February 2015 sees the arrival of the biggest cruise ship to have ever been built to Southampton. Currently being fitted out in Italy, she is called Britannia and can carry 3,600 passengers and 1,400 crew. Britannia has 15 passenger decks, and the length of her hull is taller than the Eiffel Tower!
With cruise bookings already in place for the vessel owned by P&O Cruises, perhaps you will be one of the guests on her maiden voyage? The White Southampton Hackney Licensed Taxis will be waiting to help you at the Cruise Terminals, indeed why not book your taxi to and from the terminal today?
The Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) support the Southampton Cenotaph Families and Friends Group.
Shaun Connolly is Chairman of
Southampton Cenotaph Association. He is also an excellent Genealogist, not only collating information on Servicemen and Women of Southampton who fought in the First and Second World Wars, but also undertakes private work. You can contact him either through the SHA website info@southamptontaxis.org and we will pass your details onto him or you can leave a message on the
Cenotaph website here.
Ever wondered how London cab drivers get about the city so easily? Many people will have heard about the detailed training and testing that London cabbies go through to obtain a job as a London taxi driver, but few know that this skill is being undermined.
The Week website has an interesting article exploring the new web app Uber which allows people to use their phone to hail a taxi and agree a fare. Uber apparently allows drivers to work for them without undertaking the rigourous testing that The Knowledge has traditionally demanded. Also Uber is apparently not subject to the Private Hire Vehicles Act.
This month, London's black cab drivers have protested by bringing parts of the city to a standstill. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) says its protest is not aimed at Uber, but at Transport for London, who they say is failing to hold the phone-based taxi service to the proper taxi driver regulations.
The LTDA's general secretary, Steve McNamara, said: "Transport for London not enforcing the Private Hire Vehicles Act is dangerous for Londoners."
The Southampton Hackney Association want to show their support for the London Cabbies with their argument against Uber - who enlist drivers to work for them without having to spend three years plus in doing The Knowledge.
The Daily Echo has reported on two Private Hire car drivers who have been fined in the city, after picking up passengers who had not pre-booked.
As the Southampton Hackney Association have mentioned on many occasions, it is only the white licensed taxi drivers who can pick passengers up from the roadside in and around our city at taxi ranks. The various private hire vehicles , (which can be any colour) that you see around are not insured or licensed to do so.
The courtoom heard were told that Southampton city council officials had carried out one of their regular random checks on Private Hire cars, and spotted one of the drivers picking up passengers illegally in Bedford Place. The driver pleaded guilty to breaching his private hire licence and not having the appropriate insurance.
The second driver picked up two customers at Leisureworld, not realising they were city council officials carrying out checks on Private Hire Drivers behaviour. This driver also admitted two other charges, and was fined £200 with a £30 surcharge fee and £200 costs.
The Southampton Hackney Association are keen to underline that the white taxi cabs found across the city are licensed taxis. Licensing is carried out by Southampton City Council. As such it is safe to hail them at the roadside, or to get in at one of the cities many taxi ranks - here is a list to help you find us:
Both sides of the Southampton train station - in Commercial Road side and on theToys R Us side
West Quay - Portland Terrace opposite main entrance to West Quay shopping centre
Portland Terrace, near bus stops by Asda
At the Bargate in High Street by A Plan Insurance
Town Quay outside Red Jet Terminal (IOW)
Terminus Terrace, near to Oxford Street
Above Bar Street, opposite Yates pub
Church Street in Shirley
Portswood High Street
Bitterne - Angel Crescent
Opposite Debenhams in Queensway
Leisureworld cinema entrance
Hannover Buildings outside Santander bank
Bannister Street outside Night Club (night time only)
St. Mary's Road outside British Gas offices (night time only)
London Road (night time only)
Did you know that there are two types of cab on Southampton city's roads?
One is the licensed white Hackney Carriage Taxis, which can be found in around the city centre. These are the cabs which you can safely hail at the roadside or pick up at a taxi rank. The cars and drivers are wholly insured to pick up passengers in and around the city.
The other sort of cab are the Private Hire taxis, also known as minicabs (which can be any colour). These must be pre-booked and must never pick people up from the roadside as they do not have insurance to do so. If there were to be an accident, the passengers who were picked up at the kerbside would not be covered for any injury.
A very worrying new piece of legislation highlighted by sky.com means that Private Hire drivers could loan their cars to anyone whilst they are not driving them. The article explains that this could put people, and especially women at risk, since they would have no idea that the driver was not a licensed private hire car driver. As it stands, minicabs and private hire cars can only be driven by a person who has undergone medical, background and criminal record checks by the council, and given a license. However, under the new law, drivers can loan their cars to anyone, with the idea that this helps drivers by allowing their partners and family members to use their cars - rather than having to own a second vehicle.
