 07-06-2006, 09:42 AM | #1 (permalink) | ||||||||
| Moderator   JulianW is drinking coffee.
Location: 254.45 miles from Tiverton, Devon (ENGLAND) Rep Power: 9  Gender:  Country:  | Tuk-tuks brought to seaside city A new type of taxi service is starting in Brighton using Asian tuk-tuks - three-wheeled vehicles.  Tuk-tuks got their name from the sound their engines make It is said to be the first service of its kind in the UK and there are plans to extend it to other areas. TucTuc Ltd said it was testing the vehicles in Brighton before a London launch next year. The vehicles are environmentally friendly, running on compressed natural gas with super-low emissions, the firm said. Twelve liveried vehicles have been imported from India and given individual designs, with designer uniforms for drivers. The vehicles are called tuk-tuks because of the sound their engines make. They can go at speeds of up to 35mph. The UK versions have been fitted with hoods and curtains to keep out the rain and cold of the English city, and special safety features including passenger and driver seatbelts, and strengthened overhead and side-impact protection. Dominic Ponniah, executive director, said it offered tourists and shoppers "a safe, economical and environmentally friendly means of getting around congested cities". He said the vehicles were compact, would help to ease congestion in the seaside city, and would become "a massive tourist attraction". A filling station has been set up at Brighton Marina, which can also be used by the public, he added. "We want to encourage everyone to go green," he said. Brighton's tuk-tuks, which will run on a peak service during the summer and reduced service during the winter, have brought about 50 full and part-time jobs to the city. The service is due to be introduced in London in May 2007, and is expected to expand to Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh. The launch was at Brighton Racecourse on Thursday. Route maps have been placed in every vehicle and in hotels and restaurants throughout the city. | ||||||||
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| 07-10-2006, 05:26 AM | #6 (permalink) | |||||||||
| Moderator JulianW is drinking coffee.
Location: 254.45 miles from Tiverton, Devon (ENGLAND) Rep Power: 9 Gender: Country: | Quote:
I should hope that these safety improvements would be enough but then again I don't live anywhere near Brighton or London.  | |||||||||
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| 07-10-2006, 06:22 AM | #7 (permalink) | ||||||||
| Guest
| Concerns Mr Ponniah and his TucTuc's should not be operating in Brighton. With winds from the sea, they could easily blow over. Having been on one in Asia, all I know is that they're death traps. I've heard of many accidents and Brighton Council really should reconsider licensing this fool and his machines. I'll stick to taxis. | ||||||||
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| 07-10-2006, 08:53 AM | #8 (permalink) | ||||||||
| Senior Member   slagburn has no status.
Location: 3498.51 miles from Tiverton, Ontario (CANADA) Rep Power: 16 Gender:  Country:  | I say they go back to rickshaws... I've been trying to get the local walking clubs into pulling me around in one but that hasn't flown very well... yet. | ||||||||
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| 07-10-2006, 08:55 AM | #9 (permalink) | ||||||||
| Junior Member  Pirates_Ghost has no status.
Location: The other side of the Lake from work Rep Power: 12  | With all this "Saftey addtions" what makes them any different than the Nipis?  They've been puttering round towns for some time now, haven't they? __________________ You can't wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you - Look, if I went 'round saying I was an Emperor, just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!  | ||||||||
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| 07-10-2006, 08:59 AM | #10 (permalink) | |||||||||
| Junior Member   rwhite has no status.
Rep Power: 6 | Quote:
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