Standard London Taxi 1968

Environment

Black cabs might be an icon of London but could these cars work for taxi drivers in Dublin?

A standard London black cab gets a test run in Dublin. The taxi is run on diesel and can do around 34 miles to the gallon in city traffic. In London, these black cabs often operate two shifts and throughout the working life can have a mileage of up to half a million. The vehicle has wide doors and plenty of baggage space but a black cab does not come cheap coming in at about £1,805 in Dublin.

Businessman Mortimer Doyle takes a cab associated with London around Dublin to find out what taxi drivers think of the car. For one Dublin taxi driver, the black cab is just too expensive. While it might be good for city traffic, he thinks it would be unsuitable for longer journeys. While the black cab is expensive to buy, it is cheaper to run and has a longer life on the road.

Another driver believes that if the price of the car was closer to £1,000, more drivers would make the investment. There is the benefit of being able to carry up to six passengers at a time with plenty of room for baggage. He believes it would be a better car for country runs than city use. Smaller cars are easier to park in the city. He says if he had the opportunity and the price was right, he would definitely buy a black cab.

Another driver sits in the black cab but shares the view that the price is too high.

It's the actual buying cost that is the problem.

Secretary of the Dublin Taxi Owners Federation, Mr Hancock, has put the black cab to the test. He believes it to be an ideal car for the business in Dublin. However, he feels that the taxi business does not offer any security for the outlay that there would be on purchasing this car. He believes that the government should remove any import taxes on the purchase of these cars.