SYDNEY taxis would be painted yellow so as to stand out for locals and visitors and pave the way for a national system of yellow cabs, under a proposal by the nation's leading transport and tourist body.
The proposal is one of many being advanced by The Daily Telegraph's cabinet of experts for the People Plan, a new forum for fresh ideas and firm action to deliver better transport and services to Sydney.
The taxi plan is the brainchild of former NSW transport supremo and now chief executive of the Tourism and Transport Forum John Lee, who has been appointed Transport Minister in our "cabinet".
- The Daily Telegraph (online), 27th Mar 2012
A little over two years ago to the day, I mentioned in Horse 1081 that with the demise of the Falcon Wagon that the most logical replacement would be the iconic London Taxi.
This morning I read that the Worldwide CEO of Ford, Allan Mulally, may have inadvertently confirmed that the Falcon itself is ticking out its last days of production.
As I see it, there are in fact three logical replacements for the Falcon wagon as a taxi:
1. The current model Mondeo Wagon is longer than the now defunct Falcon, a little narrower and can be had with a 2L Diesel for $45,527.
2. The Holden Commodore "Sportswagon" (don't ask me why it's a "Sports" wagon, I don't know either) with the 3L V6 will probably be more expensive to run but can be bought for $42,990
3. Option 3, I think is the best because they don't have to be converted for purpose and they look the nicest. Although at $48,898 (at this morning's conversion rates) they are the most expensive, if you could see a fleet of these on the roads, why wouldn't you?
I agree with the Daily Telegraph on this. Despite some rather disparaging comments on the website, they make an entirely fair point. Bright Yellow Taxis in places like New York City, throughout North America and even in Melbourne (how did Melbourne beat us to the punch on this one?!) are both obvious to find, which is important if you're in a hurry and serve as an icon of the city.
I think that loads and loads of Yellow London Taxis would be both a good advert for this city around the harbour and an aesthetic improvement.
More to the point if the Federal Government had given me $275 million instead of Holden weaseling it from them, I would had London Taxis built under licence here.
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