This handout picture from Transport for London shows London's longest-serving taxi driver Alfred Collins, 92, who has retired after 70 years of ferrying passengers around the capital.(AFP/TFL)
Posted on 03/21/2007 8:10:06 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LONDON (AFP) - London's longest-serving taxi driver has retired, after 70 years of ferrying passengers around the British capital.
Alfred Collins, 92, picked up his first fare in 1937 and plied the streets until two years ago, keeping his black cab licence until last month when he finally decided he was not going to get back behind the wheel.
As well as ordinary folk, he has also had former prime minister Margaret Thatcher and the actress Joan Collins in the back of his cab.
"It has been a great privilege to serve the people of London," Collins said after receiving a special honour for long service from Transport for London (TfL) and the Public Carriage Office (PCO), which regulates licensed cabs.
"It really does not seem that nearly 70 years has passed by. I have had the pleasure of meeting people from all walks of life, politicians, celebrities and the great British public.
"Life is all about communication and I have enjoyed sharing my vast experience of life as well as learning a lot with some of my passengers.
"I will treasure these memories for the rest of my life," added the widower, who lists current affairs and computing as among his hobbies.
More than 2,000 private hire and black cab operators and about 40,000 drivers are currently licenced with the PCO.
All drivers are required to sit "The Knowledge", which tests their ability to remember in detail the roads and landmarks within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross in central London.
Applicants typically take about 36 months to learn the 320 routes and are often seen practising on scooters.
Would-be drivers have to be at least 21 but there is no upper age limit.
Driving licences in Britain are normally valid until the age of 70 but older drivers have to renew their permits every three years, subject to medical conditions.
This handout picture from Transport for London shows London's longest-serving taxi driver Alfred Collins, 92, who has retired after 70 years of ferrying passengers around the capital.(AFP/TFL)
London Black Cab drivers are the finest cabbies in the World bar none!
Bless his heart -- he worled hard to support all those people on English welfare.
retired after 70 years of ferrying passengers around the capital.And that was just one fare.
They are amazing, they have to know their way around London, anywhere, by heart. It takes a tremendous amount of studying to pass the exam to become a cabbie in London.
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