Black cab
What it really means
The famous official London taxi (they are not always black now). You can hail one in the street when its yellow TAXI light is on. They use a meter and drivers must pass "the Knowledge". More expensive than Uber, but reliable.
Context, tips & common mistakes
The black cab is the licensed, hailable taxi: flag one down when the amber TAXI light is lit, join the rank at stations and airports, or just state your destination through the window and climb in — drivers must generally take you within the licensed area. London drivers famously pass 'the Knowledge', years of memorising the city; all black cabs are wheelchair-accessible, and card payment is standard (in London, mandatory).
The trade-off is price: metered fares run well above app-based rivals, with the meter climbing in traffic — treat cabs as the premium, always-works option: late nights, luggage, airports at dawn. Tipping is rounding up or ten per cent, never obligatory. One safety asymmetry worth internalising: a black cab can be hailed; anything else offering rides kerbside without a booking is illegal and uninsured, however taxi-shaped it looks.