Thinking allowed

Taxi numbers plummet

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According to recently released data from Transport for London, the number of licensed taxis in the capital plummeted by 119 vehicles in the week ending 15th October 2023, while private hire licences continued to show an upward trend.

This left a total of 14,907 black cabs available to ply-for-hire in the capital covering 24 hours a day 7 days a week. during the same week.

On the plus side, 55 new electric cabs hit London’s streets.

In contrast, the private hire sector showed continued growth, with the number of private hire vehicles licensed climbing by a huge 206 compared to the previous week, reaching a total of 90,765.

These figures highlight the ongoing challenges faced by the traditional taxi industry, with some attributing the decrease in licensed taxis to high vehicle costs making it more difficult for part-time drivers to work.


Puppydog tails

Johnson’s London Dictionary: Ulez cameras

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ULEZ CAMERAS (n.) Black Sentinels much given to damage by vigilantly groups that do name themselves Blade Runner.

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

A window on My World

October’s monthly musings

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🚓 What Cab News

Many businesses and women have expressed their concerns about the scarcity of black cabs in the City at night. While black cabs are allowed to cross Bank Junction during nighttime, the various restrictions in the City during the day and other limitations have led drivers to increasingly avoid the Square Mile altogether. The ‘Cabs Across Bank’ campaign calls for action to ensure the safety and accessibility of transport options for all individuals, particularly women, in the City.

🎧 What I’m Listening

It’s a radio comedy that should strike a note with every blogger, I’m now listening to the 15th series of Ed Reardon’s Week who’s trying to survive in a world where the media seems to be run by idiots and charlatans.

📖 What I’m Reading

Last month publisher Frances Lincoln allowed me to review Jack Chesher’s London: A Guide for Curious Wanderers. Now I’ve been lucky enough to have been given another publication from the same company. This time it’s an enormous tome – London’s Underground: The Story of the Tube by Oliver Green. This updated publication will take me some time as the coffee table book is very large.

📺 What I’m watching

Line of Duty writer Jed Mercurio’s writing debut, Cardiac Arrest caused controversy due to its realistic depiction of hospital life. The series was twice nominated in the Best Original Drama category by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and topped a poll of UK medical professionals as the most realistic medical drama of all time.

❓ What else

Beneath the bonnet, CabbieBlog has been reformatted. Copyright infringement trolls are searching out miscreants, to ensure this blog stays online, posts that may inadvertently have used a copyrighted image are now password-protected. If you wish to peruse an old post contact me for access, I’ll interrogate the images and give you a personal password.

📆 What date?

400 years ago in London during the latter months of 1623, Isaac Laggard printed The First Folio, the first collected edition of William Shakespeare’s plays seven years after his death. Shakespeare wrote around 37 plays, 36 of which are contained in the First Folio. Most of these plays were performed in the Globe, an open-air playhouse in London built on the south bank of the Thames in 1599.

London in Quotations

London in Quotations: Groucho Marx

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I’m leaving because the weather is too good. I hate London when it’s not raining.

Groucho Marx (1890-1977)

London trivia

London Trivia: Road to Hell

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On 29 October 1986 the first ring road around a British city was finally opened by Margaret Thatcher as the last section – London Colney to South Mimms – was completed. Not long afterwards at 11.16 am the first breakdown occurred on the completed orbital road, the start of a fine London tradition. The tradition of being the biggest car park in England continues, severe weather in 2010 caused the Red Cross to provide blankets and tea for motorists stranded in their cars for 17 hours.

On 29 October 1618 Sir Walter Raleigh was executed at The Tower of London – his discovery of tobacco has been killing people since that time

Found a shed on Tottenham Court Road were the remains of 100 corpses victims of body snatching deposited there before being sold to surgeons

Tottenham Court Road stands on land leased to Queen Elizabeth I that came to be known as Tottenham Court because of its royal connections

The coffin of Dr. Thomas Barnardo was carried in funeral cortege on an underground train in 1905, one of only two occasions this is known to have happened

United States President Theodore Roosevelt got married in London, at St. George’s, Hanover Square. His wife’s middle name was Kermit

The historic Anchor Tavern on Bankside was the location for a scene for Mission Impossible starring Tom Cruise

Holy Trinity Church in Beechwood Road, Dalston is home to the annual Clowns Service attended by clowns in full makeup

Born in 1775 the inventor of the boxer’s uppercut, ‘Dutch Sam’ Elias, from Whitechapel trained on gin and lost just 2 of his 100 boxing fights

The last manually operated doors on Tube trains (pneumatic sliding doors were introduced on tube trains in 1919) were phased out in 1929

In the 18th Century John Harris, head waiter of Shakespeare’s Head, Covent Garden annually produced a Who’s Who of Whores

The 28-inch Greenwich refracting telescope is the largest of its kind in Britain and the seventh largest in the world

CabbieBlog-cab.gifTrivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.

Taxi Talk Without Tipping