Also in the business of helping passengers get home safely, is the London Transport Museum with their mobile phone initiative. Text HOME to 60835 and numbers of one taxi and two local licensed minicab companies will then be sent to your mobile phone shortly after.

Black cabs can also be booked in advance, taken from designated taxi ranks or hailed on the street. Just clear the frogs from your throat, balance precariously on the edge of a kerb, stick your arm out, and holler “taxi!” Whether you get one or not is another matter… taxi drivers are not legally obliged to pick you up if the cab is moving - yellow light flashing or not.

A London cab driver’s licence is issued for a period of three years and in 1843 it became compulsory for cabmen to wear a metal badge showing their licence number, which they still do to this day. Climb into a black cab and more often than not you can rest assured you will be taken from A to B in an unfussy efficient manner.

If you’re lucky, add to this a running engaging commentary about life’s trials and tribulations and a wee chat about the weather before you go on your way. If luck is not on your side and your cabbie’s choice swear words are being hurled at the back seat rather than out the window at bumbling motorists, you can always hop out at the first red light (leaving your fare as you go of course!).

The life of a cabbie has its ups and downs like any job, but the relative freedom they enjoy, and the fact they can fit their hours around their lifestyle and home life is a definite perk. On the whole, drivers are their own bosses and they can adjust their hours according to their personal requirements. If they fancy pulling over to peruse the daily paper and munch on a bacon sarnie – they can.

 

Cabbies put in about a 40- to 50-hour week and earn around £23,000 after expenses. It's not a cheap business to run. In 2008, a new vehicle costed £28,000, insurance around £1,600 a year, garage fees another £1,300 and then there are repairs on top of that. The training is also very costly as it takes considerable time and money to pass 'the Knowledge'. Furthermore, working conditions can be very unpredictable - it’s probably safe to say that taxi drivers are among the very few who actually hope for rain!

 Many drivers genuinely enjoy meeting all the different people who get in and out of their cabs all day and some have some great stories to share. Indeed - who hasn’t met a charismatic cabbie under the impression that he or she is the world’s authority on almost every topic?

However, as with any job that entails working with the general public, there is one major downside - unpleasant customers. Day or night, people can be rude and abusive. The personal safety of cabbies is paramount to the taxi industry and the interior design of modern black cabs mean that drivers needn’t have any physical contact with their passengers whatsoever.

 

Of course on the flip side, good cab drivers should not ‘sound off’ to excess or make their passengers feel in any way uncomfortable or unsafe either. Friendly banter is one thing, and conversation can be a many a cabbie’s forte, but a sign of a good taxi driver is their ability to quickly pick up on whether their passengers feel like chatting or not and respecting it either way.

Where to guv?

As mentioned, cabbie chit-chat can be part of the charm of getting a black cab. Many know the history and notable landmarks of their city like the back of their hand, and pride themselves on having their fingers on the pulse in regards to what’s going on in the world.

Certainly, many cabbies are more than happy to attack controversial issues of the day (or indeed just the weather or last night’s telly) with unrivalled vigour and cheery chirpiness - some with an accent that seems to delight and confuse tourists in equal parts! Tourist or not, many of us can probably relate to being at a total loss as to what your cabbie is actually going on about. That could be down to ‘cabbie colloquialisms’ – here’s a few to get you going…

Cabbie dictionary

Butterboy - newly licensed driver
Clock - taximeter
Cock and Hen - man and woman passenger
Farmer Giles - piles, an occupational hazard
Flyer - a fare to Heathrow or Gatwick airport
In and Out - a return journey
Legal - the full fare without tip
Linkman - hotel or club doorman
Mushes - owner drivers
On point - taxi at the front of a rank
Roader - fare outside Metropolitan Police district

Clamp down

Unbelievably, in 1999, Redditch Council attempted to place a gag on taxi drivers in the form of a code of conduct that stated religion, sex and politics as no-go conversational topics. The ensuing comments posted on the BBC News Talking Point forum conveyed a united sense of incredulity and support for UK taxi driver’s freedom of speech.

“Having lived in England for two years and studied there two summers ago, I have had occasion to use cabs and I think that the tendency of cabbies to debate controversial topics is fun, it's part of the charm of Great Britain and I hope that it continues well into the future. “ Jeff, USA.

"Well if you are not talking about sex religion or politics what ARE you talking about then? That's one of the good points about black cabs, the conversation... I had a huge argument with a cabbie a while back ... to the point where we had to stop arguing whilst we left the cab and went into a cafe to start all over."  Joe, England

And from a cabbie’s point of view:

“I am a London Cabbie and have been for the past 33 years. I am overwhelmed by the positive responses that the majority of people have given and have heard many stories from my passengers. I love the public and have to deal with them on a daily basis, I suppose that we are 'people people' and you must not forget that it takes two to have a conversation. If passengers don't want to talk, do you think that we like talking to ourselves?” Dennis Goldberg, UK