British taxis, traditionally called black cabs, are known all over the world for their unusual appearance and phenomenal reliability. Moreover, nowhere, except for Britain, cars are produced that are used exclusively as taxis.
Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to ride the legendary taxi, but nothing prevented me from watching them in their natural environment)
01. In 1958, the famous Austin FX4 was born, which can still be found on the streets of London today. It was this car that eventually became the personification of the English taxi for the whole world. 
02. The legendary car rolled off the assembly line in various modifications for 39 years. The manufacturers of the FX4 are the cooperative Austin, Mann and Overton. 
03. Carbodies bought the production of the FX4 in 1982 and assembled this model under the brand name LTI (London Taxis International) until 1997. The updated modification of the FX4 was named Fairway. Engines and transmissions for her were branded Nissan. In total, more than 75,000 FX-4s were produced, such taxis today make up about 80% of all cabs in the United Kingdom. 
04. The high ceiling of English cabs is not an accident, but an old tradition: it is not proper for a gentleman to take off his hat when getting into a car. 
05. In 1997, LTI launched a new series of cabs - TX. The latest car in the series, the TX IV, is Euro 4 compliant, equipped with state-of-the-art security systems, equipped with a child seat, a disabled pick-up and drop-off device and costs nothing less than £25,000 ($40,000). 
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09. English taxis are unusual cars in every respect. The service life provided by the manufacturer is 10–12 years, the mileage is 800,000 km, and this is with severe continuous operation. In reality, English cabs travel a million kilometers, many have been in service for more than 25 years. 
10. The license for private transport in London has been issued by the police for four centuries, the term is three years. A number token is attached to the license, while the car gets a special plate with the license number and the number of passengers that it is entitled to carry at a time. 
11. Also, the license gives the right to pick up clients on the street. Not all taxi companies have such an opportunity - it is cheaper to get the right to organize a taxi order by phone. Such a cab will never stop if you vote on the road, because this is fraught with a large fine and loss of license. 
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13. To get the right to transport, it is not enough to pay a lot of money, you also have to pass a difficult exam for knowledge of London and it. Most London cabmen know the city so well that they don't even think of using the services of a GPS navigator - only 2-3% of London taxis are equipped with it. 
14. Until the 80s of the last century, all English taxis were black. This tradition was born in connection with the desire of manufacturers to save on car enamel. 
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16. Today, this tradition is a thing of the past. London taxis are not only painted in different colors, but they also carry bright advertising on their sides without hesitation. 
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20. And English taxis are the most expensive in the world.
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One of the most pressing questions is which public transport to prefer. The choice there is quite wide, but special attention should be paid taxi in london.
Interestingly, just to come and get a job as a taxi driver will not work. First you need to pass a rather difficult exam called Knowledge. Not only do you need to be able to drive, but you also need to know absolutely everything within a radius of 10 kilometers from the Charing Cross station. You need to know down to the smallest detail the features of all 25 thousand streets of London (which seems an absolutely unrealistic task), take into account all the detours, and know where this or that building is located, whether it be a church, a cafe, a hospital or a small grocery store.
Usually, those who want to get the title of a taxi driver spend about three years studying before that. And for some, even 3 years is not enough to remember all this and somehow put it in their heads. Usually they learn like this: pick up a map - and go ahead, drive along city routes, peering into all the details and remembering all the road junctions. To make life a little easier, future taxi drivers usually explore the city in small groups, and at the end of the day they ask each other questions, thereby testing themselves.
It takes almost 6 months to pass the exam itself. First, candidates answer questions from 5-6 tests, then they pass separate written and oral tests. Appearance is checked separately: the taxi driver should not look untidy, too extraordinary, or wear an overly long beard and mustache. And they are also tested for their irritability by asking a bunch of questions and trying to piss them off. After all, a taxi driver must be restrained and not “boil” when a passenger asks some stupid question for the hundredth time or decides to radically change the route in the middle of the journey. So the profession of a taxi driver is one of the most difficult in London.
