Here’s a terrific look at the London Taxi world of 1960, one of the excellent Rank Cinema “Look At Life” series of shorts. Lots of London street shots, a detailed explanation of how “The Knowledge” is acquired, how the cabs are serviced, and overhauled, and even a whole section on how the mechanical meters are built and tested. Well worth the nine minutes.
I really enjoy riding in London Taxi, very roomy. This thing has a remarkably small turning circle so perfect for around town driving. Ride and noise level could be better though. Packaging wise, London Taxi better than Checker.
Different tools for different jobs,
Fun video, veddy, veddy British.
I wonder if anyone caught the naked lady poster in the shop at around 5.24?
You see a lot of the older cabs had an open compartment for luggage where the passenger door would go.
The open luggage compartment was on the older FX3. A friend had one of these many years ago ( for fun).I don’t think I ever drove it, but I did try the drivers’ seat out. It was very cramped – all the space is reserved for paying passengers and the driver was forced to sit very close to the steering wheel.
The next best thing to a time machine!It looked like we were having a cold spell judging by the overcoats and scarves worn inside.Thought I caught a glimpse of Battersea power station early on in the film and overhead wires for a trolley bus.Saw the nude poster and wondered how that got past the censor
A small turning circle is a significant advantage when navigating anywhere in a crowded city, but the actual dimension of the turning circle is dictated by the size of the tiny roundabout outside the Savoy hotel in London.
+1 Louis D
We went to London this June and make it a point to have ‘tea’ at Savoy and waited for taxi just to see big ole London taxi navigate that tiny roundabout. I wonder if they still require lessons on London roads for cabbies, but we were impressed when they knew some tiny little lanes without having to use GPS.
Anyone knows how many miles or KM per day for an average London taxi?
No idea but a Sydney Cab averages 1000km per day cool film lots of CCs.
I’ve been to London many times and driven in lots of Black Cabs and none of the drivers ever got lost or didn’t know the address of where I wanted to go. There has been research performed on a London Cab driver’s brain and over time it changes as they develop a mental “map” of the city
The other amazing thing is how well dressed the drivers and workers were. Drivers all wore slack, dress shoes, overcoats, scarves and ties. When was the last time you saw that anywhere? The cars are clean and well maintained. Surprised to hear the engines were overhauled annually as they said the average cab driver drover 40K miles per year. I am guessing the cabs went out on multiple shifts and racked up closer to 80K miles per year. Most were diesel but likely very hard miles.
As a sign of the times, the Chinese company Geely now owns both Volvo and the black cab company.
For those of you who are Byrds fans, Roger McGuinn used a 16mm camera in 1967 to film a trip to London (set to “Eight Miles High,” of course), which includes a lot of street scenes taken from a black cab. His use of quick cuts is really ahead of its time, predating MTV by about two decades, and you’ll probably recognize a few old cars there.
http://growingbolder.com/media/Entertainment/Music/Historic-Home-Movie-Rediscovered-152484.html
Terrific film, and much of what it depicts still takes place – the cabmen’s shelters, the inspections, and The Knowledge – learning all the London routes, which can now take 2-3 years. Aspirant cabbies no longer use bicycles, but it’s a rare journey around London when you don’t see a couple of scooters with pasted pages from the London A-Z on a clipboard in front of the rider, doing exactly the same as the chap in the film, over 50 years ago. Look out for them next time you’re over here.
I don’t imagine the meters are still made by hand in a factory in Middlesex though, and the gender demarcation in the booking office was a real blast from the past. Nice to see the lady telephonist had put on her pearls for the cameras!
Video seems to be unavailable.
Thanks for the heads-up; it was a case of link rot. Now it’s fixed, for however long this new link lasts.