How to know if a Taxi is available

What is the function of the taxi signalling system? What time do cabs turn their headlights on or off? An illuminated signalling lamp - what does it mean? How come a taxi with the headlights on shouldn't take a ticket?

The rules are easy for the infamous London taxis (and some other cities). In the middle of each driver's cab's cabin there is a "TAXI" shield in the middle of the cabin's ceiling above the windshield, which points only to the front (so that it is not seen from the back of the cab). Once the plate is lit, so that the words "TAXI" in plain text on an orange/amber coloured backdrop are conspicuous, the taxi is "for hire" and you can mark it.

In case the signs are not illuminated, either the taxi already has a price or it is out of order (i.e. out of order) and therefore cannot be rented. Please be aware that only some of Brtiain's towns have the classic "black taxi" (although they are not always dark, not even in London).

In general, they can be found in some of the bigger urban areas, but not in the smaller municipalities or countryside, where common limousines and passenger transporters are used as taxi instead. And if these are " hail-proof " which means they can collect those who mark them on the road just like those marked off as dark ones, then they usually have a skylight and adhere to the same conventions as dark taxis: illuminated = to rent, unlighted = not to rent.

Please also be aware that certain taxi services are not permitted by legislation to collect those who mark them on the road, as opposed to hail-proof taxi services, but only those who have prebooked by phone, website or in their taxi offices in advance. In order to differentiate these non-hail-resistant and hail-resistant types of taxi, they are usually designated as 'mini-cabs'.

Illegally, such a mini-cab on the road charges opportunist rates, so it doesn't make sense to call one because they won't stop. Well most of the times they won't stop, but if they think they can get away with it, or if they're already halted and give up a ticket before, or if they feel sorry for you, maybe because it's raining down or very late-night, then you might be in luck.

However, keep in mind that they violate the act by collecting you, and that they can be fine and lost their licence if they are captured and possibly dismissed (because in general - and unfairly - they will not register or notify the ticket price so that they can take the full price of such a road pick-up instead of pay any of it to their taxi companies - hence the lure to do so).

Whilst smaller town and country areas may only have mini-cab connections, most town and city areas will have both taxi hail and mini-cabs, so you have a choise. Aside from the apparent differences between road hauling and pre-booking, the key distinction between them is the way they calculate.

For hail-capable taxi cars, your trip will be measured and you will be billed by driving hours, regardless of the driving trip, while minicabs usually do not measure your trip and are billed by driving trip, regardless of the driving trip. In addition, when you book a minicab, you must specify your final point of arrival and can ask for a price quotation that you can easily guess or use a computer to make a calculation using the direction or real itinerary.

Taxis are obliged by law not to bill you for more than this rate, regardless of how long the trip takes or whether it takes a long way round. This is why a minicab is usually less expensive - and often much less expensive - than a hail-capable taxi, especially in conurbations with high volumes of transport and therefore slower travel speeds.

Sitting in a London congestion in a taxi can be unbelievably frustrating to see the price on the taximeter while crawling at snail's speed. For this reason, many individuals use taxis only if they cannot find a minicab bureau, or only for brief journeys, or if they believe there will be no major congestion or other delay on their journey.