If you are in the centre of London and call for a mini-cab what vehicle would you expect to turn up? Perhaps you would guess at a Mondeo or maybe an old Nissan Bluebird. You would be unlikely to guess at a Bentley Continental, or a Maserati Quattroporte, yet amazinglyly these models are both registered with London’s Public Carriage Office. The answer it seems is not that a mini cab lottery sindicate has scoped the Euromillions jackpot but that resourceful London residents have found a way around the the city’s congestion charges.

In fact research by Clean Green Cars has found that two Quattroportes, no less than 17 Bentley Continentals, three Maybach 62s and an Aston Martin DB7 are all registered central London minicabs. It seems that apart from an MOT certificate there is no other eligibility criteria for mini cab registration, so even cars with no back seats can be added to the list. The key is tha private hire vehicles such as minicabs are exempt from the £8 per day congestion charge. Comapre this with registration and inspection fees for cabs of just £99 per year and it is not hard to see why many Londoners are taking a leaf out of Micheal O’Leary’s book and exploiting the loophole in the regualtions.

Other surprising “minicabs” on the London list include, 52 Range Rovers, 18 BMW X5s and even a Rolls Royce Silver Phantom.