Methods of transport
Personal transportation comes in many forms, from the trains, the buses, on taxis and cars ending. Private transport companies grow more and more because of the increasing demand for transport services relating to the carriage of passengers.
More and more customers want to get to the specified place, so no longer use public transport (trains and buses) because most of them choose the taxi and transportation such as Uber. But taxi companies have quite competition in market, so they must develop a way to keep their customers beside them.
Hackney carriage - Wikipedia
The Beardmore was an alternative taxi design used in London during the 1960s and 1970s
Until the late 1950s, vehicles licensed as London taxis were required to be provided with an open-access luggage platform in place of the front passenger seat found on other passenger cars (including taxis licensed for use in other British cities).
A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or automobile for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise.
Źródło: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackney_carriage
Minimum vehicle class for taxi
Taxis are often middle-class vehicles, usually having air-conditioning, leather seats and other amenities. Most often evokes car brand associated with the taxi is a Mercedes, because it is regarded as the most reliable car manufacturer.
A taxi must be comfortable - so middle class or high. I can not imagine that a taxi could be a car hatchback or van. The air conditioning is absolutely essential, especially on hot days, which is recently more and more. As for the leather seats they are easy to clean and disinfect, and the cleanliness of the taxi is as important as comfort.