We do not usually do private bookings. However, if you represent an Imperial College Union club, especially a RSM club/the RSM Union; do contact us as we do like to help out fellow students.
If you are organising a RSM reunion on campus (either for the RSM as a whole or for a specific department) please let us know as we may be able to make a guest appearance.
Sure! So long as you have a full driving license and have held it for at least two years, you can drive Clem! You also need to be aged 21, and we’d like you to know a bit about how she works, just in case you break down when out and about.
We can. The driving cab at the front is mostly protected from the elements, and we can put a canvas cover over the back seats too.
No. As we have enough seats to qualify us as a minibus, we hold a Small Bus Permit and hence are exempt from the Congestion Charge. We are also allowed to use bus lanes for the same reason, unless the lane is specifically for “TfL” or “Local” buses.
Not a huge amount! We do an annual service and the occasional top up of oil, but most of the time she looks after herself.
There is usually the odd project going on though, whilst keeping Clem on the road is not too difficult, keeping her maintained to the high standard we want does involve a bit of labour every now and again. Why not come along and help us out! We have projects for all difficulty levels and interests.
Clem does not have a speedometer so we do not know how fast we travel. However we usually do something around 20-30 MPH on roads within South Kensington, and according to rough GPS measurements we once reached 47 MPH.
We can fit 3 in the cab (at a squeeze) and technically as many as can fit in the back. However we try not to fit more than 8 in the back as otherwise the engine starts to complain about the load. Unless you hold a category C or D driving license, you also cannot drive Clem with more than 8 people in total in the vehicle (including the driver).
She was built in 1926, making her almost 90 years old at time of writing.
Unleaded works fine. Leaded petrol hadn’t yet been invented when Clem was built.
