A short history of taxis, 115 Years of New York Taxis

First motorized cab service started in Stuttgart, Germany, with a Daimler Victoria model.
First New York city cab is electric, started in 1897. More than 100 years later New York city is testing the electric path again.
First car accident fatality in New York was caused by a taxi.
Think 2007′s Project Better Place’s battery swap idea is new? The idea was already tried before 1900.
The first woman cab driver in New York was registered in 1915.

In most cities, taxis are despised. Tourists and locals alike cringe at the thought of taking a taxi. The word ‘taxi’ recalls images of dirty jalopy rides unfit for the road, controlled by tout syndicates, anyone who takes a ride in them wishes to get out as soon as they can. In some cities however, taxis are a pride of the locals and are seen as part of the city’s unique landscape. For these cities, their taxis are an icon, one that tourists will take a photo and post on their Facebook or Instagram. Hong Kong is famous for its ultra efficient public transport system and its ubiquitous red Toyota Crown sedans make frequent cameo appearances in Hong Kong’s famous TV serial dramas and movies. Neighbouring Bangkok has its famous pink colour Toyota Corolla Altis taxis, complete with Hello Kitty license plate holders. London of course is famous for its London Black Cab, which despite the name, is also painted in silver, white and other colours depending on the advertisement they carry, and lastly, as our title suggest, the yellow New York City cab.

Along with Paris, London, and Stuttgart, the city of New York has one of the world’s oldest running motorized taxi services. The city of Stuttgart was the first in the world to have motorized taxi services. In 1897, Friedrich Greiner’s Daimler Motorized Cab Company became the world’s first motorized taxi service provider. The taxis were, as the name suggest, made by Daimler, a Daimler Victoria. Up until this point, Gottlieb Daimler’s company Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) and Karl Benz’s Benz & Cie were still two independent companies. The Mercedes-Benz brand will not appear for another 30 years.

Daimler Victoria, the first motorized taxi in the world.

Ever since then, the fleet taxi business has become a key business sector for Mercedes-Benz. The company’s latest venture in the taxi sector is launching a pilot trial for its electric Mercedes-Benz eVito Taxi in London.

While we are on the subject of electric taxis, last year in Japan, Tokyo’s biggest taxi operator Nihon Kotsu, in partnership with electric vehicle battery swapping service provider Project Better Place, started trial testing of Nissan Dualis (Qashqai) electric taxis. The common problem afflicting all electric cars of today is the limited range from the battery, usually only around 130 to 150 km on a single charge. Project Better Place believes it has found a solution not only for the range problem, but also the high initial cost of purchasing EVs. The solution involves separating the battery cost from the vehicle cost. In the same way mobile phone service providers sell you a phone at a low price and sell you a long term data contract plan, you will lease the EV’s battery and pay for it as you use. The limited range problem is solved by swapping depleted batteries with a new one at specialized facilities, as how you would refuel your car at a fuel station.

Watch the video below on Nihon Kotsu’s launching of its electric taxi service in Tokyo.

Project Better Place’s creative model is currently being tested in Denmark, Israel, and Japan, with China and Australia joining soon.

Next year, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), together with Nissan will be running a pilot programme to run 6 electric Nissan LEAF as taxis.

With this, the history NYC’s iconic yellow taxi has come a full circle. Why do we say that? See, history of New York’s iconic taxi services started in 1897, making next year’s 2012 the 115th anniversary of the New York City taxi, whose first taxi was electric. Like all European cities, New York already has taxi services long before the invention of the car. But back then, they were not known as taxis, but ‘Hackney carriage’ (carriages for hire), and are usually used by the wealthy. It is far from being a public transport that we know as today. The use of the word ‘taxi’ to refer to any vehicle for hire only came into practice much later, more on that further below..

The first taxis used in New York were not petrol powered, they were electric. Henry Morris and Pedro Salom were one of the earliest builders of electric vehicles. Together, they founded the Electric Carriage & Wagon Company in 1897 to operate 12 ‘Electrobats’ electric cabs servicing New York City. At that time, steam powered omnibuses and horse drawn carts were still the main mode of city transport. The horse was smelly, they pollute the city with faeces. This was the day before SPCA and PETA were founded, the poor horses were treated badly and often they were worked until they died on the street, at which the animal had to be dragged away. There were already petrol powered cars but they weren’t popular before the turn of the 20th century. Back then, petrol cars were considered to be dangerous, carrying flammable liquid at the rear (notice the same concern people have for today’s hydrogen concept cars?), smoky, noisy, generate a lot of vibration and are unreliable. In the days of pre-electric starter, petrol powered cars need to be manually cranked, a dangerous task which can sometimes break the driver’s hand, and the spark plugs often get fouled up.

