London Cabs in Beijing
For the last few weeks I’ve been silent on the blog, having been occupied finishing final book edits and working on special Olympics assignments with the Wall Street Journal doing reporting, video and multimedia.
But one thing that did crane my neck while zipping around the city was the sight of a London cab in Beijing taxi colors. So I finally tracked down one of the 30 new London cabs driving the streets of the Olympic city. Made under an agreement between Geely (China) and London Taxis International, the TX4 was brought in as a nod to the international tourists and the Paralympic Games that follow in September. I was lucky enough to find one queueing up, and the driver interested in gabbing.
He said they are indeed limited, to around 30 in the city, and they will continue to stay in service even after all the Olympics are over. They are wheelchair capable, and are left-hand drive, unlike their British-bound counterparts.
August 27th, 2008 23:32
I love these London cabs. They’re so roomy. Bet they are handy for bringing poultry too! They zip around in Singapore too with other regular-make cabs.
August 28th, 2008 01:01
Good spot. They are indeed surprisingly roomy! I hope they aren’t charging London prices though….
August 29th, 2008 01:54
Interesting picture. London cab may be famous in Beijing in the future.
I am a journalist student, and I’m impressed by your speed of getting news. How can you catch these news so quickly?
October 7th, 2008 05:07
Haha, this is interesting, its only for the Beijing Olympics or I still can see it on Beijing street right now? The carriage could be comfortableï¼
January 8th, 2009 21:00
Great for transporting your bike around town too. Especially whey the magically appear in front of a subway station as you come out, after the cops threaten to arrest you for riding a bike into the subway station (true story)…