A new hansom, the “Tribus,” patented by Mr. Harvey of Lambeth House, Westminster-bridge Road, was placed on the streets in 1844, but it was not well patronised and was soon withdrawn. The “Tribus” carried three passengers, and the entrance was at the rear, the driver’s seat being removed further to the “offside.” The cabman was thus able to open or shut the door without descending from his seat. There were five windows to the vehicle, two being in front, one on each side, and one behind—beneath the driver’s seat. Small safety wheels—such as can be seen at the present day attached to many omnibuses—were fixed to the front of the “Tribus” to prevent the vehicle pitching forward in the event of the horse falling, a shaft breaking, or a wheel coming off.
THE TRIBUS. BACK VIEW.
Mr. Harvey also patented the “Curricle Tribus,” a vehicle similar to the “Tribus,” with the exception that it was drawn by two horses abreast, did not possess safety wheels, and could be converted at pleasure into an open carriage. The “Curricle Tribus,” however, never plied for hire.
Another unsuccessful cab was the “Quartobus,” a four-wheeler with accommodation for four inside passengers. It was introduced in 1844, and Mr. Okey, the inventor, described it as “hung on four wheels, the coupling being very close for easy draft.”
CHAPTER IV
A strike—Cabmen’s revenge on Members of Parliament—Cab radius altered—Cabmen object to knocking at doors—The King of Cabmen—Nicknames—A lady feared by cabmen—The kilometric reckoner—Lord John Russell and “Palace Yard Jack”—Cab fares altered—A strike against the introduction of lamps—Another strike—The Cab-drivers’ Benevolent Association—The London Cabmen’s Mission—The Hackney Carriage Proprietors’ Provident Institution—The Cabmen’s Shelter Fund.
The cabmen’s reputation for being extortionate is by no means of recent growth, but frequently men have been accused wrongfully. In 1853, a cabman was charged with demanding more than his legal fare, the complainant declaring that although the distance travelled was only three miles the defendant had charged as if it were five. Cabby was sentenced to a month’s imprisonment, but before his time expired a gentleman interested himself in his case, and paid to have the distance officially measured. It was seven miles!
In the same year the Government imposed fresh regulations upon cabs, and the fares, which had been eightpence a mile, and fourpence for every additional half a mile, or portion of half a mile, were reduced to sixpence for every mile, and for any part of a mile over and above any number of miles completed. Mr. Thompson of Southampton Row, a proprietor in a large way of business, had introduced those fares two years previously.