The Report of Mr. Norman's Committee on London Cabs and
Omnibuses recommends that the " privilege " system be suspended for a year, so that it may be seen whether the railway companies can get on without it. As a substituteit recommends what is known as the "Waterloo system," under which any cab may enter the station-yard on payment of one penny. To prevent the use of badges by unlicensed drivers, it is proposed to issue badges in different colours for different years, so that identification may be easy. The four-mile radius is to be maintained, with certain anomalies removed. Every driver of a motor-omnibus outside the Metropolitan Police area is to be the holder of an official certificate of corn- petency,—a provision framed in view of the recent Handcross accident. All motor-omnibuses shall require official sanction before their routes are selected, in order to limit the disturbance of dwelling-houses, and heavy traffic shall be confined to main routes. Finally, the Report recommends the introduction of the "hour-mile" taxameter system, the fares for the first half-mile being 6d. and 8d. for a horse-cab and a motor-cab respectively, and increasing on a graded scale. A two-mile drive, the present limit of the shilling cab fare, will cost le. 3d.
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