1-12 TAXI 296 TAXI 345X250 · 2 TAXI |25 JUNE 2013 | @TheLTDA NEWS “From a famine to a feast”...

LTDA

TAXINo.296 | 25 JUNE 2013

HIGHLIGHTS THIS ISSUEP4 LTC’S FACTORY MOVE PLAN

Cab firm expects good year

P5 MONEYBOX GREED EXPOSEDCouncil workers’ ticket haul joy

P7 MINICAB DRIVER JAILED8 years for gang war killing

P36 LTDA MOT OFFERHalfords discount deal

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

The official publication of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association | www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA

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2 TAXI |25 JUNE 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA

NEWS

“From a famine to a feast”

London’s taxi drivers could be aboutto go from a famine to a feast in 2014,with a wider choice of taxi modelsthan ever before.

Nissan recently unveiled itsLondon version of the NV200 cab,and an electric version of the sametaxi model is due to follow.

But at the recent London MotorExpo in Canary Wharf, Turkish carmanufacturer Karsan unveiled itsown new taxi.

The company’s CEO’s Claude andJan Nahum - the leading lightsbehind the new cab - presented itsright hand drive, zero emission,electric Concept V1, which is fullycompliant with London’s Standardsof Fitness.

The cab has a 25 feet turning circle(rear steering), a zero emissionelectric powertrain (range 80-100miles), an on-board quick charge unit(for any AC power supply) and alarge driver’s cabin.

But the Concept V1 also aims, saysJan Nahum, to provide “a newdimension in transportation freedom for

those with impaired mobility, peopletravelling in wheelchairs, the elderly andpeople with strollers, prams and thosewith a lot of luggage.”

The generously proportionedConcept V1 has a remarkably fastelectrically operated wheelchairramp, which can be used on eitherside of the cab.

What a definite head turner it waslast week! As it rounded the corner atCanary Wharf’s Jubilee concourse,cab drivers were suddenly confrontedby a familiar, yet unfamiliar, taxi.

With a ‘Future London Taxi’ overallwrap, the black Concept V1 proved tobe quite an elegant taxi shape.

Unlike other taxi models on themarket – except the TX4 - it wasdesigned as a cab from scratch.

The Concept V1 rose toprominence in 2011 at the Taxi ofTomorrow contest in New York,where it made the shortlist of three,along with the Nissan NV200 andFord’s Transit Connect.

Its quirky details, such as the glassroof, spacious interior and all roundstyling made it the New Yorkers’clear favourite to win, and it won the

popular vote. The London version ofthe cab retains the glass roof, whichmakes it very light inside.

Passengers and drivers will benefitfrom pre-fitted GPS, infotainmentand payment systems with plug-incharging outlets, so passengers canstay connected during their taxi trip.

Karsan is one of the main vehiclemanufacturers in Turkey and hasbeen producing cars for over 45years, including large volumes ofcommercial trucks and buses forthird parties like Renault, Peugeot,Hyundai, Citroën and

BredaMenarinibus. The taxi model was designed by its

sister company, Hexagon Design,which specialises in transport beforebeing developed by Karsan.

Karsan is likely to go for nationalpartnerships for sales andmaintenance but the cab willprobably be manufactured in Turkey.Production dates and pricing levelsare unclear as yet but the all-inclusiveConcept V1, especially as EV, would,with the right price and specs, be astrong and attractive contender forthe London taxi market.

By Wim Faber

The Turks are coming!

Top Trade Story

Well done to the taxi drivers who helped to shoot down the cycle box balloonSTEVE MCNAMARA LTDA General Secretary

THE ZEPPELINMAN

More readers than the rest put together! 25 JUNE 2013 | TAXI 3

Iwas as surprised as everyone elsewhen the Evening Standard, TheTimes and various radio and TV

stations, ran the story that TfL hadapplied to the Department forTransport (DfT) to decriminaliseAdvanced Stop Lines (ASLs ),enabling them to be enforced withCCTV cameras. The LTDA normallyreceives advanced warnings of thesesorts of political moves, but with thisone, the first we knew of it, waswhen the media bombarded us withdemands for comment.

Fearing that we were playing ‘catchup,’ we quickly emailed and tweetedour members, urging them to contactthe DfT and object to TfL’sapplication. I formally wrote toPatrick McLoughlin, the Minister forTransport, detailing all the reasonswhy he should refuse anyapplications for an increase in CCTVenforcement. During the followingweek our Parliamentary contactsindicated that they thought AndrewGilligan, the Mayor’s cycling czar,who had started the whole mediaASL frenzy, was merely ‘putting up a

balloon’. This is a process whereby apolitician, or government, leaks astory to the media in order to gaugepublic opinion. Depending on theoutcry, or lack of it, the proposal is then either quietly dropped or taken forward.

This theory was confirmed when Ireceived the minister’s reply, and Iwas especially pleased to read that“the DfT has no plans to change theenforcement regime for either ASLs ormandatory cycle lanes”. I was evenmore pleased to read the finalparagraph of his letter referring to thelarge number of representations fromtaxi drivers, which is Governmentspeak for ‘we were swamped’. Make nomistake; if you were one of thethousands of drivers who took thetrouble to email, write, or call tomake your views known, you areresponsible for shooting down this balloon at an embarrassingly low altitude.

Andrew Gilligan has a very wellpaid part time job, but instead ofusing his time to guarantee safercycling, by making the wearing ofhelmets compulsory, and encouragingcyclists to comply with red trafficlights, and other rules of the road, hesimply panders to the vociferousTOBYs (Toffs On Bikes Ya), and theirunassailable belief that the HighwayCode Rules only apply to others.Fortunately, this attitude simply fuelsthe growing resentment of manyLondoners, and their hostility towardscyclists will increase. See letters onpage 23 and Taxi Talk page 19. n

“THE DfT HAS NO PLANS TOCHANGE THE ENFORCEMENTREGIME FOR EITHER ASLs ORMANDATORY CYCLE LANESPATRICK MCLOUGHLIN ”

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Letter from Patrick McLoughlin

Thank you for your letterof 30 May 2013, about

decriminalising theenforcement of AdvancedStop Lines (ASLs) andtransferring theresponsibility ofenforcement away from theMetropolitan Police toTransport for London (TfL)and other local authorities.

You may wish to knowthat, notwithstanding thecomments in the Times andEvening Standard, TfL hasnot formally approachedthe Department forTransport (DfT) about thismatter. ASLs areprescribed in diagram 1001.2 in Schedule 6 to the Traffic SignsRegulations and General Directions 2002 (TSRGD). Whilst I understandyour concerns, I should point out that the DfT has no plans to change theenforcement regime for either ASLs or mandatory cycle lanes.

Enforcement of ASLs is a matter for the police, as it is an offenceassociated with disobeying the stop line. The Highway Code makes itclear in Rule 178 that drivers must not pass the first stop line if the lightsare amber or red and should avoid encroaching on the ASL area at othertimes, for example where the junction ahead is blocked. As the currentregime recognises, there are circumstances in which it is possible tolegitimately enter an ASL, for example in slow moving traffic.

My officials have received a large number of representations from taxidrivers on this issue. I would therefore be grateful if you could explainthe Department's position on ASLs to your members.

I hope this reply helps to clarify the current position. The Rt. Han. Patrick McLoughlin Minister for Transport


NEWS

LTC says it has more than 800 ordersfor new taxis and will start “low-levelproduction” in August.

Company bosses have also saidthey hope to move to a new state-of-art factory site in Coventry in the future.

The Chinese-owned firm wants tobenefit from the technologyadvances afforded to Geely’s othervehicle lines, such as Volvo and the Emgrand.

Deputy chief executive PeterJohansen has also revealed plans torecruit 32 new employees for theexisting Holyhead Road plant.

Around 99 of its 176 jobs wereaxed after the company went intoadministration last year.

A large number of the workerswho lost their jobs last year areexpected to fight it out for the new roles.

The company says it has alreadytaken on 38 staff members this yearand aims to start full lever

Trade

LTC weighs up factory moveproduction is expected to start inSeptember.

LTC vice president PeterJohansen, said: "We've sold over 200new cabs in the UK in the last couple ofweeks and we've got a five-week waitinglist for a new cab."

"Internationally, it's going to be arecord year for us because we've alreadytaken orders for over 800 vehicles andthere's many more orders pending."

Mr Johansen has admitted that theHolyhead Road factory, which wasbuilt in 1927, has reached the end ofits working life.

He added: "We've already been indiscussion with Geely that as part oftheir investment in us we're looking tofind new premises to build the nextgeneration of taxis.

"With modern facilities you canimprove the quality of the vehicle.

"If you go to any Geely factory inChina it's absolutely state of the art andwe're the poorer cousin of them at the moment.

"It's most likely to stay in andaround Coventry because we've got alot of well-trained workforce and weneed the skills that those people bring tothe business."“It’s going to be a record year for us”

Incidents involving passengerswho fail to pay their taxi fareare on the increase.

LTDA members whoexperience this problem canrequest the LTDA toinvestigate and endeavour torecover the unpaid fare.

If the LTDA is unsuccessful,but the member is able toprovide evidence of a policereport reference number, acompensation payment up to£50 may be available from theLTDA Bilking Fund.

Bilker Watch

LTDA Bilking Fund Don’t Lose out!

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© LTI Limited reproduced with permission. Fairway and TX shape is a registered design. FairwayTM, TXTM, the LTI device, the LTI, London Taxis International and The London Taxi Company logos are all trademarks of LTI Limited.

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News in brief

Prisons’ £1 million minicab tabThe prison service has spent more than one million poundsferrying inmates around the UKin minicabs.

The expense was one of severalhighlighted in criticism by a ToryMP, including £700,000 spent onhiring an acting troupe torehabilitate prisoners throughrole play.

Three prisons ran up an £84,000bill between them on haircuts.

The Ministry of Justice wasrevealed to have signed off morealmost £4.5m in payments toprivate firms last year.

Invoices also showed the cost ofeveryday items, such as £100,000on toothbrushes and even £23,000on whistles for guards.

Tory MP Priti Patel said: “In an age of austerity this exampleof profligate waste shows the extentto which the Ministry of Justiceneeds to get a grip on the amount itis spending.

She added: “The public will beappalled at the waste.”

Emails exposing the cash countingattitude of local council stafftowards motorists have beenexposed by the BBC.

Documents released under theFreedom of Information Act relatingto Hammersmith and Fulham, hometo the notorious Bagley’s Lane boxjunction, show staff memberscelebrating record fines.

In one email, revealed by aPanorama investigation screened thismonth, one official writes: “Anotherrecord month, guys. Well done.”

Other emails include “anotherincrease...holidays as expected, bringback the traffic,” and “another goodmonth last month. That’s despite thesystems problems we had. So well doneto everyone.”

They also appear to show howsurveillance cameras are used to catch out cars performing U-turns and in box junctionsencouraged by a “target-based,revenue-raising culture”.

The programme featured thejunction at Bagley’s Lane and NewKings Road intersection in Fulham,

which has been dubbed “the money box.”

The junction catches up to 40,000drivers a year and comes with apunishment of a £130 fine.

Hammersmith and FulhamCouncil has recently spent £0.5m ona hi-tech Zenco wireless surveillancesystem to catch motorists.

More than four times as manymotorists were given moving trafficpenalties in the borough last year asin 2007, a rise to 81,000 from 19,000.

A memo to the head of parkingservices about the council acquiring specialist “close circuit TVequipment” reads: “Aim of project: Toincrease parking revenue (target:additional £5m.)”

