BusLanes
Pedestrian
I saw on Twitter just now someone has published LTN related research today
Brixton Liveable Neighbourhood and LTN schemes - improvements for pedestrians and cyclists
- Thread starter teuchter
- Start date
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Pre pandemic Uber cabs also circuled around empty in West End and City. Why the Black Cab drivers I know correctly imo saw Uber as a hail and ride service in direct competition to them that should have been banned . As it was not traditional mini cab service.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
LEVC TX review: London's new electric taxi driven
We drive London's new, electric black cabwww.carmagazine.co.uk
[under the bonnet you'll find] a 1.5-litre Volvo petrol engine – but it doesn’t deliver any power to the rear wheels. Instead, it’s used solely to top up the car’s batteries. This important detail makes the TX a range-extending EV rather than a hybrid. LEVC says the TX is good for 377 miles between top ups, though only 80 of those miles would be using batteries alone.
Rough figures put the old taxi at around 18-22 mpg, and the new one at 35 mpg
That's pretty poor fuel consumption for new and truly terrible for old.
So its not a hybrid then.
Not sure what is your point. Do you want to see end of Black Cabs?
thebackrow
Considerably more Brixton.
There were a few guesses about what the new cabs actually were. I didn't know so I looked them up.
Seems a bit of a grey area. My understanding is that a 'plug in hybrid' only has to be able to cover 20miles on full electric. the new black cabs claim 80, which is a lot more than that but also a lot less than full electric vehicles and probably less than a black cab drives in a normal shift. So their emissions will depend on whether they are actually charged or just driven on the engine. I've seen reports that most plug in hybrids are just bought as a company car tax dodge and never actually get plugged in - don't know if that's true or not. I'm guessing the cost saving is probably enough to ensure Black Cabs do get used electric as much as possible. The fuel consumption for both new and old seems poor.
Do I want to see the end of black cabs? No, but nor am I sure they should necessarily be preserved in aspic. Having cars driving round empty looking for business seems wrong whether their black cabs or Ubers. Ubers do it presumably because they're not allowed on cab ranks. Black cabs presumably do it because they don't have Uber style matching to find customers. "The knowledge" seems to have much less value than it did when google or Waze will give a live routing that takes into account current traffic (and most black cabs seem to use it outside the smallish central zone that they're required to know about.
We definitely need disabled accessible taxis but does every taxi need to be disabled accessible? Maybe not once you're matching customers taxis with an app rather than flagging one down. I don't know. I rarely use black cabs but as a non-disabled passenger their main benefit seemed to be that they could carry 4 or 5 passengers rather than 2 or 3 in a conventional car but in less comfort.
Ol Nick
beer in Brixton
Personally I don't see the point of them. No other city has them. Obviously it's someone's livelihood, but I don't see the point of them. Take the bus. Cycle.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
An experienced Black Cab driver ( pre Covid) didnt spend much time circling around. Circling around is waste of time.
They would come out at certain times to get the trade. For example when the West End shows start to end in evening. Taking people home or to railway stations.
Or do the hotels. Which were pretty exclusive. Had friend who just passed knowledge. Went to Black Cab rank outside a big hotel. Was ignored by the Doorman. The "regular" Black Cab drivers snubbed him. He learnt his lesson and realised they had it sewn up and didn't go again
Black Cab trade depended on London being a place for business people, wealthy tourists and entertainment.
Like a lot of us London work is based on servicing the rich or City. That is just how it is.
So a lot of workers are having a hard time now..
Talked to a few Cab and van drivers today. The new road restrictions around Liverpool street, Bishopgate, north of Old Street and Euston road are giving them a headache. Form their point of view they are struggling anyway due to Covid. So this is just more to deal with.
Uber drivers are variable. Some know their way around. Others spend their time doing U turns in front of me as they have missed turning the Satnav told them to use.
BusLanes
Pedestrian
When I lived in NZ and Aus there was no such thing as a black cab or minicabs (or at least where I lived, Australia is a big place) - but there were taxi cabs that were normal sedans/vans that were badged/signed as taxis - and they sat in ranks inbusy areas, could be ordered or flagged. They were not necessarily that much better than black cabs for the paying customer, but they seemed a little more user friendly and slightly cheaper. Although the proof was in the pudding as they still were monstered by Uber, just like the blackcabs.
Aristocrat
Stop me b4 I do it again
Ha. You sound so certain about that. Before I stopped hailing black cabs because I was so sick and tired of the racist, homophobic bile I used to hear from about 20% of them, especially late at night, I developed quite a good sample of the cabbie culture. Not pretty. There were also some extremely nice guys, of course. But as previous posters have pointed out, it's also a fairly closed shop as a profession if you're not white and male. So the facts speak for themselves.
Refusing to pick someone up because of "dead miles" is outside the terms of the license, as you presumably know.
Loose meat
Well-Known Member
sure, 'racism' serves the narrative better doesn't it. That whole 'south of the river' thing was always bogus. Thank goodness we have you on watch.
Perhaps you could draw us something in MS Paint to illustrate the point, it's all the rage to prove facts.
Perhaps you could draw us something in MS Paint to illustrate the point, it's all the rage to prove facts.
snowy_again
Slush
[QUOTE="thebackrow, post: 16702902, member:
We definitely need disabled accessible taxis but does every taxi need to be disabled accessible?
[/QUOTE]
On this point: yes.
We definitely need disabled accessible taxis but does every taxi need to be disabled accessible?
[/QUOTE]
On this point: yes.
