In the city of Southampton, you can spot a licensed taxi by it's colour or lack of it! All licensed taxis in the city are White with a clear 'Taxi' sign on the roof. This makes it really easy to find a cab which is safe to get into at the kerbside.
You may not realise, that people can only hail a taxi and safely ride in it from the kerb or roadside, if it is a licensed Hackney Carriage taxi. Other types of vehicles are for private hire and must be pre-booked or else you run the risk of not being insured during your trip - a worrying thought should there be an accident or mishap, especially when some of these drivers sadly do pick up without a booking.
Remember - Keep Safe by Hailing a White Taxi in Southampton!
- Only Hail and Ride in a white Southampton Taxi Cab - which is a registered Hackney Carriage Taxi
- All Hackney Carriage Taxi drivers are licensed, regulated and CRB checked by Southampton City Council
- The majority of drivers hold an NVQ and /or BTEC qualification in transporting passengers by taxi
- All white Hackney Carriage Taxis are MOT checked every year (compliance test) to ensure they are roadworthy
- When a white Hackney Carriage Taxi is more than 2 years old it also has to have an additional roadworthy test to retain it's license
- To ensure passenger safety white Taxis are retired after 7 to 10 years depending on the vehicle type
- Nearly all Southampton Hackney Carriages have CCTV cameras installed - keeping you safe during your journey
Below identifiers of a White Southampton Hackney Carriage Taxi which can safely be hailed from the road or kerbside include a sign on the roof, a red license plate and an all over white colour-way...
According to the
BBC website, official stats show a significant decrease in the number of people coming forward to become a trained London Taxi driver with 'The Knowledge'. Some think this may be because of the car-booking phone app Uber. The Uber phone app was designed in California by two entrepreneurs, and allows people to book a car journey using their smart phone. London cabbies say they feel under threat from Uber.
To be a licensed Hackney Carriage Driver in London, cabbies need to take The Knowledge test to ensure they know all of the streets and traffic layouts throughout the city. With Uber there is no driver test, and no meter; the fare is calculated on distance according to the App on your phone.
Once London Taxi Drivers have passed The Knowledge test they can get a passenger from A to B in London quickly and safely, however drivers do have to foot the bill of their training which amounts to around £600. Uber, simply allows drivers to start earning money with no training, just a reliance on Sat Nav.
Licensed Hackney Carriage drivers who can easily be identified in the city of Southampton by their 'all white cars' are now very concerned. They worry that Uber will kill off their trade, as it is believed that to date 20 Cities in the UK have already licensed Uber to operate - the latest one being very close to home - Portsmouth.
Steve McNamara, head of the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association is
quoted in the BBC article as saying: "Doing the Knowledge is a big time investment. Why would you do two or three years' training, when you have the promise instead of going out and earning instant money? We're very, very concerned about the situation." He goes on to say that Uber cars are 'clogging up the streets of central London while they wait to pick up passengers, and that Transport of London are not doing enough to ensure driver standards are maintained.
Oliver Cromwell set up the Fellowship of Master Hackney Carriages in 1654. The Knowledge test was introduced in 1851 as visitors to the Great Exhibition complained that drivers were making too many mistakes. Many people today still maintain that it is really important that licensed taxi drivers have a firm knowledge of the streets they drive upon, instead of relying on GPS.
Protests against Uber in London, have been mirrored in cities across Europe. It has been banned in Berlin and Madrid, while in the UK, unions in Leeds actively opposed it's launch there. Southampton Taxi Drivers now have to wait to see if Uber is allowed in the city.
Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) were absolutely delighted and privileged when P & O Cruises asked us to provide forty five white Southampton taxi's to advertise
their new cruise ship The Britannia.
As a small taxi driver association of Hackney Carriage drivers we welcomed the opportunity to form a good relationship with P & O and Carnival Cruises and trust that we presented a good impression. The idea behind the advertising campaign was to promote The flagship Britannia, the colours of the Union Jack and The Queen who named the ship.
We liaised with
Footprints at Swanwick, Southampton who designed the advertisements and spent quality time placing them on the taxi's towards the end of February 2015.
Below.. just some of the Southampton Hackney Carriage Taxi Drivers who took part in The Britannia advertising campaign.
The Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) welcome the latest Royal Caribbean Cruise Liner, The Anthem of The Seas.
Southampton Port will run an inaugural season of cruises to the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Northern Europe.
