Page 27
Call Sign December 2011
With deference to a British institution, Radio 4's wonderful panel
game...
JUST A MINUTE!
hopefully a new look at the former bus lane
nation's favourite programmes and next year,
will lead Ms Greening to revert to the status
the program will move to BBC2 with a new
quo after the Games, instead of abandoning it.
panel to celebrate its 45th anniversary.
The new position came in response to a
But the heading Just a Minute can now also
written parliamentary question when interim
be applied to what was the M4 bus and taxi
figures on time saved by other motorists who
lane. It had been described by former
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond as
now use the M4's third lane were requested.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
being symbolic of Labour's war on the motorist
for Transport, Mike Penning, gave the
and also as a piece of folly. He suspended it
Will Justine Greening reverse Philip
astonishing answer that since the bus and
last December until the 2012 Olympics in July,
Hammond's decision to close the M4
taxi lane's closure, journey time savings
when it will become part of the Olympic Route
bus and taxi Lane?
for cars were "in the order of 60 seconds."
Network. He said it would be scrapped per-
The figure was calculated by the Highways
manently after the Games ended. The cost of
Introduced by Nicholas Parsons, Just a
Agency who compared journeys captured
removing it was put at £410,000 with the cost
Minute is a panel game in which the contes-
on camera between January and June 2011
for the 2012 brief Olympic reintroduction
tants are challenged to speak for 60 seconds
with those over the same period last year.
needing to be added to that.
without hesitation, deviation or repetition on
The Highways Agency is now reviewing the
Mr Hammond has now departed to the
any subject that comes up on the cards. With
impact of the bus lane's closure and will pub-
position of Defence Secretary and has been
panellists such as Kenneth Williams, Clement
replaced by Putney MP Justine Greening and
lish its findings next year.
Freud and Derek Nimmo, it became one of the
Addison Lee acquires Lewis Day!
Both the taxi and private hire worlds gasped when on 14th November, Addison Lee entered into an agreement to acquire the passen-
ger car operations of Lewis Day, while CitySprint took the LD courier side.
At the time of writing, Call Sign believes that Lewis Day whose turnover last year was around £36million - will be concentrating
on the medical side of their business, something many consider strange after the problems of early last year when the company were
accused of charging the NHS for trips they had not actually made.
The deal also now gives CitySprint some 2,000 couriers with around 15,000 transactions per day. It also makes Addison Lee the
largest PH company, probably bigger than any radio taxi company (see Editorial on page 3).
Taxis that are built to last!
Both the London Taxi Company and Mercedes Benz produce taxis that
are pretty tough and in the case of the majority of accidents, there may
be damage to the cab but the chances are that the driver will be pro-
tected from injuries caused by the other vehicle. However, compared to
the latest taxis seen on London's roads, both are made of paper!
Late October saw London commuters given another form of taxi to
choose from armoured tanks! These army vehicles, known as Tanksis
with their bright yellow illuminated signs, invaded our taxi ranks and
faced the capital's rush hour by dwarfing our cabs and picking up our
passengers! In reality, the 16 Tanksis picked up just a handful of lucky
passengers who paid no fares in the two days they prowled the capital's
streets passing all the usual tourist spots - even Buckingham Palace. The
question is why were they there? Was AL planning an invasion?
Nope! It was all in aid of publicising the new blockbuster video
game, Battlefield 3. While the game is just being released in the UK,
since its release EA has shipped a massive ten million copies, which is Anyone want a
cab???
about one million shy of predecessor Battlefield: Bad Company 2's
total sales since March 2010.
And is Battlefield 3 any good? Jon Winterburn gives his view on page 25. The few drivers Call Sign has spoken to that
either have the game or whose kids have it, all say that its graphics and amazing sound effects are nothing short of sensational. But
none of the drivers wanted to swap their cab for a Tanksis! They have now been withdrawn from use following LTPH demand that
they appear at SGS for an overhaul!
Battlefield 3 was released on 28th October and is available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Bagwhat Singh
Call Sign Online
