the London 

fleet. Around 2,000 were adapted as 

emergency fire tenders, 300 as 

ambulances and the rest as troop 

personnel carriers. The fire tender 

cabbies – all ‘mushers’ - were trained 

by the AFS and paid one pound 

seventeen shillings and sixpence per 

week as firemen and three pounds a 

week for the hire of their cab. With 

their knowledge of all the short cuts 

in London, these guys were often at 

the scene of a blaze well before the 

big fire tenders arrived. 

These wartime cabbies really were 

unsung heroes and helped to keep 

Londoners safe from the dangers. 

I’m proud to have known such brave 

guys and I’m proud to talk about 

them on camera. n

18 TAXI |12 JUNE 2012 www.ltda.co.uk


[ ] 

DiSPLAY YOUR LTDA DIARY & TAX 

DISC HOLDER & YOU COULD WIN! 

June joy for Spencer 

and Alan 

With summer officially 

about to get underway 

next week and many 

people’s thoughts turning to 

holidays, there’s no better time 

catch our diary spotters. 

They will be out on the streets 

come rain or shine, looking to 

hand out £300 worth of Marks 

and Spencer vouchers to lucky 

LTDA members. 

That’s a lot of shorts, some new 

sunglasses, a pocketful of Euros, 

or even a well stocked fridge for 

a tasty barbecue, and all for 

having your diary and tax disc 

holder on display. 

Spencer Buckley, was ranked 

up in Paddington when we 

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Alan Mcardle 

spotted his diary in the window 

and handed him £200. 

“Brilliant. That’s fantastic,” he 

said, “thanks very much, I shall enjoy 

getting stuck into those.” 

Alan Mcardle, of Chingford, had 

just booked a holiday to San Trope 

when we spotted him near 

Liverpool Street station. 

He said: “These will come in very 

handy. I’ll get myself some new clothes 

for my holiday. I’ve just finished 

booking it on the phone. Great.” 

So, if you fancy joining Spencer 

and Alan and a long list of others 

like them, be sure to display your 

LTDA membership diary and your 

tax disc holder prominently in you 

cab and leave the rest up to us. 

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Driver fined every 4.6 seconds 

Motoring 

London has topped the parking 

ticket league after the number of 

fines issued reached 6.8 million. 

The city was joint top of the table 

with Liverpool, where wardens hand 

out an average 2,616 fines each. 

The number of parking tickets 

issued in 2011 saw an increase of 4% 

on the previous year, according to 

the latest figures. 

The rise comes despite a drop in 

6.8 million fines issued in London 

GB CAB 

the number of wardens from 3,882 

to 3,693, which means a fine was 

issued every 4.6 seconds, raising 

more than £234m. 

One in four tickets was disputed 

by the motorist, who have a 39% 

success rate, the figures show. 

Local government minister Bob 

Neill said: "There is no excuse for 

town halls using parking fines and 

motorists as cash cows. There are 

plenty of other ways for councils to 

raise extra income or make savings like 

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better procurement and sharing backoffice 

services. 

"We want to see councils use 

parking to support the high street and 

help their local shops prosper. That's 

why we have ended the last 

government's requirements to limit 

spaces, push up parking charges and 

encourage aggressive parking 

enforcement." 

Outside the capital, the largest 

number of fines handed out last 

year was by Liverpool City 

Council, with more than 146,000, 

ahead of Manchester City 

Council with more than 138,000 

and Birmingham City Council 

nearly 133,000). 

Higher numbers of fines 

prompted an increased number of 

disputes by motorists. In 2010, 

1,677,043 parking ticket disputes 

were lodged with local councils 

and Transport for London, while 

in 2011 the figure rose to 1,758,571 

– or 146,547 each month. 

The success rate of these 

challenges fell from 47% (780,710 

tickets overturned) in 2010 to 

39% (683,218 tickets overturned) 

in 2011. 

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NEWS 

News in brief 

‘Dispute parking 

tickets’ 

Drivers are winning their 

appeals against parking fines 

by taking the process to 

the final stage, official 

figures reveal. 

The City of London has 

been backing out of appeals, 

which has cost it more than 

£100,000 in the past year. 

The corporation has though 

raised more than £3.3 million 

from fines. 

And only 1,465 people who 

received some of the 59,000 

tickets it issued bothered 

to appeal. 

Nigel Wise, of the 

NoToMob campaign group, 

said: “It means that if you 

receive a penalty charge notice in 

the City and send your 

representations to the 

Corporation of London you will 

get them rejected first. 

“But if you take it to the final 

appeal stage, these figures show 

that the City hasn’t bothered to 

fight its appeals since 2010.” 

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CAUGHT ON CAMERA 

£30 in the blink 

of a shutter 

Strap/subject area 

The cab company which makes the 

TX4 has seen sales plunge by 10 per 

cent, according to the latest figures. 

Coventry-based You really firm have Manganese been excelling 

Bronze said yourselves sales fell in to recent 1,502 last weeks 

year from and 1,653 we in have 2010. been deluged 

Its with financial pictures figures for our reveal Caught a divide on 

between Camera London, page. where sales of its 

So much so, that we have decided 

to run a double page this week just 

in order to clear some of the backlog. 

Luckily for John Griffin, you 

appear to have given him and his 

drivers the week off after last week’s 

Addison Lee special. Things 

appeared to getting so bad for our 

old chum that we considered 

sending him the £30 to assist 

with his troubles. 

But in the end we decided to hand 

it to the driver who managed to 

successfully navigate another 

roadworks conundrum that had us 

scratching out heads. 

Keep those pictures coming. All 

you need is a camera or a phone, 

keen eyes and an itchy trigger finger. 

To be in with a shot at winning 

the £30, just send your snaps to us 

via the MMS line on 07908540017. 

Worth every penny 

This’ll them teach to cut our pensions 

Which lane is this? Surprise! 

The end of the road? 

THE 

WINNING 

PIC! 

£30 PRIZE!


Where’s the skip? Britain gets gold in new sport 

Martin Cordell & Co. ACCOUNTANTS 

Does your accountant supply you with the following? 

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NEWS 

RAF memorial unveiling sold out 

History 

The long awaited unveiling and 

dedication of the RAF Bomber 

Command war memorial will take 

place on June 28. 

The tiny charity which has made 

the event possible was inundated 

with requests for tickets to the 

event and applications are no longer 

being accepted. 

The memorial is constructed from 

Portland Stone and designed by 

the architect Liam O'Connor, who 

is responsible for the Commonwealth 

Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill. 

Sculptor Philip Jackson, who 

created the Bobby Moore Memorial 

at Wembley, has crafted a bronze 

sculpture depicting seven 

Bomber Command members. 

The roof design was inspired by 

the Vickers Wellington bomber and 

will incorporate sections of 

aluminium recovered from a 

Handley Page Halifax III bomber 

shot down over Belgium on 

May 12, 1944. 

Bomber Command Association 

chairman, Malcolm White has paid 

tribute to the Bee Gees songwriter 

Robin Gibb visiting the site 

Robin Gibb, who was buried on 

Friday but was a big supporter of 

the campaign. 

“It’s a tragedy that Robin will not see 

the finished article,” he said, “Robin has 

been a magnificent champion of the 

Bomber Command Memorial Campaign 

and without his devoted support and 

commitment we would not be where we 

are today.” 

During World War Two, the 

Spitfires and Hurricanes of RAF 

Fighter Command defended the UK 

against German aerial attacks, most 

notably during the Battle of Britain. 

Bomber Command’s role was to 

attack the enemy's own military 

strength - by bombing their airbases, 

shipping, troops, communications 

and all industries used in the 

German war effort. 