Hammersmith andFulham said theemail was from amanagementtraineetemporarilyseconded tothe council and“wrongly”suggested theaim was toraise revenue.

Motoring

‘Record fines guys, well done.’It also dismissed some of the otheremails as “banter.”

Panorama claims the council is“exploiting a sophisticated new camerasystem to fine motorists for movingtraffic offences, such as stopping in a yellow box junction or making abanned turn”.

The council denies revenue raising and said it has one of thehighest appeal success rates in London.

Cllr Nicholas Botterill,Hammersmith and Fulham CouncilLeader, said: “In a busy inner Londonborough like ours, CCTV enforcement isvital to keeping the traffic moving.

"If there were fundamental flaws inthe design or legitimacy of our

junctions and bus lanes we wouldbe losing a large

proportion of appeals,which we arenot...Bagleys Lane

box junction is oneof the busiest junctionsin London. Of the30,000 vehicles a dayusing the junction,only 1 in 500 nowgets a fine.”

Stay in the know with the LTDA

DVLA reminder The photo card part of the drivinglicence lasts for 10 years and mustrenewed after that period. Thelicence becomes invalid if it is notrenewed with a current picture.

15 year reminderThe London taxi 15 year age limitrefers to the cab’s ‘birthday’ (in thelog book) not its plate date.

For example: A cab passed whenit is 14 years and 11 months oldWILL be granted a further 12months of life.

Cabs may be booked in fortesting in the normal way whenthe plate has 28 days or less to run.

The cab can then work up to thetest date. If the plates are taken offwith more than 28 days to run,both the plates and the paperlicence must be surrendered toone of the six NSLinspection centres in andaround London.

The ‘unplated’ cab mustthen not be worked, andat least one week shouldbe allowed beforeattempting to book the

next NSL test, to allow thecomputerised booking system torecognise that the plates havebeen registered.

Lost/stolen identifiersIf your Identifier is lost or stolenyou must notify LTPHimmediately (08456027000 /[email protected])

You may then continueworking. A letter of confirmationwill be sent out to you byTransport for London, prior to a replacement identifier being processed.

Shop a toutAnyone who sees touting or anyother form of illegal cab-relatedactivity is urged to contact TfLwith the details.

Take down theregistration number andmake a note of the date,time and location whereincident took place.

Type “cab enforcement”into your internet searchengine and follow the linksto the ‘report illegal activity’section of the TfL website.

The Massett File

It is more essential than ever for drivers to be fully appraised ofthe various trade organisations’ policies. In order to clarify theLTDA’s position on the important issues facing the industry, theAssociation reaffirms:

If you require clarification on these orother important issues, please:

Call the LTDA on 020 7286 1046

LTDA Policy Statement

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, trainedto 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.

POLICY


Major changes lay ahead fortaxis ranking at LondonCity Airport. This is due

mainly to the Crossrail workstaking place around the area. Theconstruction works have made lifevery difficult for the residents ofNorth Woolwich because AlbertRoad, the main thoroughfare inthat part of the world, has had tobe closed to eastbound traffic,including buses. Consequently,people living in the area have toundertake a lengthy detour viaRoyal Albert Dock Way in order totravel west towards CanningTown, which adds around 20minutes to bus journey times.

Holding areaUnderstandably, residents are farfrom happy about this, particularlybecause they will not get anytangible benefit from Crossrailwhen it opens, as there will not bea station in the area. To improveconditions for the residents, aroute will be opened throughHartmann Road for westboundbuses, which presently have toloop around the airport. HartmannRoad is a dead end road that runsthrough LCA and whichaccommodates up to 200 taxis,which queue to pick up passengersat the airport. Access will beprovided to buses at the easternend of Hartmann Road to allowthem to pick up their normal routealong North Woolwich Road.

Taxis won’t be able to continueto rank up in Hartmann Roadwhen buses are rerouted throughit. However, a scheme has beendevised to provide a taxi holdingarea alongside the dock, fromwhere cabs will be called up to theexisting rank at the western end ofHartmann Road, where, as now,they will feed onto the main rank,which will remain unchanged.

There are issues that remainoutstanding. In particular, theefficiency of the call-up system andwhether it requires the retention ofsome ranking facilities alongHartmann Road to enable it towork properly. The holding areawill operate like a ferry terminal,where taxis will be fed into abouteight lanes that supply the main

rank. There will be an automatedred and green light system, whichwill initially be augmented by taximarshals. The existing toiletfacilities and tea stall are a shortwalk away from the holding areabut consideration is being given toproviding facilities within the area.Another issue here is whether cabswill be able to exit the system afterjoining it. To enable drivers to leaveat any time would mean reducingthe capacity by half, so it is likelythat there will only be limitedopportunities to exit.

The temporary arrangements willcome in as soon as possible and areexpected to remain in place forabout 18 months.

After the Crossrail works, LCAhopes to expand its operation, and a planning application is being

submitted to Newham Council,which would allow it to operatelarger aircraft and increase its flightschedules. The plan includes a newterminal building, which will bebuilt on the current car parking areaand will have a new taxi rank andset down area. Most of the detail ofthe ranking arrangements has yet tobe agreed. It is intended to open thenew terminal in 2019.

Edinburgh GateFollowing calls from members abouta No Right Turn sign fromEdinburgh Gate into Knightsbridge,the matter was raised withWestminster City Council. It wasthought that the signs may havebeen overlooked after the Olympicsrestrictions were lifted. It wasalways intended that all turningmovements should be allowed atthe junction.

Westminster duly checked itstraffic orders and found that therewere no orders in place to prohibitthe turns. Unfortunately, that wasn’tthe end of the story as Westminsterdidn’t think that it was its job toremove the signs but thankfully ithas now agreed to do so and theymay well have be removed by thetime that you read this. Even if the signs haven’t as yet beenremoved, according to Westminster,there is no traffic order in place, sothe restriction would not beenforceable anyway. n

LONDON CITYAIRPORT

RICHARD MASSETT LTDA Executive, Chairman of the London Cab Ranks Committee

After the Crossrail works London City Airport hopes to expand

Image: B

y Frans Zw

art via Wikim

edia Com

mons

A number of changes to the ranking arrangements at London City Airport are under way

NEWS


0207 446 7678

If LTPH or TfL askyou to undertake aBruce Protocol Test,sometimes called astress test ortreadmill test,please contact the LTDA on020 7286 1046 as wehave negotiatedvery advantageousLTDA member onlyrates at a specialistheart clinic.

LTDA Notice: Stress tests

A minicab driver and his son havebeen jailed for a total of 19 years for their part in the killing of aTurkish businessman.

Suleyman Tonbul, 54, a privatehire driver, of Grange Road, wassentenced to eight years and HassanTonbul, 26, was handed an 11-yearjail term after both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause grievousbodily harm.

The two men and a third manfrom Tottenham appeared at the OldBailey in connection with theshooting of Ali Armagan inTottenham on February 1, 2012.

The businessman, from Hackney,died from a gunshot wound to the neck.

Mr Armagan was apparently amember of the Hackney Turks gang,the Bombacillers, and was targetedby the Tottenham Turks after aseries of revenge attacks.

The groups had been fightingsince at least January 2009, when thevictim's brother was assaulted at anightclub in Manor House.

The incident was the catalyst for astring of arson attacks andshootings, which included themurder of three more men - AhmetPaytak, 50, in Holloway on March22, 2009, Oktay Erbasli, 23, inTottenham on October 2, 2009 andCem Duzgan, 21, in Clapton onOctober 5, 2009.

There had also been a previousattempt to kill Mr Armagan onMarch 8, 2009.

But three years later on themorning of February 1, 2012, thevictim parked his Audi A8 inLangham Road, Wood Green, at

around 2.40pm after takingfriends to an appointment nearby.

He remained in the car withanother friend and just before3.30pm two masked menapproached the businessman’s carfrom nearby Graham Road.

One produced a handgun andfired six times at the driver's sideof the car before running away.

Mr Armagan staggered from his vehicle before collapsing on the pavement.

A witness told police that afterhearing shots he saw the gunmanand his accomplice heading towards a Vauxhall Astra parkedin Langham Road.

Two men, Younis Sagir, 24, ofWood Green, and Ozan Toprak,28, of Tottenham, were arrested onMarch 8, 2012 in connection withAli Armagan's murder.

However, after standing trialthey were both acquitted at theOld Bailey on March 7.

The identity of the gunman andhis accomplice remain unknown and police are still appealing for witnesses.

Detective Chief Inspector KennyMcDonald, said: "Trident, alongsideHaringey police, has worked tirelesslynot only to solve this murder butreassure the community that we willnot tolerate this kind of open gangwarfare on the streets of London.

"We will continue to use everyresource at our disposal to ensurethose responsible or involved in suchcrimes are brought to justice."

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contactpolice on 020 8733 4211 orCrimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Minicab driver jailedafter shootingCourt

Image: A

lexander Raths / Shutterstock.com


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News in brief

Rank consultationclosingTaxi drivers are invited to have asay about a proposal to put ataxi rank in Charterhouse Streetthis month.

The deadline for comments isJune 28 and anyone interested inadding to the debate should visitwww.surveymonkey.com/s/charterhousestreet

Charity gala dinnerThe 85th anniversary gala dinnerof the London Taxidrivers’ Fundfor Underprivileged Childrenwill take place on October 24.The reception kicks off at 6.30pmat the Guildhall and continueswith a three course dinner andlive entertainment.

Tickets are £95and anyone whowants to find outmore shouldcontact Michael Sonby phone on 07710388588 or emailat [email protected]

The sales figures for new cabs arestill a bit of a mystery to manypeople; even the traders anddealers are undecided about whythey are still so low. May saw 118new taxis join the ranks, with LTCtaking the lion’s share. It shifted 78

new TX4s, which matches almostexactly the number of Fairwaystaken off the road as a result of theage limit.

The low sales figures mean thereis an acute shortage of second handcabs on the market. This hasresulted in queues of taxi driversoutside TAXI house on publication

Trade

The cab you drivedays trying to get an early look atthe classifieds and get a head starton any cabs for sale. The shortagecontinues to push up prices andlow mileage, one owner 56, 07, 57,08 and 58 cabs are commandingprices previously only achieved byvehicles still in warranty. Thiscannot last and there is a small butgrowing trend of drivers, whohave previously only bought usedcabs, making the decision toupgrade to a new vehicle, ratherthan pay the hefty prices beingasked in the used market.

Many drivers losing cabs at 15years old make the mistake ofsimply assuming they will be ableto rent a cab in the short term,until they decide what to do, orwhilst they look for that elusivecab to buy. It’s only then that theydiscover there is no such thing as acab standing against a wall andthat many fleets have nothingavailable at all. So, if you have acab nearing retirement, plan well ahead and make sure youhave a back up plan to keep you working.

Buy a new

cab ASAP!

