Taxicabs of the United Kingdom - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

s are regulated throughout the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous both with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about the regulation by anyone outside the trade. The Public Carriage Office, which regulates and licenses taxis and private hire (commonly known as minicabs) was transferred from the Metropolitan Police

Metropolitan police

Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...

to become part of Transport for London

Transport for London

Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...

in 2000."

Types of cab

Hackney carriage
Hackney carriage
A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...

s can be flagged down in the street or hired from a taxi rank.

Private hire vehicles ('minicabs') are passenger vehicles which can be either a 4 door saloon/hatchback, carrying up to four passengers or MPVs that are licensed to carry between 5 and 8 passengers. These may not be hailed in the street.
- Chauffeur cars are a sub-set of private hire; generally a higher-value car such as a Mercedes or Jaguar where the passenger pays a premium but in return receives a higher level of comfort and courtesy from the driver, some of whom wear a uniform.

Hackney carriages

Only licensed hackney carriages can pick up passengers on the street without pre-booking. London's traditional black cabs (so-called, despite being of various colours and advertising designs) are specially constructed vehicles designed to conform to the standards set out in the Conditions of Fitness. Cab drivers are licensed and must have passed an extensive training course (the Knowledge). Unlike many other cities, the number of taxicab drivers in London is not limited. For many years purpose-designed vehicles were used, but from about 2008 specially-adapted "people carrier" vehicles have also been used.

There have been many models over the years. The space beside the driver's seat can be used for luggage, although there is much luggage room in the passenger compartment. For improved manoeuvrability, the turning circle is smaller than other vehicles of similar size (a black cab is said to be able to "turn on a sixpence"). The cab seats three people on the back seat, and two more in backwards-facing "jump seats". There is good headroom, to facilitate entry to and exit from the vehicle. A ramp for access by disabled people is fitted.

Private hire ('minicabs')

In England the term minicab is used to refer to a private hire car and "private hire" is used in Scotland; that is a car with a driver available for hire only on a pre-booked basis. They began operating in the 1960s in competition to hackney carriages after a loophole in the law was spotted (although in some areas it is possible to hold a dual hackney/private hire licence). A minicab must be booked, for example, by telephone, internet, or fax, or in person at the registered minicab office. A minicab can be booked at the time it is required, but only at the office of a company registered to accept bookings rather than directly with a driver.

Since 2001 minicabs have been regulated in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

and most other local authorities. London minicabs are now licensed by the Public Carriage Office, now renamed LTPH, London Taxis and Private Hire; the same body that regulates London's licensed taxicabs, but the minicab drivers do not have to complete The Knowledge. All vehicles available for hire by London minicab drivers must hold a LTPH licence showing that they are fit for purpose; this is updated twice a year after an inspection at a licensed garage. In London all private Hire Drivers must undergo a topographical test in order to obtain a Private Hire Drivers Licence. In London a new applicant must send their Topographical Skill Certificate along with their application to the PHV Driver Licensing Section of London Taxis and Private Hire formally known as the PCO / Public Carriage Office .

London

History

Horse-drawn hackney carriage

Hackney carriage

A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...

s began providing taxicab service in the early 17th century. In 1636 the number of carriages was set at 50, an early example of taxicab regulation. In the same year, the owner of four hackney carriages established the first taxicab stand in The Strand

Strand, London

Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...

. In the early 19th century cabriolet
Cabriolet (carriage)
A cabriolet is a light horse-drawn vehicle, with two wheels and a single horse. The carriage has a folding hood that can cover its two occupants, one of whom is the driver. It has a large rigid apron, gracefully upward-curving shafts, and usually a rear platform between the C springs for a groom...

s (cabs for short) replaced the heavier and more cumbersome hackney carriages. Battery-operated taxis appeared briefly at the end of the 19th century, but the modern taxicab service took off with the appearance of petrol-powered taxis in 1903. In 1907 meters were first introduced to calculate the fare and were set at 8d (8 pence) for the first mile. Today, taxicab service in London is provided by the famous black cabs (typically the distinctive FX4

Austin FX4

The FX4 is the classic Black Cab. While the majority are black, there is in fact no requirement for them, or indeed any other make of London taxi to be black. Over the years, the FX4 has been sold under a number of different makers' names.-Design and launch:...

depicted in the photo above) and by minicabs.

Electric taxi

Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile has been in talks over the possibility of converting London’s black cabs into electric-powered cars. The company, which co-owns London taxi-maker Manganese Bronze

Manganese Bronze

Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC is an engineering company based in Coventry, England. Since the sale of its components division in 2003 the company has only one operating division—LTI Limited, trading as The London Taxi Company—which manufactures and retails London Black Taxis.The London...

