‘Hard Hearted Hannah (a 20 year old London Black Cab)’ and her ambitious if not crazy team of explorers, have finally returned home from their Guinness World record attempt to undergo the longest ever taxi journey.
Three men, a London Black Cab,15 months, 43,319.5 miles, 8,000 litres of diesel, clocking up £79,006.80 on the meter, fifty countries and four continents all in aid of the British Red Cross is what it took to break the record.
They initially received funding from the Performance Direct Non-Standard awards by winning their finances for the trip with an imaginative and new idea.
Not only did they demolish their targeted record of longest journey by taxi before they had even reached Australia, it is also believed they created a new record for highest altitude taxi fare managing to reach the Everest base camp in late August 2011.
‘It’s on the meter’ and the boys initially had a target of £20,000 to donate to charity which was no mean feat. However, before they knew it they had reached their goal and began raising even more money than expected.
With multiple breakdowns to deal with as well as the day to day grafting of driving all those miles, it’s hard to imagine how the three kept sane.
The communication with their supporters via social media must have kept the team going and pushed them to continue to the finish. Continuously updating their Facebook page as well as their Twitter account and their own website meant that they received ongoing support throughout their travels.
The team kept a detailed itinerary of their whereabouts, meaning supporters and the media where able to keep track of their ongoing progress. This was continuously updated depending on any unplanned detours along the way.
‘It’s on the meter’ managed to not only raise awareness for the British Red Cross, but also for its sponsors such as the Performance Direct Non-Standard awards. With 700 followers including a few familiar names such as Stephen Fry and over 3,600 likes on Facebook, the aim to bring awareness to the cause was a success.
The boys have also been spotted in the press appearing in newspapers such as the Sunday Times, only time will tell whether it has been as successful for its sponsors.
Three grown men living in a tin can 4.56 metres long, 1.75 metres wide and 1.765 metres high this can’t have been the easiest of tasks, but the backing of sponsors like the Performance Direct Non- Standard awards, family and friends and the support of the public made the dreams of these three young men possible.
The question is…what next?
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This is really great! Some pics look like straight out of a Mad Max Movie. Looks like crazy people never die 😉