Taxicabs around the world

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Australia

The advent of Taxi Cabs in the State of Queensland began about thirty years before the turn of the 20th century. This of course was long before motorised vehicles; in fact, horse drawn taxis had been used in Europe in the early 1800s. Australia adopted the use of them once cities were established, and in the case of Queensland, Brisbane introduced the first horse drawn taxis, which plied through out the city area. These also included Hansom Cabs, a more elaborate type with a closed in cabin for the passengers, having two small front doors and glass windows and their driver sitting high at the back. This type of vehicle was a standard type used in England. Its use was confined mainly for upper class people; such as Luxury motor vehicles which are operated as hire cars nowadays.

It is interesting to note that Hansom Cabs were still being used in Brisbane until 1935, and were emanating from a rank outside the Supreme Court in George Street. Motor vehicle taxis were introduced into Australia not long after they were put into service in Great Britain and Europe.

First motorised taxis in Australia

In 1906, Sydney inaugurated motorised taxicabs, followed soon after by the other states including Queensland, in approximately, 1907.

The taxis of the period including a variety of types, with tourers and sedans, the latter were mainly French built Renaults, which were designed as taxis, not unlike the Hansom Cabs. Brisbane had a number of them that plied from the ranks outside Parliament House in Alice Street, and The Supreme Court in George Street. As applied to the Hansom Cabs, the Renaults catered mainly for gentlemen of standing, including judges, Barristers and other notables. The drivers wore uniforms with leggings, the same as those worn by chauffeurs of horse drawn carriages.

Each large taxi company had telephones installed in a steel box type cover at city and suburban ranks, direct to the switch control rooms in the city.

Although motor vehicle taxis were being used at the time, horse-drawn taxis continued in use in Brisbane until the early 1920s, however, only a few. The country towns still had them a little longer.

The progress through the years included many types of tourers from the 1910 era until the late 1920s, with British and American cars predominating. Makes featured such names as Buick, Dodge, Talbot, Vauxhall, Saxon, Ford, Chandler, Studebaker, Chevrolet, Hupmobile, Whippet, Oldsmobile, Marmon, Pontiac, Hudson, Oakland, Erskine, Rugby, Essex and Chrysler.

Sedans were added during the late 1920s and included similar makes of vehicles.

This was the case with all cars being imported into Australia until World War II began. The American cars proved more suitable to Australian motoring conditions especially for taxi work.

General Motors Corporation built thousands in Australia, as did the other American companies including Ford and Chrysler.

Prior to a taxi company being formed in Queensland, owners of taxis simply had signs on the vehicles indicating "For Hire" painted on the side, front and rear.

Prior to 1924, all taxis plied for hire without a means of recording the mileage, other than the driver himself calculating the fare according to how far he drove his passengers. There was a fare scale, however, the driver could charge whatever he thought was nearest to the amount specified. This no doubt, brought about the introduction of meters.

Ascot Taxi Service

The first taxi company in Queensland, was Ascot Taxi Service and was formed in 1919 in Brisbane by two motor mechanics. Edmund William Henry Beckman and Edward Roland Videan. They built the Ascot Garage at Racecourse Road Ascot, which was on the left side between Beatrice Terrace and Lancaster Road. They set up business in motor repairs, soon after they purchased their first hire car. followed by two Willys Knight tourers and an Overland which was actually the first sedan taxi in Brisbane. These four cars comprised the Ascot fleet.

The company changed colour when the name of Ascot Taxi Service was changed to Q Cabs on 6 June 1992. They became light cream with maroon emblems of Q Cabs on both sides, bonnet and boot. Thus this company has been operating over 70 years, creating a fine record for a Brisbane Taxi Company.

Yellow Cab Company

During the 1920s the Yellow Cab Company imported their taxis from the U.S.A., which were built especially for taxi work by the Yellow Cab Co. in Chicago. This was in 1924; the vehicle was the A2 Brougham (mustard pots) - a sedan with the driver separated from the passengers by a window with the baggage compartment in front beside him. The meter was along side the window by the drivers side. The taxis were also the first fitted with meters in Australia. The vehicle was known as a Yellow Cab, having been built by the company with that name plate on the front of the radiator. The engines were also built especially for the type and were similar to the Willys Knight. The driver's compartment did not have side windows. The Broughams were taken out of service in 1936.

