Based in London SE8, Ascott Cab Co has been providing London ’s cab trade with routine servicing and unscheduled repairs for many years as well as supplying great deals on pre-owned cabs and Digitax meters. The company is run by the Ascott family; many mature drivers will remember the days when Micky Ascott ran the garage in Druid Street. Micky is sadly missed but must still look down from above on the great display of his beloved Millwall Football Club memorabilia at the garage.  The family support for the football team continues and it is there that the Digitax meter change takes place once again this year. Now the Ascott garage has been appointed as an LTI Vehicles Service Dealer.

Trained staff and a fully equipped workshop and bodyshop ensure downtime is kept to a minimum and repair work is carried out to the highest possible standards.  On site, there is also insurance brokers, Quotax. “Taxi drivers in London can be confident that we work hard to offer them excellent service and support,” said a spokesman for Ascott Cab Co.  “We realise that time off the road means loss of earnings, so our priority has always been to get drivers back. Should any driver experience a problem, we look forward to welcoming and providing them with the added peace of mind that their taxi will soon be looking and feeling like new.”

Peter Rigden, General Manager of M&O London, said: “In continuing the support of the rapidly growing TX4 population in London, I am delighted to welcome Ascott Cab Co to the family of LTI Mann & Overton Service Dealers. Ascotts have an extremely high reputation for customer service in the London trade and we are keen to further develop and strengthen our business relationship with them.”

This brings the total number of official LTI service dealers in London up to six.

To find out more about the Ascott Cab Co. call 020 8692 1122 or visit www.ascottcab.com

ASCOTTS are moving on the 30th March 2009 to

125-127 Evelyn Street, London   SE8 5RJ

Just two minutes from the Grove Street site.

The Bodyshop will remain at Victoria Wharf, Grove Street , London SE8 3NW

Boris Johnson wants a revolution in the use of electric cars. When he recently tested an electric sports car called the Tesla he said it produced “no more noxious vapours than a dandelion in an alpine meadow.” The Mayor wants to encourage the greater use of electric vehicles in London. He plans to get as much of the Greater London Authority fleet of vehicles running on electricity as possible and has agreed funding to provide more charging points across the capital. Having already committed to funding around 100 further electric vehicle charging points by 2012, it is clear the Mayor believes the electric car is a car for the future. In the meantime only one electric taxi is currently on the road – pardon the pun – the electric E7 from Cab Direct. This was launched at the Motor Show last summer. The E7 does not comply with the Conditions of Fitness in London and although a project is underway at LTI Vehicles to build an electric taxi the main problem to be overcome is the range of the battery. The batteries would need a much longer range than they have at the moment.

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

Following the publication of the Preliminary Results by Manganese Bronze Holdings, parent company of LTI Vehicles, Group chief executive John Russell said 2008 had been a challenging year for the company’s UK taxi manufacturing operation. However the company is rising to the challenge and is also making good progress with their joint venture with Geely in China. For many of those involved in the cab trade, reading the Manganese Bronze reports will not be a high priority and they will gather information from mainstream press. Rumours soon began to circulate in London and there were some who felt that the position of LTI was precarious and that if the company were to stop trading this would be the end of the cab trade as it is today. However the directors at Manganese Bronze and LTI Vehicles remain confident that this is not the case. Their banks have agreed to continue their overdraft and stock financing facilities for the next twelve-month accounting period. John said: “The taxi trade in London is aware of the problems we faced last year due to the recall on the TX4 following under bonnet fires. This cost the company £3.8 million and severely impacted the group’s 2008 financial figures. We are advancing well in negotiations with various third parties and believe significant opportunity exists for recovery of some of these costs. Although 2008 was what could be best described as a challenging year for our UK taxi manufacturing operation, we have made significant progress in our international marketing plans and the joint venture with Geely.”

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN HITS TAXI TRADE

London’s taxi trade has of course been hit by the current economic downturn that began last year when Lehmans hit the headlines in September. This immediately began a crisis in the City and many in the banking world have lost their jobs. This has had a knock on effect throughout the economy and not least in the cab trade where the corporate clients are a mainstay of business for the radio circuits. Under these circumstances, taxi owners who may have been thinking of changing their taxi for a newer model have decided to wait a little longer and there were also doubts as to whether it would be possible to get finance for a new taxi. But John said: “In these difficult times we remain optimistic. Like all public companies, we undertake an annual going concern review and I am happy to say that we have concluded that we are able to adopt the going concern basis in preparing our 2008 report and accounts.

MANUFACTURING FACILITY AT COVENTRY

Although sales of new vehicles are down this year, in part some decline in numbers was expected, as the sales had been so strong following the launch of the TX4. One of the effects of drivers keeping their vehicles for longer is that parts sales are increasing. The facility at Holyhead Road in Coventry continues to make the TX4 for the UK market and will do so for the foreseeable future. But there are issues to deal with; LTI relies on suppliers of components. John continued by saying: “LTI, like most small automotive companies, is single source for almost every component used to manufacture the vehicle. Any loss of a key supplier can have major funding consequences if production is suspended even for a short time period. We do have contingency plans in place, including procurement from China, but some components are of greater impact than others.”

