The Hackney Carriage Fare Reckoner
What a cab actually cost across Victorian Britain, and whether you could have worked it out before the passenger lost patience.
How the fare was reckoned
The Hackney Carriage Act of 1853 fixed London fares at sixpence a mile, with a minimum hiring of one shilling. The rate was deliberately public: a driver who overcharged could be reported, and the fine was severe enough that disputes over a few pence reached the magistrates with some regularity.
Outside London each borough set its own rate by by-law, and a shilling for the first mile followed by sixpence for every further half-mile was the common pattern. Crucially, fares were charged by completed part-distance rather than pro rata: a journey of a mile and one yard cost the same as a mile and a half.
| Where | Rate |
|---|---|
| London, from 1853 | 6d per mile, minimum 1s |
| Provincial boroughs | 1s the first mile, then 6d each further half-mile |
Reckon a journey
Sparing him the indignity of counting out coppers.
Sixpence a mile, minimum hiring one shilling
1s
12 pence in total, about £0.05 at face value
Now try it yourself
A cabbie had to do this arithmetic in his head, in the street, with a passenger waiting.