WAZE APP: Taxi association produces handy guide to help cabbies access ‘Taxi Mode’
The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) have produced a handy guide to show cabbies how to access the popular Waze app ‘taxi mode’ alongside setting speed trap alerts.
In July taxi drivers were urged to look at the popular traffic and navigational app Waze to help keep to changing speed limits and stay up to date with new road restrictions.
The real-time traffic app also has a handy ‘Taxi’ mode that takes into account bus lanes, unlike many other navigational apps on the market.
Multiple road network changes were made throughout the pandemic. Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) schemes popped up creating havoc for drivers returning back to the industry after coronavirus lockdowns.
There are also a number of new speed cameras in the capital. Roads have shifted from 30mph speed limits to 20mph. According to the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), cameras on Bayswater Road, Euston Road, and Park Lane, all places where the speed limit has changed recently, are catching drivers out.
Kanize Cozens, LTDA’s Membership Senior Officer, said in TAXI Newspaper: “We can’t change all the 20mph speed limits, which have sprung up on our roads, in some very inappropriate places. Like those on dual carriage ways which were designed to keep our city moving, but we are doing all we can to demonstrate to decisionmakers how silly some of these are. For example, there are a number of consultations currently underway on whether to make some of these limits, such as the one on Park Lane, permanent. Colleagues here will be responding to these in the strongest possible terms.
“In the meantime, there are steps that you can take, which might help you to avoid getting a ticket. I wrote recently in TAXI about how useful the Waze app can be to help you avoid breaking the speed limit and to be aware of new lower limits. Since then, I have helped a number of members to set it up on their phones. I thought that the following guide might be useful to help readers set it up for themselves.”