BLACK CABS
Hail, rank or book
A black cab with its for hire light on can be hailed in the street or found at a rank. Fares are set by TfL and worked out by the taximeter.
Check a rideStart
LONDON'S TAXIS, EXPLAINED
Hail it,
or book it?
London has two kinds of cab.
Black cabs can be hailed in the street or taken from a rank. Minicabs, or private hire vehicles, must be booked first. Behind that rule sits nearly four centuries of licensing and one famously hard test.
SINCE 1865the Knowledge
Check a rideKeep in mind
- Black cabs can be hailed
- Minicabs must be booked
- Check the licence
- Two systems, one city
THE SHORT ANSWER
One you can wave down,
one you must book.
Both are licensed by Transport for London.
The rules on how you get one are different.
THE KNOWLEDGE
320 routes by heart
Drivers learn the streets and landmarks within six miles of Charing Cross, tested face to face. It usually takes three to four years.
See the numbers
HACKNEYS
Licensed since 1662
London's first hackney-carriage licences date from an Act of 1662, which capped them at 400. The word cab comes from the cabriolet, a light two-wheeled carriage.
The historyA QUICK RIDE CHECK
How are you
getting home?
Pick a situation to see which kind of vehicle can take you. The bar shows how much booking the rules require before you get in.
Based on Transport for London and GOV.UK guidance on taxis and private hire. Outside London, taxis can only be hailed in the area that licensed them.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
A long apprenticeship,
a smaller fleet.
One figure on what a cabbie learns,
one on how many black cabs are licensed.
320 runs
Blue Book routes a driver must learn
Each run comes with the roads and landmarks within a quarter mile of its start and end. Candidates pass a written exam, then one-to-one oral appearances, and all-London drivers earn a green badge.
THE KNOWLEDGE · TFL
13,700 taxis
Licensed taxis in London
That is down 7 percent since April 2024. London also had 93,300 licensed private hire vehicles, so minicabs outnumber black cabs by almost seven to one.
LICENSED VEHICLES · DFT, APRIL 2026
Department for Transport figures are a snapshot at 1 April 2026. They count 16,000 taxi driver licences and 104,900 private hire driver licences in London.
FOUR CHECKS BEFORE YOU GET IN
A few seconds
at the kerb.
TfL licenses vehicles and drivers separately, so it is worth checking both. These checks take moments and work day or night.
Step 1
Look for the light
A black cab you can hail shows its for hire light. On the back is a white taxi plate with its licence number and expiry date.
Step 2
Check the badge
Taxi drivers carry a green badge for all of London or a yellow one for a suburban sector.
Step 3
Match the booking
For a minicab, compare the registration and driver details with your booking confirmation before you get in.
Step 4
Find the yellow disc
Licensed private hire vehicles show a yellow TfL disc on the front and rear windscreens.
FROM HACKNEY COACH TO BLACK CAB
Four centuries
of carriages for hire.
In 1636 the number of hackney coaches was set at 50 and the first stand appeared on the Strand. The 1662 Act brought the first licences, capped at 400; the cap rose to 1,100 by 1802 and was scrapped in 1832.
The hansom cab was patented in 1834. Electric cabs arrived in 1897 and petrol taxis in 1903, with taximeters compulsory from 1907. By 1910 motor cabs outnumbered horse-drawn ones, and the last horse-drawn hackney left London's streets in 1947.
Questions
Questions on the way
What is the difference between a taxi and a minicab?
Licensed taxis, the black cabs, can be hailed in the street, use ranks or be pre-booked, and their fares are set by TfL. Minicabs are private hire vehicles: they can only be pre-booked through a licensed operator.
What is the Knowledge?
It is the test London taxi drivers pass to get their licence, required since 1865. Candidates learn 320 routes and the landmarks within six miles of Charing Cross, and it typically takes three to four years.
What do green and yellow taxi badges mean?
A green badge driver has passed the all-London Knowledge and can ply for hire across Greater London. A yellow badge driver works in one of nine suburban sectors.
Are all London black cabs wheelchair accessible?
Yes. TfL says black taxis are 100 percent wheelchair accessible, with an induction loop and high-visibility grab handles. Only private hire vehicles designated as wheelchair accessible must carry wheelchair users.
Why is it called a hackney carriage?
Hackney carriage is the old legal name for a vehicle for hire. One explanation traces it to the French haquenée, an easy-riding horse often hired out. Cab is short for cabriolet.
Who can use a taxi rank?
Only licensed taxis, the black cabs. Taxi ranks are for licensed taxis, which can also be hailed in the street when their for hire light is on. Private hire vehicles, or minicabs, cannot use ranks: they must be booked first through a licensed operator.
Destination
Where the facts come from
- Transport for London: Guide to taxis and private hire
- Transport for London: Learn the Knowledge of London
- GOV.UK: Taxis and minicabs, the difference
- Department for Transport: Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics, England 2026
- Wikipedia: Taxis of London (licensing history)
- Wikipedia: Hackney carriage
Updated