More than 55,000 members of 

Bomber Command were killed in 

action. Their average age was 22. 

News in brief 

Thief warning 

A taxi driver had his cab broken 

into when he stopped by the 

‘Iron Lung’ at the junction of 

Horseferry Road and Regency 

Street. 

The cabbie told TAXI that 

thieves smashed a window and 

stole money and his bill when he 

went to the loo. 

He urged other drivers to be 

wary when visiting the popular 

toilet spot. 

Got the write stuff? 

If you ever fancied yourself as a 

writer and think you have 

something to say about the trade, 

then why not drop us a letter or 

an email and tell us your story? 

Perhaps you could tell the 

newsdesk how taxi driving 

compares to your previous 

occupation or write about 

something unusual or funny that 

happened during your day. 

Email us at taxinewspaper@ 

ltda.co.uk or write to 

Taxi Newspaper, 11 Woodfield 

Road, London, W9 2BA.


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© 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. Meter supplied with all vehicles is a 2yr agreement with TaxiWorld.


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FIRST TWO MONTHS FREE 

FOR NEW MEMBERS 

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BUT £12.80 

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Phone 0207 286 1046 NOW!


Missing children taxi appeal 

Charity 

Hundreds of taxi drivers have joined 

a campaign highlighting the 

plight of the estimated 140,000 

youngsters who go missing in the 

UK every year. 

Taxi Appeal was launched to mark 

International Missing Children’s day 

on May 25 and saw cabbies take 

advertising featuring five youngsters 

A campaign taxi 

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who have vanished without a trace. 

The campaign is the brainchild of 

former Coronation Street actress 

Tamzin Outhwaite’s father Colin 

Outhwaite, a former cab driver, who 

wants to enlist as many taxis to the 

campaign as possible. 

Colin said: “I was watching Gloria 

Hunniford appeal for a missing child on 

ITV’s This Morning programme, and 

thought to myself that taxi drivers are 

in the perfect position to help. My hope 

is that more cabbies will come forward 

and volunteer to take the posters.” 

One young person included in the 

ads is Lee Boxell, who disappeared 

from Sutton in September 1988, 

aged 15. 

Missing People chief executive 

Martin Houghton-Brown said: “If 

your child went missing, wouldn’t you 

want the whole world to stop and look 

for them? 

“The charity Missing People is 

building a dedicated community of 

people across the UK ready to join the 

search online, at work and in their 

neighbourhood.” 

The scheme is being backed by 

advertising company Ubiquitous 

and app firm Hailo, both of which 

are supplying liveries and seatbacks. 

The ads also invite people to 

make a £3 text donation to 

Missing People. 

You can also join the search for 

missing people where you live by 

supporting the charity on online at 

http://www.missingpeople.org.uk/ 

Join the Search posters currently 

in the back of cabs feature five 

missing children and young people. 

info@cricklewoodcarriers.co.uk www.cricklewoodcarriers.co.uk 

Tel: 020 8452 5461 Mob: 07866-0-07866 

NEWS 

News in brief 

Thompson’s still got it 

Sporting legend Daley 

Thompson has taken first 

place as the Olympic hero 

most cabbies would like as 

a customer. 

LOCOG Chairman Lord Coe 

took home silver with Steve 

Redgrave coming in third, in a 

recent poll by taxi advertising 

company Ubiquitous. 

The poll revealed that two 

thirds of drivers will not 

change their working 

pattern and will treat the 

games as “business as usual” 

and don’t plan to make 

more money. 

Wagons roll… 

The London Taxi Benevolent 

Association for War Disabled’s 

annual trip to Worthing sets 

off on June 12. 

A convoy of taxis and war 

veterans will gather on the 

A24 in South Holmwood 

before setting off at 11.15am 

for an afternoon of 

entertainment. 

BEEN HIT IN THE REAR? 

NOT YOUR FAULT? 

NON FAULT CRASH 

REPAIR SPECIALISTS 

Images: Eric Isselée / Shutterstock


LETTERS 

STAR LETTER 

Boys and girls did us proud 

Iwas one of the fortunate WW2 

veterans who travelled with your 

volunteer members all the way to 

Arnhem and back to London. 

The convoy of taxis, complete 

with a Dutch police escort, made 

an impressive sight and I know 

that the drivers enjoyed being able 

to pass through every red light. 

I want you to know that the 

“band of brothers” who looked after 

us so well were a credit to your 

association whose hospitality will 

long be remembered. 

What a meticulous feat of logistics 

to put such an expedition on the 

road. Thank you. 

Bill Robertson 

(Taxi no.88) 

RICHMOND ROAD CAB CENTRE LTD. 

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Totally mobile terminal from CabCard available from us today! 

Everything you need to accept credit or debit card payments. 

“LTDA, you’re the one for me” 

Iwould like to thank you for 

seeing me and arranging 

for John Luckhurst to take on 

my case. 

Following two interviews at 

Charing Cross Police Station I 

was eventually informed that the 

police would not be taking any 

You did us proud (2) 

Re: Arnhem trip, P21, TAXI 268. 

The Chairman and Committee of 


Association for War Disabled would 

like to thank all the taxi drivers 

because without you giving up your 

time and help to the veterans this trip 

would not have taken place and for 

that our heartfelt thanks to you all. 

You should all feel very proud of 

yourselves in showing that the 

London cab drivers are a caring 

group of people. We would also like 

to thank the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ 

Association and the Royal British 

Legion and KPM for their most 

generous donations and also all the 

sponsors and everybody who made 

donations for this trip. 


Association for War Disabled 

committee 

A trip to remember 

After reading an article the 

chairman of the Corinthia Hotel 

placed in TAXI, I wrote to Mr Pasani 

to tell him how it brought back 

memories of working in Malta on his 

first hotel in 1969. 

Mr Pasani was kind enough to 

write back to me. He also offered 

myself and my wife a week in Malta, 

which we accepted. When we arrived 

in Malta we were met at the airport 

and then driven to the hotel where 

we were greeted by Jean-Pierre, the 

assistant manager, who is a very 

charming man. 

We were thoroughly spoilt. We met 

Mr Pasani, his lovely wife Maria, and 

a couple of their friends for dinner. 

I would like to thank Mr Pasani for 

the great time we had in Malta. 

Also, if any of you guys out there are 

looking for a nice charming hotel, I 

highly recommend the Corinthia 

Palace Hotel. 

Alan Arnell 

Follow Taxinewspaper on 

Twitter, search for TaxiEditor 

further action. It’s at times like this 

that cab drivers are thankful to be 

members of the LTDA. Please pass 

on my appreciation to all at the 

LTDA who assisted in my case. 

Alan Taylor 

Sidcup 

What a good start 

Iwould just like to thank the three 

cab drivers who helped me start 

my cab at Hamilton Place on May 30 

at 7.30am. They kindly took the time 

to get the cab started. Thank you 

again for making my day have a 

good start. 

M.Bellakhdar 

Library Street 

“Baby, you’re the best…” 

Iwould like to say a big thank you 

to Tony, Simon and Karen at Long 

Lane Cabs for their help with a 

problem I had. 

I was having some warranty work 

done and a number of problems 

arose with two companies. 

I contacted Long Lanes, who I had 

the service with, and from that 

moment on they took control. They 

rang the manufacturers and argued 

my case, they won and I dropped 

my cab to them and they gave me a 

loan cab. Finally, I've got my own 

taxi back and it's lovely and smooth. 

I really would have been stranded if 

it wasn't for the help of Long Lane 

cabs, thank you so much guys. 

