London’s black cabs are an icon of the city, like their sister yellow cabs across the pond in New York.
More formally known as a Hackney Carriage, all of the taxis’ drivers have passed ‘The Knowledge’ – 2 years of studying and memorising 25,000 London Streets within a 6 mile radius – making them an authority on the city.
Hackneys have been transporting people all over London for centuries, the ‘Hackney Coach’ a forerunner of the Hackney Carriage first operated in London in 1621.
Black cabs are re not limited to London, nor are they all black – to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, 50 golden cabs were produced to mark the occasion.
Image credit Sammy and the Light