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The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. [1] : 30 The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. [2] Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low centre of gravity for safe cornering. Hansom's original design was modified by John Chapman and several others to improve its practicability, but retained Hansom's name. [3] [4]
Cab is a shortening of cabriolet , reflecting the design of the carriage. It replaced the hackney carriage as a vehicle for hire; with the introduction of clockwork mechanical taximeters to measure fares, the name became taxicab .
Hansom cabs enjoyed immense popularity as they were fast, light enough to be pulled by a single horse (making the journey cheaper than travelling in a larger four-wheel coach) and were agile enough to steer around horse-drawn vehicles in the notorious traffic jams of nineteenth-century London. There were up to 7500 hansom cabs in use at the height of their popularity and they quickly spread to other cities in the United Kingdom (including Ireland), as well as continental European cities, particularly Paris, Berlin, and St Petersburg. The cab was introduced to other British Empire cities and to the United States during the late 19th century, being most commonly used in New York City.
The cab, a type of fly , sat two passengers (three if they squeezed in) and a driver who sat on a sprung seat behind the vehicle. The passengers could give their instructions to the driver through a trap door near the rear of the roof. They could pay the driver through the hatch, and he would then operate a lever to release the doors so that they could alight. In some cabs, the driver could operate a device that balanced the cab and reduced strain on the horse. The passengers were protected from the elements by the cab and by folding wooden doors that enclosed their feet and legs and thus protected their clothes from splashing mud. Later versions also had an up-and-over glass window above the doors to complete the enclosure of the passengers. Additionally, a curved fender mounted forward of the doors protected passengers from the stones thrown up by the hooves of the horse.
Its main features were low-slung bodywork, high wheels and a rearward driving seat — the latter not at first evident. The purpose of its design was to combine speed with safety, having a low centre of gravity, essential for safe cornering and overtaking. Wheels were originally 7'6" in diameter, later becoming much smaller although still large in proportion. The dashboard was curved at the rear of the shafts, bringing the hind-quarters of the horse fairly near the vehicle, for better control. There would be room for two passengers facing forward, on a single cross-seat, their legs protected by knee flaps. [1] : 30
Other vehicles similar to the Hansom cab include the American light trade cart for deliveries such as bread, the bow-fronted hansom which was fully enclosed and entered through a side door, and the Brougham Hansom which was entered from the rear and driven from a seat on the fore-part of the roof. [1] : 5, 23, 31
The Hansom Cab Company was established in May 1869 to provide transportation in New York City and Brooklyn. The business was located at 133 Water Street, Brooklyn; Duncan, Sherman & Company handled the books of subscription (initial offers of stock to capitalize a new company). The enterprise was organized by Ed W. Brandon who became its president. Two orders for a fleet of cabs were sent to carriage makers in New York City. Fares were to be charged either by distance or time: $0.30 for a single person per mile, or portion thereof, and $0.40 for two people. By time, $0.75 for one person for an hour or portion thereof, $1.00 for two persons. [5]
Two English peers who owned cab companies, Lord Shrewsbury and Lord Lonsdale, raised the standards of all Hansom cabs in London when they purchased upgraded cabs made by Forder, complete with brass fittings, quiet-running rubber tires, and luxuriously fitted interiors. Their horses were thoroughbreds in polished harnesses. [6] These flashier Hansoms were sometimes referred to as "Gondolas of London" or "gondolas of the streets". [6] [1] : 87
The cabs were widely used in the United Kingdom until 1908 when Taximeter Cars (petrol cabs) started to be introduced and were rapidly accepted; by the early 1920s horse-drawn cabs had largely been superseded by motor vehicles. The last licence for a horse-drawn cab in London was relinquished in 1947. [7]
A restored hansom cab once owned by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt is on display at the Remington Carriage Museum [8] in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. There is another surviving example, owned and operated by the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London; in common with other horse-drawn vehicles it is not permitted to enter any of the Royal Parks. [9] Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Leicestershire also have a restored Hansom cab.
A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping or, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. Two-wheeled carriages are usually owner-driven.
A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. 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.
Joseph Aloysius Hansom was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal The Builder in 1843.
A coachman is an employee who drives a coach or carriage, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of passengers. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy,whip, or hackman.
A brougham was a light, four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage built in the 19th century. It was named after the politician and jurist Lord Brougham, who had this type of carriage built to his specification by London coachbuilder Robinson & Cook in 1838 or 1839. It had an enclosed body with two doors, like the rear section of a coach; it sat two, sometimes with an extra pair of fold-away seats in the front corners, and with a box seat in front for the driver and a footman or passenger. Unlike a coach, the carriage had a glazed front window, so that the occupants could see forward. The forewheels were capable of turning sharply. A variant, called a brougham-landaulet, had a top collapsible from the rear doors backward.