2 months togo till cab 15years is up


NEWS

News in brief

The 2013 Wimbledon TennisChampionships take place betweenMonday, June 24 and Sunday, July7, 2013 and the followingarrangements will be in place:

Southfields Stationn There will be a taxi rank for 19

cabs in Augustus Road, nearSouthfields Station, offeringshared taxi trips to thechampionships

n The taxi rank in WimbledonPark Road, near SouthfieldStation will not operate during the tournament

Wimbledon Stationn Shared taxi trips from the

Wimbledon station rank to theevent will be in operation

n Marshals are expected to be atthe Southfields and Wimbledonstation ranks in the morning ontournament days

n Passengers going to the tennisshould be dropped off at therank in Church Road, outsideGate 4

Wimbledon Tennis Club – Church Roadn There will be a rank for 30 taxis

in Church Road (outside Gate 4)where spectators will be able totake shared taxi trips toSouthfields and Wimbledonstations. The rank will alsooperate normally for passengerswishing to travel to centralLondon and other destinations.

n The rank will act as the drop-offpoint for all taxi passengers andstopping elsewhere on ChurchRoad is not permitted

Wimbledon Tennis Club –Somerset Roadn There will be a rank for eight

taxis in Somerset Road (outsideGate 13) offering shared trips toWimbledon station andoperating normally forpassengers wishing to travel toCentral London and otherdestinations.

n Marshals are expected to be atthe Church Road and SomersetRoad ranks from 5pm onwards

TfL is reminding drivers that

Trade

TFL Wimbledon taxi plan updatetaxis must not be left unattended onranks at any time.

Pre-booked taxis Two spaces in Somerset Road will beallocated for pre-booked taxis.

Shared taxi fares:For shared taxi trips betweenWimbledon or Southfields stationand the tennis the fare payable perpassenger is:n £2.50 for adultsn £1.25 for children between two

and 10 years oldn Children under two travel free

For journeys to other locationssharing is only authorised...n From the taxi ranks at

Wimbledon Station and onAugustus Road near Southfields Station to the tennistournament ground by Gate 4,Church Road

n From outside Gate 4 at the tennis ground to either of the two stations

n From Somerset Road outsideGate 12 of the tennis ground toWimbledon Station

CRB check changesDrivers now have to provide theirown criminal records checkinformation to TfL followingchanges brought in this month.

Disclosure certificates will nolonger be issued directly to TfL,following the merger of theCriminal Records Bureau andIndependent SafeguardingAuthority.

The newly created Disclosureand Barring Service (DBS) willonly issue the certificates toapplicants. TfL will only be toldwhether or not the disclosurecontained any information or wasclear. Drivers must supplydisclosure information.

TfL will write where necessaryto ask for the original certificate,which will be copied and returned.

Copies will be destroyed oncethe decision has been made.If no information is disclosed onthe certificate, drivers will nothave to take any further action.For further information contact theDBS at [email protected] 0870 9090811.


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CAUGHT ON CAMERA

The cab company which makes theTX4 has seen sales plunge by 10 percent, according to the latest figures.

Coventry-based firm ManganeseBronze said sales fell to 1,502 lastyear from 1,653 in 2010.

Its financial figures reveal a dividebetween London, where sales of its

Strap/subject areaCrash, bang,wallop…

Exactly as we thought

Scary driving lessons “Somebody call the accident investigators…oh”

“Don’t worry about it, no one will notice.”

How apt

THEWINNINGPIC!£30 PRIZE!

Entries for our Caught onCamera page keep pouringin and it seems to get harder

and harder to choose an outrightwinner.

But, there’s often a good chancethat anything showing our oldchums at Addison Lee in their truelight is going to be a contender.

This week’s recipient of the £30prize is the photographer whocaught the driver with the ratherunusual shaped object protrudingfrom the window. We are stillsifting through the many entrieswe have received in recent weeksand there are are always a highnumber of crackers, some of whichdon’t make it in TAXI immediately.

But keep your eyes peeledbecause we try to use as many aswe can in the weeks that follow.

Keep your eyes peeled and yourcameras, or phones, at the ready.Send your entries to us via theMMS line on 07908 640017 or emailthem to [email protected]

Caught!

Caught!

Is business really that bad?


GET SPOTTED!DiSPLAY YOUR LTDA DIARY & TAX

DISC HOLDER & YOU COULD WIN![ ]

Dudley: “Lucky day.”

Ali: “Fantastic.”

diary on display was the icing on the cake.

Dudley, from Beckenham, said:“Great. My wife will love those –she’ll think it’s her lucky day.”

Just when our spotters wereabout to give up on finding adriver using the LTDA taxi discholder, they found Ali Madadi, atthe rank by the green.

Ali, of Ruislip, said: “Fantastic!I’ll enjoy getting stuck into those.”

Each year we give away almost£8,000 worth of vouchers, so theodds of coming up trumps arepretty good. Just make sure youhave your LTDA membershipdiary and taxi disc holder ondisplay and let us do the rest.

won every fortnight!

£200M&S vouchers

DIARY WATCH

£100M&S vouchers

HOLDER WATCH

WIN

During a sudden break ingloom of our peculiarsummer, our diary spotters

hot-footed it over to Shepherd’sBush with a fistful of goodies.

It wasn’t too long before theystumbled across a taxi driversporting his LTDA membershipdiary in the windscreen of his cab.

But once again the tax discholders were a little harder tocome by – so be sure to use themto be in with a chance to win.

Dudley Gibbs, was alreadyhaving a good day when wefound him lining up at theWestfield rank.

But £200 worth of vouchers forhaving his LTDA membership

Dandy for Dudleyand amazing for Ali


JOIN FOR £16.80 PER MONTH WITH CA

LLIN

G A

LL C

AB

BIE

S

£12.80 ALLOWABLE AGAINST TAX!

LTDA

Name

Address

Postcode

Tel Mobile

Email

Date of Birth

Badge No. Green (G) or Yellow (Y) When obtained - Month Year

Have you been a member of the LTDA before? (Please tick) YES NO

Please tick if you DO NOT wish to receive information from the LTDA and other related organisations in the future I understand that my application for membership of the Association must be approved by the Council ofManagement and that a Share Certificate will be issued to me if my application is confirmed.

Signed Date

LTDA Basic DirectDebit InstructionsINSTRUCTIONS TO YOUR BANK/BUILDINGSOCIETY TO PAY DIRECT DEBITS:

To the manager of

Address

1. Please write the name and full postal address of yourbranch in the spaces above.

2. Name of account holder

3. Account number

4. Bank sort code

Bank/Building Societies may not accept instructions to pay Direct Debit from some types of account

5. Your instructions to the Bank/ BuildingSociety, and signature:

• I instruct you to pay direct debits from my account at the request of the LTDA LTD.

• The amounts are variable and may be debited on various dates.

• I understand that the LTDA LTD may change amounts and dates only after giving me prior notice.

• I understand that if any Direct Debit is paid which breaks the terms of this instruction, the Bank/ Building Society will make a refund.

Signature(s)

Date

Please complete parts 1 to 5 below to instruct your branch to make direct payments from your account.Then return the form to the LTDA, FREEPOST, (PAM 2005), London W9 2BR

Phone 0207 286 1046 now!Phone 0207 286 1046 now!

APPLICATION FORM

Originator’s Identification No.

For Office use only

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NEWS


A 92-year-old former RAF fighterpilot needs volunteer taxi drivers tohelp him get to his favourite clubafter a collapse left himhousebound.

Wing Commander Peter Knapton,a veteran of the Second World War,has been a member of the RAF clubin Central London for more than 60years and even walked there untilrecently.

Peter, who lives in Camberwell,also visited Downing Street earlierthis year to collect his long-awaitedArtic Star medal from the Primeminister but fears becomingisolated.

Volunteer carer Katrina Mezakvisits the veteran once a week andcontacted TAXI to get help for Peter.

She said: “One of Peter’s greatestpleasures until recently was visiting theRAF club in Hyde Park Corner severaltimes a week. He used to walk all theway there and more recently took thebus, but a couple of weeks ago he washospitalised following a collapse afterone journey.

“He is now back home but can’tcontinue taking public transport and isvery worried that he will no longer beable to see his friends and that he willbecome isolated.”

Peter said: “I have been a membersince 1949 – it’s been my second homein a way, it’s just good to get out andread the papers and chat to people.”

Peter was awarded the OBE, theDistinguished Flying Cross and alsoserved as air attaché in Iran,Bangkok and in Russia after the war.

He said: “During the war I was afighter pilot. I flew Hurricanes mainlyand also Spitfires. I flew across thechannel in 1941 and also against theJapanese in Burma. I was lucky to getthrough it. My plane was badlydamaged once and I had a couple ofengine failures that almost put theplanes out of control.”

Peter collected his Artic Star fromnumber 10 in March.

Around 1,400 merchant shipsdelivered vital supplies to the SovietUnion on 78 convoys between 1941and 1945 and the veterans’dangerous work finally receivedrecognition this year.

Charity

Peter said: “I was on the first convoyacross the Artic, before the PQ1s, orwhat were the first proper convoys.That was one of the most interestingtimes for me. It was after the Germansattacked Russia. Churchill decided wemust supply the Russians. We had totake the Hurricanes to Murmansk. I hadnever been outside of the Isle of Wightbefore.

“In 1917 my father had been due togo to fight the White Russians but he

Peter with his Arctic Star outside Number 10 on March 19

A war hero needs you

never went in the end and I alwaysthought it was interesting that he neverdid, but his son did.”

Katrina told TAXI: “He is delightfuland I hoped there might be some kind-hearted cabbies who would be willing tohelp on a voluntary basis, so that thiswar hero can carry on doing what heloves the most.”

Anyone interested in helpingPeter get from Camberwell to HydePark should email [email protected]

“Taxi volunteers do us proud.”

for lunch and musicalentertainment.

A one minute’s silence was held in remembrance and messagesof support from the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were read out to the diners.

Charity chairman, Richard Hudd,said: “Without volunteer London cabdrivers, who give not only their timebut also money, these outings wouldnot take place and every one should beproud of what they do. The charity andveterans cannot thank them enough.”

Two of the veterans in attendancewent on the very first trip 65 yearsago, the charity’s president, HarryJoel, and Bill Moylon.

Scores of war veterans took part inthe annual trip to Worthing thanksto volunteer taxi drivers arrangedby a lifeline charity.

The convoy of 110 cabs waswelcomed to the village of SouthHolmswood where the residentshad been making a slap up feast.

The event was organised by theLondon Taxi BenevolentAssociation for War Disabled,which was marking its 65th outingto Worthing.

The veterans were assisted fromthe taxis by cadets from nearbyMerchant Taylor's School, and theymade their way into the Civic Hall

Veterans’ day out successCharity


THE BIG ONE!The membership of the LTDA is 40 times greater

than some other driver organisations!

To learn more about LTDA benefits and current joining offerscall: 020 7286 1046 or visit www.ltda.co.uk

HERE’S WHY...

BADGESAFE SCHEME

The LTDA retains experienced barristers with specialist knowledge of the London cab trade. Normally when drivers accumulate 12 points on their licence they receive an automatic 6 month ban, but in the case of LTDA members over 90% of those represented by our barristers receive a ban of just 1 month or in most cases no ban whatsoever.

EXPERTISE = SUCCESS

The LTDA’s in-house lawyers are proud of their unrivalled record of court triumphs; in fact the rate of acquittals for members defended in court by the LTDA is 4 times higher than the national average. This unparalleled level of success is due entirely to the expertise acquired by the LTDA over many years of specialising in cab related legal matters.

YOUR FUTURE

The LTDA remains the only trade body resolutely opposed to the computerisation of the Knowledge of London testing system. (No to the quickie Knowledge campaign).

INLAND REVENUE ASSISTANCE AND ADVICE

Many drivers and accountants refer to the LTDA for specialist advice on Inland Revenue investigations. (Free to members).

SICKNESS AND ACCIDENT PROTECTION

When trouble strikes it’s comforting to know that you’ve got the strength of the LTDA around you. (Scheme available to members only).

