Is This The FUTURE Of London Taxis?

[@johnmangan6240]

On my visits back to the UK from Aus, I always loved the comfortable seats of the TX and always felt that I was back home with the familiar tack-a-tack noise from the deisel. Yeah, give these iconic old war horses a new life!

[@georgewalsh6112]

There’s no reason why these vehicles can’t have a 12 year age limit once converted but this is where you’ll see tfl for who they are. They have no intention of helping the black cab trade

[@mariemccann5895]

TfL are just about screwing money out of people, they don't actually care about the public. It is perverse!

[@gerardburton1081]

Can these vehicles last 12 years especially with the twice a year MOT? I don't think that TFL would allow these vehicles to last 12 years. They should allow the vehicles to last 15 years.

[@flyingwarrior7155]

Definitely a much better view driving the Tx4 . The Txe has many blind spots , where the Tx4 has very few blind spots . I guess if it ran on petrol as well it would have even greater selling points with a higher range . Great video . Good luck to clipper for their innovation.

[@JBFlytography]

I’d thought about this a few months ago. Wondered if older taxis could be retro fitted. Good idea.

[@mkdavo]

I think the range needs to be 200 miles to.make sense, good tho.

[@henrikericsson]

As a driver in Stockholm, Sweden we are burdened with max 6yo old cars and now we need to go electric. The transit I drive today is a diesel clonker and converted and ready for about 60k gbp. Many are going for Mercedes gle and Skoda eniak for regular cars but still a steep investment

[@danthiel8623]

Hey Tom love your video with Tom Scott

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

Thanks! He drove this very taxi 😊

[@rangers7694]

All down to TFL allowing it 20 years age limit like the LPG cabs,otherwise its a non runner IMHO. Put it up on the forum for you Tom.

[@ChrisWhiteAroundTheGround]

Informative and relevant. Great video Tom.

[@sammilburn445]

im guessing as well, if more of these tx4s are converted, the price will decrease because of economies of scale, so whereas the price of a txe is just going to go up, the price of these might decrease as more motors and batteries from nissan means more wiggle room in price, making it potentially more worthwhile if London approves it

[@spinba11]

4:56 the one thing I hate as a wheelchair user is the ramp is only available on one side so if I go to the taxi rank a Euston I can only get in from one lane as at that rank the queue of people waiting is in the middle of both taxi lanes

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

There is an accessible pick-up point at Euston opposite the main rank. Station staff frequently hail cabs from there for people who may not be able to access or queue at the front of the rank.

[@Gordon..]

Cabbies hate using the ramps, and as such tend to drive past wheelchair users hailing cabs

[@1eddwood]

@@Gordon.. that’s just not true my friend

[@OutermostGold]

Looks like a viable alternative, will look forward to following their progress.

[@prefblandon1346]

@Tom the Taxi Driver, something curious is that people in UK(first world) seem to love this Classic cars whilst in Colombia(developing country) people tend to like more the cars that have more a look like sports cars. Electric cars are just starting off here in Medellín-Colombia. By the way I like that classic car. I love your pasion and great vibe towards cars. Great video Tom, and greetings from here.

[@annakissed3226]

Nissan Leaf batteries have significant issues. They don't have active thermal management, which means they rapidly lose potential charge. I recognise right now getting 2nd hand leaf batteries may be a good option. But there are much better options available. I hope they can switch to Lithium Ferrous Potassium batteries in due course. Whilst heavier and they don't store as much, they are both cheap & they quadruple the life of the battery plus they can be charged to 90% Either way this is a very positive step, thankyou for covering it. Have you tried talking to The Fully Charged channel run by Robert Llewyln (Kryten Red Dwarf/Scrap Heap challenge) about doing the sort of CoVid you did with Tom Scott but about Electric Taxis

[@BLX187]

This makes sense.. hope they do well

[@1eddwood]

For it to be viable for most drivers who live outside London it needs 200 miles plus range

[@1eddwood]

Unfortunately the range is just to restrictive , And diesels are still used extensively as cabs across the country . Euro 6 cabs still get 15 years I think

[@Unconwheels]

I’ve seen most new cabs with both CCS and Chademo which is cool

[@vjary8142]

An happy chappy eh Tom, looks like you're having a fun time driving it, does this mean you'd think about switching from your current taxi to the e TX4? A very good and well put together upload Tom, keep them coming. Should take it to Peter Jones from Dragons Den.

