Looking for a reliable ebike to do the London knowledge on, please help!

[Knowledge boy]

Hi. No memory me. I wasn't even on here. I was intrigued being a new convert to ebiking . I happened to google "doing the knowledge on a bicycle ". And a few hits down was you on this forum.

And ive lost 2 stone, bonus!

 

[flecc]

others include parking the van somewhere in a decent location preferably free,

Parking it free is obviously a big issue, but there's more with a van.

There's the congestion charge zone, £11.50 each day if you intrude.

And there's the low emission zone that extents right out to the fringes of London. This currently excludes old vans pre January 2002, but that could change so best keep an eye on it for changes using this link.
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[Knowledge boy]

Parking it free is obviously a big issue, but there's more with a van.

There's the congestion charge zone, £11.50 each day if you intrude.

And there's the low emission zone that extents right out to the fringes of London. This currently excludes old vans pre January 2002, but that could change so best keep an eye on it for changes using this link.
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Thanks flecc. I was thinking of a vw transporter, big enough to lie down in with the bike in the back too. The problem with that is the height, i was going to at northwick park hosp as you can stay there for 25 a week in a undercover car park but the problem is they have a height restriction which means i have to park on the streets, the only free street i know within reasonable distance is hampstead lane, alternatively get get a vw caddy or astravan or similar but then i fear itll be too tight for in the back at night, its driving me slightly mad this now, ive searched parking sites like parkopedia et al and there are a few reasonably priced spaces but on people drives and who would want someone sleeping in a van 5 nights a week outside their house?! You can pay more 200+ or so for an underground parking space but then it makes it too expensive again, another alternative would be to drive to say hendon every day where i can park for a 6-7 hours and drive home again but again it defeats the object, i dont know what the answer is.. I have looked at buying a narrow boat, mooring up in uxbridge but again when i reasearchd it that wasnt as cheap as i thought either so i just dont know anymore

 

[flecc]

i just dont know anymore

Well, here's a crackpot way-out idea, how about becoming one of the enemy for two years?

Get a suitable car instead and be a London minicab driver, both earning a bit and doing the Knowledge at the same time, both between cab jobs and while doing them.
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[Knowledge boy]

Well, here's a crackpot way-out idea, how about becoming one of the enemy for two years?

Get a suitable car instead and be a London minicab driver, both earning a bit and doing the Knowledge at the same time, both between cab jobs and while doing them.
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Youre not the first person to suggest that, and its not a bad idea just the money is crap, but better than nothing at the same time. I need to put some serious thought into it as like i say a few people ive discussed this with have mentioned it, thanks flecc

 

[2Lazy]

Well, here's a crackpot way-out idea, how about becoming one of the enemy for two years?

Get a suitable car instead and be a London minicab driver, both earning a bit and doing the Knowledge at the same time, both between cab jobs and while doing them.
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I thought it was Uber that was the enemy these days!

With that in mind knowledge boy is being a black cab driver a wise career choice these days? As I'm sure you're no doubt aware doing the knowledge is a heck of lot of work and with uber getting ever more market share and autonomous vehicles only a few years away I'd have serious doubts about whether doing the knowledge is a worthwhile investment.

 

[flecc]

I thought it was Uber that was the enemy these days!

With that in mind knowledge boy is being a black cab driver a wise career choice these days? As I'm sure you're no doubt aware doing the knowledge is a heck of lot of work and with uber getting ever more market share and autonomous vehicles only a few years away I'd have serious doubts about whether doing the knowledge is a worthwhile investment.

There's certainly some truths in this, but Uber is hitting some obstructions now. The latest is the new requirement for drivers to have an adequate standard of command of the English language, which many of their drivers can't meet. There's also the ongoing challenge from the black cab drivers that Uber is breaking the law since the customer is effectively hailing the minicab rather than ordering it via an office. And there's talk of limiting the total number of minicabs since they are adding so much to traffic problems.

