Allied have their eye on London
Paul Nelson is managing director of Allied Vehicles, who manufacture the E7 taxi in Glasgow, trading as Cab Direct. In a recent article in a Scottish newspaper he revealed that Cab direct once again have their eye on getting their taxi licensed in London. The main reason that the E7 is not allowed to ply for hire in the capital is that it fails to meet the 25 feet turning circle requirement of the Conditions of Fitness. Mr. Nelson said: “We are in the early stages of instructing lawyers to take London to court if our vehicles are not allowed on its streets. Our message to Boris Johnson is that Allied are coming. We will get our vehicles on to the streets of London, hopefully with his blessing.”
He said: “refusing to allow the E7 taxis may be a breach of European competition rules”. During the past few years, there have been several challenges to licensing regulations in various cities around the UK where the E7 was subsequently licensed. In 2009, Allied won a landmark ruling after challenging Liverpool city council’s decision not to allow the E7 to operate. Lawyers argued the decision contradicted free trade laws by restricting the Peugeots’ use and sale. The High Court ordered the council to reconsider licensing the Peugeots for taxi use. E7 taxis are licensed in other cities including Edinburgh, Newcastle and Manchester. Allied’s co-founder and chairman, Gerry Facenna, reportedly met with TfL officials recently to ask them once again to lift the ban. Mr. Nelson told reporters: “We have spent a lot of time and effort on building a product. What we are up against is a Chinese company producing the London black cab to a 60-year-old design while we are a good UK company working for the best solution for the customer. “London wants to keep its own black cabs. The problem is clearly that we are not part of the establishment.” Helen Chapman, TfL’s taxi general manager, said: “Currently there are two taxi manufacturers, the London Taxi Company and Mercedes Vitos adapted by One80 Ltd, which have a variety of vehicle models that are licensed. Some older models of taxis from other manufacturers, which meet the Conditions of Fitness and are approved for use in London, are the Metrocab and Asquith taxi models. “TfL is also aware of, and working closely with, a number of other vehicle manufacturers that are developing new zero emission capable taxis which will also fully meet the Conditions of Fitness.”
CoF REVIEW
Back in 2005, it was the Public Carriage Office who issued the results of the Conditions of Fitness review for London’s taxi industry. Three aspects had been challenged by Allied Vehicles Limited; the turning-circle requirement; the requirement that sliding doors are power assisted and the requirement for a one-piece rear window. At that time, the Review decided to retain the turning-circle requirement, not require sliding doors, if fitted, to be power-assisted and introduce a new condition to address the issue of visibility into and out of taxis for the benefit of passengers and drivers. Roy Ellis, then the Head of the PCO, said: “After a comprehensive review, it was found that the tight turning-circle produced tangible significant benefits to the travelling public, and that these outweighed the advantages of removing it. Allied Vehicles alleged that the retention of the turning-circle requirement led to fewer taxis, higher fares, less suitable taxis for the needs of the disabled and the unavailability of safer and more comfortable taxis, to the disadvantage in general of passengers and drivers alike. The facts of these alleged dis-benefits were not borne out by the research undertaken. “Approximately 50m U-turns and over 90m other tight turns are performed by London taxis each year. If these U-turns were replaced by multi-point turns and other alternative complex manoeuvres, this could cause delay and impede other road users. “Overall, during this review, both passengers and drivers preferred the existing London Taxi.”
