Skip to main content

Taxi home

Three British men have set a world record for the longest taxi journey ever, raising around €25,000 for charity in the process. The three recently returned to the UK capital following a journey of around 69,000km in their 20 year old London black cab, which they nicknamed Hannah. Had the men paid a taxi fare for the trip, it would have cost around €100,000. During the 15 month journey, the men drove across four continents and passed through 50 countries. They also set a record for the world’s highest taxi j
June 26, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Three British men have set a world record for the longest taxi journey ever, raising around €25,000 for charity in the process. The three recently returned to the UK capital following a journey of around 69,000km in their 20 year old London black cab, which they nicknamed Hannah. Had the men paid a taxi fare for the trip, it would have cost around €100,000. During the 15 month journey, the men drove across four continents and passed through 50 countries. They also set a record for the world’s highest taxi journey, having driven the vehicle to the base camp area of Mount Everest. The trip was not without its difficulties however as the men were arrested in Moscow and were also detained by the Iranian Secret police. The latter were suspicious that the trio might be on a spying mission and one of the men was later deported from Iran on these grounds. But quite why the Iranians thought that spies travelling incognito would choose such a highly distinctive vehicle is not immediately apparent. A brush with the authorities in Moldova however was solved more amicably. Although the men were initially stuck at the border of the country because they had the wrong visas, they were allowed to enter Moldova as the mother of one of the trio knows the nation’s president.

Related Content

  • Safe road successes
    February 29, 2012
    According to the latest data from the International Transport Forum, there has been a steep decline in road deaths during first decade of 21st century in 33 countries.
  • The father of asset management speaks on the development of the concept
    May 24, 2016
    World Highways caught up with man who developed the concept of asset management for roads in the 1960s. Dr Ralph Haas is still researching in his native Canada, and commenting on potholes. The e-mail was brief. “You won't believe this, but I think I'm the last person on the planet without a cell phone.” That was quite an admission from Ralph Haas, distinguished Canadian professor emeritus. He was one of several civil engineers in the 1960s who developed the concept of managing roads as an integrated
  • The March of the Urban Low-emission Zone
    April 17, 2018
    Europe’s political patchwork is getting a low-emission zone overlap, according to Malcolm Kent* By now, pretty much everybody in the industry will be aware of the Low Emission Zone in London, UK. But awareness of similar European zones about to start or expand might be more patchy. The background to all of these schemes is the problem of air quality, particularly European Union rules setting limits on acceptable pollution levels. It was found some years ago that several member states’ cities, including
  • Vietnam and Laos addressing road safety
    February 29, 2012
    Accident statistics from Laos and Vietnam reveal a growing awareness of the problems needing attention.