London's Black Cabs

<p>From the echo of hoofbeats in 17th-century alleys to the silent hum of today's electric TXes gliding past the Gherkin London's Black Cabs: A Motoring Institution traces the full factual arc of one of the world's most recognisable vehicles. This is the definitive narrative of the city's taxi trade-meticulously researched strictly non-speculative and told in flowing immersive prose.</p><p></p><p>Each chapter journeys through a specific era or theme: from Walter Bersey's pioneering electric cab of 1897 to the mid-century Austin FX3 and FX4 models that defined a generation to the digital age of apps zero-emission mandates and hydrogen prototypes. Woven through it all are vivid accounts from drivers engineers regulators and passengers documenting the interplay of craftsmanship legislation urban geography and social change.</p><p></p><p>With over 350 years of official licensing history and cultural symbolism riding in the back seat the London cab is more than a mode of transport. It is a mirror of Britain's evolution-industrial legal and personal. This book honours that legacy with narrative clarity technical rigour and heartfelt respect for the city and its streets.</p>