[@Bigaitch]

I was thinking exactly the same re Dragons den. This would be a great project to present to the den.

[@gianlo2]

I’ve just seen this taxi on Electric classic car! Very nice!

[@charliejeffers9778]

At £39,000 plus vat you’d need it in writing it can be licensed for 15 years from the date of conversion. Otherwise it’s a non starter I’d have one though . I’m a TfL all London licensed taxi driver. Does it have air conditioning ?

[@proudvirginian]

Came here from Tom Scott's video with you. I see you're driving the cab he drove in the video. Nice

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

Except same cab! That’s my claim to fame right there haha 👍🏻

[@graemesbikingdiary232]

My 1st car a Peugeot 309 had the spare underneath it. Thankfully never had to use it in an emergency but it was a pain to get in & out.

[@probablybadvideos]

The only thing is that the LEVC taxis are so spacious and comfortable!

[@trimley]

Instantly recognised Lliffe Yard location 🙌

[@Shads187]

Great for the oldskool guys who love the tx4. I wouldn't drive anything other then a txe, not because it's a great cab but only because it's a smooth drive. Plus we all want some upgrades in the cockpit. Not one to want to drive a cab with all the old features.

[@Shads187]

Great idea nevertheless wish you guys all the best and hope you sell loads.

[@oneteaminbristolbcfc]

Thanks for this really informative ✌️❤️

[@JGS123WRPTP]

Bloody cracking idea.

[@nathan_ro]

Loving the 2k option to view

[@noahstrainadventures3031]

Brilliant video thanks

[@NathanEmbedism]

This is awesome :)

[@zulucabbie6436]

Bollocks

[@DBProds96]

Very interesting. The guy who spoke about the technology looks like a younger peter hitchens lol

[@JamesJones-hp5tg]

I absolutely love your channel keep up the good work and I was wondering when do all the taxis have to be electric?

[@theuktoday4233]

It depends how long the battery packs last as well? They cost a fortune to replace.

[@barrycoppock]

Very interesting development.

[@Whamola]

I would be curious to see what the life expectancy of the battery packs. For regular drivers the battery pack is expected to last 3-5 years or 100,000 miles. At that point you're looking at £‎3-6,000 to replace that battery pack. It's a good idea, but battery replacement costs need to come down, and perhaps would in a fleet situation.

[@BikerJon82]

I thought your regular cab was fully electric? In the beginning it sounds like there are no full EV cabs?

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

TXE only for 60 miles on pure electric. It is a range extender, meaning when the battery runs out, it can run on petrol. The Clipper Cab is 100% electric.

[@Malik689]

@@TomtheTaxiDriver Surly as a Taxi driver the range is a deal breaker to much of a compromise.

[@commuterbranchline8132]

A fantastic idea for a conversion. Are Dynamo still making a Hackney conversion based on the Nissan E-NV 200?

[@justingistpreuninger3447]

I think Nissan cancelled production of the env200, so last I heard they were looking for a new base vehicle…

[@greigs9384]

Dynamo motor company went pop. They’re no more.

[@JAMZ6]

This is great news Tom but I cannot last in those TX4 as I’m 6ft tall. Not comfortable at all for me.

[@Alexspurs-hy3hq]

No episode 4 out of 5 ?

[@vwgolffancarreviews7111]

Nice I did not know that thay are converted a old taxi to electric good idea tom

[@MeriaDuck]

Was this predicted by Watchdogs Legion? I now want to start the game to check, but if I recall correctly they had electric cabs like these 🤔

[@sathwikkilari]

Yup, they do and the self driving is a good feature

[@MrUltrAdaman]

Hey Tom, great video. Any news on when the rest of the "week in my life" series is coming?

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

2 weeks at a minimum, got a lot of edits to work through!

[@MoltenArmour]

What sort of range do you do in a day? And would that be enough for you?

[@kavinkelly6540]

Tom - please help! The street you started the cab from from in this video (terraces with red windows) is somewhere I've been before but couldn't remember where it was. To the point that I was starting to think I'd dreamt it - would be amazing if you could let me know (my hunch is Oval/Camberwell)!