, says it has held talks with UK government officials about the plan.

The Knowledge

The taxicab driver is required to be able to decide routes immediately in response to a passenger's request or traffic conditions, rather than stopping to look at a map, relying on satellite navigation or asking a controller by radio. Consequently, the 'Knowledge of London' Examination System, informally known as 'The Knowledge', is the in-depth study of a number of pre-set London

London

street routes and places of interest that taxicab

Taxicab

drivers in that city must complete to obtain a licence to operate a black cab

Hackney carriage

A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...

. It was initiated in 1865, and has changed little since. It is claimed that the training involved ensures that London taxi drivers are experts on London, and have an intimate knowledge of the city.

It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab-drivers, and applicants will usually need at least twelve 'appearances' (attempts at the final test), after preparation averaging 34 months, to pass the examination.

Course details

The 320 main (standard) routes, or 'runs', through central London

Central London

Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

of the Knowledge are contained within the 'Blue Book' (officially known as the 'Guide to Learning the Knowledge of London'), produced by the Public Carriage Office which regulates licensed taxis in London. In all some 25,000 streets within a six mile

Mile

A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...

radius of Charing Cross

Charing Cross

Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...

are covered along with the major arterial routes through the rest of London.

A taxicab-driver must learn these routes, as well as the 'points of interest' along those routes including streets, squares, clubs, hospitals, hotels

Hotels in London

This article describes the hotels in London, England. Hotels are an important part of London's tourism industry.-History:Before the 19th century there were few if any large hotels in London. British country landowners often lived in London for part of the year but they usually rented a house, if...

, theatres, embassies, government and public buildings, railway stations

London railway station

The London station group is a ring of eighteen stations served by the National Rail network in central London, England. Most are terminal stations, although a few are through stations or have a combination of terminal and through platforms. Each distinct station is part of a notional "common...

, police stations, courts, diplomatic buildings, important places of worship, cemeteries, crematoria, parks and open spaces, sports and leisure centres, places of learning, restaurants and historic buildings.

The Knowledge includes such details as the order of theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue

Shaftesbury Avenue

Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in central London, England, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, that runs in a north-easterly direction from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus....

, or the names and order of the side streets and traffic signals passed on a route.

There are a number of Knowledge Schools that provide books, maps and classroom tuition which help Knowledge students to learn the 320 runs and points of interest.

There are separate shorter courses, for suburban London, with 30 to 50 'runs' depending on the sector.

"Knowledge boys"

During training, would-be cabbies, known as Knowledge boys (or girls), usually follow these routes around London on a motor scooter

Scooter (motorcycle)

A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...

, and can be identified by the clipboard fixed to the handlebars and showing details of the streets to be learned that day.
Taxi-driver applicants must be 'of good character', meeting strict requirements regarding any criminal record

Criminal record

A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country...

, then first pass a written test which qualifies them to make an 'appearance'.
At appearances, Knowledge boys must, without looking at a map, identify the quickest and most sensible route between any two points in metropolitan London that their examiner chooses. For each route, the applicants must recite the names of the roads used, when they cross junctions, use roundabouts, make turns, and what is 'alongside' them at each point.

A man who murdered his wife in 2001 and was imprisoned under the Mental Health Act 2007

Mental Health Act 2007

The Mental Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It amends the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It applies to people in England and Wales. Most of the Act was implemented on 3 November 2008....

as a paranoid schizophrenic had been doing the Knowledge after his release in an attempt to become a taxi driver. The London cab drivers' union demonstrated against this. After magistrates dismissed his appeal

Appeal

An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....

against revocation of his private hire licence, he planned to appeal to the High Court

High Court of Justice

The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

. His conviction is spent, and barring him from working could lead to legal action citing restraint of trade

Restraint of trade

Restraint of trade is a common law doctrine relating to the enforceability of contractual restrictions on freedom to conduct business. In an old leading case of Mitchell v Reynolds Lord Smith LC said,...

or human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

violations.

In research, film and literature

A humorous 1979 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

about this learning experience, called The Knowledge, was written by Jack Rosenthal

Jack Rosenthal

Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...

for ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

, and was in 2000 voted number 83 in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes

100 Greatest British Television Programmes

The BFI TV 100 is a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute , chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened....

compiled by the British Film Institute

British Film Institute

The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...

.

In the Up Series documentary films, Tony Walker is seen on his motor scooter learning "The Knowledge" before becoming a cab driver.

In The Knowledge Miniseries, which was a spin off from the comic book Hellblazer

Hellblazer

Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...

, Chas Chandler's job as a taxi driver is the basis for various plot elements of the series.