Jason Surin 

Kent 

All apologies 

On April 18 at about midnight I 

made a card payment to a 

London Cab driver of £18.48 for a 

fare from St. Martin's Theatre. 

Unfortunately, this payment seems 

to have been reversed by my bank 

and it is possible that the cabbie did 

not get his payment. Can you please 

help me locate this driver with his 

name address and contact details so 

that I can send him the money with 

my apologies. 

Shushanto Ghosh 

sghosh@uts.com 

Gripe you want to raise or know someone in the trade that deserves praise? 

Contact us at editor@ltda.co.uk or Taxi House, 11 Woodfield Rd, London W9 2BA



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£12m fines for cars on the drive 

Money 

More than 120,000 car owners have 

been fined £100 for failing to ensure 

that their vehicle is insured or 

declared off-road. 

It follows rules introduced last 

year which forced motorists to 

declare officially that their cars are 

not in use. 

Penalties totalling £12 million 

Fine for vehicles not declared off the road 

Stay in the know with the LTDA 

15 year reminder 

The London taxi 15 year age limit refers to the cab’s ‘birthday’ (in the 

log book), not its plate date. For example: A cab passed when it is 14 

years and 11 months old WILL be granted a further 12 months life. 

Cabs may be booked in for testing in the normal way if the plate has 

28 days, or less, to run. The cab can then work up to the test date. If the 

plates are taken off with more than 28 days to run, they must be 

surrendered to an SGS Testing Centre, and the existing paper licence 

completed and sent (preferably recorded delivery) to TPLH, Palestra, 

4th Floor, Green Zone, 197 Blackfriars Road SE1 8NJ. The ‘unplated’ 

cab must then not be worked, and at least one week should be allowed 

before attempting to book the next SGS test (to allow the computerised 

booking system to recognise that the plates have been surrendered). 

Lost/stolen identifiers 

If your Identifier is lost or stolen you must 

notify LTPH immediately (08456027000 / 

tph.enquiries@tfl.gov.uk) 

You may then continue working. A 

letter of confirmation will be sent out to 

you by Transport for London, prior to a 

replacement identifier being processed. 

have so far been issued for breaches 

of the law and some 320,000 

warning letters have been sent 

to drivers. 

Dubbed ‘continuous insurance 

enforcement,’ the law change is part 

of an attempt to crackdown on 

avoidance. 

The Motor Insurance Bureau says 

it should mean there will no longer 

be any breaks in cover because all 

Shop a tout 

Anyone who sees touting or any other form of illegal cab-related 

activity is urged to contact TfL with the details. 

Take down the registration number and make a note of the date, time 

and location where incident took place. 

Type cab enforcement into your internet search engine and follow the 

links to the ‘report illegal activity’ section of the TfL website and fill in 

the form at the bottom of the page. The website’s full address is 

www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/19382.aspx 

Image: Andrei Nekrassov / Shutterstock.com 

details are stored together. 

An MIB spokesman said: 

“Uninsured driving adds £30 per year 

to every motorist’s insurance 

premium, amounting to more than 

£400 million in additional costs. 

“The new scheme aims to force these 

numbers down and lower the number 

of uninsured or untraced vehicles on 

the roads.” 

Anyone whose vehicle is not 

insured and not declared off road 

will receive a warning letter within 

one week. 

If no action is taken, it can be 

followed by a £100 fine and 

clamping. 

The last resort, according to the 

MIB, is the eventual destruction 

of the vehicle and even a £1,000 

court fine. 

Many people have complained 

that motorists who are away for 

long periods or are in hospital can 

easily fall foul of the rules. But the 

MIB insists the aim of the warning 

letter is to jolt people into action. 

Anyone who is unsure about the 

insurance status of their vehicle 

can check it for free at 

www.askMID.com 

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 

NEWS 

News in brief 

Help the blind 

Anyone who wants a Greater 

London Fund for the Blind 

collection box in their cab is 

asked to contact Andrew Banfield. 

The collections manager says a 

number of cabbies have asked 

about raising funds for the 

group. Mr Banfield said: “When I 

was a boy my uncle had a collection 

box in the back of his cab. It was 

something I remember seeing quite a 

lot.” Telephone 020 7620 2066 or 

email abanfield@glfb.org.uk / 

www.glfb.org.uk 

Fairway spares 

London Vintage Taxi Spares has 

been taken over and moved to 

HQ in Ridgmont, Beds, following 

the retirement of Mal Smith. 

The London Taxi Group is 

sorting through the entire stock, 

ranging from early Austin and 

Rover to the later Fairway parts, 

and will sell it at “low prices.” 

All enquiries should directed 

to scott@londontaxigroup.co.uk 

or telephone Scott on 

01525 288555. 

POLICY


Two Fingers 

AL FRESCO 

Irecently found myself in the 

company of half a dozen charming 

fellow cab drivers. As is our 

collective want, we found ourselves 

chatting about our multifarious 

experiences. I guess, being the mug 

driving the longest amongst them, I 

had more tales or, more likely, had the 

biggest mouth... 

We were talking cock-ups, and of 

course, I had one, or actually, two! 

One was a personal incident, the 

other was corporate, and in these 

times of Olympic security and 

heightened awareness, a poignant 

reminder of sensitivities. 

Alarm bells 

Every now and again ‘toxic 

substances’ hit the headlines and 

back in May 2004, protesters, 

supporting improved access rights to 

their children, chucked condoms full 

of purple-dyed flour over Prime 

Minister Tony Blair in the House of 

Commons, which, if nothing else, 

highlighted the poor security 

methods employed in and around 

Parliament at the time. 

Even before that incident, one 

Monday morning a secretary in an 

office in Wales was opening the 

morning mail when an envelope full 

of yellow powder spilled over her 

hand onto the desk. Doing her best 

not to panic, the secretary telephoned 

the office manager for advice. He 

locked her in the office, evacuated the 

rest of the staff and dialed 999. 

The police cordoned off the area, 

causing traffic chaos and evacuated 

nearby residents and office workers. 

The fire brigade, clad in germ-warfare 

outfits moved in, removed the powder 

and sent it, under armed guard to 

Porton Down, the government’s germ 

warfare HQ, for analysis. 

The secretary meanwhile, was 

stripped, detoxified and put into 

isolation. Five hours later, the ‘allclear’ 

was sounded. The powder was 

nothing more than an over-thecounter 

hangover remedy. Joke....ha, 

bloody ha! 

Apparently, the company who’d 

sent the panic-inducing powder as a 

PR stunt had told the Post Office what 

they intended doing, and left it at that. 

Unfortunately, apart from the everpresent 

terrorist threat (a week before, 

ricin had been discovered in a Wood 

SOMETHING FISHY 

THIS WAY COMES 

A disastrous C.O.D job leaves Al with something far nastier than just egg on his face 

Green bedsit), there had been recent 

outbreaks of smallpox and anthrax: 

add to that a dose of ‘lack of 

communication’. It was no surprise 

then that paranoia set in and alarm 

bells started ringing, albeit, for a 

false alarm. 

A similar stunt on behalf of a radio 

circuit also sparked a major security 

alert. The incident is hilarious now, 

but was taken seriously then. 

A London-based PR company was 

contracted to promote the latest 

computer technology being fitted in 

its client’s 1,500-strong taxi fleet. 

To show how advanced the new 

system was the PR company 

attempted to compare the brand new 

technology with the old children’s 

method of communication - two 

baked bean cans linked by a piece of 

string. They had a whole lot of shiny 

cans, linked by string, packed in boxes 

and sent to leading companies. 

