|
The May 2005 issue of Call
Sign ran a story on DaC driver Tony Arnold
(F03) being asked to go to Abuja - Nigeria’s
capital City (taking over from Lagos in 1991) –
to help train the locals in driving TXIIs since
their importation into the African state. Now
for the first time anywhere, Tony’s experience
in Nigeria… Having
already successfully driven a TXII from Beijing
to London in 2002 – followed exclusively in
Call Sign - Tony wasn’t new to
driving the London taxi abroad, but this was
something different. He had been asked to travel
to West Africa and help train Nigerian would-be
taxi drivers to carry out a similar service to
that which London is famous for. In addition to
a basic form of Knowledge, it involved their
driving skills and general communication with
passengers and astonishingly on a TXII - but in
temperatures that reached 125°F! It wasn’t going
to be easy… His trip and its training
program, he said, had been one of his life’s
most satisfying times. He started with a group
of Nigerians who drove beaten-up cars (that they
referred to as taxis) and whose driving habits
were appalling – as was much of their driving
skill! |
CALL SIGN WORLD EXCLUSIVE! TONY ARNOLD’S NIGERIAN TAXI-TRAINING TRIP |
|
 One of the first Nigerian drivers to pass out as a TXII driver in Abuja |
||
 Tony with Project Manager Paul Santus. Even in Nigeria Tony manages to dig out a DaC top! |
||
 Tony with some of his trainees and helpers in temperatures approaching 1250F. |
||
|
said the cabs would be practical
and help give the city character.
"Nigerians carry lots of luggage," he told
Call Sign "and London taxis
have the capacity to carry it!" He ended by
saying: "They are probably the best designed
taxis in the world and they last on average
between 17 and 20 years." As an oil producer, how wealthy is Nigeria? Surely they could just go out and buy as many taxis as LTI could produce? "No," said Tony with deep sincerity in his voice, "there is still much poverty there and if this training program can help in any way, it will be wonderful. I’m thrilled to know that the project will continue and anything that gives the Abuja taxi driver more credibility can only be good. The last figure I heard was that 3000 drivers were scheduled to be processed during future months and hopefully, I will be involved again." The complete test involved a knowledge of Abuja, driving skills, Highway Code, English speaking ability and a health check and many of the candidates – awful drivers by UK standards before the courses began - were successful and according to Tony, much, much better by the time he returned to London. "My aim was to give the Abuja drivers a similar sense of pride to that which we in London feel about our job, and I believe that we have started that process. As another example – and Allen Togwell will like this – we ruled that drivers had to be presentable at all times during the testing program. They could not wear shorts or have exposed shoulders. We also banned sandals - but gave way on that once the temperatures rose above 120°F!" Representing the successful drivers, candidate John Mwoye told Call Sign: "I learned many good driving techniques that I had not been familiar with before Mr Tony came here. He was such a good instructor, but also so human when giving correction where necessary." So were there any parts of his time there that Tony wasn’t happy with? "I thought the whole process went really well, but that heat was a real hardship and by the end of the day you were totally drained and all I wanted to do was to rush back to my air conditioned hotel room and sit |
in a cold bath!" And other than the successful courses, were there any lasting memories? "Yes," said Tony, "I went over there unsure as to what the people would be like, but they were warm, friendly and so very honourable in everything they did. Just lovely people…" Since the above article was completed, Tony has returned to Abuja on a further 3 occasions engaging in general maintenance and upkeep of their TXIIs. He has also been inundated with enquiries from other African states about the excellent work he achieved in Abuja. To many, Tony was considered as an ambassador of the "famous" London taxi driver. Tony also went to Kaduna, a 3-hour drive from Abuja where there is a very simple taxi system and where they can ill-afford the TXII, however thanks to Tony’s persuasive skills and acute driving tuition, they still asked him if he would help train the local drivers. As a result of that, it is estimated that Tony’s tuition has already prevented 60% of normal day-to-day accidents with the Kaduna drivers paying close attention what London drivers take for granted under normal driving conditions. He then went on to visit Gombi - a 10-hour drive from Abuja. Tony told Call Sign:
"Never
mind the TXII, some of the way was only
accessible via horseback and I can’t begin to
tell you what that did to my self-esteem –
besides giving me a sore bum!" |
|
 |
Powered by NetXPosure |
| Copyright 1997-2007 Dial-A-Cab Ltd, All rights reserved. |