Big black cabs, as much a part of London as red double-decker buses, are riding empty through its main streets and misty passages.
The lines of idle taxis are an index of a stubborn recession tailgating the government in an election year, and also reflect a recession across the Atlantic that is keeping tourists at home.Business has "dying for two years," said John Trevor, who has been driving for 16 years, a mere beginner next to some of his colleagues in the Pont Street taxi shelter.
Ten drivers, served by two cooks, squeezed into the shelter built in the days of horse-drawn hansoms.
On one rainy morning, Trevor had three fares in three hours, collected $18, and burned about $3.60 in diesel.
"In 32 years I've never had a period like this," said David Morgan, who said his income had dropped by 30 percent over the past two years.
Morgan earns an average of $512 per week. After paying for fuel and maintenance, he says only $238 remains - his taxable weekly income.
"The recession has hit us the same as everybody else," said Harry Feigen, general-secretary of the 6,000-member London Taxi Drivers Association, the largest taxi trade group in the city.
Unemployment in London has shot up from 5.3 percent to 9 percent in the past year.
The cabbies look forward to May, when tourists begin their annual migration to historic sites, hotels and Harrods department store. Many of them are Americans.
"Believe you me, we have missed them," said George Tyler, a driver for 35 years.
More than 2.5 million Americans visited the United Kingdom from January through October last year, down 25 percent from the same period in 1990, according to the British Tourist Authority.
Total tourist traffic was down 7 percent, to 14.5 million.
That, in turn, contributed to a 6 percent drop in theater attendance last year - which translates into fewer people to hail taxis after the show.
London has 20,000 licensed cab drivers, and twice as many drivers of unlicensed private cars or mini-cabs.
Taxi drivers are self-employed, and most own their cabs.
The fall of one cab rental company, Beejay, is a sign of the times.