Ever Wondered Why Taxis Are Referred To As Black Cabs In London?

The red double-decker buses, the red telephone box, the red post office pillar box, Big Ben, and the Black Cab, all iconic features of the London landscape.

But have you ever wondered why they Cabs (Taxis) were black rather than any other colour -for instance- the same bright yellow as the cabs of New York?

The Hackney Coach can be traced back to Elizabethan times, leading on to Cromwellian London, when they were given a charter to ply for hire on the streets. The black cab as we know it today only dates back to 1948, before which taxis were produced in all different colours.

Just after the war, the choice of Taxi in London was the Austin FX3. This Taxi was produced in black as standard by Austin, although other colours were available, but buyers would have to pay extra for the privilege of having a different colour.

At that time, the predominantowners of Taxis tended to be fleet owners who bought vehicles in batches to rent out to drivers. The fleet owners decided it wasn't worth the expense and just left them black.

Unfortunately nowadays many iconic Taxis are covered with unsightly adverts, splashed across the sides, in some cases, hiding the vehicles colour completely. 

But even so, they are still collectively referred to as black cabs - let’s hope they always will be.

Originally, taxis were referred to as "hackneys", a term which originated from the Norman French word "hacquenée" which referred to a horse that was available to hire. 

Although the first Hackney Coach can be traced back to Elizabethan times, the first hackney-carriage licence dates from a 1662 Act of Parliament establishing the Commissioners of Scotland Yard to regulate them. 

Licences applied literally to horse-drawn carriages, later modernised as hansom cabs (1834), that operated as vehicles for hire (Plying for hire).

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT: 

In an article in this weeks Mail on Sunday, actor Nigel Planer (The Young Ones) was asked: 

If you were Chancellor what would you do?

"I would give an income tax concession to black cab drivers in London.

"They offer disabled facilities, but are often undercut by Uber and other minicab drivers which don't. 

"It's not fair because black cabs come with higher vehicle and licensing costs than other taxis. Plus black cabs are an iconic London image. I would hate to see them die out."