When one of the boxes turned up at 

the NAAFI Headquarters and went 

through the x-ray machine, all hell 

broke loose. The picture on the 

screen showed the outline of two 

unidentified tubes connected by 

a thin wire. Alarm bells went 

berserk! It MUST be some sort of 

explosive device. 

Out came the bomb squad. Not the 

bomb squad we recognise today with 

robotic probes and digital cameras 

embedded in microscopic drones. 

Nope, these intrepid geezers with 

rakishly set berets, thin moustaches 

and khaki cricket keeper outfits, 

emerged from a battered MoD Land 

Rover, took one look at the mystery 

box, lifted it gingerly into their truck 

and drove to the Fire Brigade HQ on 

Albert Embankment before dropping 

it into a bucket of water. Tally ho, 

chaps! End of panic. End of PR 

company. 

Yellow slime 

My embarrassing moment was a hot 

summer’s day. I’ll tell you how long 

ago this was, because I got hailed by a 

woman on the corner of 

Tottenham Court Road and 

Torrington Place - and 

turned right into Torrington 

Place! Would I, she asked, 

do a delivery to Battersea. 

C.O.D? I agreed. 

She disappeared into a side 

entrance alongside Heals and 

emerged carrying two plastic trays, 

one inside the other. The top tray had 

two cling-film covered dishes - one 

with wedges of cheese and the other 

with little logs of French bread. I had 

no idea what was in the bottom tray. 

She hands me a piece of paper 

with the address...‘Primrose 

Mansions, Prince of Wales Drive, 

Battersea, and off I go. 

“I COULDN’T HELP MYSELF. I 

GLANCED IN THE MIRRORS. 

MY FACE WAS A PICTURE 

OF PUCE-COLOURED, 

MELTING FLESH 

” 

The drive is a doddle, the sun is hot 

and my right arm is tanning nicely. 

Twenty minutes later I’m outside 

Primrose Mansions and a’ringin on 

the doorbell. A Richard sticks her 

loaf out of a third floor window and 

trills, “Are you my delivery?” I give her 

the thumbs up...”Press the door,” she 

says, “it’s open.” Take the lift to the 

third floor.” 

I drag out the trays, waddle up the 

front steps, elbow the door; 

manoeuvre the trays, shuffle down 

the hall to the ornate wrought iron 

lift, put down the trays. Slide open 

doors, pick up the trays, sidle through 

lift doors, lift my hand, fractionally to 

press the third floor button - and the 

bottom tray drops out of my hands! 

It was then I discovered what it 

contained - as it hit the floor and 

sprayed thick lemon juice over and 

down the floor-to-ceiling gilt mirrors. 

A plate-full of freshly cooked salmon, 

which had been gracing the rim of the 

plate on which it had been delicately 

placed, was a crumpled, flaky 

mishmash. 

The lift lurched upwards as my 

stomach dropped downwards. The lift 

stopped as requested at the third floor 

- and opened to an expectant lady - 

only she wasn’t expecting quite what 

she saw...a very flustered cab driver, 

clutching the remains of two trays, the 

upper one intact, the bottom one 

dripping a trail of gooey yellow sauce 

onto the red and gold scrolled carpet. 

“Oh my God,” whispered the ashen 

faced lady. “Oh my God!” she 

screamed, “my dinner party.” I 

muttered something imbecilic like...”It 

wasn’t my fault...” “Not your fault!” she 

screamed at me...”Then whose fault was 

it? Did the lift attack you? Take it,” she 

swept her hand towards an open 

door...”into the kitchen.” 

I dripped a steady flow of liquid 

along the carpeted hall, through her 

apartment and into her kitchen, 

depositing the trays and the 

corrugated remains of her boiled 

salmon onto the table. Her ashen 

complexion had turned to bright red. I 

thought she was going to have a heart 

attack. She threw a £10 note at me...” 

Take it,” she shrieked, “and get out!” 

I followed the dotted yellow trail 

back to the lift. On the way down, I 

couldn’t help myself. I glanced in the 

mirrors. My face was a picture of 

puce-coloured, melting flesh. A 

journey, three floors up - and I’d come 

back down having seemingly 

contracted a rare skin-eating disease. 

Outside, the sun was brighter than 

ever. On the way back into the West 

End I began to feel a trifle 

nauseous, overcome by a sickly 

sweet smell. It was only then I 

discovered that my shoes and the 

bottom of my trousers were 

saturated in a thick, congealing, 

glutinous, yellow slime. 

It cost me over £50 to 

replace them, 

C.O.D. n


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TUESDAY 

11AM 

ACT NOW 

WORK OFF YOUR AGGRESSION IN LONDON’S 

BEST-KEPT SECRET, CABBIES ONLY BOXING 

CLASSES AT RINGTONE GYM


PROMOTION 

A world of adventures 

at great prices! 

LTDA members not only get 

the benefit of great support 

and expert legal advice but 

can also enjoy some fantastic 

offers such as discounted entry to 

these great British attractions. 

We have teamed with Merlin 

Entertainment to offer these deals 

to help you and your family have 

a summer to remember. 

So whether you want to meet 

the cast of Star Wars at Legoland, 

enjoy some thrills and spills at 

Alton Towers or have a picture 

taken with wax celebrities of the 

past and present, just follow 

these simple steps to make your 

booking and you’ll be quids in. 

Call 0871 222 4001 and quote 

To book call: 

0871 222 4001 

& quote REWARDS 

www.merlingroups. 

co.uk/corporate 

REWARDS along with the date 

of your visit. Make sure you 

have your membership number 

to hand along with your 

payment details. All major credit 

cards are accepted 

Terms and Conditions: Tickets 

must be booked in advance and are 

not available on the day. Tickets are 

non-refundable and nontransferable 

and are not for re-sale. 

Prices and opening dates are subject 

to change without notice, please 

check when making your booking. 

Offer can not be used in conjunction 

with any other promotion and is 

subject to availability. Calls to 0871 

numbers are charged at 10 pence per 

minute plus network extras. 

Gate Rate LTDA Rate You save 

Thorpe Park 

Adult (12+ yrs) £42 £24 £18 

Child (+1m-11 yrs) £31.20 £18 £13.20 

Infant (-1m) Free Free N/A 

The Alton Towers Resort 

Adult (12+ yrs) £42 £24 £18 

Child (4-11 yrs) £33.60 £18 £15.60 

Infant (0-4yrs) Free Free N/A 

Chessington World of Adventures Resort 

Adult (12+ yrs) £39.60 £24 £15.60 

Child (+0.9m-11 yrs) £28.80 £18 £10.80 

Adult 2 day (12+ yrs) £49.20 £30 £19.20 

Child 2 day 

(+0.9m-11 yrs) 

£38.40 £24 £14.40 

Infant (-0.9m) Free Free N/A 

Madame Tussauds London 

Adult (16+ yrs) £30 £22.50 £7.50 

Child (4-15 yrs) £25.80 £19.35 £6.45 


The London Dungeons 

Adult (16+ yrs) £24 £18 £6 

Child (4-15 yrs) £18.60 £13.95 £4.65 


LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort 

Adult (16+ yrs) £43.20 £26 £17.20 

Child (3-15 yrs) £34.20 £21 £13.20 


Thorpe Park The London Dungeons Chessington World of Adventure


MUSHER MEG 

DOES THE DEVIL 

USE WIPES? 

Modern life is rubbish but can the humble wipe really bring about the end of the world? 

When I bring home wipes 

from the supermarket my 

husband does jazz hands 

and says in a loud and very agitated 

voice, “Wipes? More wipes?” 

