Taxicabs are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, 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, who regulate and license taxis and private hire (commonly known as minicabs) was transferred from the Metropolitan Police to become part of Transport for London in 2000.

Only licensed taxicabs can pick up passengers on the street. London's Black cabs are particularly famous on account of the specially constructed vehicles and the extensive training course (the Knowledge) required for fully licensed drivers; unlike many other cities, the number of taxicab drivers in London is not limited. London's taxicab drivers are even well-known for having developed an especially big hippocampus, a region of the brain where, among other things, information about locations is stored.

London's black taxicabs - short for "taximeter cabriolets", that is, "cars with distance meters" - are a ubiquitous sight on the streets, and a common way to travel around the city in addition to the Tube and buses. In their favour, they're warm, comfortable and the drivers generally know where they're going, as they have to pass a rigorous test called "the Knowledge" before they can get their license to drive. The downside to the black cabs is that they're expensive, and unless you have very deep pockets there's no point using them for longer journeys across town. This situation has been exacerbated recently by the ex-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone's decision to let them charge more at night, since the drivers would often be reluctant to work at night.

Although the traditional London taxi is black, they now often come in a multitude of colours. Try looking out for their distinctive shape, that said, there are now newer, bigger, boxier models as well. If in doubt, look out for the orange "TAXI" light above the windscreen. If it's on, you can hail the cab. If not, you'll have to wait for another.

The London black cab is an icon of our city. Black cabs are extremely reliable, but rather expensive. The reason for this is because the drivers know so much about London. All drivers have passed "the Knowledge" which means they have studied and memorized 25,000 London streets within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross, proving they know the most direct route for your journey. These studies take about 2-4 years so it's rather like them having a university degree in 'London'.

The legendary black taxis of London seem to have been around forever, though nowadays not all the 23,000 black cabs in greater London are black, and a modernised streamlined version has been added to the "lumpy" old beasts. The bulging roofline of these taxis was originally designed to accommodate the height of bowler hats.

All taxis are wheelchair accessible and most have a variety of additional features to assist passengers. The fares charged are regulated, and with safety paramount all taxi vehicles and drivers must meet minimum standards . Licensed vehicles are subject to regular checks by the Public Carriage Office.

http://www.taxi-london.net/

The History

The Black Cabs' history goes back to the time of horse-drawn cabs which were called Hackney Cabs. The term comes from the French word haquenee referring to the ambling horses used to pull the original Hackney Carriages. The Hackney Carriage originated in London, England in 1625. The cabs still come under some of the old rules from the horse-drawn days. The Black Cabs are the only taxis that are allowed to pick people up from the street. There are also mini cabs in London, however they can only collect someone if they have made a prior arrangement by phone.

Before a taxi driver gets his Hackney Cab Licence he or she must pass a test called 'The Knowledge'. This is a difficult test and requires the cabbie to know the streets of central London like the palm of their hand. Mini cab drivers do not need to pass this test.
The Knowledge

Taxi drivers in London undergo a demanding and arduous testing of their knowledge of the city, its daily traffic patterns and the fastest routes between locations. Estimates suggest that gathering the basic understanding needed to acquire The Knowledge involves a full-time year of study, absorbing the information provided by street maps and travelling around the city itself.

The result is that drivers of official London Hackney Cabs are renowned for their detailed and intimate knowledge of London's streets and attractions. Strangely enough, scientific study has shown that possession and expansion of The Knowledge increases the size of the anterior and posterior hippocampi of the brain - the area that handles spatial memory and spatial navigation.

Compared with baseline controls and inexperienced cabbies, long-serving taxi drivers possessed considerable more developed hippocampi.

The Vehicles

There are currently 3 makes of vehicle licensed to ply for hire in London:

LTI (London Taxis International) - FX4 taxi, Fairway taxi, Fairway Driver taxi, TX1 taxi, TX2 Taxi & TX4 taxi.
Metrocab - Series 1 Metrocab, Series 2 Metrocab, Series 3 Metrocab & TTT Metrocab.
Eco City Vehicles - Mercedes Benz Vito Taxi.
All of these vehicles have to conform to the conditions  of fitness as set out by the PCO (Public Carriage Office).
http://www.taxi-london.net/

SATURDAY night revellers who have had to wait hours for a taxi, and sometimes take out a loan to then pay for it, might be surprised to know the price of taxi licences has been falling in recent months.

The latest price on the only licensed market for trading and leasing taxis, BSX Services, shows a deal about to go through at $462,000.

That's not a far cry from the $513,000 peak price recorded in May — a 10% drop to be precise — but it shows how even that market is feeling the pinch of borrowing costs and that it fears there will be fewer taxi users as the economy slows and companies and people cut back on costs.

Trading of taxi licences is still in its infancy in Australia, having only started in a regulated form in late 2006, but in the official market, sales and leases worth almost $130 million were handled in the year to June 30 and $120 million the year before.

BSX Services, a subsidiary of second-tier securities company NSX Ltd, has so far only been making markets for sales and leasing arrangements, known as assignments, in Victoria — and even then confined to Melbourne's metropolitan market and two regional markets around Ballarat and Frankston.

BSX, which charges $350 and $117 respectively on licence and assignment transactions to each party, generated about $311,000 revenue last financial year. There are eight or nine licence sales a month, and about 110 lease sales.

BSX Services manager Roma Poole said there had been a lot of interest from capital cities and regions wanting a more transparent market for trading and owning taxis.

But the most likely next place is either Sydney or Perth, she thinks, noting taxi brokers from those states have been expressing interest for some months. Smaller regions will be offered the opportunity to advertise on the BSX website — like the Emerald Taxis operation seeking a buyer with $2 million for its six cabs.

Part of the attraction may be that since the BSX market began, according to figures from the Victorian Taxi Directorate, the prices of licences have moved up from under $400,000 each to between $470,000 and $500,000.

The Essential Services Commission's recent report into taxi fares had a table showing the average revenue per taxi cab in 2007 was almost $143,000. In 2000 that figure was about $126,000, so the increase seems modest at 13% but in between times the number of taxi licences in the state rose by 500.

The additional licences are so-called peak-time taxis, the ones with green tops, that the Government owns and operates. Only licences issued before 2002 can be traded on the BSX.

http://business.theage.com.au/business/taxi-licences-a-make-or-brake-affair-20081017-539z.html