Jeanette Moo
Active Member
LEVC TX review: London's new electric taxi driven
We drive London's new, electric black cabwww.carmagazine.co.uk
[under the bonnet you'll find] a 1.5-litre Volvo petrol engine – but it doesn’t deliver any power to the rear wheels. Instead, it’s used solely to top up the car’s batteries. This important detail makes the TX a range-extending EV rather than a hybrid. LEVC says the TX is good for 377 miles between top ups, though only 80 of those miles would be using batteries alone.
Rough figures put the old taxi at around 18-22 mpg, and the new one at 35 mpg
That's pretty poor fuel consumption for new and truly terrible for old.
That is AWFUL. I assume 35mpg is city driving only but still......a half decent diesel (cough) engine was doing at least 40-45mpg city YEARS ago.
you are describing a hybrid
newbie
undisambiguated
Idling time? I'd guess Uber or Addison Lee drivers also get far smaller mpg than their engine is capable of because it's part of the way they operate. Cabs of all sorts mostly seem to leave their engine running during pickup, setdown and waiting, and black cabs have theirs running while they edge forward on ranks at stations etc.
Idling engines are a bit of a bee in bonnet for me tbh, the sooner all combustion vehicles have auto stop-start engines with a stationary cut-off the better.
sleaterkinney
Well-Known Member
No option but to drive?
Yes. Unless you can fly him to his specialist provision in Greenwich.
sleaterkinney
Well-Known Member
Blue badge holders should be allowed through, I’ve said it to my councillor. Does it really take 45 mins extra to get out of Brixton?. The rush hour traffic yesterday didn’t seem that bad.
happyshopper
Well-Known Member
Can you just provide some more detail to back this up? Where does the extra time arise?
But they're not, there is no provision to let blue badge holders through. All the side roads that they would normally cut through are closed off, they have to go down Dulwich way which apparently is jam packed like never before with traffic so now going to try through Camberwell which they traditionally avoided as too busy and time consuming. Cabbie is saying he might have to refuse the job.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
No it's different. The petrol engine tops up the battery. Does not drive the wheels.
It's meant only as a back up.
wurlycurly
diss member
As an enthusiastic supporter of LTNs, I'm delighted to report some very high-class lacrosse action under the Shakespeare Road railway bridge tonight. Initially mistook it for shinty but knew it was too good to be true.
editor
hiraethified
Gentrification. Right. There.
wurlycurly
diss member
A loose version of lacrosse was played in 1100AD. It's one of the toughest, most violent, games in the world. Hardly gentrification.
editor
hiraethified
Oh come on.
Lacrosse's Rich White People 'Problem' Is A Feature, Not A Bug
I apologize for the cliched headline, but it was the clearest thing I could think of after I saw a piece by ESPN's Quint Kessenich in Inside Lacrosse that lamented the sport's very pale status as it noted February 13's opening men's varsity game by Hampton University. It's the first historically...
www.forbes.com
sparkybird
ask the bird...
Lacrosse was only played by the hard nuts when I was in school...I went to a comprehensive in Wales... although that was a long time ago 
wurlycurly
diss member
Oh come on.
Lacrosse's Rich White People 'Problem' Is A Feature, Not A Bug
I apologize for the cliched headline, but it was the clearest thing I could think of after I saw a piece by ESPN's Quint Kessenich in Inside Lacrosse that lamented the sport's very pale status as it noted February 13's opening men's varsity game by Hampton University. It's the first historically...
Lazy stereotype. Lots of working-class people play shinty or lacrosse.
England's Sam Patterson explaining why the team could not afford to defend their European title four years ago: "We do the best we can, and that means being self-motivated and self-dependent - if you don't have money and resources you need to find other ways of doing things." Patterson estimates he has forked out upwards of £20,000 of his own money during more than a decade with the England team. A lot of this goes towards travel, but equipment costs are not cheap either, especially for a team whose makeup is very much working-class. More than half of the 27-man international squad are based in Manchester, where there are several top-level teams, and many work as tilers, joiners or similar when they're not representing their country. Consequently, he doesn't begrudge those who decide to move away from the sport once things like families and mortgages come into the equation."
JOE meets the European champions who can't afford to defend their title | JOE.co.uk
You can help them get there
www.joe.co.uk
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
But you will be pleased to know that Lacrosse can be played in the car free streets. That is progress. So your son's inconvience is minor now that sport can be played in the street.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
i heard this woman on Radio 4 Today programme this morning. She is campainer for improving air quality. Her daughter died of asthma. Here is her view of recent LTN in her area.
londonnewsonline.co.uk
Basically she is saying LTNs displace traffic onto main roads. In London a lot of people live on what are classified as main roads. Causing more pollution on those rods.
Mum whose daughter may have died of pollution poisoning condemns toxin-cutting road measures
By Grainne Cuffe, Local Democracy Reporter A leading environmental campaigner whose daughter’s death may have been linked to air pollution said the surge in traffic by her home following traffic ca…
londonnewsonline.co.uk
Basically she is saying LTNs displace traffic onto main roads. In London a lot of people live on what are classified as main roads. Causing more pollution on those rods.
But you will be pleased to know that Lacrosse can be played in the car free streets. That is progress. So your son's inconvience is minor now that sport can be played in the street.
And my son is not alone, this means that every single child with additional needs who receives school transport will be affected. And many children travel out of borough to access the correct provision, already on long journeys because the resources are scant in their local neighbourhoods.
sleaterkinney
Well-Known Member
Yeah, let’s have kids indoors where they belong.But you will be pleased to know that Lacrosse can be played in the car free streets. That is progress. So your son's inconvience is minor now that sport can be played in the street.
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