Showing posts with label Taxi Services UK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taxi Services UK. Show all posts

Sunday, 25 December 2011

Cambridge local area information

Travel Information

The services listed on these pages are local contacts judged to be useful for staff and students of the University and are not advertisements.

Taxi Services

Taxi Licensing Office: (01223) 457888
(This is not the number to ring when booking a taxi - see list below for taxi telephone hire.)
See TLO's statement [http://www.cam.ac.uk/cambarea/travel/taxis2.html] regarding the licensing of taxis and drivers for public safety (January 2005).

Taxi ranks (for Hackney Carriages)

  • Drummer Street
  • Parkside (the new National Express coach stop)
  • Railway Station
  • St Andrews Street

Nightime ranks

  • Outside Boots (Sidney Street)
  • Market Hill

Taxi telephone hire

Posted by Tracey Wilson at 09:41 0 comments
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Friday, 16 December 2011

PMR Radio, an interesting thought

A colleague of mine came up with an interesting idea today, he said that if every Taxi was fitted with a PMR Radio or every driver carried a handheld PMR radio it could make driving a Taxi in London a lot easier which when you think could be quite a good idea. It would mean that drivers could relay information to each other about when taxis are required a certain ranks or any other location and due to the short range of PMR only the drivers in the local vicinity would receive the message. This idea could also help doorman at hotels that are off of the beaten track to locate taxis with ease without even walking out onto the street, this is such a simple idea that I am surprised that no one has thought of it before.

Posted by Tracey Wilson at 10:07 0 comments
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Changes in London taxi drivers’ brains driven by acquiring ‘the Knowledge’, study shows

Acquiring ‘the Knowledge’ – the complex layout of central London’s 25,000 streets and thousands of places of interest – causes structural changes in the brain and changes to memory in the capital’s taxi drivers, new research funded by the Wellcome Trust has shown.
The study, published today in the journal Current Biology, supports the increasing evidence that even in adult life, learning can change the structure of the brain, offering encouragement for life-long learning and the potential for rehabilitation after brain damage.
In order to qualify as a licensed London taxi driver, a trainee must acquire ‘the Knowledge’ of capital’s tens of thousands of streets and their idiosyncratic layout. This training typically takes between three to four years, leading to a stringent set of examinations which must be passed in order to obtain an operating licence; only around half of trainees pass. This comprehensive training and qualification procedure is unique among taxi drivers anywhere in the world.
Previous studies of qualified London taxi drivers, led by Professor Eleanor Maguire from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL (University College London), have shown greater volume of grey matter – the nerve cells in the brain where the processing takes place – in an area known as the posterior hippocampus and less in the anterior hippocampus relative to non-taxi drivers. The studies also showed that whilst taxi drivers displayed better memory for London-based information, they showed poorer learning and memory on other memory tasks involving visual information, suggesting that there might be a price to pay for acquiring the Knowledge. The research suggested that structural brain differences may have been acquired through the experience of navigating, and to accommodate the internal representation of London.
To test whether this was indeed the case, Professor Maguire and colleague Dr Katherine Woollett followed a group of 79 trainee taxi drivers and 31 controls (non-taxi drivers), taking snapshots of their brain structure over time using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and studying their performance on certain memory tasks. Only 39 of the group passed the tests and went on to qualify as taxi drivers, giving the researchers the opportunity to divide the volunteers into three groups for comparison: those that passed, those that trained but did not pass, and the controls who never trained.
The researchers examined the structure of the volunteers’ brains at the start of the study, before any of the trainees had begun their training. They found no discernible differences in the structures of either the posterior hippocampus or the anterior hippocampus between the groups, and all groups performed equally well on the memory tasks.
Three to four years later – when the trainees had either passed the test or had failed to acquire the Knowledge – the researchers again looked at images of the brain structures of the volunteers and tested their performance on the memory tasks. This time, they found significant differences in the posterior hippocampus – those trainees that qualified as taxi drivers had greater volume of grey matter in this region compared to before they had started their training. This change was not apparent in those who failed to qualify or the controls. Interestingly, there was no detectable difference in the structure of the anterior hippocampus, suggesting that these changes come later, in response to changes in the posterior hippocampus.
On the memory tasks, both qualified and non-qualified trainees were significantly better at memory tasks involving London landmarks than the control group. However, the qualified trainees – but not the trainees who failed to qualify – were worse at the other tasks, such as recalling complex visual information, than the controls.
“The human brain remains ‘plastic’, even in adult life, allowing it to adapt when we learn new tasks,” explains Professor Maguire, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow. “By following the trainee taxi drivers over time as they acquired – or fail to acquire – the Knowledge, a uniquely challenging spatial memory task, we have seen directly and within individuals how the structure of the hippocampus can change with external stimulation. This offers encouragement for adults who want to learn new skills later in life.
“What is not clear is whether those trainees who became fully-fledged taxi drivers had some biological advantage over those who failed. Could it be, for example, that they have a genetic predisposition towards having a more adaptable, ‘plastic’ brain? In other words, the perennial question of ‘nature versus nurture’ is still open.”
In the research paper, Professor Maguire and Dr Woollett speculate on the biological mechanisms that may underpin the changes to the brain that they observed. One theory, supported by studies in rodents, is that when learning that requires cognitive effort takes place and is effective, there is an increase in the rate at which new nerve cells are generated and survive. The hippocampus is one of the few brain areas where the birth of new nerve cells is known to take place. Alternatively, it could be that the synapses, or connections, between existing nerve cells grew stronger in the trainees who qualified.
Dr John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Wellcome Trust, comments: “The original study of the hippocampi of London taxi drivers provided tantalising hints that brain structure might change through learning, and now Eleanor’s follow-up study, looking at this directly within individual taxi trainees over time, has shown this is indeed the case. Only a few studies have shown direct evidence for plasticity in the adult human brain related to vital functions such as memory, so this new work makes an important contribution to this field of research.”
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 09:53 0 comments
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Contributors Wanted

