Hackney carriage

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see black cab (disambiguation) and London taxi (disambiguation). For the type of New York City taxi, see Taxis of New York City.

LTI TX2 cab

LTI FX4 cab

The Beardmore was an alternative taxi design used in London during the 1960s and 1970s.

A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common sight on the streets of London. The hackney carriages carry a roof sign TAXI that can be illuminated to indicate their availability for passengers.

In the UK, the name hackney carriage today refers to a taxicab licensed by the Public Carriage Office, local authority (non-metropolitan district councils, unitary authorities) or the Department of the Environment depending on region of the country. Some hackney carriages have also been exported for use in other countries.

Etymology

See also: Hackney horse and Hackney pony

The origins of the word hackney in connection with horses and carriages are uncertain. The origin is often attributed to the London borough of Hackney, whose name likely originated in Old English meaning 'Haka's Island'. There is some doubt whether the word hack for a horse was derived from this place-name, as the area was historically marshy and not well-suited for keeping horses. The American Hackney Horse Society favours an alternative etymology stemming from the French word haquenée—a horse of medium size recommended for lady riders—which was brought to England with the Norman Conquest and became fully assimilated into the English language by the start of the 14th century. The word became associated with an ambling horse, usually for hire.

The place-name, through its famous association with horses and horse-drawn carriages, is also the root of the Spanish word jaca, a term used for a small breed of horse and the Sardinian achetta horse. The first documented hackney coach—the name later extended to the newer and smaller carriages—operated in London in 1621.

The New York City colloquial terms "hack" (taxi or taxi-driver), hackstand (taxi stand), and hack license (taxi licence) are probably derived from hackney carriage. Such cabs are now regulated by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

History

Motorisation

UK regulations define a hackney carriage as a taxicab allowed to ply the streets looking for passengers to pick up, as opposed to private hire vehicles (sometimes called minicabs), which may pick up only passengers who have previously booked or who visit the taxi operator's office. The "Millennium Cab" built by ZeTek gained television coverage and great interest when driven in the Sheraton Hotel ballroom in New York by Judd Hirsch, the star of the television series Taxi. ZeTek built three cabs but ceased activities in 2001.

Continuing horse-drawn cab services

Horse-drawn hackney services continue to operate in parts of the UK, for example in Cockington, Torquay. The town of Windsor, Berkshire, is the last remaining UK town with a continuous lineage of horse-drawn hackney carriages, operated run by Windsor Carriages, the licence having been passed down from driver to driver since the 1830's. The original hackney licence is in place, allowing for passenger travel under the same law that was originally passed in 1662. The city of Bath has an occasional horse-drawn Hackney, principally for tourists, but still carrying hackney plates.

Black cabs

Outside of London, the regulations governing the hackney cab trade are different. Four-door saloon cars have been highly popular as hackney carriages, but with disability regulations growing in strength and some councils offering free licensing for disabled-friendly vehicles, many operators are now opting for wheelchair-adapted taxis such as the LEVC TX of London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC). London taxis have broad rear doors that open very wide (or slide), and an electrically controlled ramp that is extended for access.

Other models of specialist taxis include the Peugeot E7 and rivals from Fiat, Ford, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz. These vehicles normally allow six or seven passengers, although some models can accommodate eight. Some of these minibus taxis include a front passenger seat next to the driver, while others reserve this space solely for luggage.

In 2017, the LEVC TX was introduced – a purpose built hackney carriage, built as a plug-in hybrid range-extender electric vehicle. By April 2022, over 5,000 TX's had been sold in London, around a third of London's taxi fleet. In October 2019 the first fully electric cab since the Bersey in 1897, the Dynamo Taxi, was launched with a 187-mile range and with the bodywork based on Nissan's NV200 platform.

Driver qualification

In London, hackney-carriage drivers have to pass a test called The Knowledge to demonstrate that they have an intimate knowledge of the geography of London streets, important buildings, etc.

Elsewhere, councils have their own regulations. Some merely require a driver to pass a DBS disclosure and have a reasonably clean driving licence, while others use their own local versions of London's The Knowledge test.

Notable drivers

• Alfred Collins, who retired in 2007 at the age of 92, was the oldest cab driver and had been driving for 70 years.
• Fred Housego is a former London taxi driver who became a television and radio personality and presenter after winning the BBC television quiz Mastermind in 1980.
• Clive Efford, Labour MP for the London constituency of Eltham, was a cab driver for 10 years before entering parliament in 1997.

Private users

Oil millionaire Nubar Gulbenkian owned an Austin FX3 Brougham Sedanca taxi, with custom coachwork by FLM Panelcraft Ltd as he was quoted "because it turns on a sixpence whatever that is." Gulbenkian had two such taxis built, the second of which was built on an FX4 chassis and was sold at auction by Bonhams for $39,600 in 2015.