The Yellow Cab Company has now become the largest cab fleet in Brisbane and introduced the first computerised data dispatch from the control room to taxis. The system was designed to increase efficiency and provide a better and safer service for the public and increase drivers security. The computers have been installed into the fleet of over 580 taxis.

Previous cab companies

The companies included Rex Taxi Co. with only a few cars, Golden Gate Taxis, only a few cars, including two 1935 De Sotos. The colour scheme was black with orange mudguards. Returned Serviceman's Legion Taxi's - This company started approximately in 1928 and continued until 1939. The colours were mid blue, black top and mudguards with diamond stripe around sides. The company was reformed after World War II. These cars were all black with the emblems on the front doors. The colour was changed about 1949 to yellow with green mudguards. The depot and garage was at South Brisbane.

The company was absorbed by Miller Bros Hire Co. in the early 1950s. One of the original taxis of the company, a 1927 Auburn sedan, is being restored in Brisbane.

The Regent Taxi Co. started in the early 1930s, the colours being all black with diamond stripes around sides and an emblem with a crown on the front doors. The cars were mainly Hudsons and the company closed about 1939.

All the companies operated mainly from the Brisbane city ranks and did not have a phone service.

The Blue and Black Taxi Service began in 1929 and operated until approximately 1939. The company was not to be confused with the Blue and White Company. The colours were mid blue with black top and mudguards and "Q" emblems on the front doors. Taxis included a variety of 20 American sedans. The owner of the company was Pop Blinkins.

Blue And White Taxi Company

The Blue and White Taxi Co. was inaugurated in May 1929 It's colours were mid blue with black top and mudguards with white stripes and black dots around sides. Various types of American cars were operated. This company became very popular and had a large number of 1936 Hudson Terraplane cars during the late 1930s through the 40s and still in use until 1950. One in particular had done over 500,000 miles and still looked good. Taxis were allowed up to 15 years service as taxis at that time.

Brisbane Cab Company

With the growing demand by the general public for taxis, a new Cab Company was formed in Brisbane and called Brisbane Cabs, beginning operations on Saturday 8 June 1991.

This meant that although motorists in the intervening years since the end of World War II had grown to a high proportion, taxis were still required to transport people, in particular, passengers to and from Airports, sports and amusement locations. and drivers who had consumed alcohol.

Brisbane Cabs ceased operation at the end of November 2000.

Country Queensland taxi companies

Taxi Services throughout Queensland are numerous and operate in all main city centres, as far north as Thursday Island. off North Queensland.

The largest of the Taxi Companies outside the Brisbane area is Regent Taxis at Southport, on the Gold Coast. The fleet comprises over 170 cabs. Regent Taxis was formed in 1946 by Amos Curry and Tony Corones. Six small taxi fleets running 15 cabs were taken over and in 1970 Yellow Cabs of Coolangatta joined the team. In 1976 Regent Taxis became a shareholding company. The Regent Taxi Company in Brisbane was not connected to this company.

Mention must be made of a current taxi driver who has been driving taxis continuously for over 40 years. He is Allan (Walter) Ingram of Mount Morgan in the Rockhampton surrounding district. Allan Ingram is now over 80 years of age and owns the Taxi Service at Mount Morgan. He could possibly be the oldest active taxi driver in Australia still driving cabs every day. He actually first drove taxis prior to World War II in 1939, and has owned a number of various makes of cars over the years.

See [Taxi Council of Queensland Inc.]).

France

Paris

The first horse-drawn forerunners of taxis appeared on Parisian streets in 1637. France was one of the first countries to use modern taxis--that is, gasoline-powered vehicles with fare meters. New York's first taxis were imported from France in 1907, and taxis were famously used for troop transportation during the First Battle of the Marne.

Germany

In Germany, taxis are a light, pale yellow/beige (ivory-colored), with a small cylinder-like "TAXI" sign on the roof of the car. Many of the taxis are Mercedes-Benz E-Class, along with many Volkswagens and Opels. Taxis are either sedans, station wagons, or MPVs. Common station wagon taxis include Opel Astra, Volkswagen Passat, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Among the MPVs, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, and Mercedes-Benz V-Class are common. Most taxis are automatic transmission, and some have navigation systems on board. Rates are high; the convinience and high quality of public transportation in most German cities eliminates the necessity for German civilians to use taxis.