A clarence is a type of carriage that was popular in the early 19th century. It is a closed, four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle with a projecting glass front and seats for four passengers inside. The driver sat at the front, outside the carriage. The clarence was named after Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, later King William IV of the United Kingdom, who died in 1837. It was introduced in 1840 in London. The Brougham was a lighter, two-passenger version originally commissioned by Lord Brougham.
A horse-drawn vehicle is a piece of equipment pulled by one or more horses. These vehicles typically have two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by automobiles and other forms of self-propelled transport but are still in use today.
A dogcart is a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle pulled by a single horse in shafts, or driven tandem. With seating for four, it was designed for sporting shooters and their gun dogs, with a louvred box under the driver's seat to contain dogs. It was developed in the early 1800s to afford more seating than the gig, which seats only two. Seating is two back-to-back crosswise seats, an arrangement called dos-à-dos from French. There is a hinged tailboard which lowers slightly and, supported by chains, acts as a footrest for the rear-facing passengers. Some dogcarts had a mechanism to slide the entire body forward or rearward along the shafts to help balance the weight for the horse.
The victoria is an elegant style of doorless four-wheeled open carriage, drawn by one or two horses, based on the phaeton with the addition of a coachman's seat at the front, and with a retractable roof over the passenger bench.
Taxicabs are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about the regulation by anyone outside the trade. The Public Carriage Office (PCO), which regulates and licenses taxis and private hire was transferred from the Metropolitan Police to become part of Transport for London in 2000." In 2015, there were around 298,000 licensed drivers in England, of which 164,000 were private hire licences, 62,000 were taxi licences and 72,000 were dual licences.
A herdic was a type of horse-drawn carriage, which was frequently used as an omnibus during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was invented by Peter Herdic of Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania during the 1870s and patented in 1880.
Taxis in Australia are highly regulated by each Australian state and territory, with each state and territory having its own history and structure. In December 2014, there were 21,344 taxis in Australia. Taxis in Australia are required to be licensed and are typically required to operate and charge on a fitted taximeter. Taxi fare rates are set by State or Territory governments. A vehicle without a meter is generally not considered to be a taxi, and may be described, for example, as a hire car, limousine, carpool, etc. Most taxis today are fueled by liquid petroleum gas. A2B Australia owns and operates the Cabcharge payment system, which covers 98% of taxis in Australia, and operates one of Australia's largest taxi networks.
The Electrobat was one of the first electric automobiles. It was designed and built in 1894 by mechanical engineer Henry G. Morris and chemist Pedro G. Salom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A coach is a large, closed, four-wheeled, passenger-carrying vehicle or carriage usually drawn by two or more horses controlled by a coachman, a postilion, or both. A coach has doors in its sides and a front and a back seat inside. The driver has a raised seat in front of the carriage to allow better vision. It is often called a box, box seat, or coach box. There are many types of coaches depending on the vehicle's purpose.
A cabriolet is a light horse-drawn vehicle, with two wheels and a single horse. The carriage has a folding hood that can cover its two occupants, one of whom is the driver. It has a large rigid apron, upward-curving shafts, and usually a rear platform between the C springs for a groom. The design was developed in France in the eighteenth century and quickly replaced the heavier hackney carriage as the vehicle for hire of choice in Paris and London.
The Remington Carriage Museum is located in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Opened in 1993, and the largest of its kind in the world, the Remington Carriage Museum displays more than 240 carriages.
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice. This differs from public transport where the pick-up and drop-off locations are decided by the service provider, not by the customers, although demand responsive transport and share taxis provide a hybrid bus/taxi mode.
A horse-bus or horse-drawn omnibus was a large, enclosed, and sprung horse-drawn vehicle used for passenger transport before the introduction of motor vehicles. It was mainly used in the late 19th century in both the United States and Europe, and was one of the most common means of transportation in cities. In a typical arrangement, two wooden benches along the sides of the passenger cabin held several sitting passengers facing each other. The driver sat on a separate, front-facing bench, typically in an elevated position outside the passengers' enclosed cabin. In the main age of horse buses, many of them were double-decker buses. On the upper deck, which was uncovered, the longitudinal benches were arranged back to back.
The Bayswater Omnibus is an 1895 oil painting by George William Joy. It has been part of the Museum of London's collection since 1966. The genre painting depicts a scene inside a horse-drawn omnibus of the London General Omnibus Company. Joy borrowed a bus from the company while he was working on his painting.
The Bersey Electric Cab was an early electric-powered vehicle and the first electric taxi cab in London. Developed by Walter Bersey the vehicles reportedly had a top speed of 12 mph (19 km/h) and could carry two passengers. An initial service of 12 cabs began on 19 August 1897 and a total of 77 were built, with a maximum of 75 in service at once. They were initially popular and were nicknamed "hummingbirds" for the sound they made and their distinctive livery. The vehicles suffered badly from wear in service owing to their heavy weight. This damaged the batteries and tyres, which were expensive to replace, and made their operation unprofitable. The cabs were withdrawn in August 1899 and electric cabs did not return to the streets of London until the Nissan Dynamo was introduced in October 2019.