PROGRESS IN CHINA

China is good news for Manganese Bronze. Having spent many months in negotiations with Geely, followed by setting up the new manufacturing plant near Shanghai, the diesel powered TX4 has passed European homologation. Testing is now underway and vehicles are being prepared for dealerships ready for the Chinese market launch of the vehicle at the Shanghai Motor Show in April. In China the TX4 emulates the TX4 made in Coventry. It has the same VM Motori engine currently used in TX4s here in the UK, although later in the year there will be a petrol derivative. Eventually it is hoped the engines will be sourced locally in China. There is an ongoing schedule of improvements to taxis, some of which have resulted from listening programmes held with the taxi trade at Coventry, and some of these changes are already in the new tooling set up in Shanghai. For different markets other adjustments are made. For example, the Shanghai taxi has different seats to the UK built TX4; for some countries the induction loop is not installed, as it is not a requirement and for hotter countries such as Bahrain, the cooling systems are upgraded to handle the high temperatures.

TOUGH TIMES, TOUGH DECISIONS

Having talked to John Russell, our editors feel that there is plenty of positive news from LTI Vehicles. Although the number of staff has been reduced to accommodate lower sales, the opportunity to streamline the business and make it more cost effective is turning a negative into a positive. Whilst decisions to make staff redundant or to ask staff to take reduced salary packages are never easy, these decisions are made with the best interests of the business at their heart. Manganese Bronze believe that their vehicle will continue to be made in Coventry for the UK market but that some of the parts and components will come from China bringing benefits to the company of lower costs. In the second half of 2008 the SMMT reported sales of 108 Mercedes converted taxi and sales of traditional purpose built TX4’s of 839 vehicles. “We believe that the availability of a choice of vehicle in London is of long term benefit to the development of the market,” commented John.

For the trade, in order to remain the best taxi service renowned throughout the world, reliable taxis that meet the tough Conditions of Fitness laid down by TfL and the PCO help ensure that drivers who study the Knowledge of London can continue to ply their trade on the streets of London and elsewhere across the UK. With the beginnings of the new manufacturing in Shanghai and the continuing efforts to attract international sales across Europe too, the future holds hope.

Taxi Globe Editor Sandie Goodwin and TaxiCab News Editor Bob Fisher

Soon after Dial-a-Cab moved to their new home, Call Sign Dial-a Cab’s in-house magazine reported that the Society had teamed up with Carbon Footprint Ltd to help reduce and offset Dial-a Cab’s carbon emissions, thereby reducing Dial-a-Cab’s impact on the environment and in particular, climate change. Every journey undertaken by Dial-a-Cab would from then on become carbon footprint free with any carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions being offset to zero. Since then, many drivers have asked whether the above was still happening or was it just a page filler?

The answer is that Dial-a-Cab is as involved as they were on day one and still driving down emissions and helping worldwide communities. So we asked Carbon Footprint’s Wendy Buckley for her assistance in updating our progress. “The business has just launched into the second year of its industry-leading carbon programme, committed to evaluate all its emissions and offset the unavoidable via an expanded range of quality projects worldwide that also bring community benefits. It’s not just Dial-a-Cab taxis that we are focusing on, but also all your office operations – with an aim to ensure Dial-a-Cab takes a leadership position as the most environmentally responsible taxicab business in the country.

“Since launching the project and along with Carbon Footprint, Dial-a-Cab’s commitment to the environment has been unwavering. They have offset 4,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide from operations, via a wind farm clean energy project in Harshnath (India), a reforestation project in the Great Rift Valley (Kenya) and before some ask why not here, also a reforestation project right here in London!

“Our Kenya Reforestation team celebrated a Christmas Tree planting with a traditional ceremony in front of the local Mayor with the team all wearing their Dial-a-Cab tee shirts! This marked the end of what had been a year of tragedy and challenge in the county, but as ever, the Kenyan spirit shone through.”

Meanwhile back in the UK, the tree-planting season has been in full swing at a climate change awareness event organised by Carbon Footprint at a Hampshire school where the pupils planted over 100 trees. The pupils also learnt how to minimise their impact on our world. As we said earlier Dial-a-Cab have now committed to offset not just the emissions of our taxi fleet, but also all office operations. And besides continuing support for the India, UK and Kenya projects, Dial-a-Cab has also selected an exciting new Central American Maya Nut Tree reforestation project, which brings both climate change and benefits to developing communities. This project is United Nations Environmental Programme approved and involves the planting and sustainable management of these native trees that help support rainforests and promote biodiversity. The Maya nuts themselves can be harvested from the trees and have great nutritional and medicinal benefits.

Carbon Footprint’s Managing Director, John Buckley, added: “This year – more than ever – Dial-a-Cab’s commitment to the Kenya project has truly supported local communities, bringing them hope in some very dark hours.”

Dial-a-Cab Chairman Brian Rice, told Call Sign: “We are firmly committed to being the leading environmentally and socially responsible taxicab business anywhere. Our carbon offset programme now means we’re supporting communities and very worthwhile projects across four continents, as well as doing our bit to help alleviate climate change.”

 By Alan Fisher, Editor of Call Sign