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Express and Echo (Exeter)
November 8, 2007 Thursday
Cabbie Jason brings a piece of London to Devon country lanes
A black cab may be more closely associated with London landmarks than country lanes in Mid Devon, but a Tiverton man wants to change all that.
Jason Worcester, who lives in Canal Hill, has recently bought a black hackney carriage and has begun operating it on the streets of Tiverton.
Jason said: "It certainly attracts a lot of attention. People do tend to be intrigued when they see a black cab in the town."
He said: "I used to be a dispatch rider in London and there were times when I would have quite liked to have been a cab driver when I saw them comfortable and dry while I was on my bike."
Jason said he liked the "traditional look" of a black cab. "I do believe if it is worth doing a job, it is worth doing properly and there is something special about a black cab.
"I don't know if people here are used to the idea of hailing a cab in the street, but as this is a hackney carriage, you can hail it.
"People have also said they are concerned about paying London prices, but as it is a metered vehicle, it costs the same as any other Mid Devon hackney carriage."
Away from the his cab, Jason sells second-hand books, mainly through mail order. His areas of specialisation included military history, illustrated books and Wodehouse novels, but Jason said he believed people were reading less, and so he had decided to become a taxi driver.
Jason said for less mobile people, the black TX4 vehicle could be an advantage. He said: "It can accommodate a wheel- chair and is fitted with an extendable ramp to help get in and out."
He said the black cab was designed to be a comfortable vehicle, offering lots of space and the capacity to transport six people.
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