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

Clipper HQ at Iliffe Yard, Elephant and Castle

[@kavinkelly6540]

@@TomtheTaxiDriver thanks Tom! This has been torturing me for years, you've made my day! 😂 Love the videos by the way, discovered them last week and have been bingeing on them ever since

[@brendanoreilly4846]

Dublin taxi driver had a Nissan leaf ,after 3 years and 120000klms needed a new battery ,at a total cost of 15,000 euro...

[@murraycrichton2001]

What is the reason cabs have to come off the road at the 12-year mark? Also, with the lower fuel/power costs, Less wear on brakes and no oil that needs changing. That factored in, would the over all life of the vehicle be lower?

[@samdavis1549]

Where can you put your yfood if there is no storage space in the back? 😬

[@tallthinkev]

How long does the charging take, also is it cheaper than 'filling up your tank'?

[@harrismedwell578]

Hi - Harris from Clipper Automotive. You can get 80% charge in just over half an hour. Perfect for a little lunch stop! And cost to charge depends on home charging or street charging. An overnight tariff could cost as little as £4 for a 'full tank'

[@DanielsPolitics1]

30 minutes from what kind of charger?

[@harrismedwell578]

@@DanielsPolitics1 from a 50kW rapid charger

[@tallthinkev]

@@harrismedwell578 How many are in London?

[@unconventionalideas5683]

@@tallthinkevThey’ve installed a number to reduce petrol consumption of TXE taxis. But the TXE is so compromised…

[@brianmilligan1787]

The diesel taxi was pouting London quite a bit. What about royal mail amazon private taxi diesel vehicles sounds like cabbies being easy targets

[@Weepookah]

Hello there Tom your my fav KZbinr please reply ❤❤

[@john-gr8in]

Tom, when you were learning the knowledge how long each day and week did you spend on it what was your routine and how long did it take you I'm just learning the first 10 runs and I'm already having second thoughts now

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

It consumed my life. Only way to get it realistically done. I’d work in a shop 5 days a week 9-6. Every evening, free bit of time would either be at a map, calling, or in London learning more. Get a good routine and remember the reasons why you want to do it

[@Lemingtona-x5g]

can you make more videos just doing your shift. just showing the routes where you drive showing London

[@mikedennington8856]

what about the running costs for insurance and electricity?

[@ap9970]

Does this explain the electric TX4s in "The Peripheral" on Amazon 🤔

[@ibs5080]

Greetings from Canterbury. Dual Brit Canadian here. Very interesting video Tom. I'm not in any way connected with the taxi industry, just a petrol head who also has a fascination with London cabs and the profession itself. I've been subscribed to your channel for a while now and watch your videos with great interest. Some time ago, I also bought your book. A question for you: I was in London the other day playing tourist. During a Christmas lights London bus tour, I noticed many black cab drivers with sat nav maps. Either via smart phone on mounts or the more traditional Garmin / Tom Tom type sat navs. Curious to ask if you can shed some light on this? (Maybe even worthy of a video?) Of course I don't know the reason why these cabbies had sat navs up. It could just be purely to get real time traffic / incident information? Mind you, to get that kind of information for your specific route, you'd have to input your destination for every journey. I somehow can't imagine cabbies doing that. So any idea what's going on? This really surprised me. Not taking a dig at cabbies btw just genuinely curious. UPDATE: I see a past video of yours "Why I don't use sat nav in my taxi". Watching this shortly but not sure if it will answer my question as to why other cabbies appear to be using sat navs.

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

Some drivers do have a sat nav there, some just use their phones mounted in a cradle. First one is a platform called CabbiesMate. It’s basically the old school London A-Z map but in an app form (they used to make a specific sat nav device but now it’s just as an app). This is really helpful is there’s a specific small turn or street someone is after. It’s the map we learn our knowledge from so it’s the best image of what’s going on inside our head. Second is an actual sat nav (again all apps on phones now) and that could be for long journeys, either across town or out of town. I explain the reasons for this at the end of the “I don’t use a sat nav video”. Best way of looking at it all, it’s a tool in a cabbies arsenal. We aren’t guided by it, but we can use the information or traffic reports to generate a better understanding of what’s going on

[@ibs5080]

@@TomtheTaxiDriver Hello again Tom. Apologies for the delayed reply but been so busy lately. Just wanted to Thank You very kindly for your very detailed response. Have to say, just as others have commented, every time I see a new style black LEVC taxi, I look at the driver to see if it's you! Also, every London place or street I come across, I imagine you pronouncing it! Anyhow, stay safe and I look forward to continued viewing of your very interesting channel. I should also try to finish reading your book too!