It’s like I’ve sneaked in Class A 

drugs or live hand grenades and 

stashed them in the cleaning 

cupboard. He’s an environmentalist 

and a metal bucket, bar of Sunlight 

soap and old grey dishcloth believer. 

According to him wipes signal 

everything that is wrong with the 

modern world and herald the 

downfall of civilisation. 

My view is less complicated, I just 

think they’re handy, especially the 

antibacterial ones for giving the 

inside of the cab a quick once over 

at the end of a busy day. I can’t be 

doing with sticky door handles. 

But then my husband thinks that I 

clean too much in general and that a 

bit of dirt does you good and even 

strengthens the immune system. 

I counter argue that he cleans not at 

all and that his theory is scientific 

“IT’S LIKE I’VE SNEAKED IN 

CLASS A DRUGS OR LIVE 

HAND GRENADES AND 

STASHED THEM IN THE 

” 

CLEANING CUPBOARD 

claptrap and just a pathetic 

attempt to get out of doing his share 

of the housework. 

According to my bloke, washing 

machines and tumble driers are the 

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Images: Fabio Berti, WilleeCole, Yulia Glam and Kirsty Pargeter / Shutterstock 

tools of Beelzebub because they 

remove our moral fibre, and bash 

the fibres in the Marks and 

Spencer 

underpants 

his mum 

bought in the 

70s and which 

he still wears 

with pride. 

He’s a man full 

of praise for old 

fashioned cleaning 

methods, but has 

never actually tried 

them. I left a message 

in the dust on the 

dashboard of his car 

recently that said ‘Just Do It’ – but of 

course, he didn’t. 

A friend and fellow cabbie, Jack, 

had his appendix out in a big 

London hospital recently and his 

wife, a clean freak, stacked his 

bedside table with assorted wipes. 

Fragrant ones, freshening ones, 

germs destroying ones and 

moisturising and cleansing varieties 

– her man was equipped for every 

eventuality. She even warned him to 

wipe clean any grapes individually 

before eating them. Furniture wipes 

were supplied too, for Jack’s bed 

frame, bedside chair and ward light 

switches and door handles. The 

poor woman saw threats 

everywhere. She’d been traumatised 

by a quick inspection of her 

husband’s shared washroom, where 

she found a bathmat that, according 

to her, looked like it had been 

Polyurethane y Limited 

EExtreme 

xtreme 

EEndurance 

ndurance 

and 

Reliability 

TX1 - TX2 - TX4 

Top 

Wi Wishbone shbone 

BBushes 

ushes 

(TX1 ( TX1 

- TTX2 X2 

- TX4) 

£31.45 £ 

Lower 

Wishbone 

Bush 

Set 

(TX1) ( TX1) 

£73.45 £ 7 

Rear 

Trailing 

AArm 

rm 

Bu Bush sh 

SSet 

et 

(TX2 ( TX2 

- TX4) 

£67.73 £ 6 

Leaf Spring 

Bush 

Set 

(TX1 ( TX1 

- TX2) 

) £41.95 £ 41.95 

Exhaust 

Hangers 

TX1 

(4 ( 4 off) 

£13.99 £ 13.99 

Exhaust ExhaustHangers Hangers 

TX2 

- TX4 

(3 ( 3 off) off 

f 

) £10.49 £ 10.49 

Floflex Polyurethane 

Ltd, 

Units 

B1 - B3 

Pinfold 

Ind 

Est, 

Rhyl, 

Denbighshire, 

LL18 

2YR. 2YR 

YR . 

Tel Tel01745 01745 

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60070 

- Fax Fax01745 01745 

360086 

- email e mail 

sales@floflex.co.uk 

sales@ 

@ floflex. 

co. 

uk 

w 

Licensed to Chat 

woven 

from pubic hair. 

When she visited him after 

his surgery she found that Jack had 

a novel use for some of the wipes. 

He was propped up in bed asleep 

with a freshening one stuffed up 

each nostril. She started to cry 

because she wasn’t sure if he had 

lost the plot and put them there 

himself, or whether it was a wipe 

attack carried out by another 

patient. When he woke up her 

husband explained the wipes went 

up his nose every time the chap in 

the next bed went on the bedpan! 

After a few days in bed, the 

recovering cabbie was going a 

bit stir crazy and when the 

consultant and his team appeared 

at his bedside ready to discharge 

him, they found him giving 

himself a thorough body wash 

with furniture wipes. When this 

was pointed to him Jack 

muttered “flipping ‘eck! I must have 

just moisturised the loo seat and 

light switches!” n 

01745 360222 360 

222 

www.floflex.co.uk 

www 

w. 

f lof loflex. 

co. 

uk



MASSETT’S 

CAMERA 

HOTSPOTS 

Extreme Hotspot 1: Berkeley 

Street/Piccadilly - Yellow Box; 

camera catches drivers turning 

left in the offside lane 

Extreme Hotspot 2: Old Broad 

Street - No motor vehicles beyond 

Broad Street Avenue DO NOT GO 

TO END OF STREET TO U-TURN! 

ROAD WATCH 

Southampton Row U-turns 

New Kings Road Yellow box at the junction with Bagleys Lane 

Harrods Zig-Zags behind the rank in Brompton Road 

Great Marlborough 

Street 

Zig-Zags 

Waterloo Road Zig-Zags 

Mansion House Street Yellow box junction 

Eldon Street Do not set down on Zig-Zags 

Clapham High Street Zig-Zags 

Tottenham Court Road Zig-Zags by the Grafton Hotel 

Elephant Road Beware of double parking 

Regency Place 

Yellow lines. This is a WCC special 

enforcement action area 

Red Routes TfL is actively enforcing yellow box restrictions 

Tower Bridge 20 mph speed limit – average speed cameras 

Limehouse Link 30 mph speed limit 

Smithfield 

All loading bays around Smithfield are 

enforced by camera – yellow lines without 

loading restrictions are not 

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NEW VALVES AND BALANCING ON ALL TYRES 

WE ALSO DO LASER TRACKING, 

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FREE TYRE INSPECTION CALL 

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Now open Saturdays 8.30am – 12pm 

UNIT 14 PETERLEY BUSINESS CENTRE 

472 HACKNEY ROAD LONDON E2 9EQ


NEWS 

Taxi consultation extended 

Politics 

The deadline for responses to the 

Taxis and Private Hire Services 

consultation has been extended by 

one month because of Olympic 

workloads. 

The Law Commission said 

submissions will now be accepted 

until September 10 following 

requests from members of the taxi 

and private hire trades. 

Crucially, the consultation paper 

proposes retaining the distinction 

between taxis and private and says 

that taxis should keep their 

exclusive right to ‘ply for hire’. 

Frances Patterson QC, the law 

commissioner leading on the project, 

said: “This is a once-in-a-generation 

opportunity and we want all those 

involved to feel they have had a fair 

chance to be heard. 

“We recognise that people in the 

taxi and private hire trades out of 

London face practical difficulties in 

being able to get together to formulate 

responses. We also know that many of 

the London-based taxi drivers and 

private hire operators, as well as 

licensing authorities, are facing a 

particular challenge this summer 

because of the extra work that will 

come with the Olympics.” 

The commissioners say the aim 

of the review is to simplify, clarify 

and modernise the 340 existing 

laws governing taxis and private 

hire vehicles. 

It raises the possibility of 

minicab touts of having their 

vehicles impounded, national 

safety standards and disability 

training for all. 

The concept of plying for hire, it 

recommends, should be put on a 

statutory footing. 