In all London taxis counters are installed, according to which the fare is determined. But it is worth remembering that in addition to the accumulated amount, you will have to pay extra if several passengers are traveling or if the luggage is too large and had to be placed in the front seat of the car. It also costs a bit more to travel at night.
At all taxi in london There are two types: black cabs and ordinary ones. Black ones are more prestigious, they can be caught right on the street. Usually only prestigious cars like Volkswagen or Mercedes-Benz are used for this taxi. But simple cabs can be of any brand, but you can order such a taxi only by phone, they are forbidden to take people on the streets. But such a taxi is much cheaper.
By the way, don't be surprised that London taxis are quite tall. This is done specifically so that gentlemen can get into the car without removing their hats. So in London, they think about the convenience of taxi customers as much as possible.
The new hybrid London taxi has already appeared in public in camouflage more than once. The last time it could be seen quite recently - at the Festival of Speed in Goodwood. And now the masks are dropped: the car with a sequential hybrid installation is officially presented, but the provisional name London Taxi TX5 had to be abandoned. Now it's LEVC TX: Simultaneously with the premiere of the new model, the London Taxi Company (LTC) announced a change in signage. From September it will be known as the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC). Why?
LTC is rightfully the heir of Mann & Overton, Carbodies, Manganese Bronze and LTI, which produced taxis for the British capital and merged into one organization over the years. The company acquired its current name in 2010, but four years before that, cooperation with the Chinese holding company Geely began, and in 2013 it became the full owner of the English cab manufacturer. London taxis are an excellent addition to the image treasury, but Chinese managers are well aware that the business will not survive on cabs alone.
Therefore, in the English village of Ensty (a suburb of Coventry), a whole family of electrified cars will be produced on the new eCity platform, developed by Volvo engineers. Following the cab, a commercial van will enter the market next year. The company intends to sell these cars globally, otherwise the capacity of the 20,000th plant will be underutilized: according to the British, by 2020 they will be able to sell no more than nine thousand taxis in London. And it's not about the price - this is the real need of the city.
The price itself should be slightly higher than the current London Taxi TX4 model: it will be announced on August 1 - the day the LEVC TX orders start to be accepted. Although the company is already promising drivers (cabbies in local slang) good fuel savings: an average of 100 pounds (7,800 rubles) per week. And a good range: in purely electric mode, the car will be able to drive 70 miles (112 km), and with the help of the “stroke extension”, a three-cylinder Volvo 1.3 gasoline engine, the mileage on one gas station reaches 400 miles (640 km). The battery can be charged to 80% in 20 minutes (when using a fast charging station).
The British have not yet given other technical characteristics. But it is known that in order to maintain the turning radius regulated by the London law, the car retained the rear-wheel drive layout. And in the manufacture of the aluminum frame of the composite body, gluing is used to reduce weight, which also improves vibroacoustic comfort in the cabin.
The LEVC TX accommodates six passengers (they sit face-to-face in the rear compartment) with separate climate control, phone charging sockets, internet access and a large panoramic roof. The cabs are equipped with a built-in ramp for wheelchair users, and for the visually impaired, contrasting interior handrails are provided. The luggage compartment is traditionally located in the front passenger seat. And look at the photo of the driver's seat: the steering wheel, the screen of the Sensus media system and even the cufflink to start the engine - all like the latest Volvo models! Is that the touchscreen is much cooler deployed to the driver.
Deliveries of LEVC TX cabs to customers will begin later this year - just before a law comes into force in London, from January 1, 2018, the operation of new taxis that are unable to drive at least 30 miles (48 km) with zero emissions. And in the fall, the final and most important development tests of the car will begin during real operation on the streets of London.
By the way, the first order from abroad for LEVC TX has already been received: a batch of 225 machines is ready to be purchased by the Dutch company RM, which will become a distributor of LEVC in the Netherlands.
Bersey Electric Taxi (1897). The first taxi cars in London were electric. The city owed their introduction to the young, 23-year-old businessman Walter Bursey, who founded the London Electric Cab Co and designed special electric vehicles for use as city cabs. Cars with a 3-horsepower engine could travel up to 75 km between two charges. The company went bankrupt in 1900.