[@eryk4908]

the sound you hear at 7:27 could be the heavy duty relays in the battery closing

[@-DC-]

A Taxi without a diesel engine just seems so wrong 🤣

[@FTFLCY]

I assume it retains the bone shaking ride?

[@RoadRunnerTaxi]

What is the name of the company that does the the change over please

[@angelalloyd-morgan2544]

Where does the luggage or shopping go?

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

In the luggage compartment up front

[@The-Audi-driver]

This should be government funded and pushed around the country, ask Hammond at the little cog to fit some, spread the work. And space, just get a roof box

[@axolotlgamer615]

Can we have a Driving a taxi in snow video?

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

Haha, doesn’t end well, the TX4’s were awesome for it

[@axolotlgamer615]

@@TomtheTaxiDriver Well. Darn TFL, I wish these cabs replaced the TXE

[@benmoorhouse1988]

An okay idea, but it needs some kind of exterior mod to better reveal what it is and a refurbished interior. I'd always prefer to take a TXE over what is essentially a 15 or 20 year old design.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

Well, re-upholstering is not so difficult to do…

[@michaelfrancis8692]

If the range was 160/170 miles and unlimited years on the road it would sell. The storage and ramp on the TXE is terrible..

[@chrisomeara5795]

Looks a bit DIY for 39k

[@nearestyoutube]

No lunchbox space!? Only a cupholder?? Let me introduce you to *yfoods*

[@shakilnasir3829]

How many miles it does on one charge?

[@greigs9384]

Mines an100% electric taxi, unless I’ve missed the generator hiding away somewhere!

[@brianmilligan1787]

How can you get these approved it's a taxi WHAT WITH NO BOOT STORAGE I WOULD NEVER INVEST SHOULD OF KEPT BOOT AND USED PASSENGER SIDE SEAT AND FOOTWEAR AREA FOR THE FISHTAIL IN THE BOOT BUT 100 MILE RANGE IS NO USE WHAT SO EVER

[@CallieMasters5000]

Sorry, but I kept waiting for Dr. Alex to break out with "My money don't jiggle jiggle, it folds..."! He's a dead ringer for Louis Theroux.

[@graemecatty9921]

Hardly. Similar but.

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

👉🏻 Clipper.cab 🚕

[@murphychris9811]

where the power come from

[@marcd6897]

We simply stop refining oil, and suddenly we have more than enough electricity to run EVs. Yeah, I know, it’s almost unfathomable that petrol doesn’t blubber up underneath a petrol station….

[@hb2317]

I'd prefer this over my TXE i think. Miss the shape!

[@tonyclifton265]

"like a scalextric car" lol

[@TsLeng]

Valiant effort but honestly... It's not looking good, all odds are against them. Putting that expertise into conversion of rich people's toys might work tho

[@Lazy297]

Why has that got an Oxford plate on it?? No one wanted to rent it in Oxford and turned out to be a flop. There is not a single clipper cab up and running in Oxford so that’s a lie. Out of the 107 regulated cabs in Oxford no one is a clipper and was rejected by everyone. They wanted you to rent the clipper cab for a cost of £100 a week but you had to hand in your own plate and drive this as you cannot have more than 107 cabs in Oxford at one go. So you had to park your own cab up and pay £100 a week for the clipper cab, they got shown the middle finger. So the guy is already lying (got a couple of up and running in Oxford). Tom you got to do your own homework, Oxford does have an age limit which made us all switch to TX4’s from the TX1’s and by 2025 we gotta go LEVC. Yes the council did say they may consider the age of electric vehicles but that will change soon. The clipper only gives you 100-130 miles and no backup fuel so that’s a let down if you get a long job. I drove one of these as a taster and it drove like crap.

