By SIMON HENDERY
Entrepreneur Tony Falkenstein's latest business venture is turning heads.
He has imported an authentic 2002 model London black cab and is doing a roaring trade hiring it to wedding parties, those with a hankering for an alternative form of transport, and even the occasional homesick Brit.
The cab
is booked solid for weddings until April.
It costs $160 for the first hour (including driver), plus $90 for each additional hour.
For large wedding parties, Falkenstein has access to three other earlier-model cabs owned by Auckland firm Metropolitan Rentals.
He predicts his cab will also be popular during the school ball season in July and August.
The owner of Bartercard NZ, Just Water and Cool Water came up with the idea of importing the cab while on a year-long sabbatical to London in 2001.
He and 16-year-old daughter Amante are directors of London Black Cabs Ltd.
He says the business will be a valuable learning experience for her.
If the business continues to grow, Falkenstein says he plans to import more cabs.
But he has ruled out setting up a fully fledged taxi service, saying the $80,000 cost of buying and importing a black cab makes it uneconomical to run them as a metered service.
Manufacturer London Taxis International makes about 3000 cabs a year at its Coventry factory.
London Black Cabs
