January 19, 2011. Copyright 2011, Graphic News. All rights reserved

New York, London soon won't be recognisable by their taxis
By Neil Winton

LONDON, January 19, Graphic News:  New York City and London are both considering dumping their iconic taxis. That's sad for tourists because these vehicles instantly remind them they are on holiday in an exciting place. Locals though may be happy the next time they hail a taxi, as it won't have the drawbacks of these traditional vehicles.

In New York City, the fleet of yellow cabs has traditionally comprised massive American gas-guzzling sedans, while London's black cabs look unique, not least because they were designed from the ground up to be taxis. New York City used to have a few "Checker" cabs too, massive cars designed as taxis. In-the-know New Yorkers would ignore regular cabs and only flag-down Checkers because of the stupendous leg-room and comfort, but these died out in the 1990s.

New York has to replace its fleet of Crown Victorias simply because the Ford Motor Company will stop making them. In London, the black cab is on its way out too, because its old diesel engines spew an unacceptable amount of pollution. London Mayor Boris Johnson wants to replace these unhealthy diesels with some form of electric power, but hasn't decided the formula. But already, Londoners are seeing more and more alien Mercedes taxis on their streets. The Mercedes Vito Traveliner taxi is powered by a much cleaner, modern diesel engine.

New York City has put out a proposal for new taxis. Ford, Nissan and Karsan of Turkey have been shortlisted and their vehicles look more like vans than cars. That's probably no bad thing given that the traditional yellow cabs, despite their massive size, have not been very comfortable for rear seat passengers. I remember my first yellow cab experience at Kennedy Airport in the early 1970s. This massive yellow machine pulled up. The driver, without saying a word of course, (unlike London's loquacious cabbies, New York's taxi jockeys have traditionally been taciturn at best, downright rude at worst) yanked the mechanism that opened the trunk, and indicated that he wouldn't be loading my suitcase for me. The trunk was massive. But getting into the back of the car took some doing, with the driver's attack protection making a nonsense of the expectation that there would be plenty of room.

London's black cabs can be disappointing too. They are much easier to get in and out of than Crown Victorias (but not Checkers), and are very manoeuvrable in crowded narrow streets. Once on the open road to one of London's airports though, they are obviously chronically underpowered, and the suspension can't cope with rough roads at higher speeds, bouncing the occupants around.

No doubt the traditionalists will deplore the demise of such storied vehicles. But regular users will relish the comfort of the new van-like taxis, and welcome the fact that new technology eliminates health-threatening fumes. At least in New York City the new taxis will still be yellow, allowing the unlicensed competition to retain its old slogan.

"We're not yellow. We go anywhere".
/ENDS