Buying a black cab as a private car

10 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

Have you ever considered using a black cab as a private car? With vehicles being decommissioned after 12 years, taxis are a great choice (unless you want to drive in a Ulez area!), here are what steps you must take to secure one of your own.

The classic Austin FX3 are likely to set you back as they are bought by enthusiasts, its successor the Fairway is also probably rare. My choice would be the TXI with a Nissen engine, one of the most reliable vehicles to ply London’s streets. The TXII, supposing an improvement, was a disappointment. The last iteration of diesel vehicles, the TX4 are now coming up for sale in some numbers as electric vehicles are replacing the fleet.

Black cabs, come in other colours, can carry five passengers in comfort (six if you add a front passenger seat, which is possible), and can easily turn in 25ft, that’s a boon in congested side streets.

How to modify the taxi so it’s fit for private use

First, you should ensure that you aren’t misleading people into thinking the black cab is for hire, you should remove any signage indicating that it is available for hire. If there is a plate still affixed to the vehicle’s rear this mustn’t be displayed. Paper ‘identifiers’ on the front and rear screens need also to be removed. However, I would caution against removing the roof ‘For Hire’ sign as water would certainly get through.

You may prefer to remove any no-smoking signs or similar from the inside of your vehicle, but it’s up to you. If a tariff notice and interior plate number remain you might like to keep them for the authentic cabbie look, and as they cannot be seen by the public you’ll not get into trouble.

How do I buy a black cab?

A quick search online will reveal that you can buy used black cabs from private sellers, or you might like to approach fleet owners who are now having to downsize, most independent cab garages could put you in touch.

Have a mechanic check the vehicle before you hand over any money, ex-taxis often don’t come with service histories, and the mileage will almost be on the high side.

How much does a black cab cost to buy?

An iconic London taxi can be bought for anywhere between £1,000 to £20,000. The price will depend on several factors, including the black cab’s mileage, age, and engine capacity.

License requirements

You don’t need a special license to drive a black cab unless you’re planning on becoming a cabbie. A standard driving license is all you need.

Taxi insurance for private use

If you’re buying a taxi for private use, you’ll need decommissioned taxi insurance for social, domestic and pleasure. Not all insurance companies offer this though. If you’ve decided that a black cab is the vehicle for you Adrian Flux provide quotes for all sorts of unusual vehicles, from former taxis to modified motors, bespoke vehicles and everything in between.

MoTs and servicing

A black cab will have seen many more miles than other second-hand cars, as such, it’s a good idea to get a service every 6,000 miles, just to make sure you keep your ex-hackney in tip-top shape. While London cabs now require two MoTs a year, only annual check-overs are required for private vehicles.

10 reasons why a black cab is the ultimate people carrier

They’re incredibly roomy – Black cabs have unrivalled passenger headroom and legroom, there’s plenty of space for shopping and luggage. The boot is quite small, but luggage can be stowed in various places in the passenger compartment and beside the driver.

The insurance is cheap – Most insurers will struggle to know how to rate your taxi, go to a specialist broker, you may find it's cheaper than a modern people carrier.

They’re cool – You’ll also be joining the ranks of celebrity cabbies – over the years, Sid James, Laurence Olivier, Stanley Kubrick, the Duke of Edinburgh, Stephen Fry and Kate Moss have all used a black cab as personal transport.

They’re safe – Black cabs are easily one of the safest car models on the road, that’s partly because they don’t go very fast. As a licensed passenger vehicle, safety was clearly of major importance when these cars were designed, and the result was a robust and safe set of wheels.

You can enjoy some peace whilst transporting the family – In a cab, simply close off the driver’s partition and turn off the intercom.

They’re good value – They will have been incredibly well maintained over the years, at one time the engine compartment required steam cleaning before its annual overhaul (the annual required inspection), my cab of choice with its Nissan 2.7 diesel engine, the TX1 is pretty bombproof and the chassis is incredibly robust. You can buy taxis from places like Elite London Taxis.

They’re accessible – All taxis from when the TXI was produced are wheelchair-accessible, and older ones might have been retrofitted. Access to and from the vehicle is good because of the large doors and spacious roof height.

Spare parts are cheap – Being ubiquitous parts are easily found and cheaper than mainstream vehicle manufacturers. Also, the body panels are cheaper than on most cars and bolt on and off, making repairs quicker, easier and cheaper.

They’re great for advertising – Black cabs are now well utilised as advertising mediums, with vast panels available for graphics. Here on CabbieBlog, we have featured vendors ranging from coffee stalls to ice cream vans. So, if you run your own business, black cabs are the perfect way to get about and plug your services at the same time.

Other cabbies give way – If you drive in London, genuine cabbies will let you out from a side turning, just ensure you reciprocate, or face a hard stare.

Thinking allowed

Too many results

9 November, 2023 Gibson Square 4 Comments

Last Christmas I was given an Ancestry DNA kit. The DNA companies (there are a number) send you a little bottle with a plastic funnel that you have to dribble in. Register online, seal the sample and send it away to Ireland where boffins run it through their algorithms and send you (by email, how else!) the results.

When you register your DNA test you’re given the option of putting your results out into cyberspace or keeping stum, probably a wise choice if you’ve populated the planet with illegitimate offspring.

