Taxis can help bus companies
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Britain does not yet appreciate the potential contribution to public 'transport systems offered by better use af taxis, This is apparent from a passage in London Transport's annual report blaming some of the traffic congestion on empty cabs cruising about for passengers.
But in most Eastern bloc countries the integration of taxi facilities into cities' public transport patterns removes in-fighting between cabs and buses and brings about a more flexible allocation of capacity.
There is, however, an admission that more eould be done in the UK, par* elderly in London, in a recent ..Aert sponsored by the Science Research Council. Some of the findings are based on European experience.
There are two distinct aspects of taxi operation within a public transport sestern. One uses large taxis between fixed terminals but with flexibPity in routeing to provide for.sfe. ig dawn at or near individual r1.3se.ngers' destinations. Belgrade :les a fleet of Renaultengined L■ V minibuses based at the centre'. : I and bus station as a complemee. to the tram and bus services
In the sec e phase of
integration dc transport operators tau ,urning increasingly
towards the taxi for help in serving unremunerative routes or those where demand at off-peak times is minimal. This is by far the more interesting aspect involving the taxi trade, aided, in most countries, by legislation less cumbrous or obstructive than in the UK.
A long-term trial in Amsterdam used radio-controlled taxis to "extend "a route from the outer terminal of tram route No 1 to an outlying cemetery. Passengers could request the tram driver to radio the control room for a taxi connection while in-bound travellers would telephone the control room for a pick-up.
Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich have reported impressive savings by substituting contract taxis for buses on late night routes. With average loads of four passengers per tram or bus, conversion to taxis in Munich has resulted in a saving of operating costs of DM 1000 (over E200) per week on one route alone.
Taxis in use in Berlin and Frankfurt carry the normal route number and are otherwise identified as working for the transport undertaking. Normal fares are payable and the drivers will radio for a relief cab if necessary.