Rational Cab (1904). In 1903, taxis in London appeared again - already gasoline. Until 1929, there was no system and unity, different companies bought different cars. The picture shows a taxi brand Rational, there were also Simplex, Herald, Prunel, Fiat, Sorex, Belsize, Austin, Humber, Wolseley-Siddeley, Argyll and Darracq. This is at least. They had different layouts, and in principle, they were distinguished only by the obligatory black color.
Unic 12/14 HP Taxicab (1908). But the vast majority of London cabs were made by the French company Unic - by the end of the 1910s, Unic made up 80% of all rolling stock. These are the old "Uniques" that drove around London until the mid-twenties (however, there were also newer models), however, as already mentioned, in black.
Beardmore Mk2 Super Taxi (1923). In 1919, Scottish industrialist William Beardmore was the first to attempt to secure an exclusive taxi contract for the capital. He introduced first the Beardmore Mk1, then in 1923 the Beardmore Mk2 Super, then in 1927 the Beardmore Mk3 Hyper. Around this time, the classic layout was also formed - the place next to the driver did not have a seat, but served for luggage.
Morris G International Taxi (1929). Birdmore's main competitor was Morris. She introduced her first version of the taxi in 1926, and in 1929 she released the Model G, which was distinguished by its peculiar layout - the passengers sat much higher than the driver (seen in the picture) and were generally in remarkable comfort. A problem for both Beardmore and Morris was the high price of a single cab. What worked for a regular car didn't work for a taxi made for bulk purchases by a single firm.
Austin 12/4 Taxi High Lot (1929). And in the same 1929, thunder boomed from the sky, because the Austin company joined the fight for the monopoly, releasing the perfect taxi and hitting the bull's-eye the first time. Money for the development of the company was allocated by the large London taxi company Mann & Overton. The car was made very high, a person could practically stand inside. This, coupled with a very low price, immediately killed the competition - Austin squeezed out all alternative companies in a few years.
Austin Low Loader (1934). And a few years later, Austin models got a low floor - like in modern low-floor buses. A ruler with such a floor was named LL (Low Loader). Under this name, you can find both older 12/4 and new Austin chassis - that is, it was about the layout, and it doesn’t matter on which chassis this was done. The appearance of the cars of the 2nd half of the 30s already vaguely resembled modern taxi cabs.
Austin FX3 (1948). After the war, the old taxis were already irrevocably obsolete, and Austin introduced the very successful FX3 model. She still did not have a left front door (there was room for luggage), the rear doors still had hinges on the back, that is, they swung open for the convenience of passengers. But at the same time, the car was modern, more durable and fast. Such cabs were produced until 1958. By the way, the FX3 index has such a serial number, because before that there were two post-war prototypes FX1 and FX2, but they were unsuccessful. The bodies for the FX3 were built not by Austin, but by the famous Carbodies body shop, that is, it was a joint production.
Beardmore Mk7 Paramount Taxicab (1954). Needless to say, Beardmore did not give up so easily. She released the Mk4 Paramount, Mk5 Paramount Ace, Mk6 Ace and, finally, the rather successful Mk7 Paramount Taxicab, which almost copies the Austin FX3 in layout. At that time, there was no official monopoly, there were only “guest” requirements for city taxis, and Beardmore complied with them. In early versions, the luggage area was open, but in the picture it is late, 1965 (in total, Mk7 was produced until 1966 and about 650 copies were made), when this restriction was removed and a left door appeared.
Austin FX4 (1958). And finally, in 1958, the most canonical London taxi appeared - the one that all British patriots and adherents of adherence to traditions fought so hard against the disappearance of. The car differed from the FX3 primarily in that the luggage area became closed, plus the layout changed - passengers could sit opposite each other. This car, with various changes, was produced until 1997 (!), and at some point 100% of London taxis were FX4s. In 1982, British Leyland almost ceased to exist, but Carbodies intercepted the falling flag from Austin, and for the last 15 years the car was produced as Carbodies FX4. In total, more than 75,000 FX4 machines were built.