This is the third largest cruise ship in the World, and Godmother of the ship is 27 year old British Travel Agent Emma Wilby. Giving a ship a Godmother is a long held maritime tradition. The Godmother's role is to officially christen the vessel, and in Emma's case she will also sing a special song for VIPs at the ship’s inaugural ceremony on 20th April 2015 in Southampton.
When travelling in a taxi in Southampton, do remember to check you have all of your belongings when you leave the vehicle. Phones, purses, wallets, bags, coats and umbrellas all regularly get left behind in taxis.
The white taxis of Southampton are all driven by individual taxi drivers, and so there is no centralised lost property office which can store items left behind. If you have lost anything whilst travelling in a Southampton taxi cab, you should therefore contact the Central Police Station to see if it has been handed in.
The Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) is unable to help locate lost property as we are simply an organisation which was established to promote and benefit Southampton Hackney Taxi drivers in the city, we have no method of contacting individual drivers.
As a taxi association, we would definitely not suggest that anybody drink and drive, but we would recommend reading a great book called 'Southampton's Lost Pubs'! Written by Dave Goddard and Jim Brown, the book looks at many of the Southampton's old streets, inns, pubs and hotels which are no longer in existence.
The history of places such as Mount Street, Cross Street and Grove Street are covered as well as The Pembroke Hotel with is sadly no longer there. It's a fascinating book full of lots of old photographs and can be found in all good libraries.
Many people get in touch with Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) thinking we are a Taxi company - which we are not.....
So here are 10 top facts about the SHA for all you taxi drivers and customers out there:
1. The Southampton Hackney Association is not a "taxi business", we are an Association and supportive group for our member drivers
2. The SHA was established in 2001 to help promote the licensed Southampton Hackney Taxi drivers in the city
3. All of the SHA members are self-employed Taxi drivers
4. The Licensed Hackney Carriage Taxi Drivers all drive white vehicles in the city, with red badges on the back
5. The SHA is approved by Southampton City Council and is affiliated to Associated British Ports.
6. The SHA regularly and actively consult with local council officials to the benefit of our cities Taxi drivers
7. The SHA is interested in promoting the Hackney carriage trade in Southampton and growing our membership
8. The SHA receive around ten phone calls/emails a week reporting lost property left in a taxi, such as mobile phones, wallets, shopping bags and even suitcases. Always check you have all your possessions when arriving at your destination
9. As an association, our member drivers drive a range of taxis from the famous London Taxis; multi seater (MPV's) with disabled access; luxury saloons and more recently also hybrid cars
10. The SHA follow in the foosteps of Oliver Cromwell, who in June 1654 first licensed the horse drawn taxi trade!
The SHA are looking forward to welcoming the new Britannia Cruise Liner this year. 45 White Taxis from the Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) and others will be advertising the Britannia on their cars for a 3 month period - look out for the advert! The idea to support the cruise liner in this way was arranged by the SHA committee.
Are you travelling on the Britannia? Why not pre-book a tour or journey with one of the Southampton hackeny Assocaition members?
Click here to find out more. This could be an excursion or tour of London, Bath, or Winchester. A transfer to and from your hotel or any other trip you require.
The Southampton Hackney Association (SHA) Taxi Drivers would like to thank all of our customers for being so patient with the ongoing roadworks at Northam Bridge in Southampton city centre.
Something you may like to know is that SHA members will be having a meeting with Councillor Jacqui Rayment, who is the Labour Cabinet Member for Transport & Environment on Wednesday 28th January 2015 to discuss possible future improvements on roadworks in our city. This is just one of the actives roles SHA members play in the life of our vibrant city's future.
Everyone relies on cars to get from A-B nowadays, and yet is seems that many people do not know how to maintain their cars. A leading UK Vehicle Leasing Company called Flexed (flexed.com.uk), has carried out a survey of over 3000 drivers about basic car maintenance. Results showed that 49% did not know how to change a tyre, 31% did not know how to check the tyre pressures, 63% were unable to check the oil level, 29% were unable to full the wind screen washer bottle and 1% did not know how to fill up with fuel.
Flexed have called for basic vehicle maintenance to be part of the School or College curriculum. What do you think?
Happily if you use a white Southampton licensed taxi, you do not need to know anything at all about car maintenance we cover all of that for you! Get from A-B safely and stress free with one of the licensed taxis in Southampton city centre :O)