LTDA HOLIDAY CLUB

Many members have saved thousands of pounds by taking advantage of special offers and prices (members only).

WIN £5,000 EVERY MONTH IN THE LTDA LOTTERY

12 big prizes every year, but you have to be in it to win it (members only £5 per entry).

ACCESS TO ‘SIMPLY HEALTH’

Great value health care from the LTDA. The Association pioneered this scheme in the taxi trade and it still offers the cheapest rates. (Special rates for LTDA members only).

HEATHROW OFFICE AND REPRESENTATION

Call in to the LTDA office at Heathrow, first door on the right in the canteen block. The LTDA’s representatives will give you a warm welcome. (Open to all).

WELFARE DEPARTMENT

LTDA officers make home visits to members who are in severe distress or with special needs and authorise contingency payments where appropriate.

RANKS AND HIGHWAYS REPRESENTATION

The LTDA has negotiated taxi access to most bus lanes and leads the way negotiating on issues that affect you, the licensed taxi driver.

GENERAL ADVICE

If you are new to the trade and you don’t know your `roader’ from your `legal’, give us a call. We’re always here to help. (Tel: 020 7286 1046 - non members are welcome to call).

24 HOUR TOUT LINE

Seen a tout in action? Take the details and phone them in, we will do the rest. (Tel: 020 7266 4769).

HEALTH AND SPORTS PROMOTION

We regularly run promotions with leading health and sports companies resulting in big savings to members.

LEISURE DISCOUNTS

Huge savings on weekend breaks at fine hotels and holiday centres. You will not believe these prices! (Members only).

VEHICLE MANUFACTURERSContinually representing members’ interests in disputes with vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.AUTHORITIES AND MEDIAThe LTDA is the largest and most respected driver organisation in the trade. We lead the way when negotiating with the Government, GLA, TfL, Police, Mayor’s Office, Heathrow, Rail Authorities, Local Councils and when dealing with all sections of the media.MEDICAL ASSISTANCEMany cab drivers are discovering to their cost that their licences are at risk due to the TfL’s interpretation of the new DVLA Group 2 Medical Standards. The LTDA has successfully challenged many decisions by the TfL to revoke members’ licences on medical grounds.FANTASTIC VALUELTDA subscriptions have not increased for 12 years! It costs just 4 quid a week to join the trade’s biggest organisation and 3 quid of that is tax deductible! (Payable monthly).

The LTDA legal service is the only trade scheme which

defends members for ALL alleged offences (traffic,

hackney or criminal), anytime, anywhere in the UK. Non members are advised to

check carefully the exceptions and exclusions contained

or imposed by other legal protection schemes circulating in our trade.

CAUTION


a PCN forblockingjunctionsevery day?

Then upsteppedJoe, one of theregularsand, whohappens to bea bus driver. Joedrives his bus upand down theFinchley Road mostdays of the weekand countered my remarks bysaying, ‘I’m afraid you’ve got thatwrong Alf. Ever since the yellow boxjunction opposite Waitrose-south boundhas been repainted, some 21 bus drivershave received PCNs in the last month’.

According to Joe, thesouth bound bus

stop oppositeWaitrose isonly about one

and a halfbus lengthsfrom theyellow box.

Consequently,when the lights

turn to green for thesouth bound traffic, if the

bus at the stop is slow to leave, thenthe bus behind finds itself on theyellow box!

That put me well in my place andwhile I don’t wish a PCN on any ofthe hard-working bus drivers, it’scomforting to know that we cabbiesare not the only fall guys fillingTfL’s coffers! n

I first started writing this pieceafter I – and many other LTDAmembers received an email from

‘battalion HQ’ warning us about thedangers if TfL got its way andpersuaded the government todecriminalise cycle lanes and cycleboxes. This was followed by anexcellent article in the last edition ofTAXI by our General SecretarySteve MacNamara, which explainedall the sinister implications should this happen.

This is such an emotive issue thatI felt compelled to write about it.Even though now it appears that theidea was floated by cycling czarAndrew Gilligan and was notactually pitched to TfL; it is anexample of how there is a constantstream of plans to milk the motoristand the need to be watchful.

Pull the udder oneWhen I read that TfL were applyingto the secretary of state fortransport, Patrick McLoughlin tohave the cycle lanes and boxesdecriminalised, being a bit of a legal dummy I thought, “that’s goodnews because then the ‘ol’ Bill’ won’t beable to nick us any longer.”But I discovered that, TfL simplywants to pass the job to the localcouncils and their vast numbers ofCCTV cameras!

The bottom line is that, if this ideaof decriminalising the cycle lanesand boxes had won support, we, asprofessional drivers on the roads ofour great city every day of the year,would have been knee deep in fines.At least the ol’ Bill acceptreasonable cause. Just half a front orrear wheel unwittingly placed inone of these ‘hallowed places’ wouldhave meant £60 PCNs flutteringthrough your letterbox at regularintervals! Never mind grumbling

about the fact that these cyclistsdon’t pay a penny piece towards theupkeep of the roads and that thevast majority of them break therules every time they are on theroad; this would be a massiveearner, which is no doubt why itseemed like a good idea at the time.In fact, it could well have been thebiggest ‘cash-cow’ ever. So when theDfT say they have no plans to bringthis in – let’s not forget all thefootball managers to have beengiven the full support of the board,before ending up out on their earsjust days later.

The cyclists would be happy with this, and they have a verypowerful cycling lobby in City Hall,and it would probably make TfLhappy too!

PS. With regard to my piece inTAXI 295, I no longer want to be anMP. I’ve got my eyes on the parttime job created by the Mayor’soffice for ex-journalist AndrewGilligan. As the Mayor’s cycling‘czar’ he comes in twice a week for£38,000 a year – now that’s whatyou CALL a job!

‘Money Box’ Junctions!There have been a lot of columninches in the London papersrecently about yellow box junctions,with many accusing the localcouncils of deliberately planningsome of these moneypits to make italmost impossible for drivers to getacross without falling foul of theCCTV cameras.

The biggest earner, according to arecent ‘Panorama’ programme, is theyellow box junction off Bagley’sLane and New Kings Road, which isestimated to catch around 100drivers EVERY day.

Yellow boxes were also the subjectof a recent chat amongst my golfingmates – many whom are cabbies – atthe bar in the ‘nineteenth’ hole.Apparently, one of the latest ‘nasties’to come onto the radar, is thejunction outside the Imperial Hotelin Russell Square. They don’t takeany prisoners here and a couple ofthe cabbies have copped a PCN withjust a whisper of a back wheel onthe edge of the box! I immediatelystarted on about it being unfair and why didn’t bus drivers ever get

“THE NIGHTMARE THATAWAITS IF IT GOES AHEAD NEEDS TO BEHAMMERED HOME TO ALLLONDON CABBIES

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Alf joins the chorus of fury at plans to fine drivers for entering cycle boxes

HAVEYOUR SAY!


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NEWS


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NEWS

The Boris bike scheme sponsorshipdeal should be renegotiated it hasbeen claimed after cycle hirenumbers fell by a fifth.

Around 20% fewer bikes werehired between March and May thanin the same period last year,according the latest figures.

It follows a doubling of the priceof hire at the start of the year, whichcritics say demonstrates it has notbeen paying its way.

Serco, which runs the scheme hasalso been fined around £5m forservice failures and there has also been a fall in customersatisfaction figures.

The drop in popularity meansBarclays pays less and the taxpayer foots more of the bill, aspart of the long-term deal which has already been described as“terrible” for Londoners.

Extending the scheme to EastLondon has not brought about acorresponding increase in the use of the bikes.

Labour MP for Harrow West,Gareth Thomas said officialsoverestimated “by millions of poundsthe amount of income the schemewould generate.”

He added: “It’s Londoner’s who aregoing to suffer, either by higher tubefares, higher bike charges or throughtaxes having to go up or other cutshaving to be made because this isn’tthe self-financing scheme” that it waspromised it would be.

Barclays covers less than aquarter of the cost of the schemeand in the first two years it paid alittle less than the £10m promised.

Last year the banking giant wasdue to pay around £6m but paidcloser to £5.5m. It has also beenallowed to extend its sponsorshipdeal from 2015 to 2018.

Transport for London said:"We're continuing to look atoperational costs, we're continuing tolook at ways of increasing performanceand making sure that we give both,best value possible to users of Barclayscycle hire but also to the taxpayer interms of funding it."

Boris bike hire dropTransport

There has been a fall in customer satisfaction figures

News in brief

Baker Street thieves on the prowlTaxis are being targeted byopportunist thieves at the rank inBaker Street who are strikingwhen drivers are caught short.

The latest victim had poppedinto McDonald’s to use the toiletand returned to find a passengerside window had been smashedand cards, a radio, and a coinholder missing.

Bilker alertA bilker wearing blue shorts fledwithout out paying a £14 taxi farefor a journey to Westbourne Terrace.

The thief, who has short croppedhair and is aged between 25-30 yearsold and is mixed race, hot-footed itinto a block of flats in the area.

LTDA Bilking Fund Don’t Lose out!

[ ]

Image: B

ikeworldtravel / Shutterstock.com


LETTERS

Where are you?

I am researching a relative ofmine, who is now deceased, but

who was a cabbie for many years.His name was Bert Barnard. He wasborn on February 1, 1922, and Ibelieve he drove a cab from the 70sto the 90s. I would like to hear fromanybody who has any stories to tellabout him.

Guy Humphreys, LondonContact by [email protected] or byphone on 02076820883

Watch out, bilker about

I would like to let you know abouta bilker that I encountered in the

early hours of Sunday morning onthe June 9, 2013. I picked up a manand woman at Tramp nightclub inJermyn Street, SW1. After droppingthe male off in Montpellier Terrace,the female asked to go toGlentworth Street, NW1. The farewas £21.00 and she told me shedidn't have enough money andneeded to get some more from her flat.

Foolishly, I let her out, though inmy defence she had chatted awayto me and I had no reason to doubther. It soon became apparent thatshe wasn't coming back. Luckily,there was a porter’s phone numberon the block, which I called. He wasvery helpful and told me it was flat132. I called the flat but the womankept saying that she didn't speakEnglish and told me to go away.

After about 25 minutes. She cameout and offered me £20. I informedher the meter was still on and thebill was now £40, and with mytrusty Hailo app I took the rest on a card.

I’m letting you know as thisseemed a well-rehearsed tactic andother cabbies may have beenbilked. The address was 132Clarence Gate Gardens, GlentworthStreet, NW1, if any of yourmembers have had this happenthey could get their money back.Drivers should also note theaddress in case of further attempts!

James CotonBadge No. 69256

Do you have a gripe youwant to raise or knowsomeone in the tradethat deserves praise?Contact us [email protected] orTaxi House, 11 WoodfieldRd, London W9 2BA

of traffic laws. I must also say Ilove the acronym TOBYs, it sorightly describes some of the moreoutrageous cyclists out there, whoappear to believe they were notonly born to rule but born to ignoreall rules of the road. I am convincedmany of them think that trafficlights and pedestrian crossing lightsonly apply to poor working peopleand not the wealthy cycling elite.

