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Hackney Carriage
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 England, Wales, and
Scotland, or by the
Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland.
The word is still the official term used by city authorities to refer to taxicabs
in certain parts of the United States, such as
Boston.
History
The first hackney-carriages licenses date from 1662, and applied
literally to horse-drawn carriages, later modernized as
hansom cabs (1834), that operated as
vehicles for hire. Note the distinction between a generic hackney carriage
and a hackney coach, a hireable vehicle with specifically four wheels, two horses
and six seats.
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. Horse-drawn hackney services in some other parts of the
country continue to operate, for example in Cockington,
Torquay.
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.
Etymology
The name 'hackney' derives not from the borough of
Hackney in London, but from the
Old French word haquenée (fem. ‘an ambling horse or mare, especially
for ladies to ride on’). The word 'hackney' in the seventeenth century meant 'a
horse for hire'. The phrases 'hackney-horse', 'hackney-carriage' and even 'hackney-woman'
(meaning prostitute) being in common use at the time.
The New York terms "hack" (taxi or taxi driver), "hackstand"
(taxi stand), and "hack license" (taxi license) are probably derived from "hackney
carriage".
Black cabs
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. A notable example being the 50 gold
cabs produced for the Queen's
Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002.
In most of the United Kingdom hackney-carriage operators use conventional four-door
saloon cars, but London, and several other large cities, use
specially-designed hackney carriages manufactured by just one company —
LTI. These vehicles normally allow up to five passengers in the back, but
some cars are rebuilt and licensed to carry six. Luggage usually goes in the passenger
compartment or travels in the front next to the driver — these vehicles have no
front passenger-seat. 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 (7.6 m). (Nubar Gulbenkian was
said to have bought himself a London taxi 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. Examples include
Prince Philip, whose cab has been converted to run on
Liquefied petroleum gas according to the British monarchy
website, and Stephen Fry.
Some proposals are existing 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. There are currently around 20,000
black cabs in London, licensed by the Public Carriage
Office.
There have been different makes and types of hackney cabs through the years including:
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