This film is part of Free
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_480x270/public/hero-images/promo243605845.jpg?itok=m-wGKM9l)
Cabtrack The Direct Auto-control Personal Taxi Service
Could computer-controlled taxis solve the traffic crisis? Maybe not, but this film's a must for technology buffs (and fans of early electronic music).
Overview
Is it a car? Is it a tram? No, it's an automated taxi service. The technical challenge of building Cabtrack were, apparently, more easily overcome than public scepticism, despite the best efforts of this quirky promo. Then and now, the unmanned taxi feels like the stuff of sci-fi - the Docklands Light Railway may be the nearest we've come to realising the concept.
Cabtrack was one of several prototype Personal Rapid Transit systems to be floated globally in the 1960s and 70s. The Royal Aircraft Establishment was commissioned by The Ministry of Transport to research the project thoroughly, investing in the test-track and one-fifth-scale model shown in the film, though all development stopped in 1972. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo248723516.jpg?itok=_Qwa-gLW)
Hints and Hobbies No.11 Hints and Hobbies No.11
Cinemagazine 1926 14 mins Silent
Jiu-jitsu for ladies, how to get ink off a white apron and other life essentials courtesy of the 'Hints and Hobbies' team.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo243619441.jpg?itok=P87zedgK)
Lobsters Lobsters
Documentary 1936 15 mins
Follow the life cycle of the king of crustaceans in this quirky documentary by Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo244727469.jpg?itok=GmXY2nVY)
Audrey Hepburn Test Audrey Hepburn Test
1952 6 mins Silent
The future Holly Golightly exudes a certain grace even for a modest screen test, in the earliest known colour footage of the timeless star.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo244727833.jpg?itok=zblCWg9l)
Facts and Fancies Facts and Fancies
Documentary 1951 24 mins
Joan Collins gets to grips with the by-products of coal in her first screen appearance
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo236075582.jpg?itok=m32Br1Ib)
Is This Your Life? Is This Your Life?
Amateur film 1957 9 mins Silent
An unusual and visually sophisticated commentary on the routine drabness and drudgery of everyday suburban existence.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Ut_HKthATH4eww8X4xMDoxOjA4MTsiGN_10.jpg?itok=hFcAEmSy)
Screen Tests Screen Tests
Amateur film 1930 12 mins Silent
There's a hint of the Radclyffe Halls in this peculiar film of actors emoting like crazy, before it's off to Boscombe for some beserk beach antics and a gathering in the country.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/LondonLateEmperorOfJapan_2-1080.jpg?itok=IVybLF51)
London: Late Emperor of Japan London: Late Emperor of Japan
Non-Fiction 1912 0 mins Silent Location: London
Journalists congregate outside the Japanese embassy in London following the announcement of the death of the Emperor Meiji.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/TwoDosa.jpg?itok=k1NmSTeV)
Two Dosas Two Dosas
Comedy 2014 16 mins Location: London
Geeky Pavan takes his 'English Rose' on a date to the most authentic Indian restaurant in the city. To his horror she goes off-menu, in Hindi...
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Pall%2520Mall%2520and%2520Hyde%2520Park%2520Corner.jpg?itok=WiN6Ffcr)
Pall Mall and Hyde Park Corner Pall Mall and Hyde Park Corner
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: London
Capital scenes thanks to Victorian filmmakers
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Queen%2520Victoria%2527s%2520Diamond%2520Jubilee%2520-%2520Paul%2520-%2520York%2520Road%2520-%2520Bands.jpg?itok=Rt1HCgWg)
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee - Paul - York Road - Bands Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee - Paul - York Road - Bands
Non-Fiction 1897 1 mins Silent Location: London
The Band of the First Life Guards approaches Westminster Bridge during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Foundling-Hospital-Sports-Day.jpg?itok=jDZE2UvH)
Foundling Hospital Sports Day Foundling Hospital Sports Day
1899 2 mins Silent Location: London
A sports day gives the young residents of the Foundling Hospital a chance to let off steam
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Lord%2520Roberts%2527%2520Arrival%2520in%2520London.jpg?itok=v96Q8iLx)
Lord Roberts' Arrival in London Lord Roberts' Arrival in London
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Location: London
A conquering Boer War hero enjoys a rapturous homecoming parade
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Shoot-Your-Shot-02.jpg?itok=KREdlpBS)
Shoot Your Shot Shoot Your Shot
Drama 2022 12 mins
An emotional stand-off takes flight, as teen best friends Ronit and Brennan come to terms with navigating that fuzzy feeling in their stomachs, all whilst learning to skateboard.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/%25E2%2580%258ELook-Like-You-02.jpeg?itok=2R3w9luT)
Look Like You Look Like You
Drama 2022 13 mins
While visiting the adoptive family of her eight-year-old biological son, Tara relays advice she gathered from growing up as a queer outcast.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Yellow-04.jpg?itok=Bt5NDkC8)
Yellow Yellow
Drama 2023 13 mins
In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/NEHEMICH-02.jpg?itok=ba9fjUy4)
Nehemich Nehemich
Drama 2023 23 mins
Banished in a dilapidated village hut during her menstruation, a young girl waits to elope with her lover.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/1717526943-default-ovp-poster-image.jpg?itok=Fk8VLsGa)
Interview with Pam Cullen Interview with Pam Cullen
Inside Film 2020 53 mins
Interview with Pam Cullen who at 97 boasts an incredible career spanning over fifty years in the Indian film industry.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/muscleqanda.jpg?itok=8sw22r7R)
Muscle - Exclusive Q&A Muscle - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 34 mins
Director Gerard Johnson talks Nia Child through the making of Muscle, an adrenalized drama that tears into the stereotypes of masculinity and male friendship.