London Hackney Black Cab
The London Cab is one of the most distinct automotive profiles in the world and certainly serves as an icon in the world of paid transport. With roughly 20,000 crowding the London streets, it has been so successful that the company that produces it, LTI Vehicles in Coventry, is pushing them abroad.
At 25,000 British Pounds (about $46,500 USD at today's rates) the current TX II, is certainly expensive as far as taxis go and is unlikely to find regular duty, other than maybe for a few novelty copies. However, in their defense, the clacking hackney employs a state of the art Ford 2.4 diesel that they say will easily drive the black box over 500,000 miles. At around 25 miles across (Greater London), that is a lot of trips around Big Ben.
Some interesting facts about cabs in London:
The average speed around London streets has dipped below 10 mph in the last couple of years as congestion grows.
London cab drivers are tested before receiving their taxi license for their familiarity of 25,000 different streets, lanes, avenues etc…which can take several years to learn.
The interior of a Hackney is 55 inches high as originally mandated to allow enough room for men with top hats.
Manual transmission cars can achieve over 42 mpg, automatics, 35 mpg.
London cabs must have an ultra-tight 25 ft. turning radius.
London cabs drive Londoners roughly 2 billion passenger-km per year.
Hackney cabs must pass a test three times stricter than for the average passenger vehicle.
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Mexico City VW Beetle
For shear volume, the Beetle represents probably one of the best bets for the inhabitants of one of the world's largest metropolitan areas, (roughly 25 million people) due to its low cost and durability. Traditionally green and white, which was supposed to symbolize eco-friendliness, you will now find some red ones as well as non-Beetle taxis making up the fleet of vehicles. Especially now that the Beetle finally stopped production in 2003.
The size of the fleet, incidentally, is a bit of a grey area. There are apparently about 110,000 registered cabs, but nearly 250,000 working cabs in Mexico city by some estimates.
Taking a cab in Mexico is quite cheap and serves as regular transportation for many people, even with an extensively subsidized light rail system that transports fewer daily commuters than only Seoul, Moscow, New York and Tokyo.
The original VW Beetle's long and storied past is well known and it is rather fitting that Mexico ended up using the Beetle as defacto cab, while producing millions of cars for Volkswagen over the years.
The last Type 1 VW Beetle, number 21,529,464, rolled of assembly line in Puebla on July 30th, 2003 escorted by a Mariachi band before being shipped to VW's museum in Wolfsburg.
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Tokyo Toyota Crown/Nissan Cedric
Tokyo's cab scene is undoubtedly different from other major metropolitan areas not so much for the cars driven, which incidentally are fairly run-of-the mill sedans by Japanese standards, but due to the people who operate them.
Armed with their white shirts, ties, seat doilies and impeccable manners, the typical Tokyo Taxi driver takes his job more seriously than an heart-attack.
When traveling around Japan's largest cityscape via hired car, you will notice some things are different straight away. For starters, the cab's door will automatically open as you approach it. Once inside, you will be greeted by both ornate seat covers and an overzealous driver, who will quickly make you feel as if you inadvertently commandeered someone's personal limousine.
The next thing one will probably notice is that the price in Yen quickly takes off once you have extended the 'flat-fare' distance. In addition to being very expensive,however, the Tokyo taxi has several other things working against it.
For example, any location in Tokyo can be quite easily accessed via train. With one of the most extensive and efficient public transportation systems in the world, it is a wonder why anyone would elect to travel any other way. On top of that, there is heavy congestion and regular traffic jams making cabs one of the least efficient and timely ways to get around.
Finally, the actual street system is very complex and building signage often lacking, meaning that map consultation and inquiry are prerequisites for the driver. Regardless, there are approximately 80,000 registered drivers in Tokyo with another 20,00 or so independent operators willing to endure 18 hour shifts, with no tips, for about 4.4 mil. Yen a year.
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New York Ford Crown Victoria
When a North American hears the word 'cab' or 'Taxi,' the current version of Ford's venerable Crown Victoria quickly comes to mind, right after visions of Tony Danza and Marilu Henner. The Crown Vic wasn't always the standard issue having taken over the roll from various Chevys over the years, but it certainly can lay claim today as one of the most visible forms of transportation in history.
What makes the yellow cabs of New York so special anyway? Well, for one thing there is the hazard yellow color (emphasis on hazard), which acts as a metaphor for the city itself. Plenty of other US cities have their fleets, many of which even have distinctive color schemes, but curiously, none come to mind.
New York City taxis (whether in their yellow hue or "Checkered" past) have been depicted in countless movies, TV shows, and general folklore for as long as there have been people willing to pay for a ride. And like Japan, the cab is defined as much by the United Nations-inspired community who drives them as they are by their uniform appearance or exhausted horns.
