Magical Taxi Tour Sets Out For 15th Time

LONDON – September 12, 2008: This year’s annual trip to Disneyland Paris is set to leave East Winter Gardens, Canary Wharf on Friday 17th October. This is the 15th time that members of The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers have organised the outing, taking sick and terminally ill children on the trip of a lifetime. The iconic London cab with its big hearted cab drivers travel in convoy down to Dover with their precious passengers, where they all board a P&O Ferry bound for Calais.

Throughout the year, there have been fund raising events to help finance the trip and every cab is also sponsored. Sponsors include many Livery Companies, businesses and organisations which make the trip possible but without the cab drivers who drive the children and then take them round the theme park the trip could not take place.

The day before the trip sets out sees all the cabs undergo an inspection to ensure they are mechanically ready for the long drive and also be liveried with sponsors’ details. This year this will be taking place at the Public Carriage Office, where the licensing authority for taxis is based in North London.

The next morning everyone involved is up very early, with the drivers collecting children and their carers from several London hospitals as well as their homes. The Big Breakfast send-off at Canary Wharf is electric with excitement and this year the Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman David Lewis accompanied by his Sheriffs will be there with other dignitaries, joining the Master of The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers, Andrew Overton, to cut the red ribbon and wave the convoy off.

Office workers will once again be surprised as they go to work on the morning as one thing is certain – the cabs, the drivers and the carers will be making a good deal of noise as they leave. Police outriders from both the UK and France escort the convoy which can reach up to five miles in length to ensure a safe passage throughout the weekend both here and in France.

Once in France the escorted convoy will continue to make its way down to Disneyland to Paris where the children will enjoy an amazing weekend. Not only will they get to visit the theme park, but on Saturday evening a Gala Dinner is being held in their honour with special guests Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, The Chipmunks, Goofy, Pluto and many other Disney characters. All too soon the weekend comes to an end and the convoy heads back to the UK.

Some amazing facts about this year's trip include that this 15th trip will mean a total of 3000 children have travelled in the convoy of cabs; for some of these children it will have been their first trip in a cab as well as their first trip abroad or to Disneyland Paris. Even more amazing is that some of the licensed taxi drivers taking their cabs on this year’s have given their cab and time freely for every one of those 15 trips. This equates to driving around 8000 miles and missing a total of 75 days work. Every driver who has ever done this trip will tell you – it is a magical event and brings a great deal of pleasure to the children involved.

The trip is organised by a small Committee of unpaid members.