Useful Downloads
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
In response to a number of Forum members requesting that a copy of the section regarding 'Touting' be made available for download in order to print and carry in the Cab. Below are links to both .DOC (MS Word) and .PDF (Portable Document Format) versions of the relevant text, please feel free to download and print as necessary. To use the .PDF format document you will need to have Adobe Document Reader installed on your PC (you can download this software for free
here).Thanks to 'disgruntled' for providing the source.
Business Card Templates:
After being asked several times by customers if I had a Business Card I decided it was time to make some up. So here is a Microsoft Word document containing a template for printing your own Business Cards. There are 9 cards per page, simply overwrite your name and number and make any other modifications you wish, then print it out and cut them up as necessary. I use photo paper myself and the quality is good enough but if you prefer you can use Business Card printer stationery for an even more professional look. These are usually perforated to make the process of printing and separating them up easier.
Rent or Buy?
There have been a few discussions on the Forum regarding whether Renting or Buying your own Cab is the best way to go. Its different for everyone depending on their circumstances but when I first got my Green Badge I knocked up a quick Excel Spreadsheet to help me work out the costs of the two options. Obviously there's more to the decision than purely the costs, however, a few people have asked me to let them have a copy of this Spreadsheet to help them out so it is now available here to download for any others who may find it useful.
Once you have downloaded the spreadsheet you need to insert your expense information. Simply fill in the yellow cells, WEEKLY cab rental amount in the right column, then on the left column, fill in the ANNUAL figures for the buying costs (EXCEPT the finance figure, the first one, where you fill in the WEEKLY figure).
Its a fairly rudimentary Spreadsheet, nothing particularly sophisticated, but hopefully it will help you at least keep a track of all the things you need to consider. Also bear in mind that some items will be relevant for purchase of a brand new cab and not to second hand cabs and vice versa.
The section at the bottom of the Spreadsheet was designed to work out what my general outlays or potential outlays may be (this section is optional and not needed if simply comparing the costs of Renting vs Buying). The very last bit, "Amount needed on D/D..." was for me to work out how much to put away each week to cover the general running costs (these EXCLUDE cab finance and insurance as these come direct out of my account each month anyway and my Radio money generally covers that).
I hope you find this useful, please feel free to email me through the Forum if you have any questions.
Taxi Manuals
A Forum member acquired Electronic versions of TXII and TX4 user manuals and kindly made them available for download for our membership. The manuals are in Portable Document Format (.PDF) therefore you will need to have Adobe Document Reader installed on your PC to view these (you can download this software for free
here). Thanks to 'rfbutch' for providing the source and Les for the inspection manual.
Can we stop at a Cashpoint Please Mate?
Don't you just hate that? And there's never one nearby when you want one either!!! Well, thanks to one of our Forum contributors, here is the beginnings of a list of cashpoints where you have convenient stopping places nearby (i.e. no PCN for doing a customer a favour!). Its in Excel Spreadsheet format, so once you've downloaded it you can add/modify or re-order it to your heart's content to suit your preference.
Cashpoint List Spreadsheet
Taxi Ranks
Yes, Taxi Ranks. Not spaces for white vans, police cars, Westminster City Council 'enforcement vehicles' or, dare we say it, Mini-Cabs!!! Designated Ranks for use by Licensed London Taxi drivers and this is a list provided by the PCO to one of our Forum members (thanks to Headlong) detailing the ranks and their hours of operation. So, carry this with you and then you can tell whether or not 'non-Taxis' are legitimately parked there (where the Rank in question is time-controlled).
List of London Taxi Ranks
Suburban Matters
Here is a map outlining the London suburban sectors, kindly submitted by one of our members.
Suburban Sector Map