OK...private hire taxis in glasgow...WTF...

Glasgow Calum
Glasgow Calum Posts: 52
edited September 2012 in Commuting chat
Hi, started commuting commuting 2 weeks ago, loving it to bits. 8 miles each way half of it through Glasgow. Have had no major issues with cars, bikes, lorries or buses (found buses to be very good actually)

But what on earth is the deal with private hire taxis??? Every last one of them passes me with about half a foot of room, doesn't matter what my road position is, or what's coming the other way, they just seem to have to squeeze past! I don't get what their attitude is all about?

Anyway... Rant over lol.

Comments

  • Mikey41
    Mikey41 Posts: 690
    It's just taxis, they're the same everywhere. Just wait until one does a U turn right into your path :shock:
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  • mudcow007
    mudcow007 Posts: 3,861
    Mikey41 wrote:
    Just wait until one does a U turn right into your path :shock:

    this happened to me ages ago, i left a big black mark down the side of the wide taxi where my tyre rubbed along his door
    Keeping it classy since '83
  • Escadrille Ecosse
    Escadrille Ecosse Posts: 164
    Been riding in Glasgow for a few years and if it's any consolation, they're a lot better than they used to be....

    The buses used to be the worst, but the drivers got some cycle friendly training a few years ago and are (generally) noticeably better.

    Some tips for the taxis, if you don't dawdle and give them some respect then they tend to reciprocate. So if the road is narrow and you're in front gun it, if the lights are going to go red before you get there then let them past. And if there are only one or two cabs at the front of the queue at the lights then wait behind, it even T's me off as a cyclist when I'm waiting behind the one taxi (or bus) at the lights and someone on a bike nips to the front and then proceeds to ride off at 3 mph. Car drivers are different, no accounting for them.
    Coffee is not my cup of tea

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  • Glasgow Calum
    Glasgow Calum Posts: 52
    Escadrille Ecosse wrote:
    Been riding in Glasgow for a few years and if it's any consolation, they're a lot better than they used to be....

    The buses used to be the worst, but the drivers got some cycle friendly training a few years ago and are (generally) noticeably better.

    Some tips for the taxis, if you don't dawdle and give them some respect then they tend to reciprocate. So if the road is narrow and you're in front gun it, if the lights are going to go red before you get there then let them past. And if there are only one or two cabs at the front of the queue at the lights then wait behind, it even T's me off as a cyclist when I'm waiting behind the one taxi (or bus) at the lights and someone on a bike nips to the front and then proceeds to ride off at 3 mph. Car drivers are different, no accounting for them.

    Thanks, sound advice indeed.
    I do try and be thoughtful towards drivers when I am cycling (for example taking my place in a que at lights if I will make it through the next set anyway).

    I just find that private hire taxis fly past me at such a tight space. They also seem to assume that when you take primary road position (for example under the narrow bridge in maryhill) they seem to think that when you take primary means "Please pass me even closer than when im in secondary"
  • anton1r
    anton1r Posts: 272
    Glasgow Calum wrote:
    Escadrille Ecosse wrote:
    ...

    Some tips for the taxis, if you don't dawdle and give them some respect then they tend to reciprocate. So if the road is narrow and you're in front gun it, if the lights are going to go red before you get there then let them past. And if there are only one or two cabs at the front of the queue at the lights then wait behind, it even T's me off as a cyclist when I'm waiting behind the one taxi (or bus) at the lights and someone on a bike nips to the front and then proceeds to ride off at 3 mph. Car drivers are different, no accounting for them.

    Thanks, sound advice indeed.
    +1

    All true, if it's any consolation it's the same in Edinburgh. Taxi drivers (Black Cab and Private hires) are a nightmare. As are CityLink buses. Everyone else is mostly fine.
    "I have a plan, a plan so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a fox." (from the Blackadder TV series)
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Round my area I find the bus drivers are the best, most car drivers OK (a few idiots), HGV's are a pain, the cab passes with plenty of room but they seem to treat you as stationary and start pulling in too soon leaving the rear wheels to crush you to death (or I could brake....), don't get many taxi's!
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.

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