Tony RichardsChigwell

Hurray for common sense

Hurray! At last, an article and aname for the snobby cyclists

who think they own the road! Ihave written to the transportminister, let’s hope he sees senseand tells Boris where to put hisplans for more CCTV cameras.DavidShepherds Bush

‘Stop the TOBYs’

Ihave never written to a tradepaper before but felt compelled

to write in and agreewholeheartedly with the article bySteve Mcnamara about the selfishcyclists who turn every rush hourinto a scene from the Tour deFrance. Stop the TOBYs.Compulsory licensing and tests forcyclists is the only way forward.Martin WyndhamEssex

Anti-car initiative

I was appalled to read thepiece in your last issue about

the latest anti car initiative fromAndrew Gilligan and theTOBYs. (Editor’s note: Toffs onBikes, Ya)

London is supposed to be aworking city; the idea of re-engineering everything inorder that a few posh kids whocan afford to buy a flat in thecentre of town can rideeverywhere is madness.

In recent years, the sight ofpublic schoolboys (and a fewgirls) with strange names andeven stranger accents, ridingaround as if they have somedivine right to do exactly whatthey want because they are on a bike, has become all too common.

What is needed is active policeenforcement to protect these bluebloodied Toffs from killingthemselves on innocent motorist’sbonnets. Why isn’t silly Gilliganspending his very well paid fortime, trying to integrate cyclingwith the working commercialtraffic London needs instead ofspending public money onpandering to the few?

S StephensCamberwell

‘Born to ignore the rules’

How accurate your last featureon the out of control cyclists

was. I have lost count of the nearcollisions I have had with cyclistswho have no road sense or concept

Cycle box plans and TOBYs

BIKE LETTERS

★Star Letter:Cycle box plan is theft

This plan to decriminalise theentering of a cycle box is

sheer bloody madness. This hasnothing whatsoever to do withthe safety of cyclists but willmerely be a money makingexercise for the various councils.It would be far better if officialsdiverted their attention to thecyclists themselves, whoregularly go through red lightspurposefully and with impunity,knowingly travel along one waystreets the wrong way and also jump onto the pavementwhilst riding their bikes, if theyare unable to negate trafficconditions legally, therebyputting pedestrians at risk ofinjury or worse.

There should be some sort ofidentification on bicycles, such as

a number plate system. They shouldpay road tax and have insurance.Many cyclists would say motoristsare the bad apples, but if a situationdoes arise where the driver of amotor vehicle is at fault at least thereis a way of cyclists reporting them,given the amount of identificationthere is on all motor vehicles.Therefore, there shouldn't be anyunforeseen problems to take downthe relevant details. There is noidentification AT ALL with pedalcyclists, so if one of them damagessomeone's car or causes an accident,they have every opportunity tobugger off into the traffic or downsome side turning and get away withit scott free, no doubt laughing asthey make their get-a-way.

If the decriminalisation of enteringa cycle box goes ahead, it will in factcause accidents. Traffic lights changeas one is almost on top of a junction

all the time and to avoid enteringone of these boxes by accident, ifdecriminalising takes place, willcause drivers to slam on theirbrakes at the last moment. Theresulting situation is plain to see,even by an idiot, it will be adisastrous decision and downrightdangerous if it gets approval.Cyclists are the ones who need tobe educated in how to rideresponsibly and not pull in front ofvehicles from either side or gothrough red lights.

This application is literallynothing more than a way of forcinginnocent decent folk to have theirhard earned money stolen fromthem by a system which, if it goesahead, is dangerously flawed andin my opinion is nothing morethan legalised monetary theft.

Martin Biggins


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For all TX4services we use

genuine parts with Euro 5 Ring FreeUltra 10W/40 lowSAPS engine oil

MOT just

£19Appointment

only

Authorised VOSA VehicleTesting Station (MOT)

We have 5 testers, 2 bay fully automatic MOT test lane and can complete two vehicles at a time.

NEW PACKAGE: More extras added

£2300Reconditioned

TX4 Engine

5 years or 110,000

miles warranty

Subject to terms and

conditions

*All prices are subject to VAT

Universal Claims are regulated by the Ministry of Justicein respect of regulated claims management activities, CRM: 2152

TAXI ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Replacement Vehicle

020 8884 2525

You won’t have to do a thing...we’ll do it all for you.

CALL US IMMEDIATELY AFTERTHE ACCIDENT AND ALWAYSBEFORE YOUR INSURANCE

All spray work with6 years guarantee

(subject to terms & conditions)

24 HOUR BREAKDOWN: 07979 092 423

or

NO PASS NO FEE

Timing Belt2 pulleys & tensioner

£199Original parts

TX4 StandardService

£69Original parts


For a great deal visit justtaxis.com or call us on

01268 795895 0203 1190015

Why buy new when you can have a fantastic taxi nearly new?

Upgrade your cab today & get back that peace of mind!

t deal viFor a greaat isit axis.comttjus o all us onor c

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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 OwnC&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

Comcab radio circuits fitted in all TX4 loan cabs

Special Taxi deal: £7 for In & Out wash

Also our excellent emergency valet service is available for soiled vehicles.

From as low as £20 only.

Please

visit us

for a chat

and the usual

good car

wash

Your favourite car wash T2 car valet has moved from Chamber Street to

1 Quaker Street E1 6SN (Just off Commercial St)

T 2 – s i m p l y b e t t e r

We are now open 24 hours!

�

CAR WASH

Simply cut andpresent this T2 Half

Price Voucher toreceive a

50% discountat your

next visit.

(For Outside wash, In&Outwash or Mini Valet)

T2 Half PriceVoucher

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Cut me out!

1 Quaker Street, London E1 6SN T2 – Simply better

CAR WASH

Open 24 hours

NEWS


The Richmond town centreredevelopment is nearing itsend, although there are stillsome essential partsrelating to the taxi tradewhich are yet to becompleted.

We are still awaiting thearrival of the long delayed‘taxi shelter,’ and we havebeen constantly chasing thecouncil on this. Unfortunately, this also affects the placing of therank telephone, which is costing us work.

There seems to be someconfusion surrounding what ranksare available at what times, so Ithought it might be of some benefitto those drivers who are not quitesure, to outline these.The ranks open 24/7 are…n Station rank (4) facing southn Kew Road (17) facing northn Tesco (2) facing south

Night Ranks available between7pm-7am are…n The Odeon (3) facing South

n Whittaker Avenue (3) facing East

n RBS, the Quadrant (4),facing North

n O'Neill’s, theQuadrant (6),facing South

There is also aset down andpick uparrangement for these two

ranks and both Transport for London and theLTDA are working to make this rank timed.

Obviously, if drivers rank in othernon-specified areas they alwaysstand the chance of being nicked for‘illegally plying for hire,’ or otherparking violations. At the presenttime, the NCP car park by the rear ofO'Neill’s is under surveillance alongwith the Odeon.

With this in mind, drivers shouldbe more vigilant about moving upwhen spaces become available.

There is still an immense amountof work going on in other areas ofsector seven, and we will keep youupdated as things develop.

Richmond round-upTrade

Army scheme a big hitNational co-ordinator John

Senior said: "Our scheme is free tojoin, flexible and simple to operate,all we ask is that if you do join, thenyou show your open support toservice personnel in a way that isboth meaningful and appropriate.”

For more information on how to join the scheme and how to get a free Heroes Welcomewindow sticker visitwww.heroeswelcome.co.uk/heroes-welcome-in-london

Thousands of stickers supportingservice men and women have beendistributed to taxi drivers throughthe LTDA.

Heroes Welcome is an initiativewhich encourages individuals andbusinesses to give a smile and awarm greeting, or even a discount,to Army, RAF and Royal Navypersonnel.

The LTDA was the firstorganisation to back thescheme in Londonbut has nowbeen joinedby theLondonEveningStandard.

Businessesin London arebeingencouraged tosign up to aninitiative thatsupportsmembers ofthe armedforces.

By Steve Howard


HALVEY ENGINEERINGECO-TAXIS

BRAND NEW TXII ENGINESWhy pay £1,700 for rockers and chainwhen you can have a brand new out-of-the-crate genuine Ford engine for £2,500 fitted.

0208-312-2224

AlsoTX4 engine

reconditioned1yr warranty

for £2,300

All prices subject to VAT

WOOLWICH AREA

GOODRATES

CABS TO RENTTXI - TX4s

Buckinghams Seats

J V Bright Taxi Parts47-51 Great Suffolk Street

London SE1 OBSJV Bright Taxi Parts (0207 803 0803)

As of the 1st of September 2012 Buckinghams Seats are now part of JV Bright Taxi Parts - We will offer the same level of quality service. Call: 0207 803 0803

Recaro Express£645

Driver’s Seats from £84

Leather DriverSeat £240

Rear Carpets from £35All TX range & MERCEDES VITO

FRONT PADS FITTED FOR TX1 & TX2£40 AND TX4 £45 INCLUSIVE VAT

NEW VALVES AND BALANCING ON ALL TYRES

WE ALSO DO LASER TRACKING AND PUNCTURES

FREE TYRE INSPECTION OPENING TIMES: 08.30am – 17.30pm

NEW BARUM TYRES FOR VITO £80 FITTED

TIGERTyres

UNIT 14 PETERLEY BUSINESS CENTRE 472 HACKNEY ROAD LONDON E2 9EQ

Call now: 0207 729 5237

5%off with this

advert

STOCKISTS OF MICHELIN, AUSTONE AND REMOULDS FOR ALL FX AND TX

TAXIS. HI FLY / BARUMS AND CONTINENTALS FOR THE VITO TAXI

TAXI TYRE SPECIALIST

NEWS


After a long gap between my reportsfrom the front line of TX4ownership, which included onewell-documented company collapseand resurrection later, the Spy isback. My Euro V TX4 has nowcovered over 30,000 miles and so farhas only given me one slight hiccup,when for some strange reason a

pinprick of a hole appeared in thethermostat housing, which cost mean hour of my time.

I was on my way into work oneSaturday morning, weekendsproving to be the busiest days andallowing me take three days off inthe week, when a warning lightilluminated on the dashboard. Istopped and opened the bonnet tofind a fine jet of water squirting out

Business

The Spy in the LTIthe top of the engine and everythinglooking a bit wet and generally in abad way. My rudimentarymechanical knowledge led me to dothe only thing I know in thesecircumstances, call Mehmet themobile mechanic! Needless to saywithin the hour I was back at work,Mehmet having repaired the holewith some magic looking stuff fromhis van and the advice to get thethermostat housing changed withina few weeks, if you need him he ison 07738 430123.

This was shortly after LTC wasresuscitated by Geely and I didn’treally know what to expect when Icalled M&Os to get the housingchanged under the warranty withthe new company. They could nothave been better or made it anyeasier, their whole attitude wastotally positive and I felt like avalued and welcomed customereven though I wasn’t paying foranything! If this is the face of thenew company, long may it continue.Once word gets around about thenew regime at Brewery Road theywill see a lot of customers returning.“If this is the face of the new company, long may it continue”

DRIVER LICENCERENEWAL NOTICE

If your licence expires inless than four months it is vital that you contactTPH on:

0845 602 7000and request a renewalpack

Once the pack is receivedyou must submit yourapplication (especially the crb disclosureapplication) A.S.A.P.

Please refer to tph notices18/13 and 19/13 on theirwebsite for ‘official’ advice

www.tfl.gov.uk/businessandpartners/taxisandprivatehire/26858.aspx

Stop Press

London will be the first city to have digital rooftop ads

the streets in June.But rival Eyetease is also set to

launch a similar product thissummer after signing a deal withthe media firm VeriFone.

Taxi top advertising has had to pass a number of stringent teststo ensure it is safe for drivers andnot too distracting for pedestrians.

The panels use 3G technologyand are centrally managed, givingcontrollers the power to change theadvert at a moment’s notice.