Knowledge boys/girls and their online learning communities have recently been the subject of academic research, including a PhD dissertation by Drew AR Ross at Oxford University.
There is evidence that training for the Knowledge can measurably alter the hippocampus

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in...

of trainee cab drivers. The hippocampus is the area of the brain used for spatial memory and navigation, and is generally larger in taxi drivers than in the general population.

The Knowledge, its runs, and to a certain extent the role of the PCO, form the basis for a future religion in the author Will Self's The Book of Dave
The Book of Dave
- Content :The Book of Dave tells the story of an angry and mentally-ill London taxi driver named Dave Rudman, who writes and has printed on metal a book of his rantings against women and thoughts on custody rights for fathers. These stem from his anger with his ex-wife, Michelle, who he believes...

.

In one issue of Viz comic

Viz (comic)

Viz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines...

, the character Cockney Wanker

Cockney Wanker

Cockney Wanker is a character from Viz based on a stereotype of the male Cockney. He is a thief, conman and charlatan who speaks in impenetrable rhyming slang and spends his days drinking, selling stolen or unworkable goods to passers-by on the streets and being violent to his wife...

took The Knowledge to become a taxi driver. Although he answered the route correctly the examiner advised him that he should not take the shortest route but instead take the fare paying passenger a much longer way. He then had to pass a fictitious The Ignorance test in which he had to speak starting from one topic to end at another unrelated topic consisting of several racist, bigoted and ignorant irrelevant linking topics.

TfL Taxi and Private Hire office

The Taxi and Private Hire office is the body responsible for licensing taxicab

Taxicab

s within Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

. Taxi and Private Hire is part of Transport for London

Transport for London

and is responsible for licensing the familiar London taxicab

Hackney carriage

A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...

or "black cab" and also licenses private hire or minicab services. "Black cabs" were traditionally coloured black, but this is not a requirement and cabs are painted in other colours, sometimes bearing advertising; however they are traditionally called black cabs as distinct from minicabs.

History

Since 1600 public carriages for hire have been a feature of London

London

life. The discarded coach

Coach (vehicle)

A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...

es of aristocratic families, complete with their coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

, were among the first hackney carriages to ply for hire. They were the forerunners of the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

hackney carriage

Hackney carriage

A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...

or cab (cabriolet

Cabriolet (carriage)

A cabriolet is a light horse-drawn vehicle, with two wheels and a single horse. The carriage has a folding hood that can cover its two occupants, one of whom is the driver. It has a large rigid apron, gracefully upward-curving shafts, and usually a rear platform between the C springs for a groom...

) which first appeared in London around 1820.

The first horseless cab, the Bersey electric powered vehicle, appeared in 1897, followed by the first internal combustion engine cab in 1903. At that time London still had more than 11,000 horse drawn cabs. The last horse drawn cab was removed from service in 1947. There are now over 20,000 licensed vehicles on London's roads.

Regulation of the trade passed to the Metropolitan Police

Metropolitan police

Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...

in 1850 and was undertaken by the Public Carriage Office, which was originally in an annex to New Scotland Yard in Whitehall

Whitehall

Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...

called "the Bungalow". It moved to 109 Lambeth Road in 1919, remaining there until 1966, when it moved to 15 Penton Street, Islington. In 2010 it moved again to the Palestra Building at 197 Blackfriars Road, Southwark.

Present role

On the formation of Transport for London on 3 July 2000, the licensing authority changed; however, the day-to-day licensing function remained with the Public Carriage Office.

With the introduction of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 the role of the PCO has been expanded to include the licensing of private hire operators, drivers and vehicles, bringing the capital into line with the rest of England and Wales.

In November 2005, in the report Where to, Guv?, the London Assembly's Transport Committee reported on a review of the Public Carriage Office and made some key recommendations.

Elsewhere

In many metropolitan areas throughout the UK, taxis are licenced by the local authority, and in many places are required to be painted a certain colour. For instance, hackney carriages in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

are blue, yellow in Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, silver in Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

and on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

. These restrictions do not apply to licences granted previously, and many taxis remain unchanged.

Luton

Luton

Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....

is reported to have the highest number of taxicabs per head of population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

External links

Portsmouth City Council official Taxis and Private Hire vehicles website Portsmouth City Council.
Transport for London's Public Carriage Office Website. The PCO section of this article is a modified version of their webpages and was made with their permission
The London Taxi Trade A report by London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, June 2007
Department For Transport:London minicab regulation
PCO Office Check
PCO Licence Information and advice related to becoming a licenced minicab driver
London hackney coach regulations, 1819
London Minicab History History of minicab trade by John Sanderson

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.