The provisional plans and 

consultation questions are outlined 

in the 200 page paper, “Reforming 

the law of taxi and private hire 

services”, which is available on 

www.lawcom.gov.uk. 

A London cabbie took Britain’s 

smallest mobile street party on the 

road during the Diamond Jubilee 

weekend. 

Colin Sinclaire offered 

passengers the full party 

experience from his taxi - complete 

with brass band music, bunting 

and a fold-out table full of tasty 

British treats. 

His idea, which came about after 

‘Britain’s smallest mobile street party’ 

News in brief 

Tiny party taxi a hit 

Business 

Taxi firm to expand east 

The London Taxi 

Company has 

written to the 

Estonian 

government 

with an 

enquiry 

about moving 

into its capital. 

A letter signed by Ross 

MacKrennon,the company’s 

international sales manager, 

promises to boost the existing 

taxi service in Tallinn. 

Mr MacKrennon says LTC 

cabs are comfortable, secure and 

enduring, and also offers special 

training for drivers. 

Andres Harjo, head of the 

Tallinn municipal transport 

authority, says he welcomes all 

newcomers to the local trade but 

could not offer any preferential 

treatment to the firm. 

LTC has been successful in 

Azerbaijan's capital Baku, where 

it credited with improving the 

overall taxi service and reduced 

the number of illegal cabs. 

grumbling to his wife about having 

to work the celebration, inspired 

another 100 drivers to follow suit. 

Colin said: “I couldn’t afford not 

to work on the busiest weekend of 

the year. 

“I didn’t want this to stop me from 

joining the fun, so I created what I’ve 

named ‘Britain’s smallest mobile 

street party’. 

“The brass band may have been 

a bit OTT but the punters seem to 

love it!”



PUZZLER 

Crossword Competition! 

To complete our prize 

crossword and be in with a 

chance to win £50 send your 

completed entry to Crossword 

ACROSS 

1 Tough outer layer (4) 

3 Protruding stomach (8) 

9 Rare bacterial infection (7) 

10 Fast growing tree (5) 

11 Poem about a place (5) 

12 Cream-filled pastry (6) 

14 Assume (6) 

16 Slang for rugby (6) 

19 Ghost (6) 

21 Honestly (5) 

24 Large coral island (5) 

25 Kidney stones, say (7) 

26 Flute player (8) 

27 Pledge (4) 

Chariots of Fire 

Hampstead Theatre 

The familiar story starts just prior 

to the 1924 Paris Olympics in 

which rival athletes, the Jewish 

Harold Abrahams and the Scot Eric 

Liddell, are due to compete in the 

100 metres hurdles. 

Along the way there is religious 

conflict, romance and a grand 

display of athletic prowess until 

both star runners emerge 

victorious, with gold medals for 

Great Britain. 

Many people will remember the 

1981 film and know of the 

intrigues and religious prejudices 

that had to be overcome to reach 

this triumphant ending. But you 

will be pleasantly surprised, as I 

was, to see how the Hampstead 

Theatre has been specially 

The Sondheim Society’s 

Student Performer of the 

Year Competition 

Queen’s Theatre 

This annual event is a must-see 

for fans of the great songwriter, 

not just to hear his songs, but to 

watch them being performed by 

young stars of the future. Pared 

down from 70 entrants who are 

selected from Britain's top stage 

schools, these final twelve singers 

each render their favourite 

270, Taxi, Taxi House, 11 

Woodfield Road, W9 2BA before 

Tuesday, June 26. First name out 

of the hat gets the cash. 

DOWN 

1 Shopkeeper (8) 

2 Batty (5) 

4 Marine mollusc (6) 

5 Biblical tower (5) 

6 Hang loosely (7) 

7 Chinese currency (4) 

8 All together (2, 4) 

13 Small lobster (8) 

15 Garden feature (7) 

17 Beyond measure (6) 

18 Husks (6) 

20 Bay (5) 

22 Palate tissue (5) 

23 Homeless child (4) 

Theatre Reviews by Brad Ashton 

transformed into a theatre-in-the 

round to house this very enjoyable, 

fast-paced show. There's even a 

slow moving stage, which revolves 

and ensures no actor has their back 

to the audience for more than a 

few seconds. Most ingenious 

though, is the construction of a 

running track that slices through 

the stall seats area along similar 

lines to Starlight Express. 

The 20-strong cast not only act, 

but most of them sing, dance and 

play musical instruments as well 

as give a display of athletics that 

left the audience breathless. This 

show is already scheduled to 

transfer to the Gielgud Theatre 

after June 16. I recommend 

catching it at the Hampstead 

Theatre where the seats are 

cheaper. 

Stephen Sondheim composition, 

and perform a new original song 

of their own choice. The fierce 

competition to win the £1,000 

and £500 top prizes brought 

about not only a fantastic array of 

top notch singing, but also some 

beautifully timed comic acting. 

Kris Olsen and Emma Salvo 

deservedly claimed this year's 

prizes. Remember those names, 

you'll see them lighting up 

marquees before very long. 

CROSSWORD NO. 270 

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD 268 

Across: 7 Canal, 8 Untreated, 10 Otiose, 11 Nailfile, 12 Sideshow, 

13 Élan, 15 Mineral, 17 Essence, 20 Thou, 22 Rest home, 25 Strawman, 

26 Gimlet, 27 Centenary, 28 Price. 

Down: 1 Gastritis, 2 Carotene, 3 Unknown, 4 Trainers, 5 Raffia, 

6 Weald, 9 Yeah, 14 E-commerce, 16 Abutment, 18 Ephemera, 

19 Granary, 21 Hearth, 23 Sign, 24 Ether. 

Congratulations 

Issue 268 winner 

A Carey, Middlesex 

Just for fun 

Follow Taxinewspaper on Twitter, search for TaxiEditor 

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.


COVENTRY 

t: +44 (0)24 7657 2040 

EDINBURGH 

t: +44 (0)1506 864 670 

Rock solid 

confidence 

(Euro 5) from just £31,995 OTR 

Get your “12” Plate TODAY. 

GLASGOW 

t: +44 (0)141 445 4805 

LEEDS 

t: +44 (0)113 388 8600 

LONDON 

t: +44 (0)20 7700 0888 

MANCHESTER 

t: +44 (0)161 831 3434 

www.london-taxis.co.uk 

Terms and conditions apply. Business Users only. 

Official fuel consumption figures for the TX4 (Euro 5) in mpg (1/100km): Urban 25.7 (11.0) - 27.7 (10.2), Extra Urban 40.4 (7.0) - 42.8 (6.6), Combined 33.6 (8.4) - 35.3 (8.0), CO2 emissions: 209 - 222 g/km.


Camberfield Taxi Services Ltd 

Rentals & servicing 

TAXI 

London taxi company 

Appointed 

Service Dealer 

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 

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 

REVIEWS 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 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Nick Simpson 

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 Mezzotint / Shutterstock 

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. 

n Taxi Rentals - TX1 - TX4 with full back-up 

n Servicing for TX1 - TX4 

n London Taxi Company Approved 

Diagnostic Equipment 

n Overhauls-SGS Presentation 

n Body Repairs including Non Fault Accident 

n London Taxi Company Appointed Service Dealer 

n Member of the L.M.C.P.A. 

CAMBERFIELD TAXI SERVICES LIMITED 

THE HAM, BRENTFORD, MIDDX. TW8 8EZ 

Tel 020 8568 9643 

Fax 020 8758 2290 

Email camberfieldtaxi@btconnect.com 

CENTURY ONE PUBLISHING 

IS THE UK’S BRIGHTEST 

AWARD-WINNING 

CONTRACT PUBLISHING 

AND ADVERTISING SALES AGENCY. 

