The Hansom cab is a horse-drawn carriage designed for hire in the 1830s. It was created by British engineer Joseph Aloysius Hansom, with a lowered center of gravity and partially enclosed coach for passenger safety. Hansoms were popular in England and other parts of the world until the 1930s when cars became more prevalent. Today, they are used as novelties for tourists, weddings, and period films.
A Hansom cab is a type of horse-drawn carriage originally designed to be used as a for-hire vehicle. The vast majority of Hansom cabs built and sold since the design was developed in the 1830s have ended up as for-hire vehicles, although a small number have been kept by individuals for personal, private use. Today, the widespread use of alternative methods of transportation has made the Hansom cab obsolete, although some companies continue to specialize in the design and construction of these unique carriages.
The term “cab” is short for “cabriolet,” a type of two-wheeled carriage. The Hansom Safety Cabin, as it was originally known, was designed by Joseph Aloysius Hansom, a British engineer, in response to concerns about the safety of horse-drawn vehicles. The design lowered the center of gravity, allowing the Hansom’s cab to rotate at high speeds, and provided more protection for passengers with a partially enclosed coach. The driver sits in the back of the cab, a position that might be convenient for viewing the road and dealing with passengers, but would have been brutally uncomfortable in the winter.
Hansom cabs quickly caught on throughout England and quickly spread to other regions of the world, such as New York, where the New York Times informed readers in 1869 that the Hansom Cab Company had just been established to provide transportation for New Yorkers. . Hansoms were cheap to run, requiring only a single horse, and their lightweight design made them easy to handle and store. These cabs were in use in some regions until the 1930s, when they were finally driven off the road by automobiles.
Several urban areas offer Hansom taxi rides as a novelty. Tourists often pay a high fee for the privilege of a short drive, and taxis are restricted to certain areas to address traffic and safety concerns. Various animal welfare organizations have protested the use of carriage horses in places like London, New York and Chicago, arguing that the streets are unsafe and stressful for horses.
Hansoms are also sometimes used at weddings, and several stables provide them for use in period films set in times when Hansoms were in use. Learning to ride a Hansom cab requires special skills, as the driver sits quite far from the horse, and the design can be very heavy, making it dangerous in some conditions.
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