Hong Kong

Main article: Taxis of Hong Kong

An urban red taxi in Hong Kong - Toyota Crown Comfort

In Hong Kong, there are three types of taxis, painted in different colours, serving different parts of the territory. The most common one, which is painted in red. Most taxis are Toyota Crown Comfort. The red taxi serves throughout Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Green taxis serve the New Territories and blue taxis serve Lantau Island. Taxis pick up passengers from streets, or by radio-dispatch by phone. Fares are charged according to the distance measured by meters. Surcharges include tolls, luggages and pets.

Indonesia

Jakarta

A taxi in Jakarta suburb - Toyota Soluna AL50

A taxi in Jakarta city - Toyota Limo NCP42

Taxi cabs began popular in Jakarta since early 1970s with cars like Datsun 220C, Holden Torana, and Toyota Corona. Smaller cars like Toyota Corolla, and various types of Datsun were also used from mid 1970s to late 1980s.

Due to poor sales in private car market, but good in fuel economy and reliability, Holden Gemini diesel was used for taxi during the 1980s. The same case was happened to Nissan Sunny and Ford Laser from the late 1980s to late 1990s.

Since the colour of most reliable taxi company in Jakarta is medium blue metallic (previously light blue), few other companies and some new small taxi companies copied their colour, and even the shape of the roof sign.

The new taxicabs in Jakarta are mostly Toyota Limo, which is a lower spec of Toyota Vios. Before the introduction of Limo in 2004, the most popular taxi was Toyota Soluna, which based on the 1995 Toyota Tercel. Currently many Soluna are still in operation alongside the Limo. Other cars also used for taxi are Nissan Sunny Neo, Hyundai Excel, and Kia Rio.

There are also executive taxis, there are black Nissan Cedric Y31 and Toyota Crown Comfort.

South Korea

In South Korea, taxi system is well organized in every cities and provinces. In cities such as Seoul, one of the largest cities in the world, taxis are very common everywhere within the city. There are two types of taxis in the country: an "ordinary" (ilban;일반) taxi and a "model" (mobum;모범) taxi, which is painted black and is bigger (in size) and much more expensive than the former ones. There are two types of taxi drivers' license also: all taxi drivers start driving their taxi as employees in the taxi companies, and these taxis that belong to a company are called "corporate" (bubin;법인) taxi. After years of service in the taxi company, drivers get a license which allows them to purchase their own vehicle and drive it as a self-employed driver, and the taxis they drive are called "individual" (gaein;개인) taxi.

For "ordinary" taxis, there is an extra 20% increase in fare after midnight, but this does not apply to the "model" taxis. Most "ordinary" taxis are silver or white in color. Virtually all Korean taxicabs are Korean car models, and meter fares start at 1,500 or 1,900 South Korean won (an equivalent of around $1.50 or $1.90). The fares are much cheaper than in major cities in Europe and North America, and no extra fares are charged for luggage. All taxis are labelled in Korean with a sign "individual (개인)," "model (모범)" or the name of the company if the taxi belongs to a taxi company, and has a half-sphere on top of a half-pyramid attached on the roof and labelled "TAXI".

Mexico

Mexico City

In 1972, the first popular Volkswagen Beetles taxis began to run around Mexico City. Their color was yellow or red with white roof. In the early 90s these colors were changed to green with also white roof. Since 2001 the charismatic VWs (called Sedán or Vocho in Mexico)began to be replaced with Nissan Sentras III, and Nissan Platinas (Renault Clio Saloon) in order of looking for more security for the passengers, and these painted red with white or silver roof. Today there still are a lot of Beetle taxis around the city. Matchbox launched in 2004 a 1:64 scale model of the taxi, released as "Beetle taxi"

Singapore

In the 1970s the popular taxis in Singapore were painted pale blue or black with yellow roof. Beginning 1990s many new taxis have new liveries, although the biggest taxi company retains the pale blue colour with new logo.

The Nissan Cedric (Datsun 220C Diesel) was the most common taxi in the 1970s and 1980s, but now there are more Toyota Crown. The smaller taxi, Toyota Corona marked the late 1980s to mid 1990s era. Currently cars commonly used as taxi in Singapore are Nissan Cedric Y31, Toyota Crown Comfort, and Austin London Taxi.

Sweden

In Sweden most taxis are painted black or dark blue. The cars used are mostly upmarket estates such as the Volvo V70, Mercedes-Benz E-class and the Saab 9-5.