In contrast, electric cars were considered to be safe, clean, quiet and provide a smoother ride. So these quietly humming electric cabs were seen as a great improvement over horses and petrol powered cars. Electric cabs also cost less to run and maintain than a horse, thus electric cabs charged lower fares. Acceptance of the electric cab gradually grew and by 1899, they were already 100 electric cabs servicing NYC, up from just 12 two years ago. By this time, increasing number of taxis resulted in the first car accident fatality. Henry H. Bliss was killed when a taxi swerved and hit him as he was helping a friend getting off a tram.

Images from KCStudio.

Electric cars however, suffered two main drawbacks – its battery was very heavy and driving range was limited. The weight of the battery is make up almost 1/3 of the vehicle’s total weight. The batteries also took very long to charge, up to 8 hours and their driving range is limited to only 40km on a single charge. Almost 115 years later, car makers today still face the same problem. The folks at Electric Carriage & Wagon Company came out with a novel solution for this, which was… surprise surprise; a battery swapping station. An electric cab will drive to a central charging station, park up a ramp, where man standing at a lower level below will operate a complex set of cranes to remove the depleted battery, send it away to a charging station, and load a new battery to the cab.

Early 20th century battery swapping station.

An electric cab having its depleted battery replaced at a central charging station.

The manual operator at a lower floor operating the cranes to swap the batteries.

Images from KCStudio.

Unfortunately, a cruel turn of events killed the solution before it could grew any further. In 1909, a fire broke out and destroyed 300 of Electric Carriage & Wagon Company’s fleet of 750 electric cabs. The company never recovered and folded, and along with it, went down a very logical and environmentally friendly solution for our urban transport woes. It will take almost 100 years later before Shai Agasi will rediscover this novel idea and founded his startup, Project Better Place in 2007.

The same battery swapping station idea, reinterpreted in the 21st century by Project Better Place.

Funny isn’t it? We have progressed so much, yet at the same time, progressed so little.

While electric cabs were plying NYC in the early 20th century, they were not the only cabs around. People also have an option to take what is called a Hansom cab. Hansom cabs are a later type of horse drawn cart, designed and patented by Joseph Hansom in 1834. Traditional horse drawn carriages are used by the wealthy, with a private driver sitting up ahead. A Hansom is designed to be lower, so it can take corners safer, while the driver sits at the back on a sprung seat, behind a convertible (foldable soft top) carriage. With the top extended, there is a small window for passengers to pay money or communicate with the driver. The term “cab” originated from the word “cabriolet,” the folding hood covering the carriage’s occupants. Of course, that same word has a different meaning today, and is understood as a sports car with a convertible roof.

The next progress in taxicabs will come in 1897, as a result of one determined man who was really pissed with an overcharging Hansom cab driver. New York businessman Harry N. Allen was charged 5 dollars for a 3/4 mile ride, a huge sum in those days. He was so mighty pissed that he vowed to drive these overcharging Hansom cab drivers out of business, so he set out to find a better solution. In 1907, Harry Allen launched his New York Taxicab Company taxicab service, starting with 50 French made Darracq petrol powered cars painted in red-green. He would later paint his taxis yellow for better visibility. What made Harry’s taxis different from Hansom cabs was the addition of a fare meter, already used in France at that time. Harry’s taxi would charge a certain fare based on the distance travelled, recorded by the meter. Note that before this, all taxis were known as “cabs.” The word ‘taxi’ or ‘taxicab’ only entered into American lingo after 1907. The word “taxi” originated from the French word taximètre, which means a charge from a meter. Note the use of the word “taxicab” in Harry’s company.

With this, taxicabs charges were standardized and lowered, The industry started to grow with many other companies soon joining in. But this was the days of immigrant gangs in New York, so taxi services were quickly monopolized by a few syndicates and are often linked to the underworld. Syndicates will control NYC’s taxi business by setting up “private taxi stands” and coercing hotels, restaurants, theaters, railway stations to exclusively use their services. Thus, prices were still kept relatively high and still remained as a service for the wealthy. It was only until 1913 when city authorities began clamping down on ‘private taxi stands,’ and fares dropped almost overnight. The effect lit a fire in the taxi business. Overnight the taxicab became an affordable service for the masses, crossing over from a service for the wealthy into becoming a true public transport. Fleets rose and by 1920, there were 15,000 taxicabs plying NYC.

At around this time, New York registered its first woman taxi driver. In 1915, Wilma Russey became the first woman to work as a taxi driver in New York. She was also said to be an expert garage mechanic but not much else is known about her.

