David Cantrell wrote:

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

No.

In message , neverwas
writes

The only reason that the TX has a monopoly is because alternative
vehicles simply were not bought in enough volume to make a profit.
That was frequently because they had more problems that the FX/TX
range. Whether the Merc will be able to continue remains to be seen


Is there any talk yet of issues of recognition/branding with the Vito or
anything else other than TXs? Until now the distinctive
shape of the vehicle has been a pretty good guide to it being a licensed
taxi. (I suppose Prince Philip, Stephen Fry et al may have had to get
used to people
waving at them - or possibly trying to open the doors at traffic
lights.) In contrast there are plenty of other vehicles including many
private hire vehicles which look like the Vito. Will the orange
stickers on the early Vitos be a fixture- so we might perhaps end up
with London [partly] orange cabs in place of the traditional black?

I have seen the new Mercs being passed by as customers didn't recognise
them as a taxi, but as more appear that will become less of a problem.

There was one opposite reaction I've seen. I was at Heathrow (T2) on
night when someone ignored my offer of help with her luggage (I was 3rd
turn), passed the first taxi without any comment and then went up to the
2nd cab which was a Merc in the mistaken belief that he was a mincab and
would offer her a cheap price to Abbey Wood! She left without a taxi.

(And while I'm here, I'm sorry my comment "I don't see what merits the
TX4 has over it" was
unclear. I have no view one way or the other really; I intended only to
offer an alternative to the OP's regrets
about losing the traditional style. And, as was manifest, I didn't know
about the prospect of manufacturing going offshore.)




--
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/

wrote:
In article ,
(Colin McKenzie) wrote:
Difference between tonne and ton? RMLs were always labelled as
7t15cwt - so your figure is high unless the replacement engines
were half a ton heavier than the originals. RMs were 7t5cwt.

RMLs are definitely over 8 tonnes now. Now I think of it, it was RMs that
were 7 tons 15 cwt.

See http://www.routemaster.org.uk/faq_fandf.html, and other sources.

The only types over 8 tons when new were the RCL (with a bigger engine)
and FRM (with a rear engine). I think the FRM was lighter than any other
rear-engined double-decker used in London.

I'm not arguing about what RMLs weigh now - I haven't looked. But 8
tonnes is 1.6% less than 8 tons.

Colin McKenzie

--
No-one has ever proved that cycle helmets make cycling any safer at the
population level, and anyway cycling is about as safe per mile as walking.
Make an informed choice - visit www.cyclehelmets.org.

"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?

"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
...

The new Mercedes is not priced significantly lower than the TX4. It is a
new vehicle which has yet to have some serious mileages so there is not
yet any data of the longer term, higher mileage statistics for this
vehicle.

Is there no other data that they can compare it to? Do the Vitos have a
track record within Germany?

A friend of mine had a Merc Vito fitted as a taxi in Brighton about 6
years ago. It was not the present model and did not have the electrically
operated doors, steering, etc so it is not possible to make a direct
comparison.

Can the driver operate the doors for passengers, as in Japan?

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

But you have to stop to engage the rear steering and be travelling at less
than 5 mph for it to work - not so useful when you want to get out of the
way quickly to avoid traffic coming towards you in some instances.

Fair play.

"David Cantrell" wrote in message
k...
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.

That's what I've always thought.

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.

I heard similar concerns, including that people would think that it's from
out of town.

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

The new Mercedes is not priced significantly lower than the TX4. It is a
new vehicle which has yet to have some serious mileages so there is not
yet any data of the longer term, higher mileage statistics for this
vehicle.

Is there no other data that they can compare it to? Do the Vitos have a
track record within Germany?

The Vito itself has a track record as a van and people carrier but the
rear steering is new and there can be no record as such (but see my
comments about an older Vito used as a taxi in Brighton

A friend of mine had a Merc Vito fitted as a taxi in Brighton about 6
years ago. It was not the present model and did not have the electrically
operated doors, steering, etc so it is not possible to make a direct
comparison.

Can the driver operate the doors for passengers, as in Japan?

Yes they can and I have ti say that is a good feature.

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

But you have to stop to engage the rear steering and be travelling at less
than 5 mph for it to work - not so useful when you want to get out of the
way quickly to avoid traffic coming towards you in some instances.

Fair play.




--
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/

In message ,
writes
"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?

The vehicle overturned, the passenger was thrown out and suffered head
injuries.

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

The whole affair seems to have been covered in some sort of 'fog' in
many ways. They could net get licensed as taxis but managed to get
licensed as 'stage coach' buses. The owner, Dominic Ponniah, had been a
Tory candidate for a parliamentary seat in Leeds. VOSA's headquarters is
in Leeds. There were a lot of unusual 'coincidences'. One thing for sure
is that the company broke several of their licensing conditions and were
fined heavily.

The whole thing had a great deal of controversy to say the least

--
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/

In article ,
(Mike Hughes) wrote:

And finally, what's the uptake on the Mercs been like?

They hope to have 150 in service by the end of Jan

Out of, how many licensed cabs is it? 22,000?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article ,
(Adrian) wrote:

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.

Yep, I can see that being an issue - those sort of van conversions
are in widespread use elsewhere as minicabs - and just as Joe
Public's been thoroughly trained that in London "Black Cab" = Taxi,
anything else = minicab/not hailable/driven by unininsured perverts
& rapists...

There are lots of converted vans licensed as hackneys in Cambridge, and no
doubt elsewhere, especially where wheelchair accessibility is taken
seriously.

--
Colin Rosenstiel