HC Deb 09 March 1910 vol 14 cc1453-4
Captain COOPER

asked the Home Secretary how often the taximeters on motor cabs were officially tested for accuracy; and whether he was considering the advisability of making taximeters compulsory for horse-drawn vehicles?

Mr. MASTERMAN

The regulations require that every taximeter shall toe tested by the National Physical Laboratory at least once a year, and a road test is also made by the Police. Taximeters are further tested if, upon complaint, there is reasonable doubt as to their accuracy, and if from any cause the official scale are broken; and it may be taken that each instrument is tested three or four times a year. Both the owners and drivers of horse-drawn cabs are divided in opinion as to the advantage of taximeters, and in these circumstances the Secretary of State feels unable at present to require their use on horse-drawn cabs.