I can see the diesel bans hitting them too. Since only hybrid or all-electric black cabs will be allowed in some of the worst polluted but most lucrative streets shortly, the cabbies aren't going to let minicabs having it all their own way on that.
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[2Lazy]

I don't think a requirement for English will be a problem for Uber. Perhaps I've been lucky but all of the Uber drivers I've met have spoken good English. The last Uber I took the driver was from Poland and spoke excellent English, he was a highly educated chap and was driving for Uber as a quick way to make some money until he was settled in England. We had a really interesting conversation about London's architecture!

The ongoing legal challenge I don't know enough about to comment on it but I think politically people would see a ban on Uber and similar services as a retrograde step. My personal opinion is that the claim is any case complete nonsense. All Uber have done is automate the function of the minicab office but that doesn't mean that customers are 'hailing' cabs. Even local minicab companies where I live in Milton Keynes now have Uber style apps.

I think the biggest threat to all the driving professions including black cab drivers is autonomous vehicles. There is of course some debate about how long it will take for the technology to be sufficiently advanced that it can be let loose on the roads. Given the exponential rate at which digital technology develops I would not be at all surprised to see fully autonomous vehicles on our roads within the next ten years. If the technology is proven to be safe the potential cost savings and improvements in road safety and traffic flow etc. will be so massive the pressure from big business for government to make the necessary legislative changes will be unstoppable.

 

[flecc]

I think the biggest threat to all the driving professions including black cab drivers is autonomous vehicles.

Maybe eventually, but long before that are numerous difficulties for London minicabs as well as the black cabs. The days of cheaply using any old reasonable saloon car will be over, with crucial dates being January 2018, 2020 and 2023. Some roads will only be able to be serviced under zero emission conditions.

Information link
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[2Lazy]

Maybe eventually, but long before that are numerous difficulties for London minicabs as well as the black cabs. The days of cheaply using any old reasonable saloon car will be over, with crucial dates being January 2018, 2020 and 2023. Some roads will only be able to be serviced under zero emission conditions.

Information link
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I think that's a good move. Air quality in London is appalling. I think it's the trucks and buses and that spew out most of the pollution but this is a good start nonetheless.

 

[flecc]

I that's a good move. Air quality in London is appalling. I think it's the trucks and buses and that spew out most of the pollution but this is a good start nonetheless.

Trucks and buses rapidly getting better though, last London figures I saw were 1500 buses hybrid now and increasing by at least 4 per week, plus 22 electric and 8 hydrogen fuel cell. By 2020 it's intended that central area buses will only be hybrids etc.

On Nox emissions the worst offenders are now small diesel cars. Tests on a batch of new cars showed the latest VW Polo to be 12 to 13 times worse than the much bigger VW Passat and ten times worse than the current new truck standard. Little wonder the politicians are on the attack against diesel cars now.
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[Crockers]

I don't think a requirement for English will be a problem for Uber. Perhaps I've been lucky but all of the Uber drivers I've met have spoken good English. The last Uber I took the driver was from Poland and spoke excellent English, he was a highly educated chap and was driving for Uber as a quick way to make some money until he was settled in England. We had a really interesting conversation about London's architecture!

The ongoing legal challenge I don't know enough about to comment on it but I think politically people would see a ban on Uber and similar services as a retrograde step. My personal opinion is that the claim is any case complete nonsense. All Uber have done is automate the function of the minicab office but that doesn't mean that customers are 'hailing' cabs. Even local minicab companies where I live in Milton Keynes now have Uber style apps.

I think the biggest threat to all the driving professions including black cab drivers is autonomous vehicles. There is of course some debate about how long it will take for the technology to be sufficiently advanced that it can be let loose on the roads. Given the exponential rate at which digital technology develops I would not be at all surprised to see fully autonomous vehicles on our roads within the next ten years. If the technology is proven to be safe the potential cost savings and improvements in road safety and traffic flow etc. will be so massive the pressure from big business for government to make the necessary legislative changes will be unstoppable.

Just catch a Jimmy cab

 

[flecc]

I don't think a requirement for English will be a problem for Uber. Perhaps I've been lucky but all of the Uber drivers I've met have spoken good English.

Of course, they've been foreign.

It's the English Uber drivers most likely to have difficulties in speaking intelligible English.
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