WE WORK EXCLUSIVELY 

WITH MEMBERSHIP 

ORGANISATIONS GENERATING 

ADVERTISING REVENUES 

AND MANAGING 

ALL OR PART OF THE 

PUBLISHING FUNCTION 

To plan your ad campaign 

in TAXI magazine contact: 


t: 01727 739 196 

e: dave@centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk 

w: www.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk


Accountants 

CABITAL TAXIS 

✽ Best rental Company by Far ✽ 

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Main Garage in Canning Town 

Brand new, fully equipped state of the art workshops, all taxi repairs, 

services, overhauls etc 020-7473 5169 ask for Sapha 

67 Stevenson St E16 

Garages also in Bethnal Green, Hoddesdon and Harlow 

CABITAL TAXIS 

07940-021014 

ask for Tom or Charlie 

email info@cabitaltaxis.com 

MEM’s 24hr Breakdown Service ✽ Spare Cabs always Available 

Established 1970 

Cabs for Rent 

Cabs for Rent 

CLASSIFIED 

RANDELL CABS LTD 

TX4'S AVAILABLE NOW 

Excellent customer service with the best 

maintained cabs in London 

• Modern air conditioned fleet • Spare cabs 

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Call John on 07535 924370 or Paul on 07508 423769 

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CAB RENTALS 

Fairways, TXl, TXll, TX4’S 

Competitive Rates 

Full Backup 24/7 

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CALL GEOFF ON: 079 6098 2507 

Worcester park & surrounding areas 

© LTI Limited reproduced with permission. Fairway and TX shape is a registered design. Fairway TM , 

TX TM , the LTI device, the LTI and the London Taxis International logos are all trademarks of LTI Limited. 

“C US 4 CABs” 

Quality Rentals from £140 p/w 

Delivered to your door 

Full Back up 24/7 

RAC & T&J’s cover 

Spare cabs 

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Recovery Service Available 

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Great Deals for Great Drivers! 

Dennis 07775 931 439 

WE HAVE 

MOVED! 

EST:1993, 518 KING ST, OFF BRUCE GROVE, TOTTENHAM N17 8AW 

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TX4 £200 PW WITHOUT ADVERTS, & £195 PW WITH ADVERTS 

• OVERHAULS • GEAR BOXES • BODY WORK 

• PAY IN AT ANY BARCLAYS BANK 

CALL 020 8885 1844 / 07956 514179 WEBSITE: www.gandhtaxis.com


CLASSIFIED 

RENTALS 4 

LESS CABS 

Run by cabbies for cabbies 

We have garages in: 

✔ Heathrow 

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✔ Bethnal Green 

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FAIRWAYS FROM £140 

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■ Guaranteed 24 hour access to spare cabs 

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Call Dil on 020 8840 0202 or 07786 025814 

INDIGO 

TAXI LTD 

Garage in 

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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 

Stock Motors & Co 

Cabs for Rent! 

Drivers wanted! 

� TXll’s for £180pw, TX4’s also available 

� Full Overhauls & Services undertaken 

� 24hr breakdown assistance & spare cabs available 

Established since 1948 

For more details call us on 0207 485 0959 

Or stop by and see us at our garage: 

77/79 Randolph Street, Camden, NW1 0SR 

© 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. 

Cabs for Rent 

Cabs for Rent 

Cabs for Rent LTDA Branch Meetings 

Cabs for Rent 

Kingston & Wimbledon Taxis 

Lucas & Cygnus meter agents, Fairways to rent from 

£130 p/w, TX4 from £230 p/w, TX2 from £190 p/w and 

TX1 from £160 p/w, with RAC breakdown. Garage open 

Monday to Saturday, plus we have spare cabs available 

24/7 so you are never off the road. 

We also do overhauls, Verifone card machine installers, 

TX2 set of rockers fitted £680 +VAT, tyres from £40 +VAT, 

running repairs, buy & sell cabs, all batteries from £75 

+VAT, timing chains fitted for £449 +VAT, non fault 

accident repairs/free cab. 

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 

Taxi Hire London 

2a Three Colts Lane 

Bethnal Green 

London E2 6JL 

• Professional service • RAC cover • 

• Backup taxi’s available 

• Excellent condition • 

• Recently passed out drivers welcome • 

• Competetive weekly rates • 

• Special rates available for 

long term drivers • 

07799 874956 

Email: taxihirelondonltd@btconnect.com 

LDTA Branch Meetings 

SW and SE NW and NE 

First Monday of 

Jan and third 

Tuesday of March, 

May, June, Nov 

Last Tuesday of 

Jan and last 

Monday of April, 

June, Sept, Nov


IF YOU’VE HAD AN 

ACCIDENT: STOP 

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING 

CALL CORONATION CORONATION BLACK 

CABS ON 07719 454 606! 

WE’LL SAVE YOU TIME, MONEY AND HASSLE!!! 

The Licensed 

Taxi Drivers’ 

Association is 

the definitive 

voice of and 

for London 

cab drivers 

Services and Repairs 

JOHNNY’S AUTO 

TRANSMISSIONS LTD 

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 

Specialized in London Taxis including TX4’s 

Diagnostics/Repairs 

09 A Anton Street, Hackney, London E8 2AD 

T: 020 7923 1439 M: 078 8306 5460 E: jn.brown@talktalk.net 


Commissions 

Cabs for Sale 

CLASSIFIED 

CORONATION BLACK CABS LTD 

ANNOUNCEMENT - ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT 

WE ARE EXPANDING OUR NON-FAULT ACCIDENT SERVICE! WE HAVE BRAND NEW TX4 ELEGANCE CABS 

AND MERCEDES FOR ALL YOUR ACCIDENT NEEDS. WE CAN REMOVE ALL THE HEADACHES ASSOCIATED 

WITH AN ACCIDENT. BENEFITS INCLUDE: 

� Replacement Cab typically supplied within 60 

minutes 24 hours a day! 

� No excess to pay! 

� We bring our cab to you and recover your cab for you! 

� Personal injuries dealt with by a top law firm! CALL 07719 454 606 

Drivers Wanted 


CENTURY ONE PUBLISHING 

IS THE UK’S BRIGHTEST 

AWARD-WINNING 

CONTRACT PUBLISHING 

AND ADVERTISING SALES AGENCY. 

WE WORK EXCLUSIVELY 

WITH MEMBERSHIP 

ORGANISATIONS GENERATING 

ADVERTISING REVENUES 

AND MANAGING 

ALL OR PART OF THE 

PUBLISHING FUNCTION 

To plan your ad campaign 

in TAXI magazine contact: 


t: 01727 739 196 

e: dave@centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk 

w: www.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk


LINAGE 

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 

Air Conditioning 

MOBILE AUTO air conditioning 

service and repair for taxis, London 

and beyond, telephone Nick on 

07785900006 7 days 

Cabs for Rent 

AA EAST LONDON BLACK CABS – 

We will beat any genuine quote on 

any Taxi rental, Over 20 cabs in stock 

from Fairways to TX4s, 24hr back-up, 

Spare cab, Full workshop facilities, 

Friendly family-run business, Only 

genuine drivers need apply – 

07785 110300 / 07956 333111/ 

0207 729 4815/0815 

CHEAP TAXIS – TXIs/ TXIIs / TX4s 

from £150pw + 1st week rent free, 

Full Back-up, Bethnal Green, 

Call Eric 07766542798 

E16 RENTALS - TXII, ’55-reg, Air 

Con, Ascott’s Back-up, Pay cash or 

any bank, Immaculate cab, £185pw – 

Len 07957 465423 

MERCEDES VITOS FOR RENT, 

Excellent service, Starting from only 

£220pw, Call for more details – 

07956 211478 

R-REG FAIRWAY, £100pw until 

February 2013 - 07958 529685 

TOP QUALITY TX4S ready now - 

Call Paul on 07508 423769 

TXIS/TXIIS from £160pw, SW area - 

Call Brian Snapes 07940 592367 

TXIS FROM £150PW, TXIIs from 

£170pw, 24hr back-up system, Clean 

cabs, First week rent-free – 

02076132436, 07947644541 or 

07702221672 

TXIS TO TX4S, Full Back-up, No ads, 

Hackney based - Pat 07939 861906 

TXII 06-REG £170, TXII 52-reg £155, 

TX4 £185, Spare cab available, RAC 

cover, South East London area. 

