On Mon, Dec 01, 2008 at 08:18:52PM -0000, wrote:

The Mercedes can make U-turns better, one driver told me. IIRC, it is
because the rear wheels can also turn to a degree.

It's basically a converted small van. A driver told *me* that they had
to make the rear wheels turn because otherwise the turning circle
wouldn't be tight enough. He didn't vouchsafe to me how he got this
insight into Mercedes' manufacturing :-)

He also told me that he quite liked the one he'd tried, except for one
thing - he thought that because it didn't look like a taxi, customers
wouldn't hail it.

Isn't there some Peugeot thing that's also been approved?

--
David Cantrell | top google result for "internet beard fetish club"

I caught myself pulling grey hairs out of my beard.
I'm definitely not going grey, but I am going vain.

On 30 Nov, 20:06, wrote:
I thought that the Benz Vito was simply an option, and that there are no
plans to get rid of the standard designs.

It's ultimately not up to TfL. Any manufacturer can ask TfL to approve
a design, and if it meets the specs then it's allowed. It's just up
until now, only the LTI designs have been on the list. I'd be
surprised if UK/EU competition rules allowed them to do it any other
way.

(though that makes wonder how the BorisBus will be contracted, given
there's surely only going to be one manufacturer of them)

U

On Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:35:58 -0800 (PST), Mr Thant
wrote:

(though that makes wonder how the BorisBus will be contracted, given
there's surely only going to be one manufacturer of them)

Because it'll be a bulk purchase either by TfL or the bus companies,
it'll probably go out to tender. This is a rather different situation
than taxis, where a lot of drivers also own their vehicle and can thus
purchase whatever they feel like so long as it fits the spec.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

London is one of the most beautiful and happening cities in the world. Tourists from different parts of the world visit here to explore its beauty and charm. If you are planning to visit London this vacation, make sure that you book London taxis ahead of time. Taxis act as an important link in the London's transportation network.

wrote in message
...
Was in London today when I saw some kind of mercedes vehicle with taxi
light on the front. I first though that it was an out of town one on
a London job but no on the back was the PCO plate.

So basically that is the end of the old London taxi. The iconic
design has been around since I dont know when. I am surprised that
there has not been any fuss about it like the end of the routemaster.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The current tarriff for London taxis is ridiculously overpriced & that's
because the operating costs & the price of the vehicle are far too high
"approx" £35,000,my friend who is a licensed cabby was telling me that with
the current economic downturn the first thing that the public have cut back
on is riding in cabs,why not have licensed tuc tucs working at a fixed price
betwen destinations that way three people sharing could get arond London far
cheaper then buses or trains.

"RobWilton" wrote in message
...

The current tarriff for London taxis is ridiculously overpriced & that's
because the operating costs & the price of the vehicle are far too high
"approx" £35,000,my friend who is a licensed cabby was telling me that
with the current economic downturn the first thing that the public have
cut back on is riding in cabs,why not have licensed tuc tucs working at a
fixed price betwen destinations that way three people sharing could get
arond London far cheaper then buses or trains.

They tried tuc tucs in Brighton, but it didn't work out.

My guess is that HSE would have something to say about tuc tucs plying
London streets.

In message ,
writes
"RobWilton" wrote in message
...

The current tarriff for London taxis is ridiculously overpriced & that's
because the operating costs & the price of the vehicle are far too high
"approx" £35,000,my friend who is a licensed cabby was telling me that
with the current economic downturn the first thing that the public have
cut back on is riding in cabs,why not have licensed tuc tucs working at a
fixed price betwen destinations that way three people sharing could get
arond London far cheaper then buses or trains.

They tried tuc tucs in Brighton, but it didn't work out.

My guess is that HSE would have something to say about tuc tucs plying
London streets.

You can say that again. If you'd seen the reports on the safety (or lack
of) record of the Tuc Tuc's you'd be very worried. There was even one
occasion when one of these turned over. The owner of the company tried
to put a positive spin on the whole incident by claiming that the fact
no one was injured showed that the 'safety enhancements' (seat belts
required by law) he'd had fitted to the vehicles had made then safer. He
conveniently overlooked the fact that the thing had turned over at a
relatively low speed and it was just luck that there was no serious
injury - unlike the poor soul who is (was?) in a semi vegetive state as
a result of an accident that occurred in Queen Street, Brighton


--
Mike Hughes
A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton
at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England
Interested in American trains real and model?
Look here http://mikehughes627.fotopic.net/

"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message ,
writes
"RobWilton" wrote in message
...

The current tarriff for London taxis is ridiculously overpriced & that's
because the operating costs & the price of the vehicle are far too high
"approx" £35,000,my friend who is a licensed cabby was telling me that
with the current economic downturn the first thing that the public have
cut back on is riding in cabs,why not have licensed tuc tucs working at
a
fixed price betwen destinations that way three people sharing could get
arond London far cheaper then buses or trains.

They tried tuc tucs in Brighton, but it didn't work out.

My guess is that HSE would have something to say about tuc tucs plying
London streets.

You can say that again. If you'd seen the reports on the safety (or lack
of) record of the Tuc Tuc's you'd be very worried. There was even one
occasion when one of these turned over. The owner of the company tried to
put a positive spin on the whole incident by claiming that the fact no one
was injured showed that the 'safety enhancements' (seat belts required by
law) he'd had fitted to the vehicles had made then safer. He conveniently
overlooked the fact that the thing had turned over at a relatively low
speed and it was just luck that there was no serious injury - unlike the
poor soul who is (was?) in a semi vegetive state as a result of an
accident that occurred in Queen Street, Brighton
-------------------------------------------------------
There was even one
occasion when one of these turned over. The owner of the company tried to
put a positive spin on the whole incident .

Turned over.....Positive spin!! AH, the old ones are the best eh,Mike.

In message , RobWilton
There was even one
occasion when one of these turned over. The owner of the company
tried to put a positive spin on the whole incident .

Turned over.....Positive spin!! AH, the old ones are the best eh,Mike.

LOL that's what I keep telling my wife. Trouble is she says there's old
and then there's me. I'm not too sure what she means :-))

--
Mike Hughes
A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton
at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England
Interested in American trains real and model?
Look here http://mikehughes627.fotopic.net/

"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message ,
writes

You can say that again. If you'd seen the reports on the safety (or lack
of) record of the Tuc Tuc's you'd be very worried. There was even one
occasion when one of these turned over. The owner of the company tried to
put a positive spin on the whole incident by claiming that the fact no one
was injured showed that the 'safety enhancements' (seat belts required by
law) he'd had fitted to the vehicles had made then safer. He conveniently
overlooked the fact that the thing had turned over at a relatively low
speed and it was just luck that there was no serious injury - unlike the
poor soul who is (was?) in a semi vegetive state as a result of an
accident that occurred in Queen Street, Brighton

What happened at Queen Street?

Was there no effort to check the safety of the tuc tucs before they went
into revenue service?