[@thomasbeaman9337]

Do a vidio on the the parts problem for the TX4. The problem is you can'nt get them. Example my clutch went and guess what YOU CAN NOT get one !!! If you can it will cost you £1100 new YES you got it right £1100. Even if you can get a 2nd hand one your still talking 6 to 8 hundred pound. I kid you not. i am hearing stories of Cabs laid up because they can not gat a clutch kit. I was lucky I got one of a friend who changed his cab to an auto and let me take the clutch off his old manual. Many parts are unavailable and other parts are being refurbished.

[@bigjaffa02]

No room for a bale of hay on the boot? No license for you.

[@andrews0208]

So downside from my point of view is I am now even less likely to be able to use black cab in London now because being blind I used to be able to identify one by it sound now I won’t know when one is coming

[@EngineersFear]

You can tell this one apart by its power steering pump fur sure ;)

[@tedcooper5377]

Get this up to a hundred mile range, LEVC will struggle to compete.

[@joking8189]

Reliability of a Nissan 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@christopheripad477]

Their batteries are a joke, try charging them more than once a day, they can’t cope.

[@joking8189]

@@christopheripad477 I know, I had a loaner for a day trip, needed 2 charges and it came up with a 🐢 because the batteries were too hot🤣

[@mozziefire6852]

Why over priced

[@colingarner6175]

It’s not a fing it’s a thing .😅

[@jimsound7888]

I hope that there are loads of charging spaces for the drivers or this might turn into a white elephant

[@bdeithrick]

Will they convert my LEAF to diesel?

[@msajir2197]

Ok

[@brianmilligan1787]

100 miles is no use no boot space no use recharge time no use good investment Hell No

[@john-gr8in]

Tom, in your opinion do you think it's possible to do the knowledge without actually physically going out to do the run's. For instance, could it be done studying the run's on Google maps. I'm wondering what the benefits of going out, has over studying Google maps or go Pro filmed videos of the run's. What would you miss or not be able to do by not physically going out to do the run's, cheers.

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

Eventually when you pass, you will become a taxi driver. If you don't physically drive the streets of London, you will have no concept of the streets, turns, distance etc. It's a bit like saying... we don't need to go on holiday, we can just look at it on Google street view.

[@mrntm5208]

You won't build a sense of direction that way.

[@xvgm24]

cab

[@taxicrew1]

No chance of TFL saying “Yes” £46.000 inc VAT. TXE by far is far greater than this cab. It’s proven the TXE is 100% for the London streets.

[@michaelwood3099]

Looks the dogs mods, a London cab should never be a converted van.

[@mariemccann5895]

The 15 year rule seems completely arbitrary and needs to be challenged.

[@Zarzozy]

What pants is this u wearing? Looks amazing on u

[@Gordon..]

Black cabs are some of the most polluting vehicles in London, Uber drivers tend to drive the more ozone friendly Prius. Black cabs should go 100% electric and in a short time frame, not years in the future

[@zulucabbie6436]

No chance bro …TXE all the way

[@billienomates1606]

There will not be any future for taxi's as there won't be any customers.

[@davidgibbon1020]

i thought Mark Monroe drove an electric taxi ?? i'm probably naive/silly but surely "old Khan" and his fixation with low emission zone" should be not only be promoting this but maybe offering a subside. maybe also taxi ranks could have some kind of "charge station" so while drivers (if they have ) wait for their next fare they could charge up their taxi. oh well joined up think was never a "khan" strong point !!

[@TomtheTaxiDriver]

Hybrid. Yep especially as Mr Khan has now announced the ULEZ expansion!

[@puppet-head]

Chademo instead of ccs on a new vehicle is utter stupidity, you are buying into a dying standard. Within 5 years there will be no public chademo chargers.

[@tfairley1187]

All instavolt chargers have CCS and CHAdeMO, I can’t see them changing anytime soon. You can see this TX4 has a type 2 socket too

[@NathanEmbedism]

It's not mutually exclusive though. The vehicle can have both

[@GManPT]

It's using Nissan Leaf's on-board charger, so it's normal to have a Chademo port...

[@antoniopalmero4063]

I have a leaf and I find chademo is always available 👍🇬🇧

[@proudvirginian]

Prototype to test the viability. Future models will probably upgrade as parts from other EVs become available. A Nissan Leaf was probably the easiest to move to the cab at the time.