Ghosthunting With... featured a black cab owned by host of the show, Yvette Fielding. Bez of the Happy Mondays owns one, shown on the UK edition of Pimp My Ride. Noel Edmonds used a black cab to commute from his home to the Deal or No Deal studios in Bristol. He placed a dressed mannequin in the back so that he could use special bus/taxi lanes, and so that people would not attempt to hail his cab.

The official car of the Governor of the Falkland Islands between 1976 and 2010 was a London taxi.

In other countries

A London taxi (TXII model) in Switzerland

Between 2003 and 1 August 2009 the London taxi model TXII could be purchased in the United States. Today there are approximately 250 TXIIs in the US, operating as taxis in San Francisco, Dallas, Long Beach, Houston, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Newport, Rhode Island, Wilmington, North Carolina and Portland, Oregon. There are also a few operating in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The largest London taxi rental fleet in North America is in Wilmington, owned by The British Taxi Company. There are London cabs in Saudi Arabia, Romania, South Africa, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain and Cyprus, and in Israel, where a Chinese-made version of LTI's model TX4 built by Geely Automobile is available. In February 2010, a number of TX4s started operating in Pristina, Kosovo, and are known as London Taxi.

In the United States, the police department of the city of Boston has a Hackney Carriage Unit, analogous to taxicab regulators in other cities, that issues Hackney Carriage medallions to its taxi operators.

A London taxi (TX4 model) in Singapore

Singapore has used London-style cabs since 1992; starting with the "Fairway". The flag-down fares for the London Taxis are the same as for other taxis. SMRT Corporation, the sole operator, had by March 2013 replaced its fleet of 15 ageing multi-coloured (gold, pink, etc.) taxis with new white ones. They are the only wheelchair-accessible taxis in Singapore, and were brought back following an outcry after the removal of the service.

A London taxi (TX4 model) in Baku

By 2011 a thousand of a Chinese-made version of LTI's latest model, TX4, had been ordered by Baku Taxi Company. The plan is part of a program originally announced by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Transportation to introduce London cabs to the capital, Baku. The move was part of a £16 million agreement between the London Taxi Company and Baku Taxi Company.

A Nihon Kotsu Toyota JPN Taxi

Although the LEVC TX is more expensive and exceeds the Japanese size classifications to gain the tax advantages Japanese livery drivers enjoy with the similarly designed but smaller Toyota JPN Taxi, Geely has attempted to break into the Japanese market. Alternatively, while the Toyota JPN Taxi doesn't meet the passenger capacity or turning radius Conditions of Fitness required by Transport for London, it does meet the emissions and accessibility requirements that may make it an ideal option for cities outside of London without the seating requirements or as a private hire vehicle while still evoking the familiar black cab profile.

A London taxi in Beijing

During the 2008 Olympic Games, there were about 100 Hackney carriages operating in Beijing.

Variety of models

There have been different makes and types of hackney cab through the years, including:

• Mann & Overton – including Carbodies, The London Taxi Company and currently London EV Company
  • Unic sold in London from 1906 to 1930s
  • Austin London Taxicab
  • Austin FX3
  • Austin/Carbodies/LTI FX4 and Fairway
  • LTI TX1, TXII and TX4
  • LEVC TX (plug-in hybrid range-extender)
• Mercedes-Benz
  • Vito W639
• Morris
  • Nuffield Oxford Taxi
• London General Cab Co.
  • Citroën
• Beardmore
  • Beardmore Marks I to VII
• Metrocab (originally formed by Metro Cammell Weymann)
  • MCW/Reliant/Hooper Metrocab
• Dynamo Motor Company
  • Dynamo Taxi(Nissan NV200 based)

Use in advertising

• 
  An example of an Eyetease digital screen on top of a hackney carriage
• 
  Primelocation livery
• 
  Vodafone livery
• 
  Vita Coco livery

In October 2011 the company Eyetease Ltd. introduced digital screens on the roofs of London taxis for dynamically changing location-specific advertising.

Digital hailing

2011 saw the launch of many digital hailing applications for hackney carriages that operate through smartphones, including GetTaxi and Hailo. Many of these applications also facilitate payment and tracking of the taxicabs.

United Kingdom law

Laws about the definition, licensing and operation of hackney carriages have a long history. The most significant pieces of legislation by region are:

• In England and Wales: the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. In Wales, responsibility for licensing is now devolved to the Senedd. In September 2017, a consultation started about the future of such licensing.
• In London: the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869 and the London Cab Order 1934.
• In Scotland: the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
• In Northern Ireland: the Taxis Act (Northern Ireland) 2008

See also

• Cabmen's Shelter Fund
• Cabvision
• Illegal taxi operation
• M4 bus lane
• Toyota JPN Taxi
• VPG Standard Taxi
• Wagon
• Black Cab Rapist, a driver of a black cab

External links

• Fairway Owners Club and Forum
• Taxi fare calculator based on fares set by local authorities
• Taxis and private hire Transport for London Public Carriage Office
• London hackney coach regulations, 1819. Genealogy UK Genealogy and Family History.
• Roberts, Andy (22 November 2018). "20 Fascinating Facts About The Austin FX4". Lancaster Insurance.