Fancy writing for the London Taxi Trades top ranking website? we are looking for contributions from the trade to be included in this site, if you have something interesting to relate, or a story to tell, or you just want to get something off your chest then please get in touch. We want to make this site a major resource for the trade and Taxi using public alike, we feel that the trade in London needs to promote itself a lot better than it has done in the past and by using this site we can achieve this aim. Obviously we cannot pa for your contributions as we do not make any money from the site, in fact it costs us money to keep the site going, but with over 40,000 unique visitors per month we feel that our website could make a substantial difference to the London Taxi Trade. So if you are interested in contributing then please call Jamie on 0208 123 3390.
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 09:41 0 comments
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Minicab Rapist Jailed

Police today renewed a Christmas warning to women about the dangers of unbooked minicabs after a driver was jailed for nine years for raping a teenage partygoer.
Marcos De Souza, 32, was trapped because his DNA was held on file even though he had no criminal record. The Brazilian had lured the drunken 19-year-old into his car as she left a house party in Camden in February.
The victim was so drunk the sex predator believed she would never remember what was about to happen to her, Inner London crown court heard. But when she arrived home dishevelled, her boyfriend encouraged her to call police and De Souza’s DNA was found after tests. The sex predator was traced because police had taken his DNA when he was arrested after a previous girlfriend claimed he had assaulted her. The case was discontinued but his profile was retained on the national database.
De Souza was arrested two months after the rape when he went to report a car break-in. Investigators put his name into the database and were stunned to discover he was a wanted man and arrested him.
Jurors found him guilty at a retrial after a previous jury had been unable to agree a verdict. As a result De Souza, who had denied rape and claimed the young woman was a willing participant, forced her to relive her ordeal twice.
On his release he will face deportation and has to sign the sex offender register indefinitely. Outside court detective constable Richard Huggins, of Lambeth’s Sapphire Unit, said: “Mr De Souza’s conviction, particularly in the run-up to the Christmas party season when people are enjoying a drink, highlights the dangers of getting into unlicensed minicabs. Always book a cab using a licensed company as it is not worth the risk”
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 09:34 0 comments
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Taxi Treasure Hunts

Looking for something different to do in London?  need a Team Building day in London? or you might be looking for a light hearted break to a company conference or just a fund day out for a group of people, if so why not try a Taxi Treasure Hunt, we can cater for groups from 10 to 500 people.
You group is divided into teams and each team is allocated their own, treasure hunt experienced, Licensed London Taxi Driver who will become an integral part of the team, you are tasked with finding the answers to cryptic questions, there are photographs to take and items that will need to be collected.
So if you are looking for a good event for your staff or friends in London then please take a look at our website www.taxitreasurehunts.co.uk
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 09:26 0 comments
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Wednesday, 14 December 2011

Mounting an iPad in the Taxi

Recently I installed my iPad into my Taxi and since doing so I have been asked on numerous occasions where I got the mount from and what type of mount it is so I thought that I would write a blog post giving people all the information that they need to install their own iPad in their Taxi.
There are a few mounts now on the market for the iPad so I did a lot of research into what in my personal opinion was the best mount to use and also where to purchase the mount. Unfortunately the one that I consider to be the best by far is also the most expensive but as they say you get what you pay for in this life.
The mount I eventually purchased is made by a company called Ram Mount www.ram-mount.co.uk, there was 2 main reasons for choosing this particular mount the first being that I have experience of using Ram Mounts as I use one in my Off Road vehicle to mount a Samsung Q1 Ultra Tablet PC in the vehicle for using  Memory Map and it has proved to be very tough, sturdy and reliable. The second being that Ram Mount offer the most flexible mounting brackets of any company within the market place of which each component can be purchased separately as the system is modular.
Ram Mount offer 2 different types of cradle, one which you slide the iPad into similar to their iPhone mount and another which is a sprung loaded mount which can be used to mount the iPad whilst it is still in a protective case.


