Hackney carriage the same law that was originally passed in 1662. The city of Bath has an occasional horse-drawn Hackney, principally for tourists, but still carrying hackney plates. Motorised hackney cabs in the UK are known as black cabs, although they are now produced in a variety of colours, sometimes in advertising brand liveries (see below). The 50 golden cabs produced for the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002 were notable. Historically four-door saloon cars have been highly popular as hackney carriages, but with disability regulations growing in strength and some councils offering free licensing for disabled-friendly vehicles, many operators are now
Hackney carriage issues "Hackney Carriage" medallions to its taxi operators. 'Hackney' is derived from the village name Hackney (now part of London). Hackney supplied horses from its surrounding meadows. The word was once thought to be an anglicized derivative of French "haquenée" — a horse of medium size recommended for lady riders. The place-name, through its fame for its horses and horse-drawn carriages, is also the root of the Spanish word "jaca", a term used for a small breed of horse and the Sardinian achetta horse. The first documented hackney coach—the name later extended to the newer and smaller carriages—operated in London