Taxicabs San Francisco
Jamie Borwick of London Taxis International had to cut short a recent visit to California, leaving his TX1 stranded about 80 miles north of San Francisco. To my huge delight, he recruited me to retrieve the vehicle and deliver it to an associate in SF. So here is a description of what it is like for a cab driver who has never even seen a TX1 to experience this marvelous taxicab on a ride through some of the loveliest country you could imagine.
As it turned out, the trip was delayed a day and by then LTI engineer John Simpson had arrived in SF. He could have gone for the cab himself, but sensing my excitement he graciously asked if he might come along as a rider.
To get the cab, we headed north across the Golden Gate Bridge into the fog-shrouded hills of Marin and on to the Bohemian Grove, a secluded getaway spot for many of the Bay Area's most influential residents. We found the TX1 nestled among a stand of enormous redwood trees, some of which were already ancient when the Magna Carta was signed.
It took more than an hour to get out of the place because so many people wanted to talk and examine the cab. "Too bad it doesn't come with a London cabby," was one comment.
Along for the ride was SF Taxi Commissioner Mary McGuire, who got up early after driving taxi in the City the night before. In the photo, Mary shows her credentials from the driver's seat of the TX1.
David Barlow, who drives my own cab two nights a week, agreed to be the first driver, getting us down from the hills and into the Sonoma Valley where I took the wheel.
Somehow I had gotten the impression that London cabs are small. Not so. The TX1 is a substantial vehicle, rivaling a large SUV in size. The road-handling is excellent, delivering a smooth, solid ride even on roads made rough by heavy logging trucks.
This particular vehicle is unique among TX1s, having a gasoline engine linked to an automatic transmission. I don't know much about engines, but can say that this one has plenty of power. It climbed long grades effortlessly, and made easy work of a very steep City street.
It is a good looking car that catches peoples' eyes. It was fun to see heads turning from the people in a Rolls Royce that we encountered on the freeway.
This is a very comfortable taxicab to work in, with a high driver's seat. A nice feature is a bulb-like device that you pump with your hand to inflate the lower back support built into the seat. There is plenty of space for the driver's belongings.
Only the driver sits in front, with the other half of the front compartment available for stowing a passenger's luggage. The space for the meter is up high, above the rear-view mirror, clearly visible to passengers in the back seats. The hood of the car is downward sloping, making it barely visible from the driver's seat.
While rolling through miles of vineyards sporting lush summer foliage, I experimented with the cab's built-in intercom. It has separate volume controls for the front and rear speakers. There is a partition between the front and rear compartments, with jump seats mounted on the rear side.
The really unique feature of the TX1 is the passenger compartment. You step into it and walk back to the seats instead of sliding in fanny-first as in most sedans. The doors open to 90 degrees, with the top of the door almost six feet above the ground. The floor is completely flat.
In the photo, I test a folding jump seat that swings out. It allows mobility-impaired customers to sit down even before entering the cab.
The cab is wheelchair accessible via a ramp. Passengers in the main seats can stretch their legs full-length and still have plenty of room in front of them. There are power switches on both sides for customers to control lighting, heat and fan, windows, door locks and the intercom. A light indicates when the intercom is turned on.
We stopped at an old-fashioned roadside place called Mom's and sat outside enjoying fresh-baked slices of mouth-watering apple, cherry and rhubarb pie. The parking lot was a perfect place to try out the cab's famous tight turning radius. It was hard to believe as we watched this large car perform a full-circle turn in the space of about 25 feet.
A feature I especially like is that the interior surfaces are all easy to get at, making it easy to clean. There is high-visibility coloring on handles and seat edges, and lights located at the exterior door handles that glow when the cab is available for service. In addition to the taxi top light, there is a lighted device inside the car which is visible to prospective customers from the side, indicating whether or not the cab is for hire.
One fellow looking for a cab along Lombard Street tried to flag down the TX1. No doubt he was a visiting Englishman cheered by the familiar sight. I hurried to get the window down and call out in my best accent, "I'm already engaged, mate," but I fumbled too long and missed the fun.
I'd like to balance this account with some negatives, but there really aren't any. It is an amazingly comfortable and practical taxicab, full of useful and elegant features, but nothing of whistles-and-bells. It is a joy to drive and a very nice way for passengers to ride. I'm afraid it has spoiled me forever.
As we came back alongside San Francisco Bay, with wild flowers beside the road and long-legged cranes in the shallow water, I wondered how long will it be until these purpose-built taxicabs grace the streets of our own fair city. The time is not yet, due to differing vehicle standards between the UK and the US, but let's hope that the day will come soon.
Published in London's Call Sign Magazine
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