Recent from talks
Hackney carriage
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Hackney carriage
A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common sight on the streets of London. The hackney carriages carry a roof sign TAXI that can be illuminated to indicate their availability for passengers.
In the UK, the name hackney carriage today refers to a taxicab licensed by Transport for London, local authority (non-metropolitan district councils, unitary authorities) or the Department of the Environment depending on region of the country. Some hackney carriages have also been exported for use in other countries.
The origins of the word hackney in connection with horses and carriages are uncertain. The origin is often attributed to the London borough of Hackney, whose name likely originated in Old English meaning 'Haka's Island'. There is some doubt whether the word hack for a horse was derived from this place-name, as the area was historically marshy and not well-suited for keeping horses. The American Hackney Horse Society favours an alternative etymology stemming from the French word haquenée—a horse of medium size recommended for lady riders—which was brought to England with the Norman Conquest and became fully assimilated into the English language by the start of the 14th century. The word became associated with an ambling horse, usually for hire.
The first documented hackney coach—the name later extended to the newer and smaller carriages—operated in London in 1621.
The New York City colloquial terms "hack" (taxi or taxi-driver), hackstand (taxi stand), and hack license (taxi licence) are probably derived from hackney carriage. Such cabs are now regulated by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.
In modern usage, the term "hackney carriage" remains primarily a term of regulation and not of contemporary speech—whereas "taxi" and "cab" are common parlance. The British carried their practices with them throughout the British Empire and established regulations for public hire transport in many countries. In the 1820s, horses and carriages were imported from England to British Colonial Singapore and, with the passing of the Hackney Carriage Act of 1867, a Hackney Carriage Department was established to regulate public transportation; in 1892 jinrikisha regulation was incorporated into the department. In 1847, Sydney passed a law to regulate hackney carriages in the city and its vicinity. Boston's Hackney Carriage Unit was established in 1854 and still uses the term hackney carriage in their contemporary licensing regulations for taxis, sight-seeing vehicles, horse drawn carriages, and pedicabs within the city. In 1879 British India, the Hackney-Carriage Act was passed to regulate and control hackney carriages.
The widespread use of private coaches by the English aristocracy began to be seen in the 1580s; within fifty years hackney coaches were regularly to be seen on the streets of London. In the 1620s there was a proliferation of coaches for hire in the metropolis, so much so that they were seen as a danger to pedestrians in the narrow streets of the city, and in 1635 an Order in Council was issued limiting the number allowed. Two years later a system for licensing hackney coachmen was established (overseen by the Master of the Horse).
"An Ordinance for the Regulation of Hackney-Coachmen in London and the places adjacent" was approved by Parliament in 1654, to remedy what it described as the "many Inconveniences [that] do daily arise by reason of the late increase and great irregularity of Hackney Coaches and Hackney Coachmen in London, Westminster and the places thereabouts". The first hackney-carriage licences date from a 1662 act of Parliament, the London and Westminster Streets Act 1662 (14 Cha. 2. c. 2) establishing the Commissioners of Scotland Yard to regulate them. Licences applied literally to horse-drawn carriages, later modernised as hansom cabs (1834), that operated as vehicles for hire. The 1662 act limited the licences to 400; when it expired in 1679, extra licences were created until the Hackney Coaches, etc. Act 1694 (5 & 6 Will. & Mar. c. 22) imposed a limit of 700. The limit was increased to 800 in 1715, 1,000 in 1770 and 1,100 in 1802, before being abolished in 1832. The 1694 act established the Hackney Coach Commissioners to oversee the regulation of fares, licences and other matters; in 1831 their work was taken over by the Stamp Office and in 1869 responsibility for licensing was passed on to the Metropolitan Police. In the 18th and 19th centuries, private carriages were commonly sold off for use as hackney carriages, often displaying painted-over traces of the previous owner's coat of arms on the doors.
Hub AI
Hackney carriage AI simulator
(@Hackney carriage_simulator)
Hackney carriage
A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common sight on the streets of London. The hackney carriages carry a roof sign TAXI that can be illuminated to indicate their availability for passengers.
In the UK, the name hackney carriage today refers to a taxicab licensed by Transport for London, local authority (non-metropolitan district councils, unitary authorities) or the Department of the Environment depending on region of the country. Some hackney carriages have also been exported for use in other countries.
The origins of the word hackney in connection with horses and carriages are uncertain. The origin is often attributed to the London borough of Hackney, whose name likely originated in Old English meaning 'Haka's Island'. There is some doubt whether the word hack for a horse was derived from this place-name, as the area was historically marshy and not well-suited for keeping horses. The American Hackney Horse Society favours an alternative etymology stemming from the French word haquenée—a horse of medium size recommended for lady riders—which was brought to England with the Norman Conquest and became fully assimilated into the English language by the start of the 14th century. The word became associated with an ambling horse, usually for hire.
The first documented hackney coach—the name later extended to the newer and smaller carriages—operated in London in 1621.
The New York City colloquial terms "hack" (taxi or taxi-driver), hackstand (taxi stand), and hack license (taxi licence) are probably derived from hackney carriage. Such cabs are now regulated by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.
In modern usage, the term "hackney carriage" remains primarily a term of regulation and not of contemporary speech—whereas "taxi" and "cab" are common parlance. The British carried their practices with them throughout the British Empire and established regulations for public hire transport in many countries. In the 1820s, horses and carriages were imported from England to British Colonial Singapore and, with the passing of the Hackney Carriage Act of 1867, a Hackney Carriage Department was established to regulate public transportation; in 1892 jinrikisha regulation was incorporated into the department. In 1847, Sydney passed a law to regulate hackney carriages in the city and its vicinity. Boston's Hackney Carriage Unit was established in 1854 and still uses the term hackney carriage in their contemporary licensing regulations for taxis, sight-seeing vehicles, horse drawn carriages, and pedicabs within the city. In 1879 British India, the Hackney-Carriage Act was passed to regulate and control hackney carriages.
The widespread use of private coaches by the English aristocracy began to be seen in the 1580s; within fifty years hackney coaches were regularly to be seen on the streets of London. In the 1620s there was a proliferation of coaches for hire in the metropolis, so much so that they were seen as a danger to pedestrians in the narrow streets of the city, and in 1635 an Order in Council was issued limiting the number allowed. Two years later a system for licensing hackney coachmen was established (overseen by the Master of the Horse).
"An Ordinance for the Regulation of Hackney-Coachmen in London and the places adjacent" was approved by Parliament in 1654, to remedy what it described as the "many Inconveniences [that] do daily arise by reason of the late increase and great irregularity of Hackney Coaches and Hackney Coachmen in London, Westminster and the places thereabouts". The first hackney-carriage licences date from a 1662 act of Parliament, the London and Westminster Streets Act 1662 (14 Cha. 2. c. 2) establishing the Commissioners of Scotland Yard to regulate them. Licences applied literally to horse-drawn carriages, later modernised as hansom cabs (1834), that operated as vehicles for hire. The 1662 act limited the licences to 400; when it expired in 1679, extra licences were created until the Hackney Coaches, etc. Act 1694 (5 & 6 Will. & Mar. c. 22) imposed a limit of 700. The limit was increased to 800 in 1715, 1,000 in 1770 and 1,100 in 1802, before being abolished in 1832. The 1694 act established the Hackney Coach Commissioners to oversee the regulation of fares, licences and other matters; in 1831 their work was taken over by the Stamp Office and in 1869 responsibility for licensing was passed on to the Metropolitan Police. In the 18th and 19th centuries, private carriages were commonly sold off for use as hackney carriages, often displaying painted-over traces of the previous owner's coat of arms on the doors.
Recent media