Above you can see the 2 different types of cradle that Ram Mount currently offer, these are just the cradles that hold the iPad but you also need to purchase the bracket to hold the cradle in place, the bracket comes in 3 separate pieces which need to be ordered individually. You can see the bracket components below.

 RAM-B-238 £7.09
One of these is bolted through the side of the dashboard


RAM-B-201-C £21.40
The arm connects the 2 ball joints together and allows the adjustment of the whole assembly.Tightening the large wing-nut gives the whole assembly its rigidity.

 RAM-B-238 £7.09
One of these is bolted to the cradle (RAM-HOL-TAB3 Only)

 RAM-B-202 £8.12
One of these is bolted to the cradle (RAM-HOL-AP8 Only)

The bracket that holds the cradle is the same as that used by ComCab to mount their terminals. The balls have a rubber coating on them which stops the arm from unwanted swivelling. Please note that the 2 cradles use different ball joint mounts and please make sure that you order the correct one for your cradle.
You bolt one of the ball joints through the side of the dashboard in exactly the same position as ComCab and then bolt the other ball joint to your cradle of choice, you then use the arm to connect the 2 balljoints together and adjust the whole assembly to your desired position before tightening the large wing-nut on the arm. Once installed the whole thing remains very sturdy and does not move at all, so far in 2 weeks I have not had to re-adjust my installation at all in my Taxi as it has not moved.
I will try to get some better pictures of the cradle mounted in my cab tomorrow and some of it broken down into its component parts, if anyone would like more information or advice then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 10:42 0 comments
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Taxi Transfers to and from all UK Airports


We specialise in taxi transfers to and from all UK airports for both individuals and groups, with the accent on a courteous and thoroughly professional personal service at affordable prices. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week.

If you would like a quote for a journey you are planning please select the 'Type of Journey' you require and enter the post code on the 'Instant Online Quote' form above. If you don't have the post code please select the 'Type of Journey' and then click on the 'Manual Quote' button and fill in as many details as possible and we will email you with a quote as soon as possible. The price we quote is the price you pay.

From the moment you contact us, we’ll do everything we can to ensure that your booking and transfer go as smoothly as possible. That means an air conditioned vehicle tailored to the number of passengers and the luggage requirements specified by you. An experienced driver with proven customer service skills and an extensive knowledge of the local area.

A 'Meet and Greet' service can be arranged when booking whereby the driver will be in arrivals with the passenger's name or company name, whichever you prefer. A comforting thought, especially for first time visitors in a foreign country.
If your flight is early or subject to delays, we will track your flight's progress and send your driver at the new expected time of arrival.
A lot of our work is corporate based so if you are booking a taxi for other people you need not worry, we will give them the professional quality service they would expect. We accept most major credit cards and debit cards and send receipts via email.
OTS also welcomes corporate account customers and, subject to credit references, we’ll be happy to offer you a monthly invoicing facility or direct debit on our airport taxi services.

Posted by Tracey Wilson at 10:31 0 comments
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Book a UK Taxi Transfer

By booking a UK transfer you'll get a door-to-door taxi service, wherever you are in the UK.

Use our taxi service search to book a taxi transfer from any UK location to any UK location. Whether it’s an airport, port, train station, town or city, hotel or private address, we can arrange a taxi to pick you up and drop you off.
Just tell us where and when you'd like to go within the UK using the search on the left. Whatever time day or night, we can arrange a taxi to pick you up.

UK Airport Transfers

If you're landing at a UK airport, you can book a private taxi for your onward journey. Or choose to take a taxi to the airport instead of driving and paying for airport parking.
UK Airport Transfers available from all major UK Airports including:
  • Belfast Airport Transfers
  • Gatwick Airport Transfers
  • Birmingham Airport Transfers
  • Heathrow Airport Transfers
  • Edinburgh Airport Transfers
  • Luton Airport Transfers
  • Glasgow Airport Transfers
  • Stansted Airport Transfers
  • Leeds Bradford Airport Transfers
  • Manchester Airport Transfers

Taxi Transfers from UK Ports

If you’re arriving at one of the ferry terminals around the UK, book a taxi transfer to take you to your final destination. From Aberdeen in the north to Dover in the south, transfers are available the length and breadth of the UK.

