JANUARY 2009
PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY ALTERNATIVE TAXIS SEPTEMBER CANAL CABBIES TAKE TO THE WATER IN LONDON
British Waterways licensed London’s first paddle powered water taxi on the Regent’s Canal in Little Venice on Friday 22 August. The new service, much like the gondola’s in the Italian city of Venice, encourages waterway visitors to take to the water and enjoy a unique view of the capital. Using paddle power alone, expert canoeists will transport visitors along the waterways in open kayaks, offering a carbon friendly method of travel through London. Traditional London taxi drivers transport visi- tors across the city, navigating through busy London streets and taking short-cuts memorised from their legendary test ‘The Knowledge’. But the canoeing cabbies will
neys to longer tours, taking several hours to explore the waterways.” “All of our guides are British Canoe Union qualified instructors and if passengers want to have a go themselves, we are happy to teach them as we go. If the kayak service goes well, we have plans to design our very own gondola to add to our fleet of boats suitable for the inland waterways.”
encourage their pas- sengers to slow down, relax, take in the view and soak up the historic information, known as ‘Canowledge’ as they paddle the canals at up to 4 mph.
The new canal venture has been floated by Thames River Adven-
MAY HAIL THE THAI-STYLE DURHAM TAXIS
Word of a job vacancy with a difference is accelerating through- out Durham with the news of two tuk-tuks soon to arrive in the city from Thailand. Managers at Thai restaurant Zen, in Court Lane, Durham City, are on the search for drivers to handle the specially imported open air taxis.
As part of the restau- rant's commitment to offering a true Thai experience, Zen will be using tuk-tuks to taxi diners to and from the eatery within the city centre limits. The tuk-tuks, which have the capacity to seat up to five people each, will arrive in the region in a few weeks when they will then undergo vehicle licensing assessment
from Durham City Council, before get- ting branded with Zen's logo and hitting the city streets as an alternative taxi servi ce.
In preparation for their arrival, Zen bosses are now searching for experi- enced drivers for the unusual vehicles. Restaurant co-owners Nigel Gadd and Andy Gascoigne developed the idea of transport- ing the vehicles to Durham from their vis- its to Thailand.
Andy told the Evening Chronicle: “In Bangkok for example tuk-tuks have been around for over 50 years and they are still popular today. They are a fun method of transport and they are called tuk-tuks by the sound
the two-stroke engine makes when it is driv- ing people around. “The tuk-tuks will be a great asset to Durham city centre. “As they only have two low gears they are environmentally friendly and they can accelerate quite quickly making them nimble, especially in heavy traffic, so they won’t hold anyone up, specially hungry people who may be stuck in the middle of town and want to get somewhere quick to eat without the expense of a taxi or the haste of walking too far.
“If you see a tuk-tuk in the street all you have to do is contact the tuk-tuks hotline num- ber, the driver will then chauffeur you to Zen.”
tures Limited, who offer a similar service on the non-tidal sections of the River Thames. The company, the first of its kind in the UK, is keen to encourage people to relax and get an alter- native, duck’s-eye perspective of the city. Danny Gillard, Director,
Thames River Adven- tures Limited, said: “The canal system in London is a real hidden gem, there’s fantastic architecture, unusual views of the city and a wealth of wildlife. The kayak-taxi offers every- thing from short paddle-powered jour-
Louise Fishleigh, Leisure Development Manager for British Waterways London, explains: “Rickshaws have proved extremely pop- ular in the West End and there’s no reason why this waterway equivalent can’t be just as successful. There are lots of ways of enjoying London’s waterways and we
NOVEMBER
DRIVERLESS TAXIS COULD BE THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT!!
According to the Derby Evening Tele- graph, ULTra pods are automated cars hooked up to a cen- tral computer system which drives them between stations on their own concrete tracks. Passengers swipe a smart card in a computer terminal at an ULTra pod sta- tion and select their destination, then get in a pod and go. Each pod takes up to four passengers, with room for wheelchairs, bikes, luggage and shopping. ULTra pods provide on-demand, personal transport, without long waits or need to sit next to strangers - unlike traditional pub- lic transport.
There would be no congestion, because the track is segregat-
hope that this scheme will add a new dimen- sion to the water buses already plying Lon- don’s canals. Whilst the kayaks will never be able to compete with London’s iconic black cabs, the service offers an alternative method of getting from A to B, especially if you have some time to spare and prefer to see things a little differently.
The kayak-taxi is oper- ating a seasonal timetable, available from April to October, and bookings are taken seven days a week. Sunrise and sunset tours are proving popu- lar with advance bookings being taken, and if passengers have a particular route they want to paddle, a tour can be tailored to their request.
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ed from the road net- work. The stations are in lay-bys, so stop- ping pods do not have to slow down.and each pod goes directly to its destination.
A one mile journey would take three min- utes.
They are battery pow- ered and use 70 per cent less energy than
a car and 50 per cent less than a bus - a major cut in carbon emissions.
The system was developed by Advanced Transport Systems (ATS) a Uni- versity of Bristol company founded by Prof Martin Lowson in 1995. The South West RDA provided £114,000.
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