Taxi Driver Online

Black cab firm reduces its losses

London Taxis International, the Coventry-based firm which makes black cabs, has seen a significant drop in its pre-tax losses.
Annual figures show the company, the only UK manufacturer of black cabs, has cut its losses from £10.2m to £1.2m.

Domestic sales of the vehicles, made at the company's Holyhead Road site, have increased by 7.9%.

It follows a year which has seen a pay strike by workers and the launch of environmentally friendly vehicles.

'Significant reduction'

Earlier this year, staff staged a walkout over a 2.9% pay increase offer claiming it was not enough.

Two hundred staff are continuing with indefinite industrial action.

In June a version of the cab, which can run on both electrical and diesel power, took to the streets of London for the first time.

The figures released by parent company Manganese Bronze Holdings for the year to 31 July also show US exports have increased to 168 compared with 26 in 2003.

Manganese Bronze's chairman Tim Melville-Ross said: "It has been a year of progress for Manganese Bronze, with our loss before taxation significantly reduced.

"Our core black taxi business increased sales at home and abroad."

A bit more info here.
http://business.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3591364

But what I can't work out is why drivers aren't using Zingo if it's so good. But a tie up with one of the circuits seems on the cards.

Part of the Zingo website:
http://www.zingotaxi.co.uk/zingo_advantage.asp?page=2

is it legal for the driver to charge an extra £1.60 over meter?

and they boast the the meter wont be started until the driver gets there !!

They class it as a booking fee on the tariff sheet.

But to answer your question, I don't think it is, but I don't set their fares.

How you can have a PH fare on a taxi tariff is beyond me, but it's the only thing that keeps the London Taxi radio circuits going.

Which is perhaps why it's on the tariff sheet.

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IDFIMH

Steve
as I understand it the offices in London can take a booking charge of 1.60 its approved by the pco.

zingo is hailing by phone and the pco as I understand it says its o.k.

er that is fact a problem in that they have also told taxi drivers not to carry mobile phones!

only a london cabbie would call PH work hailing by phone!!

It's mini-cabbing and always will be.