Seeing as we're on the topic of vehicles in the Word of the Day Week, I was wondering if you could help me out. I'm translating an article about the ordeal of getting around by cab in Athens (not an easy feat!) and I need to know the right terms in English for the following:

1) How do cab drivers indicate they are free(willing to take a client)? Do they turn on the "TAXI" light on the roof of the car? What is this light called?

2) Do they have a little gizmo inside the cab like a flag that lights up when it's pointing upwards and turns off when it's flapped down? (That's what taxis have here and these also indicate that the cab is free) And what is this called? And what verbs collocate with this?

3) And what's the difference between 'taxi' and 'cab'? Is 'cab' an Americanism? Or is it just of a lower register?

4) Do cabs use different systems in the UK and the US to indicate they are free?

Lots of questions but I didn't know how to begin looking for info like this on the Net. Hey, when I'm finished, I'll even post the article here if you're interested!

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1) How do cab drivers indicate they are free(willing to take a client)? Do they turn on the "TAXI" light on the roof of the car? What is this light called?

2) Do they have a little gizmo inside the cab like a flag that lights up when it's pointing upwards and turns off when it's flapped down? (That's what taxis have here and these also indicate that the cab is free) And what is this called? And what verbs collocate with this?

3) And what's the difference between 'taxi' and 'cab'? Is 'cab' an Americanism? Or is it just of a lower register?

4) Do cabs use different systems in the UK and the US to indicate they are free?

I think I can help here insofar as the London situation is concerned. Remember, though, that London taxis are regulated by the Public Carriage Office (a division of the Metropolitan Police) and the rules to which they must abide are very strict - arguably the strictest in the world. Much the rest of the world's taxis have less stringent rules so don't be surprised if Athens or New York operators don't adopt all the practices I mention. In answer, then:

1. All modern London Taxis have a "For Hire" sign on the roof and if it is illuminated the taxi is for hire and must stop if hailed. If the sign is off then the taxis is already hired. London cabbies do not have a facility for indictating that they are "not for hire" as is the case in New York. I know of no special name for this sign; we would probably call it the "for hire" sign or even "the sign.

2. The older London cabs had a moveable flag; modern ones just have a switch that turns on the signs and starts the taximeter.

3. The orginal name for a taxi came from the French "Taximteter" which was the name for the device that measured the charges for the hire. The full name for the vehicle was a "Taximeter Cab". Cab is an abbreviation for "Cabriolet", a kind of vehicle body style. In London we use the term "Taxi" and "Cab" about equally and there is no difference in meaning between the terms. I faound that in the USA the term "cab" is the usual one. In London we do have things called "minicabs" which are normal vehicles (not the special type used as London taxis) and they can be hired (but not hailed). To get a minicab you have to go to one ot the many minicab offices dotted around and ask for the hire. Normally you can then get straight into the car. I would not reccommend that anyone use a minicab service. They are unreliable, often uninsured and the drivers frequently are illegal immigrants. A proper London cab is regulated by the police and can be ordered of the road immediately if it breaks any of the stringent regulations (such as being dirty).

4. I noticed when I was in New York I found that cabbies there had an "Off Hire" sign and wouldn't stop even though they were empty. I also found they didn't stop if they didn't want to and even if you managed to find one that was picking up a fare, he wouldn't take you if the journey was too short. London cabbies must stop when hired and have no facility for being off-hire. They can only refuse a fare if the journey is outside a defined area or if the fare is drunk or otherwise a threat.

Another difference I have found between London taxis and all others I have tried in many places in the world (including Athens) is that all London Cabbies will know your destination, no matter how small or insignificant it is. Occasionally they might only know the street and not the building but that's unusual. The reason for this is that all London cabbies have to take a stringent test run by the Public Carriage Office (known as "The Knowledge") and the learning for this takes at least two years. When I was in New York a cabbie I managed to stop didn't even know the St Regis Hotel - albeit that it has been part of New York for nearly a century! And it was only a block away! His language when he found that some Goddam Limey only wanted a 90 cent ride was a dubious treat to hear!

Thanks, Richard. That was a big help!

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I faound that in the USA the term "cab" is the usual one.

Not really. In Chicago, anyway, I'd say you hear cab or taxi each about 50% of the time.

The only way I know to tell if a taxi is free is to look to see if anyone is riding in it. Many of our cabs don't even have those lights.

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The only way I know to tell if a taxi is free is to look to see if anyone is riding in it. Many of our cabs don't even have those lights.

Although it is sometimes the case that cabs outside London don't have "for hire" signs it is becoming more common for them so to do. All the cabs in my borough have them. In London, under the Public Carriage Office regulations they must have them.

