Hackney carriage#History

{{See also|Hackney horse|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.'Oxford English Dictionary' online pay site accessed 18 April 2018 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{{cite web|url=https://dle.rae.es/?w=jaca|title=jaca |work= Diccionario de la lengua española |publisher=Real Academia Española|access-date=7 April 2011}} 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.{{Cite web| title = About TLC – TLC| access-date = 13 November 2023| url = https://www.nyc.gov/site/tlc/about/about-tlc.page |website=New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission}}

==History==

{{anchor|Hackney coach|Hackney Coaches, Metropolis Act 1802|Hackney Coach Fares Act 1808|Hackney Coaches Act 1814|Hackney Coach Licences Act 1817|London Hackney Carriage Act 1853|London Hackney Carriage (No. 2) Act 1853}}

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.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

Horse-drawn hackney services continue to operate in parts of the UK, for example in Cockington, Torquay.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cockingtoncourt.org/latest-news/2014/9/9/cockington-carriages-plan-for-the-future-a468|title=Cockington Carriages plan for the future – Cockington Court|website=www.cockingtoncourt.org|access-date=7 April 2021|archive-date=24 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024190712/https://www.cockingtoncourt.org/latest-news/2014/9/9/cockington-carriages-plan-for-the-future-a468|url-status=dead}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Radford |first=Sarah |date=2021-09-15 |title=Windsor carriage driver fights for business after council ban |url=https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/windsor-carriage-driver-fights-for-business-after-council-ban-762029 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120190643/https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/windsor-carriage-driver-fights-for-business-after-council-ban-762029 |archive-date=2025-01-20 |access-date=2025-06-20 |work=Horse and Hound}} 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.{{Cite news |date=2007-05-30 |title=Horse-drawn taxi firm faces closure over dung |url=https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/horse-drawn-taxi-firm-faces-closure-over-dung-121795 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130202802/https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/horse-drawn-taxi-firm-faces-closure-over-dung-121795 |archive-date=2020-11-30 |access-date=2025-06-20 |work=Horse and Hound}}

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.{{Cite web |title=London Wheelchair Taxis with Ramps |work=Wheelchair Travel |date=2021 |access-date=17 April 2021 |url= https://wheelchairtravel.org/london/taxis/}}

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.{{Cite web |title=2,500th LEVC TX taxi rolls off production line |url=https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/98450/2500th-levc-tx-taxi-rolls-off-production-line |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Auto Express |language=en}} By April 2022, over 5,000 TX's had been sold in London, around a third of London's taxi fleet.{{Cite web |date=27 April 2022 |title=LEVC CELEBRATES SALE OF 5000TH TX ELECTRIC TAXI IN LONDON |url=https://levc.com/levc-celebrates-sale-of-5000th-tx-electric-taxi-in-london/ |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=LEVC |language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite web |title=Electric London black cab launches with 187-mile range {{!}} Autocar |url=https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/electric-london-black-cab-launches-187-mile-range |access-date=2019-10-24 |website=www.autocar.co.uk}}{{Cite web |date=23 October 2019 |title=First 100% electric black cab for 120 years launches in London |url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/23/first-100-electric-black-cab-for-120-years-launches-in-london |website=The Guardian}}

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.{{Cite news |last=Postans |first=Adam |date=2025-05-29 |title='The knowledge' taxi driver test may be scrapped |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyw7l02knxo |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.today/2025.06.20-153032/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyw7l02knxo |archive-date=2025-06-20 |access-date=2025-06-20 |work=BBC News}}

• Alfred Collins, who retired in 2007 at the age of 92, was the oldest cab driver and had been driving for 70 years.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6470443.stm Longest serving cabbie honoured], bbc.co.uk; accessed 26 May 2017.
• 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/feb/09/features.magazine107|title=What happened next?|publisher=The Observer|last=de Garis|first=Kirsty|date=9 February 2003|access-date=7 June 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3046254.stm|title=Take our Mastermind quiz|publisher=BBC News|date=7 July 2003|access-date=7 June 2014}}
• Clive Efford, Labour MP for the London constituency of Eltham, was a cab driver for 10 years before entering parliament in 1997.

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."The sixpence was the smallest coin in circulation, so the phrase was a hyperbole meaning that it had a tight turning radius. 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22792/lot/42/|title=Bonhams The millionaire Paul Mellon wants to buy Gulbenkian's FX3, but Gulbenkian would not sell, but did allow Mellon to have replica built. This was also constructed by FLM Panelcraft, but on an FX4 chassis and was fitted with an American Ford 6-cylinder engine and automatic gearbox, as Mellon kept it in the USA: The ex-Nubar Gulbenkian,1960 AUSTIN FX4 BROUGHAM SEDANCA Chassis no. FX4AT033U010|website=www.bonhams.com}}

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.{{cite web|url= https://uk.motor1.com/news/281925/noel-edmonds-taxi/ |title=Noel Edmonds dodged traffic by illegally driving a taxi in Bristol |work=motor1.com |date=30 November 2018 |access-date=2020-08-25}}

The official car of the Governor of the Falkland Islands between 1976 and 2010 was a London taxi.{{cite web|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.20773 |title=Rex Hunt, Governor of the Falkland Islands|publisher=Imperial War Museum|access-date=20 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806224821/http://www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.20773|archive-date=6 August 2011}}

File:Wetzikon - Bahnhofstrasse - Wildbach 2010-07-01 12-24-20 ShiftN savagely cropped.jpg

