ALTERNATIVE TAXIS NEW £22,000 TRIKE TAXI SERVICE FOR THE LAKE DISTRICT
It’s not a motorbike, it’s not a car, but it’s hitting the roads of the Lake District within the next few weeks. David Lister from Plumpton near Penrith secured permission to use a £22,000 three- wheeler trike, which has brake and clutch pedals like a car but is steered by handle- bars, as a taxi service to take tourists around the Lakes, at a licens- ing committee last month.
At the time, he did not have the trike itself, but now he has the machine and is enjoy-
ing showing it off around Cumbria. Mr Lister told the East Cumbrian Gazette: “I drove it up from Man- chester and I have already taken it into Penrith and Carlisle, and believe me it’s attracted a lot of atten- tion. “People think a trike is something you sit on and pedal, and not everybody has seen one like this. People are stopping and look- ing at it who I have never seen in my life before.
“I went up to Long- town to see the lad
that does my signwrit- ing, and all the fellows round the industrial buildings were coming to have a look and ask questions.”
The trike, which is much like that used by comedian Billy Con- nolly for his television travelogues, will be used to carry tourists around the Lake Dis- trict.
Mr Lister had to pass a test for taxi drivers to use the trike and con- ditions have been imposed to regulate its safety.
But now he is almost ready to take his three
David Lister on his taxi tricycle
wheels out on the roads.
He gave it a grand debut when he used it to deliver Eden Coun- cil’s chairman Joan Raine to the town’s annual triathlon. David was then due to hold an open day to show off the trike with a series of short rides. He has said he will take tourists on routes of their own choosing. Mmmm… Eat your heart out, Easy Rider! Now this should turn a head or two… hats off to an extremely enter- prising idea in an ideal market.- Ed.
BOB’S NEW NORWICH BUSINESS IS SURE TO BE A TRIUMPH
It might be nearly 60 years old, but Bob Pike’s classic car has passed the test for getting a private hire licence with flying colours.
When Mr Pike, from Drayton, was made redundant from his job through ill health, he decided that his unique Triumph Renown could be a way of earning some money.
The quirky 1951 car, which has been recon- structed using a variety of recycled car parts and even fea- tures an old telephone, has now been given the go- ahead so Mr Pike can hire it out for proms and special events. The 53-year-old, who had to leave his ware- house job after he had
can’t use it because it hasn’t got hands-free.” Mr Pike, who is a member of Norfolk Street Cruisers, won a top ten award from the National Street Road Association on the car’s first ever trip out after restoration. It was restored with the help of his friend Mark Stacey, of the Power and Perform- ance garage at Honingham.
Bob Pike and his Triumph Renown
four stomach hernias and was not able to lift any more, told the Nor- wich Evening News: “I can do weddings and funerals, but to do things like prom nights and special events I
need the licence. “It’s not original, even though it looks like a classic car. It’s got a modern Ford engine, which is quite power- ful, and the interior has been put together
from all sorts of cars. “It’s a real mixture and I’ve even put in one of the old telephones with a round dial. “Everyone always asks me if it works, and I just tell them I
Mr Pike, who says the Triumph’s three-litre engine often surprises other motorists when pulling away from a standing start at traffic lights, said: “I love the old hot rods as you never see any the same - they are all different.” Mr Pike, who lives in Magnay Road with his wife Kim, had to apply
to Broadland District Council to allow him to licence it as a private hire vehicle, as it is older than five years old. He said the final hurdle would be inves- tigating how much the special insurance would cost.
A unique car
Here are some facts about Mr Pike’s recon- structed Triumph:
•It has a three-litre Ford Granada petrol engine
•It is an automatic and has an immobiliser
•It has disc brakes on the front, and the axle and brakes from a Ford Capri on the rear •The car has a shop bell horn
•Its seats used to belong to a Volvo.
PAGE 14
PHTM OCTOBER 2010
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