London black cabs

Video. London black cabs lie in 'taxi graveyard' amid COVID-19 lockdown

Around 150 London black cabs are being stored in a field outside the UK capital because of a lack of demand for rides amid the latest lockdown.

Around 150 London black cabs are being stored in a field outside the UK capital because of a lack of demand for rides amid the latest lockdown.

They belong to one business, GB Taxi Services, which rents them out to drivers.

Other companies are also storing hundreds of vehicles.

Many London taxi drivers rent their instantly-recognisable black cabs from fleet companies such as GB Taxi Services.

But with London's streets emptied by the coronavirus lockdown, many drivers are unable to keep paying for their vehicles and are handing them back in droves.

Famed worldwide, the British capital's bulbous black cabs were originally designed to accommodate a passenger in a top hat.

To earn a license, drivers have to pass a fiendishly difficult exam called "The Knowledge", which tests their recall of streets, routes and landmarks purely from memory.

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