Few vehicles are as tied up with a city's identity as London's black cab. The boxy taxis have carried Londoners since the days of horse-drawn hansoms, and they're back in the news thanks to a feature from Secret London on how the cabs are being transformed for new uses — a reminder that even as the fleet modernises, the black cab refuses to fade into the background.
The story taps into a broader shift. Traditional diesel taxis are steadily being replaced by the electric LEVC TX, a purpose-built cab that can go roughly 60 miles on battery alone before a petrol range-extender kicks in. For drivers who spend ten-hour shifts crawling through Zone 1 traffic, that means cleaner air and lower fuel bills; for passengers, it means a noticeably quieter ride through Soho or along the Embankment. Decommissioned older cabs, meanwhile, are finding second lives as food trucks, mobile bars and quirky props — Londoners have long had a soft spot for rescuing them.
What hasn't changed is the drivers themselves. To earn a black cab licence, a cabbie must pass the Knowledge: memorising some 25,000 streets and thousands of landmarks across London, a process that typically takes between two and four years. It's routinely described as the toughest taxi exam in the world, and it's the reason a black cab driver can get you from King's Cross to a restaurant in Bermondsey without glancing at a sat nav — and usually tell you a good story on the way.
For visitors, that expertise is the real draw. Black cab tours have become a proper London institution: drivers run private, tailor-made routes covering everything from Harry Potter filming locations to Jack the Ripper's East End, Beatles sites in St John's Wood, or a highlights sweep of the big sights when your time in the city is short. Cabs are also wheelchair-accessible by law, take contactless and card payments, and can use bus lanes, which sometimes makes them quicker than a private hire car in central traffic. Fares are metered and regulated, with a premium after 8pm and on Sundays — expect a cross-town trip to cost roughly £12-£25 depending on distance and time of day.
If you're heading to London, it's worth knowing the alternatives too. The Underground covers the city fast and cheap, and ride-hailing apps are everywhere, but nothing quite replaces stepping out of a show at the West End, hailing a cab at a rank, and letting someone who genuinely knows the city take over. The transformation of the black cab — greener under the bonnet, occasionally reborn as something entirely different — doesn't change what makes it special: the driver.
Whether the next chapter involves more electric cabs or more rescued old ones serving flat whites, the taxi remains one of the most characterful ways to get around the capital.