Hackney carriage
In the
United Kingdom, the name
hackney carriage refers to a
taxicab licensed by the
Public Carriage Office in
London (for the area within the M25 motorway) or by the local authority (
shire district councils or
authorities) in other parts of
England and
Wales, by the
Scottish Executive in
Scotland, or by the
Department of the Environment in
Northern Ireland.
Hackney carriages originated in the 17th century as horse-drawn
carriages, later modernized as
hansom cabs (1834), that operated as
vehicles for hire. Electric hackney carriages appeared before the introduction of the internal combustion engine to vehicles for hire in 1901.
Today the 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 only pick up passengers who have previously booked or who visit the taxi operator's office.
At the beginning of 2004, the UK Government had started consulting local councils and taxi operators on abolishing the distinction between the two types of
taxicabs, with a view to issuing only hackney licences.
 |
A London FX4 Black taxi. |
Motorised hackney cabs, traditionally all black in colour, have the popular name of
black cabs, although other colours also appear, most frequently when advertising campaigns call for the respraying of large groups of cabs in vivid
brand liveries.
In most of the United Kingdom hackney-carriage operators use conventional four-door
saloon cars, but London (and some other cities like
Glasgow and
Edinburgh) use specially-designed hackney carriages manufactured by just one company - LTI. These vehicles allow up to 5 passengers in the back. Luggage usually goes in the passenger compartment, but travel in the front next to the driver â€" these vehicles have no front passenger-seat, although a door has replaced the original open side. All models can also accommodate wheelchairs in the back. Black cabs have a turning circle of only 25 feet. (
Nubar Gulbenkian was said to have bought himself a London taxi because "it can turn on a sixpence - whatever that is.")
Some proposals exist to use "people carrier"-type vehicles as hackney carriages.
In
London, hackney-carriage drivers have to pass a test called
The Knowledge to demonstrate they have an intimate knowledge of London streets.
London Taxi drivers are not restricted in any way as to the distance thay can take somebody - for instance to Southampton or any airport. Some of them even have their own websites eg www.londonblackcabs.co.uk.
There have been different makes and types of hackney cabs through the years including:
*
Beardmore*
FX3*
FX4*
FAIRWAY*
METROCAB*
TX1*
TX2The first hackney-carriages licenses date from
1662, and applied literally to horse-drawn
carriages. During the
20th century cars generally replaced horse-drawn models, and the last horse-drawn hackney carriage ceased service in
1947.
Note the distinction between a generic hackney carriage and a
hackney coach, a hireable vehicle with specifically four wheels, two horses and six seats.
The name
hackney derives not from the borough of
Hackney in
London, but from the
French word
haquenée (an ambling horse or hack) referring to the
horses which pulled the original carriages. The word
hackney came subsequently to denote "for hire".
The
New York terms "hackstand" (taxi stand) and "hack license" (taxi license) likely derive from "hackney carriage".
The City of
Boston, Massachusetts in the United States of America also issues hackney carriage licenses. The Boston Police Hackney Carriage Unit handles the regulation of the city's taxis.
*
Manganese Bronze - the manufacturer of London Black Taxis.
*
Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers*
Carriage*
Wagon*
Cabmen's Shelter Fund*
The London Cab Driver's Handbook*
London hackney coach regulations, 1819*
The Cab Driver Newspaper, the licensed taxi
industry's oldest and largest independent newspaper
*
London Taxis of North America*
History of London taxi cabs at knowledgeoflondon.com
*
LTI, a British manufacturer of purpose-built taxis
