Taxi Driver Online

Evening News (Edinburgh)

July 26, 2006, Wednesday

HEADLINE: City gives the green light to six new taxis

SIX new-style taxis with room for more passengers than traditional black cabs have been given the go-ahead to use city streets.

An age-old restriction on the style of the city's Hackney cabs was scrapped in June, paving the way for greener and more wheelchair-friendly taxis. The six or seven-seater E7 cab is cheaper, costing GBP 22,000 rather than GBP 30,000, and it includes extra safety features such as ABS braking and airbags.

Councillors have now granted licences to six owners of the new taxi, despite a technical mix-up that saw the cabs off the road for around one week. After the council's decision in June, two drivers immediately started using their E7s - but they had not been informed they would need a new licence.

This has now been resolved, and the chairman of the newly-formed Edinburgh Taxi Association, Eric Shade, said passengers are "delighted" with the cabs. But one concern about the new vehicle is that it could cause traffic disruption, as it is not able to perform tight U-turns.

Only one company in Britain currently manufactures vehicles able to swing round in one tight movement. London Taxis International has until now had an effective monopoly in Edinburgh.
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