Motorcab
Page 15
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Silence Before the Storm.
Portentous moves are imminent in the London motorcab world the owners' struggle for existence has become unsupportable, and things are going to hum" soon in more than one way. We may riot go into detail at the moment.
Shouldn't Smoke in Oldham.
Councillor C. Hardman, of Oldham, during a recent meeting of the Oldham Town Council, found fault with the permission that has been accorded to local drivers to smoke while on duty.
Maple's Bonus.
For several years, Maple and Co., Ltd., has been accustomed to give the driver of a hackney carriage. who sets down a fare at its premises a metal token entitling !urn to refreshment, value 2c1., at certain cab shelters and specified public houses. This arrangement, we are informed, has now been discontinued, as has als) a similar one which applied to the Grafton Hotel on the opposite side or Tottenham Court Road.
Bolton Protects the tlehu.
The Watch Committee of Bolton (Lancs.) has refused permission for I he Tnotorcab proprietors of the town : (1) to stand their vehicles in Trinity Street, where is situated the largest station in the town, and where there is always a long string of drowsy jehus ; (2) to erect a shelter at Victoria Square opposite the Town Hall, where taxicabs have been in the habit of standing ever since they have plied for hire in Bolton. The authorities are anxious to make things easy for the horsed cab.
At Ele.athan Mews.
Messrs. Randall and Fisher, of part of whose taxicab fleet we reproduce a photograph in this issue, have now acquired six Austin cabs. Mr. C. Randall is an owner-driver ; and we understand that be is also interested in the sales of Vinot cabs in this country. A corre spondentinforms us that. one. of the drivers of these Austin cabs is the subject of the little insetted reproduction of a photograph which appears at the head of the " Drivers' and Mechanics' " Page in every issue of THE CommEnetAL MOTOR. The Price of a Licence.
Our Berlin correspondent writes :—" Not very long ago I touched upon the results from the ' Nummerrsperre ' or numerical restrictions that have been placed on the petrol cab by the President of Police in Berlin ; it may interest your readers to hear that, through his policy, the price of a motorcab licence has now reached—X.320 I leave you to judge what profit is likely to be made from the operation of cabs that are acquired on uch terms. Those in the know predict that a licence will fetch by about Christmas-time. This is what the worthy President of Police has brought about by a benevolent attempt to prevent the horse-cab driver from going to ruin a?.1 grand galop. By helping the superseded driver he is ruining the motorcab owner. I must mention another phase of the situation Owing to the legal uncertainty respecting the transfer of licences without vehicles, cabs and numbers are now being sold together, the seller binding himself to purchase back the nine or less ancient cab at a price. Many a cab-owner who executed a contract of sale when licences were relatively cheap is now claiming the difference, and refusing to transfer the licence unless the extra sum be paid."