The first fleet of taxis with digitalrooftop ads are expected to be on theroad before the end of the month.

Transport for London has giventhe green light to the technology,which will make London the firstcity to have approved rooftopadvertising.

BrightMove Media will be the firstcompany out of the starting blockswith 25 London black taxis hitting

Green light for taxi topsTrade


M & H Taxis Ltd 32 Verney Road, London, SE16 3DHTel: 020 7231 2735 Mobile: 07958 231 525Email: [email protected] Web: www.mhtaxisltd.com

Let's TalkTaxis!

M & H Taxis Fast & Friendly Garage

Servicing / MOT Checkno booking policy

Body Work

pride ourselves on the quality

Taxi RentalNew drivers always welcome with a number of TXI, TXII and TX4 to hire

at competitive rates

Let's T

Let's T

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NEWS


TAXI wants you!

If you have had an interesting orunusual career before turning tocab driving, then TAXI wants tohear about it.

Maybe you had a great rightfoot, battled to keep the streets freefrom crime, dazzled audienceswith your musical prowess, madepeople’s jaws drop with magic, orrescued damsels in distress fromburning buildings.

Whatever your formerincarnation, TAXI newspaper iskeen to publish stories comparingyour previous exploits to being

one of London’s finest.The best news is that we will

pay the author £50 for any that wepublish. So, what are you waitingfor? Put pen to paper or fingers tokeyboard and tell us aboutyourself and your working life.

If you are unsure where to start,just get in touch and we will giveyou all the guidance you need toget going.

Email us at [email protected] write to Taxi Newspaper, 11 Woodfield Road, London, W9 2BA.

1,300 charge points run by SourceLondon, a consortium of privatefirms led by TfL, but only one, inHackney, is said to be suitable.

There is only one “rapid” chargepoint which can replenish anelectric car to 80 per cent fullwithin 30 minutes.

Hamish Phillips, Green Tomatospokesman, said he was

amazed that Boris Johnsonwants clean air but has noplans to put any fastchargers in London in2013. He said : “Theinfrastructure is not in placeto run an operation like ours.

"Our cars are in use 12hours a day travellingbetween 120 and 150 miles. We can’t have them

standing idle.”The company is in

discussion withorganisations to install morerapid chargers on privateland in an effort to solve theproblem.

Trade

Electric minicabsscuppered

The launch of a fleet of electricminicabs in London has hit theskids because the electric pointsaround the city are the wrong type.

Green Tomato Cars had plannedto have its new fleet of 50 cars onthe road by June21, but wasforced to admitdefeat.

It now said thefirst of theChinese-builtcars won’tappear until latesummer at the earliest.

The minicabfirm has a fleet of300 Toyota Priushybrids, but isnow putting itsfaith in fullyelectric cars.

The capital has

Image: SA

C Paul O

ldfield / Crow

n Copyright/M

oD

Image: gceyre via Flickr.com


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

� Servicing for TX1 - TX4

� London Taxi Company Approved Diagnostic Equipment

� Overhauls-SGS Presentation

� Body Repairs including Non Fault Accident

� London Taxi Company Appointed Service Dealer

� Member of the L.M.C.P.A.

CAMBERFIELD TAXI SERVICES LIMITEDTHE HAM, BRENTFORD, MIDDX. TW8 8EZTel 020 8568 9643Fax 020 8758 2290Email [email protected]

Camberfield Taxi Services Ltd

London taxi company

Appointed

Service Dealer

Rentals & servicing

An empty wallet and some sad news can only point to one thing – it’s Monday

I DON’T LIKEMONDAYS


It brought tears to my eyes - but theglasses fitted - like a glove!

On the way home I got a phonecall and was told one of my veryoldest friends, Adrian, was seriouslyill in the Royal Free Hospital andthat he’d love to see me - I was bestman at his wedding. I knew he wasill, but not THAT seriously. Jo saidshe’d come with me, so we drove toHaverstock Hill, parked in the dankRoyal Free car park and made ourway up to the 10th floor. We foundmy old mate AJ in bed 18, chattingto an attractive lady friend. I hadn’tseen him for at least three years. Helooked terrible. I told him, and helaughed, wheezily. Between gaspsfor breath, he told me and Jo that hehad been diagnosed with prostatecancer a couple of years ago. Thecancer had spread, his heart rate

was 157 and there was fluid roundhis heart - hence the heavybreathing. For all that, AJ - who hadbeen a (medical) drugs salesman,with an extensive knowledge ofmedicine and medical procedures -he often regaled us with the gory,gruesome details of the operationshe had seen - was having a lucidconversation with Doctor Sue, oneof his old customers who’d alsocome up to see him. Jo and I evenmanaged to get a few laughs out ofhim, before we dashed back down tothe car park to avoid being clamped,but not before having a hug with AJand promising to visit him in acouple of days.

I was awoken early the followingmorning. A quiet voice told me -that we’d lost AJ in the early hours.Monday, Monday. n

Since I’ve become editor of mylocal community magazine,taking tutorials for my Open

University course, and attendingdoctor’s appointments all aroundthe home counties, I’ve been seen‘poncing around’ with a canaryyellow leather Filofax. Mind you, Ihaven’t - as the Americans mightsay - “gotten around to” filling in ALLthe important dates, but I havejotted down my birthday and theyear my pacemaker expires. Dateslike TAXI mag deadlines, dentalvisits and day to day livingschedules are noticeable by theirabsence. It can prove embarrassing,especially when you turn up for aparty or a local NeighbourhoodWatch meeting - seven years late.Although, this can easily beexplained by the fact that the Filofaxdiary is dated 2006 - the year Carolebought it for me from Filofax inConduit Street.

Anyway, last Monday wasexceptionally busy. Clutching myFilofax, I just knew it was going tobe hectic because my daughter-in-law Jo told the kids not to wait up! Ipunched a little known hamlet,somewhere between Watford andChalfont-Something-or-Other, intothe satnav and headed north. We were looking for a trading estatewhere an enterprising couple hadset up a business making icesculptures, and as it so happened, Jo was in the market for one,otherwise the trip would have beena bit pointless.

WeebleAbigail showed us around withwhat sounded like the shrill, wailingscreech of a chain saw cuttingthrough raw flesh, permeating theotherwise silent industrial estate. Itwas actually Gary, Abigail’s partner,drilling holes in icy hearts in thecouple’s sculpture studio, a smallstone-floored aircraft hangarcontaining a massive walk-in freezerand half a dozen tanks of freezingcold water. To demonstrate theefficacy of the cold water, Abi thrusta finger into an aluminum tank,which immediately turned blue.“Ah” she murmured, “just right,”and sharply withdrew the digit andstuck it somewhere to encourage her

blood to circulate again. Abigail continued our guided tour

by ushering us into the walk-infreezer. This was a mistake. My plastic Crocs welded themselvesto the floor and I teetered from sideto side like a Weeble, in a bid to freemyself, as my eyeballs fogged andmy beard frosted up. But, I didmanage to look around. There was abeautifully carved swan; tablecentre pieces with flowers lockedinside crystal ice-balls; frozen sweetbowls; a full-sized cocktail bar,complete with ice tumbler andshelves stacked with frozen hordes of mysterious bubble-wrapped effigies.

Gary rescued me and my Crocsintact and we continued our tour.Behind closed doors, Jo and Abihuddled over a brochure. Therewere lots of ‘oos’ and ‘aars’ and‘wows’ from Jo - whilst Abigailenthusiastically jabbed a frostbittenfinger at a calculator. I wrote out acheque for a fifty quid as a deposit,and we were back on our way downsouth to our next destination:Hampstead Garden Suburb and arendezvous with an optician.

A million dollarsFor the past three months, since myson Gavyn sat on my glasses andleft me with just 20/ vision, I’vebeen flicking my specs on and offmy forehead like a short sighted ear,nose and throat specialist examiningan owl. It was my own fault Isuppose. What a silly place to leavea pair of spectacles - on a table. Imean, anyone could just come alongand sit down ON a table.

Rachel, the optician, tempted mewith a range of designer spectacles.I swiftly selected a pair with a blue-ridged metal frame made by sometwo-bit company I had never heardof called RayBan. Rachel said theywere ‘perfect’ and Jo said I ‘looked likea million dollars’ - which after addinga range of add-ons, like LENSES,was about how much the glassescost. We tried on a pair for size andthey fell off. Rachel said I had a thinbridge and an aquiline nose....andthat my ears were very low downon my head. I asked Rachel if theydid plastic surgery, but she simplybent the arms and pinched the nose.

Two Fingers

AL FRESCO


Magri’sNOW OPEN!

snack bar

Opening hours5am-8pm Mon-Fri5am-12pm Sat

Located at City Airport

at the end of the taxi rank

Ideal for taxi drivers!

Delicious homemade food!

Yummy burgers,sandwiches, chips,and piping hot tea

and coffee...

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make to order!

Call us now on

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A new gadget sourced from the wonderful world of eBay quite literally causes blood to flow

TROUBLEAFOOT


Licensed to Chat

MUSHER MEG

leave me a shoe size smaller.By the time we get to the point

where I hand over my £35 paymentfor the session, the podiatrist hasworked up quite a sweat and isbreathing heavy; but not as much as Mr Meg would be, if he knew how much I was paying to get myfeet sweet.

During a spot of sofa shopping onebay last week, what did I stumbleacross? Only a device that claimedto remove hard skin in seconds, “ormy money back.” It cost £2.99 andpostage was free - so laughing like amaniac, at the thought ofall the £35s I wouldsave, I banged the Buy It Now button.

It turned upin the post lastSaturdaymorning andslid out of theenvelope ontothe breakfasttable, whereMr Meg wassat enjoying the Wickescatalogue, alongwith a frothycoffee and achocolate chippancake.

I had givenmyself a rareSaturdaynight offbecause we

had plans to go to a friend’shousewarming, but the three quidhard skin remover put a stop to allthat. Mr Meg and I spent theevening sat side by side on the sofasharing a footstool and a foul mood.Our feet were bandaged. We lookedlike a pair of geisha girls, except he

had stubble and Iwasn’t wearing

white make-up. Boil

washnumberthreewas in

progressto deal

with theblood

soakedtowels.

The threequid foot slicer

had turned outto be possessed.

With the gentlesttouch, its blade

slashed my heels tothe bone. Mr Megwatched in horror

before he threw theWickes catalogue

aside and snatched itfrom me. Not out ofconcern youunderstand, but toprove that being aman he could handlethe devilish gadgetbetter. He couldn’t! n

I know how Tom Cruise can gettaller, and stop using heel lifts –just grow the hard skin on his feet!

My hard skin adds almost an inchwhen it’s at its finest, and I swearthat I’m taller as I get older.

Summer will surely be here anyday now, and my twinkle toes areitching to emerge from the cabpedals and come out to play in flipflops and pretty sandals.

But before my feet can be seen inpublic, there are certain steps that Iendure to magic away the rind onmy trotters. And year on year theyare becoming more extreme.

My podiatrist is called Mr Kallos.Once I asked if he had made thename up because it was good forbusiness; he looked at me blanklyand replied “no.Why?” It would belike me calling myself Meg Fariah.

Mr Kallos used to prettify myyoung feet with lotion and massage.But now, when he sees me comingup the path, he reaches for his hardhat, goggles and power tools.

