# Irish dopers, what are Hackney cabs

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-what-are-hackney-cabs/102729>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 9, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-what-are-hackney-cabs/102729 "2002-04-09T21:58:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-what-are-hackney-cabs/102729/1 "2002-04-09T21:58:50Z")

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What are they? Living in NI near the border I see a lot of cars with ROI registrations and a small yellow badge saying “Hackney” and some small print on the front bumper. I’m assuming this isn’t a taxi firm but some specific type of taxi cab. Are there any special regulations that apply to them? I don’t seem to remember any ordinary taxis coming across border into town but I may be mistaken. My home town has a reputation for its proliferation of taxis, probably due to the fact that its one of the most deprived areas of the north west (which is saying something.)

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**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-what-are-hackney-cabs/102729/2 "2002-04-09T22:20:51Z")

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You can hail your full-blooded taxi in the street, or pick one up at a taxi rank, or you can ring a cab company and they will dispatch one to you.

A hackney cannot pick up passengers hailing in the street, or standing at a rank. It has to be ordered by phone (or theoretically by other means, if you really want).