Hackney carriage

Main article: Taxicab

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LTI TX1 cab

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LTI FX4 cab.

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

|} A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab or hack) is a carriage or automobile for hire. A livery carriage superior to the hackney was called a remise.

In the United Kingdom, the name hackney carriage refers to a taxicab licensed by the Public Carriage Office in Greater London or by the local authority (non-metropolitan district councils or unitary authorities) in other parts of Great Britain, or by the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland.

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.

Etymology

The name 'hackney' is an anglicized derivative of French haquenée—a horse of medium size recommended for lady riders. The first documented 'hackney coach'—the forerunner of the more generic 'hackney carriage'—operated in London in 1621.

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

History

"An Ordinance for the Regulation of Hackney-Coachmen in London and the places adjacent" was approved by Parliament in 1654, to remedy what it described as the "many Inconveniences [that] do daily arise by reason of the late increase and great irregularity of Hackney Coaches and Hackney Coachmen in London, Westminster and the places thereabouts". The first hackney-carriage licences date from 1662, and applied literally to horse-drawn carriages, later modernised as hansom cabs (1834), that operated as vehicles for hire. There was a distinction between a general hackney carriage and a hackney coach, a hireable vehicle with specifically four wheels, two horses and six seats, and driven by a jarvey (also spelled jarvie).

Electric hackney carriages appeared before the introduction of the internal combustion engine to vehicles for hire in 1901. During the 20th century, cars generally replaced horse-drawn models, and the last horse-drawn hackney carriage ceased service in London in 1947. A small, usually two-wheeled, one-horse hackney vehicle called a noddy once plied the roads in Ireland and Scotland. The French had a small hackney coach called a fiacre.

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.

Horse-drawn cabs today

Horse-drawn hackney services continue to operate in some other parts of the UK, for example in Cockington, Torquay. The Australian city of Melbourne has, in recent years, introduced horse-drawn hire carriages as a stylish adjunct to its promotion of tourism .

Black cabs

Illuminated ‘for hire’ signage is a distinguishing feature of the hackney carriage

A TX4 Hackney Carriage at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5.

Motorised hackney cabs in the UK, traditionally all black in London and most major cities, have the popular name of black cabs, although other colours are often seen, sometimes in advertising brand liveries (see below). A notable variation was the 50 golden cabs produced for the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002.

Vehicle design

Historically 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 Peugeot E7 and the many similar models. Other models of specialist taxis include LTI, Fiat, Volkswagen, Metrocab 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.

Many black cabs have a turning circle of only 25 ft (8 m). One reason for this is the configuration of the famed Savoy Hotel: The hotel entrance's small roundabout meant that vehicles needed the small turning circle in order to navigate it. That requirement became the legally required turning circle for all London cabs, while the custom of a passenger's sitting on the right, behind the driver, provided a reason for the right-hand traffic in Savoy Court, allowing hotel patrons to board and alight from the driver's side.

Driver qualification

In London, hackney-carriage drivers have to pass a test called The Knowledge to demonstrate they have an intimate knowledge of London streets. There are currently around 21,000 black cabs in London, licensed by the Public Carriage Office.

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

Private users

Oil millionaire Nubar Gulbenkian drove about in a custom-built gold and black car, designed to look like a vintage London taxi and powered by a Rolls-Royce engine, because he had been told "it can turn on a sixpence — whatever that is." Other celebrities are known to use hackney carriages both for their anonymity and their ruggedness/manoeuvrability in London traffic. Such users include Prince Philip, whose cab has been converted to run on liquefied petroleum gas, according to the British royal website, and author Stephen Fry. Black cabs also have recently served as recording studios for indie band performances and other performances in the Black Cab Sessions internet project.

In other cities

Since 2003 it has been possible to purchase the London taxi model TXII in the United States. Today there are approximately 250 TXIIs in the U.S., operating as taxis in San Francisco, Dallas, Long Beach, Houston, New Orleans and Las Vegas. The largest operating fleet in North America is located in Charleston, SC which is owned by the Charleston Black Cab Company. They can also be seen in manama,bahrain and South Africa.

Variety of models

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

• Beardmore Marks I to VII
• Austin FX3
• Austin/Carbodies/LTI FX4 and Fairway
• MCW/Reliant/Hooper Metrocab
• LTI TX1, TXII and TX4
• Mercedes-Benz Vito
• Peugeot E7
• Ford Journey
• Volkswagen Odyssey

Use in advertising

Taxi in an advertising livery

The London taxi has caught the eye of many advertising agencies because the body style is unique. The vehicle has therefore often been wrapped with advertising and used for marketing events both in the UK and in the US, including the Marmite Taxi, used to collect officials visiting the Marmite factory near Burton-on-Trent

The first person to advertise on a London taxi was David Locke, who came up with the idea to uniquely advertise his London pub The Samuel Pepys.

See also

• Taxicabs of the United Kingdom
• Manganese Bronze — the manufacturer of London black cabs.
• Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers
• Carriage
• Wagon

External links

• Austin Memories
• Hackney Coach. Georgian Index.
• London hackney coach regulations, 1819. Genealogy UK Genealogy and Family History.
• Taxis and private hire | Transport for London. Public Carriage Office.
• My London taxiRestoring and using a Fairway Taxi as everday transport