Capital of the United Kingdom, London boasts of having worlds’ oldest architecture, culture and is the most visited place by the tourists. It is an absolute must of itinerary of visitors visiting Europe. It is the most expensive, investment friendly, desirable and influential city. Its location in the south-east of England on the River Thames, ads more glory to this dream city of the world.
Though cabs in London are properly controlled by Transport for London yet it is most effectively regulated keeping in view the driver’s geographical knowledge of London and mechanical integrity. With the advancement of information technology, various sharing apps like Uber has expanded this service. And now, the old and traditional London black cab is being replaced with unmarked and less distinguishable vehicles.
London Black Cab
The public hire or Hackney Carriage service is the oldest taxi service of London. These iconic taxis traditionally are of black of colour, though now in other colours too. London black cabs are especially designed and are kept in order perfectly. Furthermore, the drivers of these black cab service are licensed with substantial knowledge and training course. These are spacious with three rear seats and two on backward facing. Head room and legroom are too comfortable with much space. In addition to it, disabled people are provided with a ramp in the cab.
For booking these cabs, you are not required any pre-booking at all. You can pick these anywhere on the road or at the taxi rank. There is a light fitted on the roof of these black cabs which let you know whether the cab is vacant or not.
Chauffeur Driven Cab Service in London
This Chauffeur hire Cab Service in London mostly is used for special events and wedding ceremonies. Splendid, high end, majestic and superb luxurious cars are offered by the drivers. The chauffeur driver offers classics and high-performance cars. Higher value model car and higher insurance is involved for this service. This is for elite people. Earlier, chauffeur provides his service to drive some vehicle but now chauffeur companies are working in London. In addition to it, some individual chauffeurs offer their service along with luxurious vehicle like limousine. Apart from it, some people employ on full time basis, the chauffeurs to drive their personal vehicles.
Minicabs or Public Hire(PHV)
Public hire is term used for this service all over the United Kingdom but in the London specifically it is termed as minicabs simply. These minicabs have a driver and can be had only by pre-booking. This service started in 1960s to compete with black cabs. You can get it booked just by a phone call, fax, internet or even personally visiting office of minicab. These private owned vehicles are properly licensed to operate their service to carry passengers. It is quite obvious that the PHV cannot be hailed in the street. In so far as the size of PHV is concerned, this minicab is four door hatchback and saloon to MPVs. Five and eight passengers are allowed to sit in these minicabs.
With the availability of high tech software now, Lyft and Uber like services have emerged in the London to facilitate its citizens. By installing these apps in your cell phone, you can hire the taxi service of your choice. Regulating authority of taxis and private hire PCO was transferred to Metropolitan Police, and now is part of Transport for London. This authority also issues licenses to the taxi services. The streets of London are teemed with various taxi services offering their services to the Londoners and outsiders.
