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It’s a long way from the bustling center of Piccadilly Circus – dozens of iconic black cabs parked on open ground near Epping Forest.
The incredible image shows the vehicles stored on the outskirts of the city after they were returned by drivers to rental companies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It turns out that one in five black cabs in London have been taken off the road since June as drivers struggle to make ends meet during the closure.
The number of licensed taxis in the capital plummeted from 18,900 on June 7 to 15,000 on November 8, according to Transport for London (TfL) data obtained by the PA news agency.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) said the pandemic has been a “total and utter nightmare” for taxi drivers who have “fallen through the holes” in the Treasury licensing scheme.
LTDA believes that only 20 percent of taxi drivers continue to drive their vehicles. Secretary General Steve McNamara said they are earning “starvation wages” about a quarter of normal levels.
Drivers are also “doing desperate things” like selling their taxis for well below market value to “get through the next few months,” he added.
These include those who recently bought a new £ 65,000 electric taxi or are receiving a small pension from a previous job. Many have received “no income at all” since March, he said.
More than 200 black taxis are stored in the field in Epping
/ Pennsylvania )“We are now in a position where London could lose this icon,” he said. “We are a very viable business. We are an integral part of the DNA of this city.
“We need a specific package that is aimed at London taxi drivers just to help us get through this.”
North London-based hire company GB Taxi Services has seen the occupancy rate of its fleet of 100 black taxis plummet from 95% before the crisis to just 10%, despite reducing to half their rates to encourage drivers to hang on to their vehicles.
You are using the farmland area in Epping Forest to store around 220 junk taxis so they can stop paying to insure them.
But the plan backfired when intruders stole catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters from around 50 of them.
Simon Georgiou, Director of GB Taxi Services, said: “They took our knees off with Covid and they returned many vehicles to us. Then this theft happens, costing more than £ 120,000. We are in perfect trouble. “
Another rental company, Sherbet London, has contracted a car park to help store 400 unoccupied taxis, representing two-thirds of its fleet.
CEO Asher Moses said: “All commerce has suffered. There must be 2,000 taxis in the fields right now. ”
He accused ministers of failing to meet their commitments during the pandemic.
“When Covid arrived, the government told us ‘don’t worry, we will support companies like you.’ But unfortunately they didn’t, and they let us rot, ”Moses said.
Unused black cabs parked in a large area of farmland in Epping Forest
/ Pennsylvania )London taxi driver Andy Biggs, 63, said demand has “evaporated” and that he is lucky to have three customers a day.
“When we first came back after the initial lockout, things started to improve a little bit very slowly,” he said. “But now he’s as dead as ever.”
“If I were 20 years younger, I might consider doing something else.”
Figures from LTDA show that drivers who arrived at Heathrow Airport’s taxi feeder park last month waited an average of nine hours before being dispatched to pick up a passenger.
TfL said it has provided drivers with “practical advice on a number of issues” during the crisis, insisting that black taxis “remain an integral part of the transport network.”