He starts our sessions with theapplication of some sort of Kango toblast my heels, and then he shavesmy feet and finishes off with asanding machine. All his efforts

“MY PODIATRIST ISCALLED MR KALLOS...IT WOULD BE LIKE MECALLING MYSELF MEG FARIAH

”


www.halfordsautocentres.com

If you’re a LTDA member looking for

your nearest Halfords Autocentre call

0800 037 0800 or go to www.halfordsautocentres.com

*Offers available on private cars. Proof of LTDA membership required. Offer ends 30/9/13

Halfords Autocentre is the

unrivalled team of experts

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and their vehicles.We strive to

provide a reliable garage that

can do every job, provides

good value, and is supported

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290 wholly owned garages.

Our highly trained accredited technicians use the latest diagnostics equipment and can repair or maintain any make or model of vehicle in line with manufacturer standards.

We have more ATA trained mechanics than any other independent garage group and we won’t be beaten on price.

Fantastic deals for LTDA members*

MOT for ONLY £29.50

15% OFF servicing

5% OFF all other Repairs

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In conjunction with the LTDA, Halfords Autocentres are pleased to offer all members MOT’s for just £29.50*


ROAD WATCH

COME AND VISIT US FOR A TRULY UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR

• CAB RENTALS: TX1’s – TX11’s – TX4’s

• BRAND NEW TAXIS ALL AIR-CONDITIONED

• FULL BACK-UP SERVICE

• ALL WORK CARRIED OUT FOR OWNER DRIVERS

• OVERHAULS – BODY SHOPS – TYRES

• PROMPT WHILE YOU WAIT SERVICE

• TAXI-METERS • TAXI-METERS • TAXI-METERS

• COURTESY CABS AVAILABLE ON ALL RADIO CIRCUITS

BEEN HIT IN THE REAR?

NOT YOUR FAULT?

NON FAULT CRASH

REPAIR SPECIALISTS

London’s first choice garage

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

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CRICKLEWOOD CARRIERS CAB COMPANYMidland Arches, Edgware Road, London, NW2 6NJ

[email protected] www.cricklewoodcarriers.co.uk

Selfridges Over ranking

Southampton Row/Kingsway U-turns

Brick LaneDo not mount the footpath, set down on the road

HarrodsZig-Zags behind the rank in Brompton Road and no U-turns

Great Marlborough Street Zig-Zags

Waterloo Road Zig-Zags

Hammersmith Broadway Over-ranking

Eldon Street Do not set down on Zig-Zags

Clapham High Street Zig-Zags

Bagleys Lane/New Kings Road Yellow box

Red RoutesTfL is actively enforcing yellow boxrestrictions

Tower Bridge 20 mph speed limit – average speed cameras

Limehouse Link 30 mph speed limit

Ganton Street No motor vehicles

SmithfieldDo not park in load in boxes, they areenforced by camera

A13 Average speed cameras in operation

Extreme Hotspot 1:Berkley Street J/W PiccadillyYellow Box Camera

Extreme Hotspot 2:Old Broad Street New no entry signs

MASSETT’SCAMERA

HOTSPOTS


NEWS

News in brief

‘Warden threatenedwith an axe’A man has been arrested forallegedly threatening a trafficwarden with an axe in Golders Green.

An employee in Menachembutchers said a man buyingmeat from the shop noticed atraffic warden approach his car.

The eyewitness said: “Hestormed out of the shop and startedscreaming and shouting at thetraffic warden. The traffic wardenwas saying sorry to him and tellinghim he could appeal.

“The guy then lost his head, ranto his car and got an axe out andacted as though he wanted to hit thetraffic warden with it.”

A member of the public wassaid to have stepped betweenthe warden and the man andtook the axe from him.

Koresh Dkik, 49, ofRavenscroft Avenue, appeared inHendon Magistrates’ Courtcharged with possessing an axeand using threatening wordsand behaviour.

A heartless traffic warden slappeda parking ticket on a grievingfamily’s funeral limousine asstunned mourners watched in disbelief.

The female warden issued thefine outside St Saviours Church, inLewisham High Street, as thefamily got out of the car.

A hearse carrying the body of the85-year-old deceased was rightbehind the car – which had been

parked briefly to let the family out. Nicki Dunphy, of Brockley-based

William Dunphy - Funeral DirectorLtd, said: "Everyone was outraged.

"She brazenly put the ticket on thecar when the family hadn’t even goneinto the church.

"We, and other funeral directors,have to stop to unload coffins and to letgrieving families exit the cars.

"There are funerals every week at StSaviours Church and dozens of otherchurches all over the borough and I'venever heard of this happening before.

Roads

Warden’s hearse fine ‘outrage’"People expect a bit of respect. "This isn’t just a public car." She added: "This is the third funeral

I have done for this family in a year. "It is just really sad for them." The family, parishioners and

even a passing bus driver tried toreason with the ticket warden, but to no avail.

Lewisham Council has sinceapologised for the distress causedand confirmed funeral hearses and Limousines are exempt fromparking restrictions in the borough.The parking ticket has since been cancelled.

Ms Dunphy, 43, who lives inSouthwark said: "There were dozens ofpeople shouting at her.

"She said, ‘I am doing my job’. "It was as if it was her against

the world." A Lewisham Council

spokeswoman said: “We apologise forany distress the issuing of this parkingticket has caused.

“Funeral hearses and limousines are exempt from parking restrictions and the Penalty Charge Notice shouldnot have been issued. It has now been withdrawn.” "It was as if it was her against the world."

Image: John.P. via Flickr.com

Phone 0207 286 10460207 286 1046 NOW!

LICENSED TAXI DRIVERS ASSOCIATION

£16.80PER MONTH

CAN YOU AFFORDNOT TO JOIN? ][

BUT £12.80IS ALLOWABLEAGAINST TAX

LTDAFIRST TWO MONTHS FREEFOR NEW MEMBERS

To complete our prizecrossword and be in with achance to win £50 send your

completed entry to Crossword

296, Taxi, Taxi House, 11Woodfield Road, W9 2BA beforeJuly 9. First name out of the hatgets the cash.

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD 294Across: 1 Ages, 3 Northern, 9 Lecture, 10 Wicca, 11 Teleprompter, 13 Oxcart, 15 Career, 17 Disingenuous, 20 Kapok, 21 Ennoble, 22 Peerless, 23 Twit.

Down: 1 Ablution, 2 Excel, 4 Ocelot, 5 Town planning, 6 Excrete, 7 Neat, 8 Pumpernickel, 12 Crescent, 14 Cripple, 16 Egress, 18 Oxbow, 19 Skip.

Crossword Competition!

Have a go atthis mediumlevel Sudokupuzzle. Fillthe grid sothat everyrow, everycolumn andevery 3x3 boxcontains thenumbers 1-9.

CROSSWORD NO. 296

DOWN 1 Den (4)2 Freshwater fish (6)3 Bed clothing (7)4 Turf (5)5 Delay (6)6 Supplement (8)12 Loathe (8)14 Concerto solo passage (7)16 Football player, in short (6)18 Narrow space (6)19 Cat, slang (5)22 Popular operating system (4)

ACROSS7 Office of the Pope (6)8 Compensation (6)9 Cut to fit (4)10 Fragrant (8) 11 Large cushion (7)13 Alternative (5) 15 A queen’s rule (5)17 Theft (7)20 Rotating magnetic coil (8)21 Pointed American plant (4)23 Principles (6)24 Colourful Mexican plant (6)

Just for fun

CongratulationsIssue 294 winnerMrs A Jordan, Hampstead

Follow @TheLTDA on Twitter for news, updates and warnings

PUZZLER40 TAXI |25 JUNE 2013 www.ltda.co.uk | @TheLTDA

"Medical costs are still soaring.But I heard of one private doctorwho's doing so well he canoccasionally tell a patient there'snothing wrong with him. Mycousin took his doctor's adviceand gave up smoking, drinking,rich food and sex. It worked. Hewas in perfect health till the dayhe killed himself."

"They say confession is good forthe soul. Judging by all thoselurid stories in the Mail OnSunday it's good for theircirculation too."

"My brother's high up in theJehovah's Witness movement. Infact, he's a Jehovah's key witness."

"TV is becoming too rude. Girlsare now doing on TV what theyused to do to get on it. Nudity isrife. I watched a show the othernight that showed more fleshthan a butcher shop.”

“I see Bruce Forsyth's coming backon Strictly Come Dancing. Poorfellow's getting as old as his jokes.No one has ever died laughing atone of Brucie's jokes, but he's diedregularly telling them."

"It's fascinating seeing all thegadgets they have on cars now. Isaw one advertised with threebuttons. One makes the windowscome down. The second makesthe seat come down and the third

makes the top come down; if only it had a fourth that made theprice come down. I recentlybought a car that was perfect formy wife. It came with pre-dentedfront bumpers."

"Everything's going so fast thesedays. I got on a plane at Heathrowand in less than seven hours itlanded in Las Vegas, which wouldhave been fine except I wanted togo to New York. Las Vegasfascinates me. They have thoseone-arm bandit machineseverywhere. Even in the toilets. I went to spend a penny and it costme a fortune. They are gamblingmad there. I phoned room serviceand they sent up a table and acroupier. I stayed at a veryexclusive hotel. It was so posh theymade you wash your hands beforeyou used the finger bowl. I sawBarry Manilow in cabaret at TheSands. He was billed as ‘TheCyrano with the piano.’ His nose isthat big, when he was born hismother thought they'd left thestork instead of the baby. When Iflew back to Heathrow thecustoms officer asked if I hadanything to declare. I said "yes,bankruptcy!"

"My wife and I thought we werehappily married till we took oneof those questionnaire tests inCosmopolitan. It seems that mostemancipated women today justwant to get out of the kitchen.”

Overheard by Brad Ashton

LLOONNDDOONN''SSPPRREEMMIIEERR TTAAXXII

SSEERRVVIICCEE CCEENNTTRREETXII TAXI RENTALS

FROM £170 PWFULL DIAGNOSTIC FACILITIES

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OVERHAULS FROM £250

INSURANCE APPROVED BODY-SHOP

NON FAULT ACCIDENT SPECIALISTS / TX4 REPLACEMENT COURTESY VEHICLE FREE RECOVERY SERVICE / NO EXCESS /

PERSONAL INJURY COMPENSATION

A13TAXIS LTD

Black Taxi Specialists

Tel: 020 8594 9080

Fax: 020 8591 7848

Email: [email protected]

15A River Road,

Barking, IG11 0HE

10%DISCOUNTON SERVICING

WITH THIS AD

A13


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

A selection of our numerousDistribution PointsTAXITAXI

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by anymeans electronic, mechanical or by photocopying withoutprior permission of the publishers. The views and opinionsexpressed in this publication may not necessarily be those ofthe publishers. Please note that the last day for inclusion ofClassified lineage advertisements is five working days prior topublication. No liability is accepted by the publisher shouldadvertisements not appear in the requested issue(s). Whilst thepublisher will take every care to ensure accuracy, no liabilitycan be accepted for loss or damage resulting from errors.

