Archive for category: Taxi News

On 4th September 2013, The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers (WCHCD) held their Installation Dinner on board HQS Wellington. During a meeting before the dinner, taxi driver Graham Woodhouse was installed as the Master of WCHCD for the forthcoming year. Handing over the tenure was Brenda Bartlett who wished Graham a year as good as the one she has enjoyed as Master. During the same ceremony, the Wardens (pictured) were also installed and for this year they are Malcolm Paice as Upper Warden, Renter Warden is Colin Evans and Lower Warden is Alan Roughan.

Graham said that it was a great honour to be chosen as Master for the year and he is looking forward to carrying out his duties. One of the main aims of the WCHCD is to promote high standards of the taxi trade in the City of London and Brenda said that she found the WCHCD is held in high esteem throughout the City with other Masters and Livery companies. Other aims of the WCHCD are charitable and educational; Graham has been the lead Guide Course tutor run by the WCHCD and some of those who have joined the Company have been introduced through undertaking the course. A new course is now underway and is fully subscribed, but a new one will be running in the early weeks of 2014. One of Graham’s first duties as Master was clothe two Freemen of the WCHCD in the Livery. David Neale and Stephen Mullen were welcomed as Liverymen and then Raymond Coggin, Lee Cooper, John Ford and Graham Waite joined the WCHCD as Freemen. They were given a warm welcome and joined the WCHCD at dinner. Following a Drinks Reception out on the Quarter Deck in glorious sunshine, dinner was enjoyed in the magnificent Court Room, where the gold and silver collection of The Honourable Company of Master Mariners, along with works of art, is housed. During the course of the dinner, the Master welcomed the new Liverymen and Freemen and then he spoke of how he had become a member of the Company and how delighted he is to be Master. His guest speaker for the evening was Vera Day, who has been an actress in many movies including Lock Stock and Smoking Barrel. In her speech she regaled guests with her memories and experiences over the years. The evening finished with a Stirrup Cup which guests enjoyed on the upper deck of the ship where the River Thames sparkled with the reflections of lights along its banks. On 20th September, Graham together with his wife Caroline, headed the convoy of cabs leaving Canary Wharf on the Magical Taxi Tour. Graham has been a driver on this trip for many years and this is the 20th anniversary of the event.

For more information on the company, joining the Guide Course or the Magical Taxi Tour please contact The Clerk Mary Whitworth on 01494 7675922.

TaxiCabNews

Hailo, one of London’s largest app-based taxi network is set to team up with Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity to raise at least £10,000 in just ten days. The charity provides emotional and practical support for families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. For every Hailo job accepted by Hailo’s London driver network between 1st and 10th October 2013, Hailo will make a donation to Rainbow Trust. The £10,000 target will be sufficient to cover the cost of transport in Hailo taxis to and from essential hospital appointments in the London area for an entire year. Given the range of illnesses suffered by children supported by Rainbow Trust, travelling to these appointments using public transport is highly challenging and often impossible. Therefore, assisting with transport is one of many areas of support provided by Rainbow Trust.

CHARITY OF CHOICE
The idea for this initiative came directly from Hailo drivers, who identified Rainbow Trust as their charity of choice. Hailo will be providing regular updates throughout the duration of the fundraising directly to its driver network and through its Twitter feed, @HailoLondon. Commenting, Russell Hall, Hailo co-founder and a London cabbie for over 20 years, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to help a charity as worthy as Rainbow Trust. Anyone who is a parent knows that seeing their child suffer is one of the most difficult things in life to cope with. There is no financial value that can be put on the support that Rainbow Trust provides to families but I very much hope that we’ll be successful in reaching our £10,000 target and the transport cost this will cover will make a difference to the children and parents that Rainbow Trust supports.” Nicola O’Donnell, Senior Corporate Partnerships Manager, Rainbow Trust, added: “We’re delighted that Hailo has chosen to support Rainbow Trust in this brilliant initiative. It’s even more pleasing that this initiative has been driver led. £10,000 worth of taxi transport will make a huge difference to our families as important hospital appointments are stressful enough without the added difficulty of taking public transport with a seriously ill child and an agitated sibling. We urge every London cab user to help support these families by downloading the Hailo app and making every taxi they use between 1st and 10th October a Hailo one.”

RAINBOW TRUST
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity provides expert social palliative care to families when their child has a life threatening or terminal illness. Offering emotional and practical support, assistance is available for families 24 hours a day. Individually tailored high quality care is offered from diagnosis through to treatment and, should a family become bereaved, the charity will continue to support them for as long as they are needed, helping family members cope with the present and prepare for the future. Rainbow Trust relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and through the outstanding generosity of its supporters is able to help more than 1,350 families a year throughout England. The charity’s vision is that one day all terminally ill children and their families will have access to a Rainbow Trust carer. During the last 25 years the children’s charity has attracted a raft of celebrity support, with highlights including renowned sports presenter Clare Balding hosting their glittering carol concert last year; the cast from Downton Abbey attending Rainbow Trust’s Jubilee Ball along with creator Julian Fellowes; and Hollywood actress Brigitte Nielsen stepping out to support the charity’s ‘Trust in Fashion’ event. The charity has gained considerable respect among the healthcare/medical profession for its expertise in social palliative care and in 1993 the Department of Health actually used Rainbow Trust’s methods as a template for social palliative care services. The charity was also invited to contribute to the Department of Health independent review of palliative care services for children and young people in England in 2007.

TaxiCabNews

The New York Observer has reported on the death of the city’s oldest yellow cab drivers. Johnnie “Spider” Footman passed away, aged 94 after a brief illness.

Mr Footman began driving in 1937; he had famous passengers such as John Wayne and Rock Hudson. Although Mr Footman was still driving at 92, having successfully passed a medical test, he had recently stopped taking passengers.

He had been in several films about taxi drivers, with the latest “Drivers Wanted” featuring 55 Stan, the taxi company where he was working. He was considered as one of New York New York’s most interesting and beloved taxi drivers. According to the New York Times’ obit, he wore a spider pendant around his neck and a hat that said “Old Dude made of Achey Breaky Parts!” so hence his nickname.

He would warn passengers that he was a slow driver due to his age, though he had an impeccable driving record and had never had an accident while working at 55 Stan, the taxi company where he was working. David Yassky, the commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, said: “He’ll be missed. He was one of those drivers who knew the streets, knew his cab and knew his passengers, and he balanced all three perfectly.”

TaxiCabNews

For the fourth year running the United Cabbies Group was honoured to run a free taxi service for veterans on Remembrance Sunday. In conjunction with the British Legion, this taxi service has become an important feature for veterans travelling to ceremonies in central London.

Taxis were ready and available from 8am at most of the major London rail stations, as well as at British Legion locations, including the Union Jack Club. The drivers assembled on Westminster Bridge to observe the 2 minute period of silence. Then there was a free shuttle service to ferry veterans to various locations in London.

Following the interest in vintage taxis last year, members of the London Vintage Taxi Association were delighted to join in the service, bringing their vintage cabs for the veterans to enjoy. This included the Unic taxi which has been seen in the popular TV series Downton Abbey. This year the veterans were given the opportunity to see and ride in old London Taxis from the early part of the 20th Century.  As usual the cabbies were giving their time without any payment whatsoever.