Similarly, although some cabbies outside London use the traditional "black cab" most will use normal cars. The "black cab" is an expensive vehicle and most drivers outside London prefer to save the cash and just use any vehicle that will do the job. The reason why London taxis are always of the "black cab" type is that the Public Carriage Office lays down stringent rules about the vehicles it will license (they must, for example, have a flat floor and be capable of turning in 25 feet). At present there is only one vehicle manufacturer who makes taxis that comply with the PCO standard, which is why black cabs are all much the same. You can find out more here http://www.londonblackcabs.co.uk/

Having suffered at the hands of untrained and unknowing cabbies, in the dubious accommodation of geriatric and wheezing wrecks, in cities throughout the world (Cairo was probably the worst), I can say with some feeling that I believe that every taxi licensing authority should adopt the standards of London's PCO.

I travel by taxi a lot, and the very worst city for me was Orlando. In most cities they have controls at the airport so that tourists or visitors will be safe in taking a cab. Yet in Orlando, anyone who has a car seems to be able to pick up people, and the rate for a half-hour ride was $60 sometimes, $30 others, and $45 others. There was no rationale at all on the rate. For any other city I've visited, and certainly Chicago, the rates were posted and adhered to.

OK, now for the Athens cab experience...

The Odyssey of Getting around by Taxi

If you’re lucky enough to find one, just grin and bear it!

Getting around by taxi in Athens is an art form. Especially during the holidays when you’re staggering under the weight of your Christmas shopping, the Picasso within you emerges. The first brushstroke is actually flagging one down. You stand in the middle of the road, body stretched like a bowstring, hand raised with your shopping bags hanging like clothes on the line and foot ready to trip up any would-be cab-snatcher.

You call out your destination in a stentorian voice: “Omonniaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” The first cab-driver simply ignores you; the second pulls up and informs you with a look of utter devastation that unfortunately he is headed in the opposite direction. The third has the ‘for hire’ light on but the flag down and the fourth also has his signals crossed with the light off but the flag up. (Hence, the football game of the year is on TV and he’ll take you to your destination only if it happens to be next-door to his house.)

The only solution in these dubious situations is to burst into the taxi, chain yourself to the seat and threaten to light a cigarette despite the clear warning that the car runs on highly flammable liquid gas.

So there you are in the taxi, under the illusion that your troubles are finally over. Your realize that you are delusional the moment the radio starts blaring some unknown, cheesy Greek song – the kind you can hear at shady bouzouki joints lining the National Road in the wee hours of the morning when only the true aficionados are still hanging around.

Yet even if your ears not caressed by the above-mentioned melodies, silence can prove to be even riskier business for the danger of actually engaging in conversation with the cabbie lurks round the corner. “Why you going to Omonia? You a junkie or something?” Normally the correct answer would be “YES!”, but because you are an honest, well-mannered person, you give the wrong answer that unavoidably leads to the next question and then to the exchange of views. Monosyllabic answers and gazing vacantly out the window won’t save you, don’t kid yourself.

So all you artists out there, who have stretched your imagination to its limits to reach your destination in one piece (without of course asking for the change from the five Euro bill you have proffered so that the driver doesn’t bad-mouth you), shut the door heaving a sigh of relief and dream of the day that the metro line is extended to your neighborhood.

It seems that the taxi service in Athens hasn't improved since I was there. I still reckon Cairo's worse, though.

In Cairo I hired a taxi for a ride to the railway station (it was built on its present site in 1932) and the driver had to stop to ask the way. While asking he bought an Egyptian snack from the vendor who gave him the directions and drove the rest of the way eating it while turning to me every few seconds to ask a question (in Arabic). He did have a taximeter but it simply clocked up 6 Egyptian pounds (EGP) (about a dollar) and then stopped. The drivers there (like those in Greece) charge you what they think they can get away with. Thanks to my Cairo-born friend, I knew that the locals paid EGP4 and so I reckoned that EGP8 was a fair deal, even though the drivers always tried to get EGP40 from tourists.

Incidentally, the traffic signals in Cairo have the same meaning as those in Athens. Go means proceed while sounding your horn, yellow means proceed, red means proceed while looking out for other traffic.

I didn't see a single taxi in Cairo that wouldn't have been hauled off the road within five minutes in London.

Oh, Muse, that was hilarious!

I have heard that Vienna, Illinois is pronounced Vie (rhymes with by) eeeee na.

Can some well-travelled Illinoisian here confirm or deny this ???

I guess I am not that well-traveled, Jer, as I haven't heard of that city in IL before, but I will ask my friends. There are others, though, that are grossly mispronounced, like Goethe Street in Chicago being Geeth Street. Shu, what are some others?

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Originally posted by museamuse:3) And what's the difference between 'taxi' and 'cab'?

Since the discussion has strayed to town and street (mis)pronunciations, let me stray further.
Do you know that in Cockney rhyming slang a TAXI is referred to as a JOE BAXI? We oldies well remember Joe's ferocious fights.