Carbodies FX4R (1982). Here is a picture of a car made by Carbodies. In fact, the company tried to make its move by introducing the Carbodies FX5 and FL6 models at different times. After repurchasing the FX4 model from the bankrupt Austin, the company went uphill and regularly made various improvements to the model. The last version produced in the 1990s was called the Carbodies Fairway. And in 1984, the license was bought by the London taxi operator London Taxis International (LTI) (the same one mentioned earlier by Mann & Overton) and launched its production under the brand name LTI FX4.
M.C.W. Metrocab (1987). Back in 1972, Austin offered operators a new, more modern and time-appropriate Metrocab model with its design, but they refused - the FX4 suited everyone. After the ruin of Austin, the developments were acquired by the bus manufacturer Metro Cammell Weymann (MCW), which founded the Metrocab brand specifically for the production of passenger cabs and began production of more modern taxis - albeit with the same favorite layout. The brand was taken over by Reliant in 1989, Hooper in 1991, and Kamkorp in 2001, and the model continued in production until 2006 and coexisted with the FX4. The picture shows a Metrocab from the Reliant period.
LTI TX1 (1997). When the decision was made to end production of the FX4, a replacement was needed. LTI did not turn to third-party manufacturers, especially since they already had experience in producing the FX4 in-house, and designed the TX1 model, the first “official” replacement in many years (Metrocab was still an alternative model). The main task was to preserve the classic forms and at the same time give the car a modern look.
LTI TX4 (2007). Then updates followed - mainly internal stuffing, the design remained the same. Models were called TX2 and TX4 - this, the latter, is to this day the main taxi in London. I must say that in the same 2007, the Chinese company Geely acquired LTI and began producing a model for the Chinese and not only market under the Englon TX4 brand (the word Englon for the Chinese is consonant with the word England).
New Metrocab (2014). But the Kamkorp company did not sleep either. In 2014, it revived the Metrocab brand with the introduction of the New Metrocab, the first all-electric classic black cab in history. Thus, Kamkorp has closed the circle, returning to its roots - Bersey Electric Taxi electric cars.
Taxi in the UK is a special type of transport, loved by tourists, and the local population too. In order to become a taxi driver in this country, it is not enough just to have a license. You need not just to have the skills to drive an English car. Also, during the exam for the right to drive a taxi, you need to prove that you know the streets of any area of the city well enough. The profession of a taxi driver is one of the most difficult in the UK.
Features of an English taxi
Like all taxis, taxis in the UK have their own characteristics. All vehicles must be metered. Payment for travel is made according to the tariffs established by the carrier company. But, it is worth remembering that you will need to pay a little more if the number of passengers in a taxi is more than expected. In addition, you will need to pay for bulky luggage. For the fact that the luggage will be on the front seat of the car, you will also need to pay a little more than the "ran" on the meter. Night taxi rides will cost a little more, because nightly fares are higher than daytime ones.
There are two types of taxis in the UK: black cabs and regular cars. Black cabs are considered more prestigious than ordinary cars. They can be caught right on the street. Most often, black cabs are high-quality cars of famous brands. But ordinary taxi cars are most often of any brand and it is almost impossible to catch such a car on the street. You need to order a regular taxi only by phone. But the fare in such a car is much cheaper than in a black cab.
Do not be surprised that taxis in the UK are high. This feature is due to the fact that gentlemen wearing tall hats can get into a taxi without removing their hat. Carriers take great care of their potential customers, creating for them all the conditions for comfortable movement around the city and beyond.
Travel prices.
Taxis in the UK are expensive. For five minutes of travel in a car, you will need to pay about 7-8 pounds. Getting from the airport to anywhere in the city is approximately £65.
You can order taxi services by phone: +44 7835 056 746; +7 499 649 55 97.
Major taxi companies rarely agree to give discounts or offer bonuses to regular customers. This is not welcome in the UK.