Taiwan

Taiwanese Prohibitory Sign P7: No Taxis Without Passengers

Taxis in Taiwan are yellow. Drivers must be at least 20 years old and have occupational driver licenses. Taxis in bigger cities are widely metered with fares generally based on distances and now more commonly with surcharges for times in slow and stopped traffic.

Thailand

Taxis are widely available in Bangkok and come in many different colors. Most are metered. Fares start at 35 baht, with surcharges for traffic jams. Passengers must also pay any highway tolls. Outside Bangkok, metered taxis are not very common. Cars with drivers can be hired for longer trips, but for short trips around the towns, songthaews, tuk-tuks and motorcycle taxis are the common conveyances.

United Kingdom

Types of taxis

Hackney carriages ('Black cabs') can be hailed in the street or hired from a taxi rank.

Private hire ('Minicabs') are passenger vehicles which are either saloons that carry up to four passengers or MPVs that are licensed for up to six or seven passengers. These cannot be hailed in the street and must be pre-booked by telephone.

Chauffeur cars are a sub-set of private hire; generally a higher value of car such as a Mercedes or BMW where the passenger pays a premium but in return receives a higher level of comfort and courtesy from the driver who may at times wear a uniform.

London

Horse-drawn hackney carriages began providing taxi service in the early 17th century. In 1636, the number of carriages was set at 50--an early example of taxicab regulation. In the same year, the owner of 4 hackney carriages established the first taxi stand in The Strand. In the early 19th century, cabriolets ("cabs" for short) replaced the heavier and more cumbersome hackney carriages. Battery-operated taxis appeared briefly at the end of the 19th century, but modern taxi service took off with the appearance of petrol-powered, metered taxis in the early 1900s. Today, taxi service in London is provided by the famous black cabs (the distinctive FX4 depicted in the photo above) and by minicabs. Only black cabs can pick up flag trips on the street, and both black cabs and minicabs are also radio- or computer-dispatched. Black cabs--also known as hackney carriages, or hackney cabs--are particularly famous on account of the specially constructed vehicles and the extensive training course ("The Knowledge") required for fully licensed drivers; unlike many other cities, the number of taxi drivers is not limited. London's cab drivers are even well-known for having developed an especially big hippocampus, a region of the brain where, among other things, information about locations is stored (this is likely the case with many other taxi drivers, as well--not just those of London). (Sources: [The History of the Black Taxi]; and others.)

Glasgow

In Glasgow there are numerous specially decorated taxis that are often covered with advertisements. One of the most abundant advertisements is for the nation's favorite soft drink, Irn-Bru. The taxis are usually in the style of the regular "black cab" type, but are decorated in different colors and patterns.

Luton

Luton has the highest numbers of taxi cabs per head of population in the United Kingdom, with companies such as Cabco, Britannia cars and Five twos competing for trade in the town.

United States

In the United States, there is a distinction between medallion taxicabs and livery cars. Medallion taxicabs are allowed to pick up street hails, while livery cars are only allowed to take dispatched calls or make prearranged pickups. Taxicabs are more regulated than livery cars, and usually have their rates set by the city. Most U.S. cities only allow a certain number of medallions, which causes them to become a valuable commodity. When a taxi is called to pick up a fare outside of their area, they are operating as a livery car, because the medallion is only good in the town that issued it. An out-of-town taxi may not pick up street hails.

Although the medallion usually allows the driver to cruise for fares anywhere in the municipality, taxis tend to cruise areas where they receive the most hails, such as the business districts. Thus they can be very difficult to find in other areas, which must be served by livery cars.

A livery car that provides local service looks very much like a taxicab, except it does not have a meter or "taxi" light on the roof. Another type of livery service is the "black car", or sedan limo, which tends to primarily serve business customers. These are usually big, black, American-made luxury cars that usually look identical to private vehicles - they typically do not bear their company name or logo. Stretch limousines, even though they are technically considered livery cars, are typically reserved for hours at a time long in advance, and have little in common with taxicabs.

A "jitney" van is a hybrid between a bus and a livery car. Instead of operating point to point, it will pick up and drop off several passengers along an ad-hoc route.