What may appear from the top of the Chrysler building to be a harmonious flow of yellow through the endless streets and avenues of Manhattan like blood pumping through the veins of someone who just climbed its 77 stories, is upon closer inspection, something quite different indeed. No, the NYC cab is not the highly tuned Hackney, nor is its driver likely to make a good candidate for finishing school, but it is this very identity that have brought New York's mobile industry through corruption, labor strike and outsourcing.
The LTD and subsequent Crown Victoria have been staples in the Ford lineup since the 50's, though the car has made its mark in fleet and "duty" application for the government, police agencies and of course, NYC cabs (long wheelbase). Rather primitive in design (body on 1979-based frame with 4.6L V8) the Crown Vic received only modest updates throughout its run in the 90's, before being somewhat brought up to date in 2003.
Yet, with the proven durability of a German Panzer, it isn't uncommon to find a used CV with over a hundred thousand miles for a couple thousand dollars that is then enlisted in cab duty for another tortuous hundred thousand or two before major rebuild.
Now, to compare global taxis and somehow label a winner is about as feeble and pointless as selecting between finalists in the Miss Universe pageant. Each has its own strengths and should be held in the highest regard by their home country. And this list is by no means exhaustive. Exit baggage claim in Frankfurt, for example, and you will be greeted by an army of creme brulee-colored Mercedes-Benz E-class sedans.
Yet, there are some characteristics that tend to stand out, irrespective of time zone.
Speed
With its big V8 and relatively "sleek?" design, you have to give this one to the Big Apple. As the adage states, there is no replacement for displacement (again, not including the Germans and their barn-storming autobahners).
Maneuverability
This one might have been considered a draw between the Beetle and Hackney, but when you consider the power-assisted steering it the admittedly short VW, it just doesn't stand up to the London cab's ability to execute a U-turn on a one-lane street with parked Lorries on both sides.
Chalk one up for the Fish n' Chippers.
Comfort
Depends whether we are referring to the passenger or driver, but if we consider the fare-paying side of the plastic attack divider, the Hackney does have an amazing ease of entry and enough room for a cricket pitch in the back. The only problem is its lack of trunk. Stick a week's worth of suitcases in there and your once proper cabin space becomes a life sized game of Tetris. Meanwhile, the Tokyo drivers spoil you in a backseat that looks as if it has just been cleaned by your grandmother and adorned with her favorite tablecloth. And when you consider that the stanch traffic jam will prevent an unusually aggressive operator from plastering you on the inside glass through an aggressive Roppongi right-hander (an issue in Mexico City, not to mention the VW's lack of rear doors making entry and exit a coordinated affair), this one has to go to the Sushi.
Shakedown Feature
I'll bet you didn't know that the typical NYC taxi driver supplemented their income with the money harvested from their backseats after a day's worth of shuffling busy expense-accounters. The rear seat is designed just so that every bump or manhole cover in the road will jostle a bit more money from your opened pockets. Chances are you won't notice because the rear door is designed so that you will have smashed your head whilst hurriedly getting in.
The other, more disturbing shakedown is that found more increasingly in Mexico City, especially among the rogue Beetles people are hailing in the streets (as opposed to taxi stand). Travelers to Mexico City are strongly urged not to use these cabs as more and more tourists and visitors are being taken on 'express kidnappings' where they are driven to several ATMs and physically forced to extract money. As creative as the Yankees are, this one definitely goes south of the border.
Finally, Bang for the Buck (durability)
This last and arguably most important topic could be hotly contested as we are talking about the fundamental characteristic of tough-as-nails vehicles. Think about, comparing a proven diesel to a Japanese sedan to law enforcement 'special' to an air cooled engine a fifth grader could maintain. Again, comparing a 34-24-36 to her 36-24-34 friend is splitting hairs, but if I had to cross the Sahara in one of jobbies (meter hopefully off), I would choose the bug, preferably in a light color and with a/c or at least a desert sunroof.
The reason is simple. The Volkswagen Beetle had the longest standing production run of any vehicle, ever (58 years, the only interruption being a world war). The last bug was produced a full 65 years after its initial launch. With 21.5 million copies of nearly the same model, nothing else comes close. The air-cooled engine was so simple by design even a decade worth of dazed deadheads wasn't able to phaze its bulletproof integrity.
Regardless of which city you visit, you can learn a lot from the local livery. Next time you have the chance, skip the smelly seats of the bus and dimly lit subway and strike up a conversation with you taxi driver. Regardless which language they speak, I am sure they will offer you an opinion on whose cab is tops.
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