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Coley Allen: The end of a taxicab era... |
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The name
‘Coley Allen’ is steeped in East End cab trade lore, going
back far longer than any current cab drivers can remember. The
company, trading as North Eastern Motors, was established
in Dunbridge Street E2 in 1932 by Coleman Allen,
who had gained his cab driving licence in 1929. There were six
brothers, all of them drove cabs. There was also a sister who
married a cab driver, so the term keeping it in the family
took on a whole new meaning with that kind of history behind it!
But the end of an era is nigh... When Call Sign recently heard a rumour that the garage was to close its doors forever, we decided that even though it wasn’t a Dial-a-Cab story, they must have helped out thousands of DaC drivers over the years and that just for the history involved, it made it worth reporting on. And history is certainly what you encounter as you step into the cosy office that is the hub of this garage with 77 years of heritage to its name. High up on a wall hangs a portrait of the founder, Coleman, an approving look in his eyes as he gazes down on his sons Jimmy and Harvey Allen, who together have run the operation for many years. On another wall is a faded portrait of Coleman’s father Judea (Jack), proudly sitting in his 1906 Unic taxi, while finally, in a long wooden frame is displayed the Hackney Carriage licence granted to Jimmy and Harvey’s great-grandfather on October 22nd` 1857, that was during the reign of Queen Victoria and is truly history with a capital H! Call Sign was shown a ledger book dating from the 1940s, listing the names of drivers and their cab rental payments, all neatly entered by hand in blue ink (see cover photo). "Drivers worked on a percentage of the clock in those days as very few - if any - could afford to buy and maintain their own taxi," Jimmy explained, adding that the meters would register the number of trips completed and the distance travelled. The driver then paid the garage accordingly. Like today, there would be a dayman and a nightman, so the meter was read before and after each shift so that every driver knew how much to pay into the garage. "Cab driving back in the 50s and 60s was a good living," Jimmy’s brother Harvey added. "I remember a postman working for us part-time then. He drove the cab on a Saturday night and could take as much as his weekly wage from the PO. Mind you, he did have to go at it!" Taxicab prices were also rather different from those of today. Call Sign saw an invoice for a 1950 taxi costing £732! The total ‘on the road’ price was around £997 in today’s decimal currency, but certainly not today’s prices! To make your mouth water, in addition to the cost of the cab, road tax for the year was £10, meter rental £9 and the insurance cost for the 12-month period was £35! The company enjoyed its heyday in the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, when it ran |
  about
180 cabs and supported a staff of around 40 people, offering a
full range of services to its’ clientele. Slowly, as margins
became squeezed, the fleet diminished to its present size of 55
cabs and 6 staff.Jimmy Allen continued the North Eastern Motors story: "Over the years, wages, materials and general costs have steadily risen, but cab rentals have not kept pace accordingly. Some years ago as an engineering experiment in our own workshop, we fitted an automatic gearbox to a petrol engine FX4. The cab did about 8/10 to the gallon, so was not successful. True, it was a one-off project, but it proved the ability of our engineering expertise. But you just could not do that nowadays - even if you wanted to." After 73 years in Dunbridge Street, North Eastern Motors moved in 2005 to Hadleigh Street E2. Now, after 4 years at that site and due to redevelopment of the area, they are soon to be going back to their roots in Dunbridge Street, when L P Motors will take over responsibility for maintaining the cab fleet, but the garage itself will fade into history. However, the name of Coley Allen will be remembered for many years to come, along with those of Jimmy and Harvey. If they can keep away, then we wish them a happy retirement along with grateful thanks from a taxi trade that appreciates the fact that with all the comings and goings of garages in this trade, the name of Coley Allen’s North Easter Motors was an ever-present... ©Call Sign Magazine MM10 |
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