Taxi cabs have become a permanent fixture of life, especially within cities here in the United States. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, taxis and limousines make up about 23% of the national transportation industry. Let's look at a brief history of the taxi cab.

Early Days

It's believed that the idea of taxis has been around since the 17th century, Automoblog states. During this time, horse-drawn carriages were first available in London for hire. As early as 1605, according to Encyclopedia.com, a horse-drawn carriage could be hired to take you where you needed to go.

When gas-powered vehicles started to become available, it was quickly understood that this was the way to get people where they wanted to go even faster. The Globe and Mail states that the first gas-powered taxi cab was used in 1897. These featured meters to track distance and cost.

A Booming Industry

It was only a few short years later that taxi companies were using entire fleets of taxis to shuttle people around Paris. London business owners soon followed suit as well as those in New York. Even in the early days of the taxi cab service, it was apparent that this was a service most suited to large cities with dense populations. In these areas, it's difficult to drive and maintain a vehicle, so having a reliable taxi service just made sense.

New York Taxi Cabs

Although large-scale taxi service didn't originate in New York, it definitely has the most famous big yellow cabs. The first New York taxi cabs were imported from France by Harry N. Allen. He is the one who decided to paint the cabs yellow to increase visibility. Eventually, New York City made it mandatory that officially licensed, legitimate taxi services only use yellow cabs to differentiate between scammers and unofficial taxi drivers. This was made a law in 1967, as NYC.gov states. This is why yellow New York cabs are prevalent in that city.

The Checker Taxi

The iconic image of the yellow checker taxi is the result of the founding of the Checker Taxi company in the 1960s, per the Kalamazoo Public Library. The Checker Taxis that were operating in New York were all yellow. Because this became a very popular taxi service, this is predominantly the iconic image we think of when we think of a taxi cab.

As you can see, the taxi cab has been around for centuries, even before cars were on the roads. Today, if you are in need of taxi services here in Florida, look no further than Yellow Cab Executive. With over 100 years of service, we'll offer the finest, most reliable transportation you can trust. Contact us today to schedule your transportation.