The rapidly growing taxicab market delivered high fleet orders to America’s major carmakers, a trend that did not escape the attention of GM and Ford, who expanded into the taxi fleet business. But the most famous taxi maker was not GM or Ford, for neither made any models exclusively for the taxi market. In 1922, the Checker Motors Corporation was founded by a Russian immigrant Morris Markin. It was the most successful taxi supplier during its time. The Checker Marathon, a very appropriate name considering the car’s purpose, is the New York’s longest serving taxicab model, staying in production with little change from 1956 until 1982. Taxi operators loved the Marathon’s robust construction and ease of maintenance.

The last Marathon was made in 1982, while the last Marathon in active service was retired in 1999. Checker Marathon taxi number 1N11 was the last to be retired and it was reportedly auctioned off for a cool $134,000! Not bad a jalopy with over a million miles on the clock.

Prior to this, NYC taxicabs were found in a variety of colours. It was only in 1967 that all taxis were required to be painted in yellow, as a way for city authorities to clamp down on unlicensed operators.

Until about a decade ago, Ford was competing with GM in the fleet taxi business. GM’s Chevrolet Caprice dominated the NYC taxi fleet from the 80s till the mid 90s, when Caprice was discontinued in 1996.

Chevrolet Carprice, 80s era.

Today, Ford dominates the NYC taxi fleet. Yellow Ford Crown Victoria taxis cruising along the busy Times Square is to New York as a Black Cab cruising pass the Big Ben is to London.

Ford Crown Victoria.

A common sight in New York’s Times Square, fleet of yellow Ford Crown Victoria taxis.

While the Ford Crown Victoria is most popular, there are also other models approved by New York TLC to be used as taxis. A Toyota Seinna MPV is designated as the city’s “accessible taxi,” equipped with special wheel chair access feature, while hybrid models like Toyota Prius, Camry Hybrid and Ford Escape Hybrid are approved as “clean air” taxis.

Toyota Sienna ‘accessible taxi’ with wheel chair access feature.

Toyota Prius ‘clean air’ taxi.

As ubiquitous as the Ford Crown Victoria is, it will be phased out by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) starting from late 2013. The last Ford Crown Victoria rolled off Ford’s St. Thomas Assembly plant in Ontario, Canada on September 15 this year, closing a chapter of one of Ford’s most illustrious model, with a highly successful 19 year model run, almost as long as Ford’s first car, the Ford Model T. Despite the Crown Victoria being a quintessential American sedan, commonly used by police, US government agencies and taxis, the Crown Victoria was actually made by Canadians. New York TLC regulation states that all taxis must be replaced after 6 years, regardless of their condition. In other words, the last Ford Crown Victoria taxi will retire by 2018.

To replace the Ford, authorities at New York TLC have chosen the Nissan NV200 as New York’s exclusive taxi for the next 10 years, starting from late 2013. Nissan says the NV200 will offer big improvements over existing taxis, with features never before seen in a NY taxi like:

Transparent panaromic roof (with shade), a logical feature since New York’s skyscrapers are one of the city’s attractions.
Overhead reading lights for passengers and floor lighting to help passengers locate any dropped belongings.
A mobile charging station that includes a 12V power outlet and two USB plugs, great for charging iPhones and BlackBerries and other devices.
Sliding doors to reduce the risk of collision with pedestrians or cyclists.
Lights that alert other road users that taxi doors are opening.
Low-annoyance horn with exterior lights that indicate when the vehicle is honking, to reduce noise pollution.
Independently controlled rear air conditioning for the passenger.
Anti-microbial, environmentally friendly and easy-to-clean seat fabric.

The driver up front benefit from:

Standard driver’s navigation and telematics system.
Driver’s partition (protect the driver from robberies) that still allows for a six-way adjustable driver’s seat with reclining and lumbar adjustments.
Standard traction control and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC).

Watch the video below as Discovery Channel’s Ben Bailey introduce the Nissan NV200 ‘Taxi of Tomorrow.’

Taxis are a good gauge of a city and the culture of its inhabitants, and the competence of its local government. A city inhabited by people with very high civic consciousness, people who value cleanliness will not dirty the taxis they ride in. A city whose people value timeliness will almost always have an ultra efficient public transport. A city whose people don’t give bribes will not have corrupt city officials giving dubious taxi operator licenses (in some cultures, including ours, people despise corrupt government officials, but at the same time find nothing wrong in themselves giving a bribe to get things done, saying it’s just the way things are done here). Taxi drivers rank very low in most cities’ social ladder. But a city that protects its minorities will have certain rules in placed and are enforced to ensure that an honest hard working driver can make a decent living. So ask yourselves, what does your city’s taxi say about the city you currently live in?