Campaigners say this new ruling could be taken advantage of, and might lead to sexual predators targetting victims. The article quotes Rachel Griffin from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust who says: "We know that posing as a legitimate minicab driver is the preferred method of some quite dangerous sexual predators and we know that from the statistics in London where sexual assaults by bogus minicab drivers are worryingly high." The fear is that unlicensed drivers could target people who are vulnerable after having a drink and a late night.
With Southampton's licensed Hackney Carriage Drivers being in clearly marked white vehicles, it is very easy to know which taxis are licensed to safely carry you in and around our city centre. Hail a white taxi at the roadside, or find one at a taxi rank in Southampton. You can double check you can spot a white licensed Hackney Carriage Taxi by the photos below.
Here at the Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) of licensed taxi drivers, we often come across people who leave their mobile phone, wallet or umbrella behind in the cab, as well as the odd coat or two. However, a London cabbie had a real shock recently when he realised that a lady had left her toddler in the back of his taxi!
The cabbie only realised the lady's mistake when he noticed the little girl standing on his back seat. According to The Sun newspaper, the driver instantly returned to the drop off point and was met with around 30 people, the police and the mother who was incredibly worried and upset.
Cabbie Ertan Rasit, says on his return it was like a scene from a film: "I got out with her baby and the crowd started cheering and clapping."
It's always worth double checking you have all of your belongings (and family members) when leaving a taxi cab!
You can read more about this story on the ITV website here.
Passengers coming off cruise ships sometimes ask the Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) taxi drivers where can they store their luggage safely when touring Southampton and other local places of interest. We recommend Safestore which can be found at 100 St Marys Rd, Southampton, Hants, SO14 0AL. Just ask your taxi driver to take you there - it isn't far from the cruise ship terminal.
Look out for the licensed white taxis of Southampton when disembarking your ship. Our friendly, helpful drivers will do all that we can to make your stay in the area enjoyable. The white taxis of Southampton are licensed and fully insured to take you safely to any destination of your choice. Why not pre-book a tour with one of us, or an onward journey?
The season has begun for the Cruise Ships, which are now coming back into Southampton Docks regularly. From March until the end of December there will be over 400 liners coming into Southampton, making our City the number one Port in Northern Europe!
If you are arriving in Southampton on a cruise and want to explore, look out for the white taxis at Southampton's Port. These are the city's trusted and licensed taxi's, and any of the drivers can take you safely to your hotel, or even on an excursion or tour. Historic Winchester, Stonehenge and Salisbury are all within driving distance and well worth a visit. We can even drive you into London. You can
easily pre-book ahead of your holiday or hail a taxi at the rank at the port.
Some of Ships coming in to Southampton include Queen Mary II, Adventure of the Seas, Oceana, Oriana, Independence of the Seas, Queen Victory and Azura as well as many, many more.
Southampton's Taxi drivers look forward to driving you to your destination - look out for our white cabs!
It is illegal for Private Hire Vehicles (PHV) to tout for business or pick up people from the roadside without being pre-booked as by doing so, it invalidates the driver's insurance putting passengers and others at risk. Only licensed Hackney Carriage Drivers are able to pick people up from taxi ranks and after being hailed from the kerbside. In Southampton, these taxis can be identified as they are all white. There is a zero tolerance approach to illegal touting for business by unlicensed taxis and PHV's in the city.
Apparently for the past 10 years for reasons of public safety and fair trade Birmingham City Council & the Police have carried out regular Taxi and Private Hire plying and touting operations, and also safety checks which involve the licensing enforcement team on a regular basis. The aim is to catch those who tout for business illegally.
PC Humpherson says that offenders are prosecuted and their vehicles can be seized. During 2013 - 900 Private Hire Vehicles were checked; 21% failed on safety grounds and 42% didn't compy with taxi regulations and were prosecuted.
PC Humpherson and Birmingham County Council have found one of the ways to get their message across is via social media, you can follow special police motorcyclist PC Humpherson on Twitter @bhamtaxicop
Many in the Southampton Hackney Association have been taxi drivers for most if not all of their working lives, and several of our members are very interested in the history of taxis through the ages.
One of our group recently found this wonderful piece of film from British Pathe News, which features Tom and his Horse drawn Hansom Cab in 1946. Even though there were plenty of cars on the road in the 40s, it seems Tom and Dolly the horse were still able to make a trade from carrying passengers in central London. After 50 yrs in the taxi trade, it's hard to imagine Tom converting from a horse drawn to cab to one with an engine!
Notice that Tom wears his hackney carriage license badge on his jacket. You can watch a clip of the film by clicking the image here, and also buy it for £30.
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