A Far Too Brief History of The London Black Cab

Taxis and buses in London were strictly controled by the Metropolitan Police. For a long time buses had to be open-topped with solid tyres and no cab. the design of taxis was similarly regulated.

Never been

Ah finally the REAL TAXI! I've been very much accustomed to the FAKE ones😳.

Interesting video

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I got to ride in these London Taxicabs when I visited England a few years ago. I found them more comfortable than they looked like they would be.

Since I first visited London in the 80s, I’ve considered these the best taxis in the world. The huge and upright passenger area is so much easier to access, and so much more comfortable for the ride, I wish other cities (cough New York!) would mandate them.

The tight turning circle derives from the very narrow entry road of the Savoy Hotel. The cabs must be able to do a U-turn without reversing in the driveway. But it also means you can hail a cab from either side of a road.

Why they’re black? I asked a cabbie this question. He explained that the cabs were subject to inspections every 3 months, with strict limits on modifications, and no damage permitted. Black paint was the easiest colour to touch up… so most of the cabs were black!

I still miss the days of the Checker Taxi,

I've always liked the styling of the black cabs. Be nice if they had them in NYC. I miss the Checker cab.

Thank you for your brief history of the UK's Black Taxi Cab. Very much enjoy your videos.

Aaah, the famous Metrocab. Believe it or not, the were used in Moscow as taxis but ultimately failed being too expensive and difficult to repair compared to Volga taxis.

Interesting that the iconic Checker/NYC cab and the classic London Black cab both came out in the same year.
It's also a shame that these were not recognized more as family vehicles. Parents often describe themselves as a taxi service for their children and their friends. My Checker was agreat vehicle for the ferrying about of multiple groups of children and indestructible.

Don't leave out the Winchester Taxi, it was an attempt to offer the London Cab Driver an alternative to the FX4. It was based on Ford components. The final version in 1971/2 looked very like what the Metrocab would look like. I think only one still exists and is on permanent loan to the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville, East Anglia, England, and drives around on open days, along with London Trams and Trolleybuses.
The 2.2 Land Rover engine powered the FX4 R, I believe, and Cab Drivers referred to it as "FX4 Rubbish". I did drive one of these, (as a private vehicle), which was fitted with a 5 speed manual by the previous Licensed owner, as he liked to do fast runs to Heathrow Airport.

An excellent video, Jon! Thanks for listening to the requests to tackle this subject.

Like many things in the UK, they make cool stuff but suck at business, so companies change hands faster then people changing their socks. Also stunned to see Norton thrown into this mess.

Many are now electric,

nyc should have done this with the checker!

ELECTRIC, UGLY, UNRELIABLE, TESLA !

One nice thing about traditional black cabs was the high roof giving headroom galore obviating the need to remove your hat. Even a top hat.

BOORRRIIIINNNNNGGGGGG. USEFUL IF YOU HAVE INSOMNIA. IT'S PERFECT THAT

Do one on FISHER BODY amazing history They were originally a coach building company out of Norwalk Ohio birthplace of Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown But made bodies for GM probucks which gym still put bodies by Fisher emblems on their doors until the mid nineties I think you could do an amazing video about their history

I like that you cover vehicles that aren't necessarily the first ones people think of. This is a nice companion piece to go along with the Checker cabs! Thank-you!

They car stay fresh new ny yellow oh well

Evil tail-out black cab.
Drifting potential there...

Unic.
Doesn't sound good - sounds scary.

MCW made some horrible buses.
Metro-something.
Very nasty.

I had a 1998 Fairway cab as a private car . Great comfortable vehicle , but slow . Mine had done about 550,000km when i bought it in 2008 . Id had new leather seating, walnut door caps added, & a new AC system installed . Sold it a few yrs ago which i now regret

It’s common to say “Black Hack” in the U.K. to specifically refer to a Taxi.

We have black cabs simply because at one point most taxis were rented by proprietors who obviously ordered them in bulk they were produced by default in black and so to save money they just kept them black. The term black cab now denotes itself to the shape and style of the vehicle rather than the colour. Great video also watermen & lighter men were the very first taxi drivers of sorts in London taking people from one side of the river to the other

Fascinating Jon. To me, it all died when they were forced to go electric.I'm not sure that the cabbies are too impressed. A lot of people have adopted the old cabs as private vehicles. By modern standards, crude and utilitarian as they are, they were virtually made by hand and have body panels like a tank. I think you might find that the Land Rover diesel adopted by Carbodies, was actually a Perkins unit built in the UK. Fair play for trying to trace the complicated ins and outs of the British automotive industry. There are so many unsung little brands. It has always been a place for eccentric people to make cars in their garden shed.