| By :
Nick Messe
We're all at least passingly familiar with taxi cabs, except perhaps for those rare folks who have never visited a city of any substantial size. And most of them have surely seen enough cabs on T.V. Even if they're only used on rare occasions, smallish towns and suburbs often have at least one company with a minimal fleet of taxis. At the other end of the spectrum is a city like New York, where a glance down the street might reveal an entire block populated by nothing but Yellow Cabs. When you think of taxi cab service, the image that probably springs to mind is a car. It is probably a sedan, and it's probably yellow. Many cabs are yellow simply because it is thought to be a highly noticeable color, but today many other bright colors are used. However, the concept of hired transportation predates the automobile by a large margin. It would probably be a safe bet that hired transport has existed for much longer, almost as long as the wheel. Some of the first taximeters we know of were simple devices used in ancient Rome. It wasn't until the 1600s that the taxi industry saw any kind of organization or regulation. Prior to this time, most cabs were privately owned and operated. The first documented taxi service was started in Paris in 1640 and England's 1635 Hackney Carriage Act was one of the first pieces of legislation governing hired vehicles. More regulation and a perhaps a bit of modern business acumen led to the widespread popularity of the Hansom cab in the 1800s. Hansom cabs were lightweight and faster than previous designs. However, their real appeal was in the added safety and cornering ability afforded by the low body and center of gravity. Today things are a little bit different. Early taxis relied solely on muscle power, usually from horses and occasionally from people. Nowadays most taxi cab services rely on a fleet of cars and vans to transport fares. When hiring an airport taxi, a common sight is a van or SUV, as they have more room for passengers and luggage. Cars, however, are the most common taxi cabs. In years past there were firms that made cars exclusively for use as taxicabs. Today most of them are ordinary cars. In the U.S. they are usually large domestic cars like the Crown Victoria that provide ample interiors. Many taxi services have adopted smaller models with better fuel efficiency, or even hybrids. In China the taxi of choice is a Volkswagen or Hyundai. Many of Great Britain's taxis, known as Black Cabs or Hackney Carriages, are manufactured specifically for the industry. For years Mexico's public taxi fleet consisted of original Volkswagen Beetles but these are being phased out. Other taxis have nothing to do with automobiles at all. In coastal cities like Venice or Amsterdam taxi boats are quite common because their canal systems make water travel very convenient. In other places, a taxi boat may take travelers to an offshore island for sightseeing. In some parts of the world motorcycle taxis are also used by hitching a cart to the bike. Some folks might just hop on the back, providing what might turn out to be a harrowing experience.
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