An unprecedented wind of change is blowing through the London cab trade
which, whether you like or not, is set to revolutionise an industry which
has virtually stood still for more than forty years. My views on the
subject are well documented and I will not bore you by repeating them in
Call Sign, but one thing is certain; nothing stays the same for ever, not
even in the strange surreal twilight world of Taxi-land. Change is
ultimately inevitable. So what's new?
Firstly the minicab industry is finally set to come out of
its closet and by God they're keen. London will join the rest of our once
proudly united Kingdom and finally have a fully legalised two-tier cab
trade. Please note, by the way that I used the term 'cab' and not 'taxi'
because they won't be proper taxis, will they? No, they will be operating
modern luxury saloons or state-of-the-art multi passenger MPV's doing up
60 miles a gallon and costing less than sixteen grand to buy. More than
capable of cruising effortlessly and perfectly quietly at sustained high
speeds, fitted with all the latest gizmos such as ABS, climate control and
maybe that 'Knowledge know-all pretender' satellite navigation. No, not
proper taxis...?
Then there's the sudden lack of choice bought about by the
threatened demise of Metrocab whoops, I promised the Editor I wouldn't get
political, but was there ever really a genuine alternative? As I write
this article, cabbies in London don't need a pin and blindfold to pick
their next new taxi, fate or karma has chosen for them.
And finally there is the PCO which itself is undergoing a
process of regeneration and reinvention as part of Ken Livingstone's GLA
or more specifically, Transport for London with the infamous Mr Bob Kylie
in the hot seat to steer the Capital towards a modern, integrated,
liberated transport heaven. And good luck...
So where does EuroCab enter the equation? Well, to be
perfectly candid, we're still in the starting blocks and yes, we have only
ourselves to blame. You see we never had the courage to ask the PCO to
consider a vehicle that wouldn't turn on a tanner. We just presumed they
would say "no" and perhaps we were right. Throughout the rest of
the UK, it had been a six-year battle to persuade other large Metropolitan
licensing bodies to even look at our wonderful new taxis, let alone
approve them - but things have changed. EuroCab is now available to taxi
operators in the vast majority of UK towns and cities with more and more
coming to the party each and every week. It's not the politics, it's not
the environment and it's certainly not the Government that has bought
about the revolution - it's simply just time for change...
JAG's Eurocab
EUROCAB: THE NEW LONDON BLACK CAB?
Our application to approve EuroCab has been acknowledged by the Carriage Office and I must say that Mr Ellis's reply was both considerate and progressive. We have now produced a detailed specification of the vehicles we hope to supply to London and are hoping for an early appointment to inspect the vehicles which we believe embody the finer qualities of the traditional London black taxi whilst embracing the exciting new technologies of modern, twenty first century vehicles.
It is our belief that EuroCab is the rightful successor to the throne; it was the first of the Next Generation taxis and is by far the best. Our Mercedes Benz EuroCabs can rightfully claim to be subjectively the finest purpose built taxis ever seen, with standard specifications and mind blowing options lists that will allow the London cabbie to stand toe to toe against the wave of modern executive MPV minicabs, which are set to enter the fray. Mercedes Benz has been responsible for supplying over sixty percent of the European taxi fleet for many years with the exception of the UK. EuroCab offers all of the prestigious advantages of the European saloons whilst embracing the UK requirement for full wheelchair access and in most cases costs less to buy than either a Mercedes car or a traditional taxi.
Our Fiat EuroCab is in a class of its own when it comes to practicality, drivability and low, low running costs returning up to an amazing fifty miles per gallon on the motorway and approaching forty miles a gallon around town for the careful driver who is not continually tempted to floor the pedal to enjoy the exhilarating performance of its sixteen valve 110 bhp common rail, turbo diesel engine. By the way, little things like driver and passenger air conditioning also come as standard fitment, so you can look cool and feel cool all at the same time. The environment wins too, as all EuroCabs will meet the latest Euro3 emission
EUROCAB AT BATTERSEA
Our stand at last year's Battersea Taxi Driver of the Year Show
was by far the busiest at the event. London cabbies had been fed so much
misinformation about our products, that many were totally amazed by the
quality and comfort levels of our taxis which come fully equipped with
traditional bulkheads, partitions, meters, taxi locking, intercoms, taxi
pods and ramps etc. All those that took the time to drive them were
convinced; they wanted one NOW. Three-year warranties, fourteen thousand
mile service intervals, fixed price maintenance plans, high residual
values and previously unimaginable levels of drivability convinced even
die-hard old timers that this was the future.
Dylan said it all: "The times they are a
changing"... you just never dreamt that he included you! But here's
the good news, all over the UK cabbies are reinvesting themselves thanks
to EuroCab. Not only are they now competing successfully with the quality
Private Hire operators, but are opening up new profitable avenues of
income stream every day with top shelf contracts and customers. Many have
elected to forgo rank work in the main and concentrate on airport,
business and hotel transfers, whilst others have expanded rapidly from
being long term, one man jockeys to owning entire fleets of our Merc taxis
in just a couple of years. They are successful and prosperous and why not?
We have a little saying; "It's the kit the gets the
client" and it's so true. Taxi drivers in London will hopefully have
the opportunity to look forward to brighter futures if our application is
successful, but if you are still a little sceptical, I'll leave you with
these words of wisdom from a much wiser man than me.
"If you always do as you have always done, you will
always have what you always had!"
Happy New Year, London...
Mike Holland
