THE MAINTENANCE OF A LONDON CAB FLEET.
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The System of Administration and of Maintenance Adopted in Connection with London's Newest Fleet of Cabs.
Tunusual colour scheme of the JL familiar Yellow cabs attracts attention in London streets and their smart appearance has caused many favourable comments to be made. It was with interest, therefore, that we inspected the premises of the Turpin Engineering Co., Ltd., Larden Road, Acton, W.3, who are responsible for the W. and G. Yellow cabs.
All the cabs are operated by the company and no owner-drivers are concerned with this make of vehicle at the present time.
The offices of the various officials and clerical staff are grouped together in one section of the buildings, thus facilitating communication between the departments and avoiding waste of time. The key of the whole scheme of operations is really the main office, which is situated at the garage entrance, which all cabs must pass when leaving the premises. It is at these offices that the driver has all his dealings with the company and the checking operations are made. When a cab comes in at night after work, the taximeter is read and the fuel in the tank is measured to ascertain the daily consumption, also to enable the requisite quantity to he supplied for the day's work.
Passing on down the ample gangways, the cab is driven into its own particular bay and reversed into position. Buffer boards are located on the floor in such a manner that adequate space is left between the backs of the cabs in two adjacent rows. The timber employed is of stout section and should Prevent any possibility of damage being done to vehicles behind the B2S one which is being put into position.
The heating of the garage and other parts of the building is carried out by a hot-air plant, air currents being caused to move down heated tubes by electric fans, thus providing an even temperature throughout the building and minim izing the fire risk. Incidentally, lire appliances are provided in every bay, office and workshop ready for emergency, and some of the workmen employed have taken prizes at fire brigade competitions.
Turning to the maintenance aspect again, the night staff wash, oil and grease the cabs in their round and the repair department attend to any work which has been instructed by the office, in accordance with reports made in writing by the drivers going off duty. In the morning the tyres of the cabs are inspected and flints removed, which is an instance of the careful attention given to the vehicles and is a small step towards the reduction of maintenance costs which is only too often overlooked.
When reporting for a day's duty the driver calls at the office and pays over to the cashier the correct amount in respect of the work done by the cab on the previous day, which, of course, is checked by the taximeter record. A chit is given to the driver for the quantity of petrol which be requires and a pass is handed to him. Proceeding to the allotted bay he finds the cab ready for the road, with the exception of the fuel, which he collects on his way out at the pump installed in one of the gangways. The chit which he received from the office is banded over to the petrol-pump operator ; the driver calls at the office situated beside the garage exit, and gives up his pass, without which he would not be allowed to 1,:..ave the premises.
The drivers of the Yellow cabs are, we believe, the only ones in London working in a recognized uniform, and the smart appear ance they present in the streets is commendable.
The stores are situated on the first floor and are well laid out and heated on the hot-air principle, as is the ease on the ground flour. The bins are well disposed and marked for holding the various parts which are required for the upkeep of a fleet of public-service vehicles. In the office records are kept of gross and passenger mileage, the number of jobs done by each cab per day, the earnings of each vehicle and the earnings per driver, the daily mileage and petrol consumption, etc.
The vehicles themselves are familiar to many of our readers, being of 19.2 h.p. with similar bodies throughout the fleet, and the chassis incorporates a special rubber-block suspension system on the ends of the springs for providing easy riding. The majority of these vehicles has been in active service for six months and their appearance and mechanical condition seemed highly creditable.
The washing and polishing of the cabs is efficiently done, but, despite this fact, many of the drivers take such an interest in their vehicles that they spend extra time on the fine points of appearance, which goes to show that, even where the driver is not the owner, pride in appearance still exists. The hays wherein the vehicles are housed are well lighted and the floors adequately sloped to carry away water and the mud removed during the washing process. The temperature of the building, despite the cold weather obtaining at the time of our visit, was even and pleasant, which should be conducive to comfortable working conditions for employees.
The use of buffer boards behind the vehicles enables a very smart method of parking to be employed which would rejoice the heart of a sergeant-major.