PUBLISHED BYLTDATaxi House 11 Woodfield Road, London W9 2BA T: 020 7286 1046 | www.ltda.co.uk

@TheLTDA

MANAGING EDITOR Steve StillT: 0207 121 0523, F: 0207 286 2494E: [email protected]

THE MASSETT FILE Richard Massett INTERNATIONAL NEWS Wim FaberTWO FINGERS Al Fresco TAXI TALK Alf TownsendOVERHEARD Brad AshtonLICENSED TO CHAT Musher Meg

PRODUCED BYCentury One Publishing ltdAlban Row,27-31 Verulam RoadSt Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 4DG.T: 01727 893 894, F: 01727 893 895E: enquiries@centuryonepublishing.ltd.ukwww.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk

DESIGN & PRODUCTIONSarah Astington

ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVEDave ChallenorT: 01727 739 196E: [email protected]

PRINTED BY Century One Publishing Ltd

COVER IMAGE Karsan and Shutterstock

CENTURY ONE PUBLISHING IS THE UK’S BRIGHTEST AWARD-WINNING CONTRACT PUBLISHING AND ADVERTISING SALES AGENCY. WE WORK EXCLUSIVELY

ORGANISATIONS GENERATING ADVERTISING REVENUESAND MANAGINGALL OR PART OF THE PUBLISHING FUNCTION

WITH MEMBERSHIP

To plan your ad campaignin TAXI magazine contact:Dave Challenort: 01727 739 196e: [email protected]: www.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk

CLASSIFIED


CLASSIFIED

CABITAL TAXIS

Cab rental Hotline 07940-021014

CABITAL TAXIS07940-021014

ask for Tom or Charlieemail [email protected]

MEM’s 24hr Breakdown Service � Spare Cabs always AvailableEstablished 1970

� Best rental Company by Far �� Great choice of Quality Cabs �

� Mercedes Vito �� Rental Prices to suit all �

Garages in Bethnal Green and Hoddesdon

CALL: 020 8885 1844 / 07956 514179 WEBSITE: www.gandhtaxis.comEMAIL: [email protected]

G&H TAXIS FLEET RENTAL

DON’T DELAY CALL THE TAXIS TEAM

WE HAVEMOVED!

518 KING ST, OFF BRUCE GROVE, TOTTENHAM N17 8AWEstablished 1993

BEAT THE RECESSIONTXI from £180 per week TX4 from £215 per week

• OVERHAULS • SERVICING • BODY WORK

• PAY IN AT ANY BARCLAYS BANK

• 24 HOUR RAC BACKUP

Est

20years

RANDELL CABS LTD

Call John on 07535 924370 or Paul on 07508 423769

TX4'S AVAILABLE NOWExcellent customer service with the best

maintained cabs in London

• Modern air conditioned fleet • Spare cabs• National RAC cover • Based in Bow

Cabs for RentAccountants

Cabs for Rent

Great Deals for Great Drivers!Dennis 07775 931 439

“C US 4 CABs”Quality Rentals from £165 p/w

Full Back up 24/7Spare cabs

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Tyres from £37.50Recovery Service Available

Vito for £240 per week

BUTLER’S

GARAGE: 0208 648 2444RENTALS: 0796 098 2507

Mitcham & surrounding areas

Black Taxi ServicesOVERHALLS � SERVICING � REPAIRS

TYRES � CAB RENTAL

TXI, TXII, TX4’S � FULL BACK UP 24-7

Cabs for Rent

Advertise herein TAXI magazine

Century One PublishingCALL DAVE ON 01727 739 196


CLASSIFIED

Imag

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PREMIERCABS

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CD player,

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All aboutthe service

Own garages in

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Call today: 020 8740 7444 / 07786 025814

CABS WANTEDURGENTLYCASH BUYER

ALL TXI’s, TXII’s and TX4’s

PLATED OR UNPLATEDContact John on 07956354671

[email protected]

CALL MATT ON: 07547 544226 or 020 8740 7444

WE BUY ANY CAB OR FLEETFAIRWAY TO TX4 • BEST PRICES PAIDNOBODY BUYS MORE CABS IN LONDON THAN US OVER 50 CABS BOUGHT WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS

Thinking of selling your cab?

Want the best price?Fairways, TXIs and TXIIs wanted!

Ring 078 8937 8639Non-runners considered

TAXIS WANTEDBEST PRICES PAID

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Cabs for Rent

Cabs for Rent

Cabs Wanted

Kingston & Wimbledon TaxisTaxi MOT check and testing from March 2013

Fast fit servicing appointments for TXI, TXII & TX4Mechanical repairs & servicing

Lucus & Cygnus meter agents - please book & bring your log bookGarage services open mon /fri- 8am to 5.30pm & sat 9-12.30pm

Taxis for hire from £170.00 ,all taxis available from our large fleet

Mercedes front & rear discs & pads for only £320.00 + vat

TX2 Battery £85.00 + vat Tyres £52.00 + vat Bodyshop for accident repairs - CCTV for your insurance reduction

Non fault accident specialists-no excess to payWe buy all Taxis at top prices

The Dell, Clayton Road, Chessington, KT9 1NNJust off the A3, at the Hook turn off

0208 391 1600 [email protected]

Please contactCentury One Publishing

Call Dave on01727 739 196

PLACE YOURAD HEREIn TAXI

magazine


CLASSIFIED

MARBLE ARCH INN49 Upper Berkeley Street

Marble Arch - London W1H 5QR020 7723 7888

£10 Commission Paid Per RoomSingle Ensuite £70 - Double/Twin Ensuite £80

Triple/Family Rooms Also Available

DOVER HOTEL44 Belgrave Road

Victoria, London SW1V 1RG020 7821 9085

Arin GarageCab hire, Running repairs, Overhauls, Crash repairTXII, TX4 Engine rebuild specialists

� TXIs, TXIIs, & TX4s £160-£200 pw

0203 069 8352 / 07951 321566 / 07951 110152Devon Wharf, Leven Road, E14 0LL

CabsAvailable

Now

� TX4 Reconditioned Engine £1,900(2 Year or 50,000 miles warranty)

� TXII Reconditioned Engine £1,800(2 Year or 50,000 miles warranty)

Power Steering Specialist Ltd

� STEERING BOXES/PUMPS FOR TX1 TX2 TX4� POWER STEERING REPAIRS� TAXI NISSAN BOX� MERCEDES VITO RACKS/PUMPS� TX STEERING COLUMNS� FITTING SERVICE AVAILABLE

CHARLTON, LONDON Call: 0208 858 0168

Wright MOT Centre Limited

Drivers WantedTXI’s to Vitos – Full Back Up

Competitive rates

Running repairs, MOT’s & Bodywork

Commissions Drivers wanted

Services and Repairs

LTDA Branch Meetings

Services and Repairs

LTDA Branch Meetings

SW and SE NW and NEFirst Monday of

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May, June, Nov

Last Tuesday of Jan and last

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Advertise here in TAXI magazine

For all your TAXI advertising requirements contact

Century One PublishingCALL DAVE ON 01727 739 196


LINAGETXI & TXII’S from £160 p/w. VITO’s£210 p/w. RAC Cover. No Adverts.Garage Back Up. Essex Area. Call 01708 373 786

TXIS FROM £170pw, TXIIs from£180pw. 24hr back-up system, Cleancabs – 02076132436, 07947644541 or07702221672

TXII FROM £160 p/w, AA Back Up,South East London Area – 07809 477977

TXII SILVER, Black, No ads, Full Flat,Back-up, AA cover, £185pw – Call Nick 07786 374543

Cabs for Sale

TXI, T-REG, Red, 1 year’s Plate &Meter, Taxed until end of June,Supersides, Romford, Owner retiring,£4,500 – 01708 700375

TXII, BLACK, VGC, ’52-reg, £-Pleasecall - 07710 111107

TX4 ELEGANCE, ’61-reg, Charcoal Grey, Carpet Pack, ParkingSensors, 50,000 miles, ExcellentCondition, New Radiator, Plated untilJanuary, FSH, 18 months Warranty,£26,000 ono – Call Daniel 07534 899405

TX4 GOLD, ‘08, 1 owner, 160,000Miles, £17,995 – 07817 458565

TX4 SILVER, ‘56, FSH, 2 owners,£14,250 – 07916 811245

Accountants

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTSspecialising in the taxi trade.Accounts and tax returns £295inc.Based in North London & City. Home visits. Call Andy Belej02083601446/07967444687

Air Conditioning

MOBILE AUTO air conditioningservice and repair for taxis, Londonand beyond, Telephone Nick on07785900006 7 days

Cabs for Rent

A TXII ’05 is available, Please phone07947 726396 / 0207 474 9302 / 07810 117207

CHEAP TAXIS – TXIs/ TXIIs / TX4sfrom £150pw, Full Back-up, BethnalGreen, Call Eric 07766542798

DRIVERS WANTED, Welling (Kent)TXIs to Vitos, Spare cabs available -Call Martin 07956521420

E16 RENTALS - TX4s available -Lenny 07957465423 / www.e16-taxirentals.co.uk

ROMFORD BASED TXIs, TXIIs &TX4’s. Spare cab/Comcab, OwnWorkshop & Bodyshop, AAbreakdown cover, From £160pw –01708347288 or 07932740902

CLASSIFIED

Cabs Wanted

Cabs Wanted

AUSTIN FX4 or nice Fairway taxi.Also chrome bumpers wanted. Cashwaiting, quick viewing & decision.Graham 07435 [email protected]

CASH PAID for all TXIIs and TX4s -020 8150 7560

FAIRWAYS AND TXIs taxis wanted,instant decision - cash paid. Tel: 07973335739 or 01253407500

Drivers Wanted

DAY/ NIGHT driver wanted for TX/ ’09 Vito, Changeover Harrow/ Stanmore/ White City/ Paddington, Full back-up – 07549 102030

TX4, FRI/Sat/Sun, Permanent,Parking Available, Dartford Area,£100 – 07956 436593

Items for Sale

APPROXIMATELY £4,000 worth ofTX taxi parts including a mediumsized Space Heater & a Beam Setter,£1,500 ono – Ask for Roy 07909 082129

Reg for Sale

S123 CAB, £600ono - Call Michael 07710 111107

Special Job

RELIABLE TAXI drivers required,Black coloured Cabs, Noadvertisements/ liveries, Requiredfor Saturday wedding bookings,Good rates, Quick payments. Other work also available – Call Mike 0203 004 4953

Witness Appeal

INCIDENT IN CHELSEA HARBOURon 30/3/13 at 15.30, Barrier camedown on Silver Vito, CriminalCharges Pending, If you witnessedplease call 07989 146288

LINAGE RATES:Up to 10 words £20, up to 20 words £30, up to 30 words £37,up to 40 words £40

(Plus VAT)

To book your linage inTaxi contact

Dave on 01727 739 196

or [email protected]

PLACE YOUR LINAGE IN TAXI ISSUE 297

BOOK BY WEDS 3 JUL

CALL DAVE ON01727 739 196

To plan your ad campaignin TAXI magazine contact:

Dave Challenort: 01727 739 196e: [email protected]: www.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk


See your city’s future in the Crystal

London’s new attraction, the Crystal, is the world’s first centre dedicated to exploring our urban future and is housed in an iconic building at Royal Victoria Dock.

Through interactives, films, animations and installations, the exhibition at the Crystal encourages us to change the way we all think about our cities and explores a range of learning activities and discovery. Ask about our tours.

In addition the Crystal offers:

Waterfront café and fully licensed lounge, serving fresh and sustainably sourced food

Unique new space for meetings, entertaining and educating with panoramic views across Royal Victoria Dock

270-seat auditorium with state-of-the-art audio-visual and wi-fi

Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm,

Royal Victoria DLR, 15 minutes from London Bridge.For more information go to thecrystal.org

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1-12 TAXI 296 TAXI 345X250 · 2 TAXI |25 JUNE 2013 | @TheLTDA NEWS “From a famine to a feast”...

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Transcript of 1-12 TAXI 296 TAXI 345X250 · 2 TAXI |25 JUNE 2013 | @TheLTDA NEWS “From a famine to a feast”...