In message , at 13:17:13 on Sun, 18 Oct
2015, Basil Jet remarked:

However, any mentally competent person can tell
the difference between a London Hackney Cab and a minicab. The
idea that a meter - inside the vehicle, remember - is necessary to
enable people to differentiate is absurd.

What if the taxi and PH are both Mercedes "Vito"s?

Something your Ely correspondent can comment on There are several
Vitos registered as Hackneys, and all sorts of regular saloon cars.
Indeed, I've yet to see an East Cambs Hackney that *didn't* look like a
private hire car from a distance, to "London eyes".
--
Roland Perry