People carrier, MPV... or Maxi Cab?

[AndiFlatland]

When mini cabs were started up, all that was available was the 4-door saloon. They were generically known as mini cabs. In more recent years, with the law restricting the number of passengers to 4, bigger cars capable of carrying up to 7 passengers have become very common. Most cab offices call them People Carriers or MPVs - but why? Why didn't they call them what seems to be a more obvious variation on the mini cab term, and use the term Maxi Cab?

[NORMANTHEDOG]

mini cabs are no longer called that,they are now private hire vehicles,for the last 4/5 yrs the mayor of london and TFL have gone through a programme of licencing the offices,drivers,and cars that are used for the purpose of carrying people in london,other then the black cabs.of course there are a few pirates out there,unlicenced,uninsured and driving untested cars that pray on people in the west end at night and rip people off, and lately it seems lot of official drivers seem to have gone up to the MPV, multi purpose vehicle,more people in the car,more money to charge.

[AndiFlatland]

OK, that's quite interesting - but doesn't address the actual question! For most practical purposes, and in the minds of the general public, they are still known as mini cabs, and probably will continue to be so for a long time yet.
By the way, with a name like that, do you have trouble finding a driver that is prepared to take you? :-) ;-) :-)

[NORMANTHEDOG]

i dont have any problems finding a driver,i own a company of executive private hire cars.and the answer to your question is in my first post,the companies that make the mpvs called them mpvs,and it has stuck,and also for your info,mini cabs started in london in the early to mid 60s and the first cars to be used were renault dolphins,a very smallish car,hence the word MINI CAB,OK.

[AndiFlatland]

Anybody else got anything to add to this?
I've worked as a part-time telephonist in various London mini-cab offices for the last 20-odd years, and this glaringly obvious term only occurred to me a couple of weeks ago. So imagine my astonishment when, about 2 or 3 days later, one of my first callers on my very next shift asked me for a maxi-cab! I'd never heard anybody use it before that.
I still think maxi cabs makes a lot more sense than people carriers or MPVs.
What do you lot out there think?