Anniversary of licensed taxis

From the 'did you know' place, yesterday was the 115th anniversary of the first licenced taxicabs, writes Brian Byrne.

Picture by David Iliff.

London was the first city in the world to licence taxicabs, on December 6 1897. Earlier, in 1865, the famous 'The Knowledge' test for hackney carriage drivers in London was devised, and it is still the most demanding in the world.

For most of the last century, the black taxicab has been one of those quintessentially English icons. But last month, Manganese Bronze, the company that has been making black cabs since 1948, declared bankruptcy. The company, based in Coventry, England, says that the group will continue to operate during the bankruptcy process. But its future remains uncertain.

An app to hail a taxi

An app to book a taxi is now available for your smartphone in Ireland and the UK, using the GPS in the phone to tie down your location, writes Brian Byrne.

Clickataxi.com has just gone live in these islands, after previously launching in Scandinavia, the Ukraine, and Poland. Other coverage through Europe, Asia and the Americas is being rolled out during the rest of the summer.

Click A Taxi's app is free and costs nothing to use except whatever data download charges your phone operator provides. It's available from iTunes or Google Play.

There are no extra charges at the taxi end, just the normal meter payments. Click A Taxi is working with selected taxi services in its various locations.

Taxi trade investigated

A major investigation of the taxi industry in Ireland to be broadcast tonight will highlight double-jobbing, unroadworthy vehicles, and corruption in the NCT testing system.

The Prime Time Investigates programme followed a driver who spent his days driving a Dublin bus and his nights driving a taxi, with very little sleep.

It also reveals that there are 'rogue' multiple-licence operations which will rent a taxi to anyone for a weekend for €100, even if they have no taxi PSV licence.

And the investigating team also reports on how payment of €100 ensured the passing for NCT of vehicles which had been failed a short time before.

The programme is being broadcast at 9.30 on RTE 1.