Cheltenham taxi businesses could be painting their vehicles dark greenNew York chose yellow and London opted for black, but what about Cheltenham?
All taxis in the town will have to be the same colour in the future as part of a bid to smarten up the fleet and make it easier for people to hail a cab.
But the jury is still out on which colour should be chosen.
Dark green has been floated as the front runner by Cheltenham Borough Council, the authority which licenses all taxis in town.
But that is not set in stone with the taxi trade set to be asked for opinions on which colour drivers would prefer in the coming weeks.
The only colour thought to be off the table is black because of the number of private hire vehicles – cars that have to be booked in advance and which cannot be hailed from the street – already using it.
The adoption of a uniform colour for all hackney carriages in Cheltenham will take place gradually, as and when taxi drivers replace their vehicles so that the change doesn’t leave anybody out of pocket.
Councillor Andrew McKinlay (LD, Up Hatherley), cabinet member for development and safety at the borough council, said: “After lengthy consultation with the taxi trade and others, cabinet has approved plans to introduce a uniform colour for hackney carriages in Cheltenham.
“This will help the public to clearly distinguish hackney carriages from other licensed vehicles and will improve the appearance of the public hire licensed fleet.
“It’s important to mention that we don’t want this to be a costly exercise for taxi owners.
“The policy will be gradually implemented as and when licensed cars are replaced. The chosen colour will be one that drivers can easily buy, so there will be no need to re-spray.
“Dark green has been suggested as a potential colour, however we will be consulting with the taxi trade once again to take their views on which colour they think is most suitable.”
The council looked at the same issue last November and at that time it thought black would be the best colour to adopt. Jonny Rocks drove a private hire vehicle for almost seven years but currently works under a hackney licence.
He believes choosing dark green would be a bad move.
He said: “Anything dark is awful to keep clean – that was always the argument against black.
“The council will need to speak to the motoring industry because I don’t think there is a dark green that is a standard colour.
“I think it’s a horrible colour. Silver or grey are the best colours. They always look smart.”
While the choice of colour may be up for discussion, Mr Rocks likes the principle of uniformity.
“I think it could help,” he said. “I am not against the idea as long as it is the right colour. It could look really smart.”
All new applicants seeking a hackney carriage licence must have a vehicle less than five years old.
Meanwhile, drivers seeking to renew their licence must make sure their vehicles meets certain age criteria.
For example a car built in 2000 will be acceptable for a licence until 2014, 2001 until 2015, 2002 until 2016 and so on.
The yellow colour of New York’s taxis dates back to the New York Taxicab Company of 1907. Its cabs were originally painted red and green, but the owner repainted them to be visible from a distance.
http://www.southwestbusiness.co.uk/news ... ark-green/
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