⚫️ 𝐓𝐟𝐋, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧…𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. ⚫️

The TfLTPH Twitter account has again put out a story in the spring edition of their On Route magazine which (again is full of false information). 

The tweet reads:

Did you know that the first Hackney Carriage to become fully licensed in London was on 23 April 1823?

In our latest edition of OnRoute magazine, we mark 200 years of London cabbies. 

But this is not fact. 

Taxis actually go back to 1634 when Captain Baily, a veteran of Sir Walter Raleigh’s expeditions, put four coaches to work the first ever cab rank in the Strand.

His coachmen were dressed in a distinctive livery and operated with a standardised fare system.

𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝟏𝟔𝟓𝟒 , 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 

This was later made official by Act of Parliament in 1662. 

TfL even got the date of the introduction of the Knowledge of London tests for drivers. In their magazine they put the date at 1851 

It was only after the Great Exhibition in 1851 that there was felt a need for Cabbies to actually know where they were going…and so the Knowledge of London as part of the licence, was introduced in 1865. 

The job of licensing Hackney Carriages was passed over to the Metropolitan police, after their formation in 1829. 

The first Hansom cab was designed in 1834, but the modern service took off with the appearance of petrol-powered Hackney cabs in 1903.

The word Taxi became synonymous with the trade, after the Taxi meter (invented by German ‘Wilhelm Bruhn’ in 1891) was fitted in 1907. 

With the introduction of motorised vehicles a new badge was introduced. The very first Motor Cab badge...number 1...was issued to James 'Jimmy' Michael Howe a veteran of Hansom Cabs for many years, and in 1903, he became the first licensed London Hackney driver to pick up a passenger in a petrol driven vehicle (a French-built Prunel) provided by the Express Motor Company, wearing his brand new badge.

Jimmy's badge was issued as a Motor Cab Badge, it wasn’t until after 1907 they were referred to as a Taxi Drivers Badge. 

𝐓𝐀𝐗𝐈 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐓:

Message to TfLTPH, if you need anymore information about the Taxi trade, please feel free to give me a call, or DM me. 

If you want to read more on this subject, see my articles on the Thomas The Taxi website. 

A Brief History Of London’s Taxi Trade: Part 1... Ancient Origins.

https://taxileakstwo.blogspot.com/2021/03/a-brief-history-of-londons-taxi-trade.html

Brief History Of London's Taxi Trade Part 2 : A New Era A New Title.

https://taxileakstwo.blogspot.com/2021/03/brief-history-of-londons-taxi-trade.html