UK Train Station Taxi Transfers

Don't leave your onward travel plans to chance when you arrive at a UK train station and have to join a long queue for a taxi. Pre-book a taxi transfer to get going quickly and hassle-free.

Transfers from UK towns, cities or private addresses

Taxi transfers are also available from any UK address whether it's a city centre, major hotel or your own private address.
So whether you're going to a business meeting or need to get to the airport; perhaps you're going to a wedding and want to arrive in style; or you just need a taxi to pick you up at home, you can book a transfer online now with Holiday Taxis.
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 09:28 1 comments
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Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Raynes Park Taxi & Wimbledon Taxi

If you want a Black Cab in Wimbledon or Raynes Park
within 15 minutes, call 0208 099 7711
  • No run-in charge for instant hire in SW19 & SW20
  • £1.20 telephone booking fee applies for instant hire 

Taxi Call Wimbledon - 0208 099 7711 - is a unique Wimbledon Black Taxi service for many reasons

A local taxi service provided by local Licensed Taxi Drivers for those who live, work and visit Wimbledon, Raynes Park and Merton Park.
You may telephone from either a UK or overseas mobile telephone or landline.
No call centre or booking office is involved to delay the arrival of your Wimbledon or Raynes Park taxi.
When you telephone you are connected direct to a Taxi Call Wimbledon Driver who has a detailed knowledge of the area and “knows” how long it takes to reach you.
Taxi Call Wimbledon does not charge a “run in fee” for coming to collect you if your booking is for immediate hire in SW19 and SW20.  For immediate hire in SW19 and SW20 the meter goes on at the pick up point and a nominal £1.20 is added to cover our telephone system costs.
For Heathrow and Gatwick airports we offer very competitive under the meter advanced internet booking Fixed Prices from Wimbledon and surrounding areas including Putney, Wandsworth, Tooting and Earlsfield. We also offer a credit card pre-payment facility for airport bookings subject to a 10% charge on published prices and nominal facility fee.  To ensure we have enough time to allocate a driver at a fixed price, you should pre-book your airport journey.
All our drivers welcome your accompanied pets - just phone us next time your pet needs a Wimbledon taxi!
Taxi Call Wimbledon drivers are willingly helpful and will undertake short journeys, on an immediate hiring basis, to the shops, station, schools and doctors, as willingly as journeys to London Heathrow, Gatwick and City Airports.
Taxi Call Wimbledon - your personal Wimbledon Black Taxi service to Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, London City Airport, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton and to all local and UK destinations.  If you need Wimbledon Hospitality transport, taxis for Wimbledon corporate hospitality events are available. For corporate Wimbledon hospitality taxi transport information please visit our dedicated Wimbledon Corporate Taxi Hire page.
This Wimbledon taxi website was designed by Wimbledon Visitor
The Complete Guide to Wimbledon
Visit www.weddingtaxi.com for London Taxi Weddings
Visit the on-line shop at Wimbledon Visitor
to buy Wimbledon & London tourist maps
For local accommodation visit B&Bs in Wimbledon and Hotels in Wimbledon
Top of Raynes Park & Wimbledon Black Taxi page
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 08:53 0 comments
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Thursday, 24 November 2011

CALL-a-CAB

CustomersDrivers
    A Call a Cab is
  • Safe
  • Affordable
  • Convenient and reliable
  • Available for immediate or advance bookings
  • 24-hour / 365 days a year
  • Find out more about booking your cab
    Call: 020 8901 4444
    New rules, new ideas and a new logo For just £14.50 a week you could take advantage of our:
  • High-profile marketing
  • Attention-grabbing logo
  • On board technology
  • Free Zingo coverage
  • Find out more about joining our fleet
    Call: 0207 432 1600
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 10:31 0 comments
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Taxi Equipment

