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When Call Sign
recently met Dan Brown (B16), the DaC driver was still
fuming over a problem he had experienced with his 15-month-old
TX4. We’ll let Dan take up the story; "I had the 40,000 miles service at my LTI dealer on a Thursday and they didn’t report any impending trouble, so when the cab gave me grief big time on the following Saturday, I was not impressed," he told us grim-faced. "I was in the narrow, eastern section of Oxford Street by the roadworks and stuck behind a bus which apparently couldn’t shut its doors. I sat there for over an hour with my engine running as the weather was freezing and I assumed we would be moving off any time soon!" Dan continued with his tale of woe. "Apparently buses cannot move unless the doors are closed securely, it’s a safety device – a bit like the motion sensors on a cab. There was a great deal of activity between the bus driver and his mates, who tried to force the doors shut. When I realised things were not going to happen too quickly, I switched off my engine. Eventually the bus doors got sorted and the old Fairway taxi immediately in front of me started up and pulled away, no problem. "I tried to start my cab and all I heard was a machine-gun like noise from the area of the fuse box and flashing warning lights randomly |
Dan gets stranded - in Oxford Street! |
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 Not a happy bunny - Dan and battery |
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illuminated on the dash, a bit
like a fruit machine! I was holding up the traffic for miles
around until someone helped me push the cab onto the pavement
and out of the way. I phoned the RAC and their patrolman arrived
around 3 hours later! He jump-started my cab through a charger
on his van battery. It started, but everything on my cab was
dead. He followed me towards home, but the cab failed again and
he jump-started me for a second time. It seemed ok then, so I
thought I’d try to work the cab assuming I would be able to
charge the battery sufficiently for it to be able to start
normally when I needed
to work over the weekend. "Soon after, I had stopped for a wheelchair user, loaded him into the cab and then put the meter on. But it just showed 6666.666! I had no choice but to leave him at |
the roadside in case we broke
down again and I staggered home, realising I had lost the entire
weekend’s work. At one point on the journey home, I also lost
power as if the hand brake was fully applied, but thankfully
that symptom cleared and I got home ok. The RAC re-started me at
home on the Monday morning and I crept into my dealership, who
diagnosed a faulty battery! It’s funny how modern technology can
cause such havoc and mayhem. The bus couldn’t move because its
doors would not close, I couldn’t move because my battery
failed, yet the old Fairway in front of me simply started up
when the road cleared and went on his way!" "Aaaaaaahhhh," was Dan’s plaintive cry as Call Sign asked if we could borrow a fiver...! ©Call Sign Magazine MMX |
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200 Hydrogen TX4s in Time for the Olympics! |
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| According to
the Environmental Transport Association (ETA), London
will have 200 TX4 taxis powered by hydrogen fuel cells running
around town in time for the 2012 London Olympics. Intelligent
Energy, Lotus, TRW Conekt and LTI are
developing the taxis and in order to allow the vehicles to be
properly integrated into the city, five hydrogen filling
stations are to be provided in time for the Games. Air Products will launch the mobile trailer-mounted refuelling units, which can be parked on the forecourts of regular fuel stations. By using these mobile systems, the |
infrastructure for the
hydrogen-powered taxis can remain relatively cheap and quick to
implement. Commenting on the ETA's website, a spokesperson from the association explained: "A TX4 emits 226g CO2 per km, but the problem with diesel-engined vehicles in urban areas is more about the particulates released in their exhaust. The detrimental effect this has on health makes a strong case for switching to fuel cell technology." As Call Sign revealed last July, the taxis will be able to operate for a full day without refuelling and have a top speed of around |
75mph. It is also claimed that the fuel cell power-train will
provide even better acceleration than current models. The taxis will top up their hydrogen tanks at central depots using a refuelling process that takes just a few minutes, whilst even winter will prove to be no problem with the fuel cell system being able to function at temperatures down to -20C. It will fit in the space where the VM engine sits in the current TX4. The hydrogen fuel cells taxis will emit no emissions during use.... |
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