The results were quite quick, about three weeks and although most of my DNA was derived from a Blighty source, disappointingly as much had derived from Sarf of The River, in fact Kent and Surrey.

Now this is where it gets annoying, even if you discount the Old Testament’s assertion that we’re all derived from the same progenitors, our DNA stretches back through countless permutations of couplings.

The results throw up literally thousands of potential relatives from a cousin once removed to an 8th cousin 4 times removed, and it would seem that a distant uncle of mind was on the Mayflower, as I have dozens of distant relatives in the New World. As a result, I’m getting weekly updates of people I don’t know or care to know.

Puppydog tails

At my house today

8 November, 2023 Gibson Square 3 Comments

On November 8th 1623, The First Folio, one of the great wonders of the literary world was published, seven years after the death of its author. It was the first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays. Without this achievement, we would have lost half of his dramatic work. Troubadour Stageworks is marking this day in true Shakespearian style with a 12-hour Shakespeare Marathon at Dr Johnson’s House from 10 a.m. today.

Today eight of Shakespeare’s plays will be woven together including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All’s Well That Ends Well, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night and ‘Fix Folio’ (36 Shakespeare Plays in 45 minutes).

The performance is free and can be viewed online or in person at Dr Johnson’s House, Gough Square, London.

You can drop in online or in person at @drjohnsonshouse

Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon

The Grill

The London Grill: Don Brown

7 November, 2023 Gibson Square 4 Comments

We challenge our contributors to reply to ten devilishly probing questions about their London and we don’t take “Sorry Gov” for an answer. Everyone sitting in the hot seat they will face the same questions ranging from their favourite way to spend a day out in the capital to their most hated building on London’s skyline to find out what Londoners think about their city. The questions are the same but the answers vary wildly.

Don Brown is a London Blue Badge tourist guide and has been taking people around the capital for the past seven years both in real life and online at uktoursonline.com. He also writes the Stuff About London blog, looking at various things about London that have caught his eye. He recently stepped down as the Director of The London Society, a civic society concerned with trying to make London a better place in which to live and to work.

What’s your secret London tip?

Go off the main streets – dive up the little alleys and side roads that lead off the direct route anywhere. Half the time there’ll be nothing out of the ordinary, but the other half you’ll discover some building, square, green space or something that you would never have known existed. (And if I’m ever guiding visitors from the US I also advise them to spend an evening in a pub, because that’s where you see and hear the real London, because the real London are the people.)

What’s your secret London place?

The Onion Garden in Seaforth Place behind Victoria Street. It’s a tiny little bit of rus in urbe squished between an access road and the tube line that is the work of a garden designer called Jens Jakobson. There’s a coffee stall where you can grab a drink and have ten minutes just recharging in the greenery.

What’s your biggest gripe about London?

Too much traffic! There are too many cars and they’re too big. The best bits of the city are the ones that have made themselves more pedestrian-friendly – the new public square in front of Somerset House on Strand for example, which has turned a six-lane highway jammed with buses into a beautiful, peaceful, calming space.

What’s your favourite building?

It always starts and finishes with St Paul’s Cathedral; it never fails to lift the spirits whether you’re right underneath it or just glimpse it from the train as you rattle into Waterloo.

What’s your most hated building?

I still can’t come to terms with the Walkie Talkie. There are lots of very good tall buildings across the city, but this is overbearing and ugly.

What’s the best view in London?

If you’re on the top deck of a bus on a summer’s evening as you cross Waterloo Bridge you look downriver to St Paul’s and the City, and see the sun gleaming off the glass of the towers and casting a soft light on the dome; upriver, the sky is red behind Big Ben and Parliament. Paradise.

What’s your personal London landmark?

Thirty years ago they were resurfacing Albert Bridge, but it was open to pedestrians. I walked over it just as it was getting dark and as I got to the middle all the lights came on and it seemed like they were illuminating the bridge just for me.

What’s London’s best film, book or documentary?

There’s an old Ealing comedy called Hue and Cry which has a bunch of kids running around the bombsites of the post-Blitz city and provides a glimpse of what London suffered in the war. My favourite book would be Jerry White’s History of London in the 19th century, telling the story of how this place grew to be the world’s first ‘megalopolis’, a city that was so big it became impossible for anyone to know it all.

What’s your favourite restaurant?

I don’t do that much eating out, but places I can’t pass without going in include the Bar Italia (double espresso and a cannolo), Brick Lane Beigel Bake (tuna and sweetcorn), and anywhere that does proper Portuguese Pastel de Nata custard tarts.

How would you spend your ideal day off in London?

A walk, I think. You can stroll down the river from Battersea Park to London Bridge without having to cross a road and all the big sites of London appear as you make your way east. Grab a bit of lunch at the Royal Festival Hall food market at weekends, pop into Tate Modern (or detour across the Millennium Bridge), fill yourself up on samples from the cheese stalls at Borough Market then finish off with a pint in front of the fire in the Parliament Bar at The George.

London in Quotations

London in Quotations: Ambrose Bierce

Quote 6 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

I believe we shall come to care about people less and less. The more people one knows the easier it becomes to replace them. It’s one of the curses of London.