In Pittsburgh, "jitney" refers to an unlicensed taxi. They are plentiful in low-income communities where regular taxi service is scarce. As enforcement is lax, jitney drivers have even created cooperatives to support each other and to establish jitney stands. They are known to gather at the parking lots of grocery stores in low-income communities. Some jitney drivers accept requests for service by phone from their regular customers. [link] The issue of whether to legalize jitneys has been considered several times by Pennsylvania's Public Utilities Commission since at least 1975. [link] Famed Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson wrote a play called Jitney, which was published in 1982.

Some corporations run a shuttle bus to transport employees to and from different company locations. These are usually regulated as livery cars, and are not allowed to pick up employees except at the shuttle stops. If they picked up an employee after being hailed, they could be fined for operating a gypsy cab.

A "gypsy cab" is a car that illegally picks up street hails without a medallion. This could refer to an ordinary passenger car, but it usually refers to a livery car that picks up off the curb. Pejoratively, this is sometimes used to refer to all livery cars, for example in New York City.

Often taxi businesses own their own cars, and the drivers are employees of the company. However, cabs can also be owned by separately-incorporated small businesses that subscribe to a dispatch service, in which case the company logo on the door is that of the dispatch association.

A suburban taxi company may operate under several different names serving several adjacent towns. They often provide different phone numbers for each fleet, but they usually all ring into a central dispatch office. They may have subsidiary taxi businesses holding medallions in each town. Taxi companies also may run multiple businesses, such as medallion car services, delivery services, and school buses, for additional revenue, as the infrastructure required for maintaining, operating and dispatching the fleet can be shared.

New York City, New York

A line of taxis at the north end of the Murray Hill Tunnel

In New York City, radio dispatching was introduced to that city's famous fleet of yellow taxis in the 1960s. After complaints from customers who would be passed up on the street by taxis on the way to pick up dispatched trips, a new regulation was introduced requiring radio-equipped taxis to not be painted yellow. The city's taxi system is now divided into "medallion taxis"--the familiar, meter-equipped yellow taxis visible in photographs, films, and television programmes, and which are allowed to pick up flagging passengers on the street--and "for-hire vehicles"--including "car services" (conventional taxis) and "black cars" (luxury vehicles)--which provide radio- or computer-dispatched service to calling customers. For-hire vehicles do not have taxi meters, but instead charge fares based on zones, duration, or distance. (Sources: [The New York City Taxicab Fact Book (2003), p. 24-26]; [NYC Taxi & Livery Fact Book Definitions]).

Washington, D.C.

The District of Columbia operates on a zone system; the fare is based on the zone the cab starts in when the passenger enters, and the zone the cab is in where the passenger exits, for trips which are entirely within the District. Washington is one of the few large cities in the United States to have taxicabs without meters (another being Fredericksburg, Virginia). Cabs cannot charge for waiting time, and if the trip will not detour more than four blocks in doing so, are permitted to pick up additional passengers while carrying a fare.

For trips which terminate outside of the District, ("Interstate fares") the fare is based on mileage (plus special fees such as the taxi surcharge for trips to Ronald Reagan Airport in Arlington, Virginia, or Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, the two "official" airports of Washington.

The zone system was instituted shortly after World War II when meters were first authorized, when a temporary suspension of the meter system was imposed. (This provides evidence of an error in the motion picture "The Other Side of Midnight" in which the character Kathy is taking a taxicab in Washington, D.C. during the 1930s and states to the driver that if the meter goes over $1.00 she's in trouble, as Washington has never had metered taxicabs.) This temporary suspension of the introduction of meters has been continued for over 50 years. In October 2005, the District began a pilot project that is intended to test of use of meters in DC cabs. The project involves the use of 24 taxicabs that have been outfitted with standard meters. The driver operates the meter during the course of each trip and at trip's end collects the usual zone fare but records both the zone and meter fare for comparative purposes. After 8 months the comparative cost data will be analyzed by universities participating in the project and a "revenue neutral" rate for the transition from the zones to meters will be determined. The goal of the District's project is to determine what meter rate should be used in the initial stage of the transition. The expectation is that an initial transition meter rate will be established that will allow drivers to raise the same amount of revenue under the new system as they did under the old for the same trips. Thus, policymakers can assure both drivers and passengers that, on a global basis, the transition will not have a significant negative impact from the standpoint of fares charged and income generated. The proposed rate must be approved by the District's Taxicab Commission and the City Council before it can take effect.

Many of the taxis are pale yellow or white. Some of the most common taxis in the city include Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Taurus, some Mercurys, and even some Lincoln Town Car models. These cars are roomy but old.

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