Call 07930202709 

TXII ’06, VGC, AA cover, Spare cab, 

£185pw – 07788466022 

TXIIS, EXCELLENT CONDITION. 

Full AA breakdown cover, Spare cabs 

available, Based in Romford (Essex), 

Full or part-time drivers welcome, 

Starting from £150pw - call Peter 

07983636580 or Perry 07527488916 

TXIIS, TX4S, Full/Half Flat, Part 

Timers Welcome - £175pw – 

07825671658 

TX4 ‘59 GOLD, £220pw, Full back-up 

- 07957 710701 

TX4S AVAILABLE NOW - Call Karen 

on 07723 070961 

WEST LONDON cabs for rent, 

Fairways &TX1’s flat/part-time/odd 

day’s AA cover, call 01494671555 or 

07770900340 

Cabs for Sale 

BLACK TXII ’54, Silver spec. Engine 

rebuild, Rockers, Cam Shaft, etc. Runs 

lovely, Good condition all round, 

Plated until March 2013, Driver 

retiring, £7,250ono - 07719 077405 

FAIRWAY, R-REG, Plate & Meter 

until February, £1,250ono - 

07752 371910 

R-REG FAIRWAY, Plated until 

February 2013, Offers - 07958 529685 

TXI, R-REG, Plated until November, 

£2,750 ono / TXI, S-Reg, Plated until 

August, £3,950 ono / TXI, Y-Reg, 

Plated, £6,950 ono / TXII, ’02-Reg, 

£7,250 ono - 07888 664022 

TXII SILVER, ’02, Plated /Taxed, 

Ubiq ad, Any trial welcome, £7,000 

ono – 07970824821 

TXII SILVER, 2005, Black, No ads, 

180k, 1 owner, Plated for 10 months & 

Taxed until August, Part Ex possible 

– 07866108727 

TX4 GOLD, ’59-REG, Charcoal, 

FSH, New Gearbox, New Radiator, 

New Alternator, New Servo, 

90k miles, £18,500ono – 

Tony 07949 270057 

TX4 GOLD, Plated April 2013, 

Platinum Silver, VGC, 140k miles, 

£15,400ono - 07876 786980 

TX4 SILVER ’07, Low Mileage, Driver 

leaving trade, Plate expires 4th 

August (reflected in price), £13,000, 

No offers – 02086599598 

TX4 SILVER ’57, Plated & Taxed, 

Black, £13,995ono - 07966 333672 

TX4 SILVER, AUGUST ’07, Black, 

136,000 Miles, Reversing sensors, 

Fitted Radio Taxis/ VeriFone, 1 

Owner, Excellent condition, 

£13,950 - 07971 573282 

TX4 SILVER, SEPTEMBER 2007, 

All black, No stickers, Low mileage, 

1 owner, VGC, Excellent bodywork, 

Clean interior, Air Con, Very long 

plate, £14,950 – 07785 110300 

VITO, ’09-REG, BLACK, 150k, Taxed 

& Plated until July, Full KPM Service 

History, £22,950 ono - 07429 352193 

Cabs Wanted 

A FAIRWAY / TXI wanted, Cash 

today – Call George 07939 156287 

To advertise in TAXI please write your linage below and post to: 

Dave Challenor, Century One Publishing, Alban Row, 27-31 Verulam Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 4DG 

Alternatively, email your linage to: dave@centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk 

Linage (Up to: 10 words £18, 20 words £29, 30 words £35. Plus VAT): 

Name: 

Phone No: 

Company name: 

Address: 

! 

Payment Details: 

Please debit £ from my credit/debit card 

Card type: 

Card number: 

Valid from: 

Valid to: 

Security number: 

Please note we do not accept American Express 

FAIRWAYS AND TXIS taxis wanted, 

instant decision - cash paid. 

Tel: 07973335739 or 01253407500 

TX4 WANTED WEEKENDS. Euston 

area changeover preferred. 

Tel 07525 454304 

UP TO £2000 FOR YOUR FAIRWAY, 

Instant decision, Cash Paid - 

Phone 07979372012 

Drivers Wanted 

CANARY WHARF AREA, E14, 

MERC VITO ‘58, Day Driver wanted 

6am – 6pm, RAC Cover, £150pw, 

Call 07711 550096 

LONG-TERM WEEKEND driver 

wanted, Brand new Mercedes Vito 

Taxi, Full Leather, Cheap rates, South 

Woodford area - 

Call Kris 07751 323097 

TXI/TXII, DAY/NIGHT DRIVER, 

Changeover North/West, 

Full back-up – 07549102030 

Parts 

TX TAXI BREAKERS - All taxi parts 

in stock, Cabs bought for cash – 

Danbury Mews, Wallington, SM6 

0BY, 07957485874/ 07886505807 

Vehicle Reg for Sale 

CAB TX (C4B TX) plate for sale, 

Search Ebay or call 07933933370 

LINAGE RATES: 

Up to 10 words £18, 

up to 20 words £29, 

up to 30 words £35 

(Plus VAT) 

Call 01727 739 196 

or email 

dave@century 

onepublishing.ltd.uk 

PLACE YOUR 

LINAGE IN 

TAXI ISSUE 271 

BOOK BY 

WEDS 20 JUNE 

CALL DAVE ON 

01727 739 196


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

Smooth... 

That's how we would describe 

the (Euro 5) drive experience 

Don't take our word for it. 

Take the test drive. 

And, every week for TEN 

weeks, we'll choose FIVE 

participants at random to 

receive a £100 voucher! 

HAVE A HOLIDAY ON US! 

Everyone who participates also gets the chance 

to win one of our three top prizes, to be drawn 

on 10 July 2012, of either £500, £1,000 or £2,500 

in their choice of travel vouchers. 

Pop in to a dealership or visit www.london-taxis.co.uk 

to book your test drive or to find out when we'll be out 

with a demo at a location near you! 

COVENTRY 

t: +44 (0)24 7657 2040 

EDINBURGH 

t: +44 (0)1506 864 670 

GLASGOW 

t: +44 (0)141 445 4805 

LEEDS 

t: +44 (0)113 388 8600 

LONDON 

t: +44 (0)20 7700 0888 

MANCHESTER 

t: +44 (0)161 831 3434 

Terms and conditions apply. Business Users only. 

Official fuel consumption figures for the TX4 (Euro 5) in mpg (1/100km): Urban 25.7 (11.0) - 27.7 (10.2), Extra Urban 40.4 (7.0) - 42.8 (6.6), Combined 33.6 (8.4) - 35.3 (8.0), CO2 emissions: 209 - 222 g/km.

AT THE START OLYMPIC BOOM STALLS - TAXI Newspaper

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