Editing Hackney carriage (section)

===Motorisation===

[[History of the electric vehicle|Electric hackney carriages]] appeared before the introduction of the internal combustion engine to vehicles for hire in 1897. In fact there was even [[Bersey electric cab|London Electrical Cab Company]]: the cabs were informally called Berseys after the manager who designed them, [[Walter Bersey]]. Another nickname was [[Hummingbird]]s from the sound that they made.<ref name="LVTA">{{cite web|url=http://www.lvta.co.uk/history.htm|title=Taxi History – London Vintage Taxi Association|work=lvta.co.uk|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=27 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527134112/http://www.lvta.co.uk/history.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In August 1897, 25 were introduced, and by 1898, there were 50 more. During the early 20th century, cars generally replaced horse-drawn models. In 1910, the number of motor cabs on London streets outnumbered horse-drawn growlers and hansoms for the first time. At the time of the outbreak of [[World War I]], the ratio was seven to one in favour of motorized cabs.<ref name=AC4459a>{{cite magazine | ref = LMB | magazine = [[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]] | title = London's Taxis | author = Lord Montagu of Beaulieu | author-link = Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu | publisher = IPC Business Press Ltd. | page = 42 | date = 5 June 1982 | volume = 156 | number = 4459 }}</ref> The last horse-drawn hackney carriage ceased service in London in 1947.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gregory |last=Drozdz |title=Cab and Coach |year=1990 |page=26 |oclc=841903541}}</ref>

UK regulations define a hackney carriage as a taxicab allowed to ply the streets looking for passengers to pick up, as opposed to private hire vehicles (sometimes called ''[[Taxicabs of the United Kingdom|minicabs]]''), which may pick up only passengers who have previously booked or who visit the taxi operator's office. In 1999, the first of a series of fuel cell powered taxis were tried out in London. The "Millennium Cab" built by ZeTek gained television coverage and great interest when driven in the Sheraton Hotel ballroom in New York by [[Judd Hirsch]], the star of the television series ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]''. ZeTek built three cabs but ceased activities in 2001.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}