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,{{cite web | url=https://unmik.unmissions.org/united-nations-resolution-1244 | title=United Nations Resolution 1244 | date=18 January 2016 }} and are known as London Taxi.{{Cite news|last=Ben-Gedalyahu|first=Dubi|title=Eldan to sell Chinese 'London taxi'|newspaper=Globes|location=Tel Aviv|date=18 August 2009|url=http://archive.globes.co.il/searchgl/Eldan%20to%20sell%20Chinese%20%22London%20taxi%22_h_hd_2L34nDZ8oD5mnC30mD3amE3WvBcXqRMm0.html|access-date=18 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224182107/http://archive.globes.co.il/searchgl/Eldan%20to%20sell%20Chinese%20%22London%20taxi%22_h_hd_2L34nDZ8oD5mnC30mD3amE3WvBcXqRMm0.html|archive-date=24 February 2012}}

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.{{cite web |title=Boston Police Hackney Carriage Unit |url=http://www.cityofboston.gov/police/hackney |access-date=20 November 2011 |publisher=Cityofboston.gov}}

File:SHB786K - London Cab TX4 in Singapore, SMRT owned front view.jpg

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.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

File:Bakutaxi.jpg

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.{{cite news|last=Meidment|first=Neil|title=Manganese Bronze seals biggest London taxi order|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-manganese-bronze-idUSTRE7225WO20110303|publisher=Reuters|access-date=4 March 2011}}{{cite web|last=Jaglom|first=Ben|title=Manganese takes black cab to Azerbaijan|url=http://www.growthcompany.co.uk/news/1607588/manganese-takes-black-cab-to-azerbaijan.thtml|access-date=4 March 2011|archive-date=7 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307042107/http://www.growthcompany.co.uk/news/1607588/manganese-takes-black-cab-to-azerbaijan.thtml|url-status=dead}} The move was part of a £16 million agreement between the London Taxi Company and Baku Taxi Company.{{cite web|title=1,000 London taxis for Azerbaijan|url=http://business.scotsman.com/business/1000-London-taxis-for-Azerbaijan.6728118.jp|access-date=4 March 2011}}{{cite web|title=British firm wins £16m Azerbaijan order for its Chinese built taxis|url=http://www.worksmanagement.co.uk/article/31946/British-firm-wins-16m-Azerbaijan-order-for-its-Chinese-built-taxis.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505132109/http://www.worksmanagement.co.uk/article/31946/British-firm-wins-16m-Azerbaijan-order-for-its-Chinese-built-taxis.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2013|access-date=4 March 2011}}

File:TOYOTA JPNTAXI Nihonkotsu Taxi.jpg

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.{{cite news |last1=Mihalascu |first1=Dan |title=LEVC TX Electrified London Black Cab Lands In Japan, Targets Toyota's JPN Taxi |url=https://www.carscoops.com/2020/01/levc-tx-electrified-london-black-cab-lands-in-japan-targets-toyotas-jpn-taxi/ |publisher=Carscoops |date=17 January 2020}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Richardson |first1=Perry |title=The Toyota JPN Taxi: Changing the Asian landscape, can it change the UK's? |url=https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/2019/01/29/the-toyota-jpn-taxi-changing-the-asian-landscape-can-it-change-the-uk-s |publisher=Taxi Point |date=29 January 2019}}

File:Beijing_London_Taxi.jpg

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

There have been different makes and types of hackney cab through the years,{{cite web|url=http://www.london-taxi.co.uk/taxi/taxicab-history.htm|title=Taxicab Make And Model History|publisher=London-taxi.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420100149/http://www.london-taxi.co.uk/taxi/taxicab-history.htm|archive-date=20 April 2012}} 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{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-03/london-black-cab-crisis-opens-road-to-mercedes-minivans.html|work=Bloomberg|title=London Black-Cab Crisis Opens Road to Mercedes Minivans|date=3 December 2012}}
• 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)

File:Hackney Carriage Black Cab Digital Advertising TaxiTop Eyetease.jpg|An example of an Eyetease digital screen on top of a hackney carriage

File:14-08-09-london-taxi-RalfR-11.jpg|Primelocation livery

File:14-08-09-london-taxi-RalfR-07.jpg|Vodafone livery

File:14-08-09-london-taxi-RalfR-06.jpg|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.{{cite web|author1=Mark Prigg|title=The video screen coming to a cab near you|url=http://prigg.thisislondon.co.uk/2011/10/the-video-screen-coming-to-a-cab-near-you-soon.html|website=ThisIsLondon|publisher=London Evening Standard|access-date=17 July 2015|date=11 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231022422/http://prigg.thisislondon.co.uk/2011/10/the-video-screen-coming-to-a-cab-near-you-soon.html|archive-date=31 December 2011}}

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.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

Laws about the definition, licensing and operation of hackney carriages have a long history.{{Cite web|url=http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN02005/SN02005.pdf|title=Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing in England. House of Commons Briefing Paper CBP 2005|last=Butcher|first=Louise|date=2018|website=Parliament|access-date=19 May 2018}} 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

• 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

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Taxis of London}}

{{EB1911 poster|Cab}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131105053341/http://fairwayownersclub.com/ Fairway Owners Club and Forum]
• [https://www.bettertaxi.com/taxi-fare-calculator-united-kingdom/ Taxi fare calculator based on fares set by local authorities]
• [https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/ Taxis and private hire] Transport for London Public Carriage Office
• [http://www.londonancestor.com/leighs/hackney.htm London hackney coach regulations, 1819.] Genealogy UK Genealogy and Family History.
• {{Cite web |title=20 Fascinating Facts About The Austin FX4 |last=Roberts |first=Andy |website=Lancaster Insurance |date=22 November 2018 |url= https://www.lancasterinsurance.co.uk/news/2018/november/22/20-fascinating-facts-about-the-austin-fx4/}}

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Category:Carriages

Category:Taxi vehicles

Category:Taxis of London