There is certain basic equipment that taxis require before being able to drive as a working taxi. There are a few basic pieces of equipment that would make the taxi drivers life more difficult if he were not to have most of these items are listed below:
  • The meter - If the taxi driver were not to have one it would make it difficult for them to judge the correct amount to charge for a certain distance travelled and the customer would also feel uncomfortable as they would not be able to see how much it will cost them. They were first developed in 1891 by a German inventor and have since been developed and have increased the ease of the job for taxi drivers.
  • Two way radios - These are most common in taxi firms with a office where people phone in for a taxi to collect them. Once the person has booked the taxi the operator in the office will then look on the system to see where the nearest taxi driver is to where the person needs picking up. They will then call the person over there radio system and give them the details of the job. These have helped the taxi drivers as they don�t need to go back to the office to find out their next job.
  • Top light - Different taxi firms tend to have different coloured or shaped top lights to other companies. The top lights main purpose is for the benefit of the customer as if it is turned on it lets the customer know that taxi is unavailable where as if it is turned off you can hail it down. They are also beneficial to the driver in the way that they help customers realise they are available so creating business for them they may not have got other wise.
As well as these basic pieces of equipment many taxi driver are using more technology in their taxis to make their lives easier such as:
  • Navigation systems - There are different types of these systems most of them are GPS (Global Position System) they help the taxi driver find their way around an area they may not be too familiar with. There are so many on the market today it is advised that you look at the reviews of different brands, you can find many of these reviews on the internet.
  • Computer communication system - These systems are helpful to the taxi drivers because they arrange different buttons to correspond as different locations so instead of calling in they simply have to press the button for the location they are passing through at that time and it informs the operator on where they are. Also different jobs come up on the screen so if a taxi driver is sent a job through the system he can either accept or reject it.
Due to technology with in car electrical products developing all the time the equipment going into taxis is always improving. For more information on specific products for taxis there are plenty of places online with information, reviews and price comparisons.
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 09:47 0 comments
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Taxi Service and Maintenance

Although many taxi drivers may use average looking cars there are strict regulations that the drivers/owners of the vehicle have to adhere to when maintaining and having the vehicle serviced. As with buses they are providing a public service so there fore constantly have to be up to the standards or they are not legally allowed to function as a taxi, this is the case in Britain of course the maintenance standards vary in different countries. In Britain they have some of the stricter guidelines to follow for example they must carry a fire extinguisher, have enough boot space to carry a wheel chair, have no less than four doors etc. The maintenance standards are just as strict as the vehicle specification but there are many garages around the UK that specialise in servicing taxis below are some of the checks that need to be done in the servicing of the taxis:

  • The seat belts are a key component in ensuring the safety of your passengers so it is always advisable to check them regularly, and they will be checked fully with the inspection of the vehicle.
  • The windscreen and other windows These are inspected for the strength and stability of the glass used they all have to ensure the windscreen is properly fitted and has no cracks or chips out of the glass as this weakens the glass dramatically. They also prefer it if you use safety glass as this shatters into pieces of glass that won't cause any cuts if broken, meaning if you were to crash the passengers would be at less risk to severe cuts.
  • The wing mirrors and interior mirrors These are checked as a safety measure and it is ensured that all mirrors on the vehicle inside and out are visible to the driver at all times while in the driving position. They also check the controls for altering the wing mirrors while inside the vehicle and check the rear view mirrors can be adjusted easily if knocked out of alignment. Also it is to be checked they are not cracked or chipped in anyway.
As well as these checks on safety parts there are also the standard MOT tests for the vehicles to pass, if not it will be put out of service until its problem is fixed. It is also checked for standard of appearance like the paint work not being chipped. American taxi firms also put their cabs through the American car service, and check for any faults with the outward appearance as well as inside as it represent the firm. These checks should be carried out regularly and the vehicle should be serviced at least once every six months.
As well as the vehicle being serviced taxis require a different kind of insurance to normal vehicles as they have to have additional cover for the passengers. As there are many insurance companies for normal drivers there are now many companies that specialise in taxi firms insurance, making it quite a competitive market.
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 06:47 3 comments
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Monday, 31 October 2011

Taxi Insurance from Taxi Services UK

Taxi Services UK is recognised as a market leader in the specialised field of public and private hire taxi insurance.
Taxi Services UK has a comprehensive range of policies and schemes with national insurers enabling the placement of most taxi insurance risks.
Taxi Services UK prides itself on its quick quotation response times and friendly personal service. The comprehensive range of products available facilitates quotations from individual owner drivers to large taxi fleets. Protected no claims discount is is available on certain taxi insurance policies.
A full range of credit terms and facilities are also available.
(Subject to status)
For more information about our range of Taxi Insurance policies please read our Taxi Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
Without question the reputation of Taxi Services UK is that of a hard working specialist broker with a history of achieving large premium savings for its Taxi Drivers
Proof of savings achieved by Taxi Services UK can only be appreciated by obtaining a quotation. Drivers and operators are all invited to submit a quotation request or telephone direct on
01472 240208 and speak to one of our experienced staff today.
Posted by Tracey Wilson at 09:15 0 comments
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