Is this worth 50 times as much as a nice 450SEL?

[Danny Berry]

No, I don't think so either!
Thank you Mr Livingstone!

£36,000 for an absolute piece of s**t!
I could have got an SL55 for that!

[WGB]

I take it the quality is up to it's Austin or whatever beginnings.

Why are these Cabs presumably mandatory? and why can't someone else compete and produce something similar if the specification is so important?

Bill

[Danny Berry]

The sticking point is the 25 foot turning circle (That you rarely use)
Mercedes wanted to enter the market with the new Viano, which is so much better than these things, you would not believe.
But the PCO (The London licencing authority) gave these heaps a monopoly.
The latese scam is the emissions. I had a 2001 model that neede a £3000 exhaust conversion to satisfy our mad communist mayors requirements (The fact we HAD to but this thing is irrelevent) I traded it in for a 2005 model. I paid £34,000 in 2001, they gave me £14,500 against a new one for £36,500.
Bargain!!
You wouldn't want one of these things if your life depended on it!

[robgee]

The only other problem of owning a cab in Australia of course that PB didn't mention is the cost of the taxi plate depending on city between $200,000 and $400,000 plus registration costs insurance purchase price of vehicle (usually every 5 years) and then either trying to find drivers to get some return on your investment or driving youself aswell.I used to own 4 cabs in Sydney in the early eighties it was bad enough then but there arE much better ways to invest in business.
Rob
I feel for you Danny you poor buggers even have to pay for a TV licence last time I was there I think it was around 130 pounds what is it now.

[adamb]

No, I don't think so either!
Thank you Mr Livingstone!

£36,000 for an absolute piece of s**t!
I could have got an SL55 for that!

Shocking. I had no ideas that is how much they cost. Somebody is raking it in on these taxis.

[s class]

I thought the UK was democratic, freedom of expression, rights of the individual and all that? No?

Man, talk about an industry overregulated to the point of crushing it.  At least now I understand why the fares are high (well at least among tourists its obligatory to travel in a London cab and they have a bad rap for high fares)

Are the fares you can charge regulated as well?

[Ministrone]

I thought the UK was democratic, freedom of expression, rights of the individual and all that? No?

Not since the general election of 1997