Taxi Near Me

A taxi is a vehicle that may be hired by members of the public for transportation. Most taxis are simple four door cars, but other types of taxi vehicles do exist. Some are vans that are equipped to carry disabled people who require wheelchairs, others are small buses that can carry several passengers. There are also water taxis, which are small boats that can be hired to cross small bodies of water, such as from one bank to the other on a river, or across a small bay or lake.

Taxis differ from public transport in that most forms of public transport stop at designated areas, like bus stops or train stations, whereas taxis can stop at any destination that the passenger requests. You can find a taxi near you by searching for “taxi near me”.

Taxi Near Me – Find it on the Map

Taxi Near Me – Taxi Trivia

Where are taxis found?

In most places, taxis can be easily hailed from the street. The cab will then pull to the side of the road and allow the passenger to enter. In very popular destinations, such as airports or large shopping centers, taxis queue outside in special areas known as ‘taxi ranks’. Taxis in these areas do not need to be hailed, and a passenger can simply enter the vehicle. Many taxis have lights on the roof, illuminating a ‘taxi’ sign, which also contains lights indicating whether the taxi is occupied, or free for a passenger.

Taxi in night traffic.

Where were the first taxis in the world?

The first taxis in the world were ‘hackney’ carriages, in Paris and London, in the early 1600s. The term is believed to either refer to the village of Hackney, today a part of London, or perhaps a derivative of the French ‘haquenée’, a medium-sized horse recommended for ladies. The first documented hackney carriage service was in London in 1605. By 1625, carriages were made available to hire from innkeepers in London. The first taxi rank appeared outside the Maypole Inn, on London’s Strand, in 1636. In 1635, however, the Parliament passes a law to legalise horse-drawn carriages for hiring, with further regulation occurring in 1654, and the first licenses being issued in 1662.

How has the taxi industry changed over the years?

After the invention of the hackney carriage, the more widely known ‘hansom’ cab was invented in York, in 1834, by Joseph Hansom. These carriages were smaller, faster and lighter, and could be pulled by a single horse. Because they were smaller, they were better able to negotiate through London’s traffic jams. This idea quickly spread throughout the United Kingdom, and into France, Germany and Russia. During the late 1800s, the hansom cab spread to the United States, in particular New York. At the end of the 1800s, the first electric taxis were invented. Known as ‘hummingbirds’ due to their sounds, they were created by Walter Bersey, in London in 1897. The taximeter was invented by three German inventors in the 1890s. The first gasoline-powered taxi was created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1897, and was operated in Stuttgart, in Germany. This idea spread to Paris in 1899, London in 1903, and New York in 1907. The cabs were imported to New York by Harry Allen, who decided to paint them yellow to improve visibility. The last two major innovations were the two way radio, in the 1940s, which allowed the taxi company to dispatch cabs much more easily (prior to this, callboxes were used); and in the 1980s when taxi dispatch technology first began to be computerised.

To find taxis near you, just search for “taxi near me”.

Taxi Near Me – Taxi Facts

Taxis have played a role in warfare! At the First Battle of the Marne, in France, in World War I, soldiers were ferried from central Paris by taxi cab. The Military Governor of Paris, Joseph Gallieni, ordered six hundred taxis to carry the soldiers about thirty miles away. In 24 hours, over six thousand men were moved to the front. The taxis followed regulations and turned their meters on for the duration, and the French government reimbursed the taxi company over seventy thousand Francs. Some of the taxis remained behind afterwards to help carry the wounded. This was the first large scale use of motorised infantry in warfare.

In New York City, there are over thirteen thousand licensed taxi cabs! Over 51 thousand drivers are licensed to operate taxis in the city. Nearly eight thousand of those taxis are hybrid vehicles, which is the most of any city in North America. There are about 21 thousand of London’s iconic black cabs on the streets today.

Prior to 1976, the law in London required that all taxi drivers carry a bale of hay. This is a remnant of the days of the horse-drawn cab, where the law made it illegal for drivers to feed their horses anything but hay or corn.

In the days of the Black Plague in Europe, it was illegal for a plague-sufferer to ride in a taxi. Today, the law requires that a person inform the driver if they are carrying a notifiable disease, and the driver can then decide whether or not to transport the passenger. If the driver agrees to the trip, he must notify the authorities and disinfect the taxi before taking another passenger.

The Guinness World Record for the longest journey travelled by taxi belongs to three university friends from London. After a fifteen month trip around the world, the taximeter clocked in at over 43 thousand miles! The trip took the trio across four continents and into fifty different countries! They also hold the record for the highest altitude reached by car, after driving up to a mountain pass in the Qinghai Province in China, which took the car up 17 thousand feet above sea level!

The major competitor to the taxi industry is from the Uber mobile app. Drivers can sign up to be ‘Uber drivers’, after which they are matched up by the app with customers who use the app to request a ride. The app matches customers with their nearest driver. Drivers use their own personal cars to take the customer as a passenger to their destination. The app has faced heavy opposition from the taxi industry around the world, as well as challenges from governments who have in some places outlawed Uber.

You can find a cab close to you by simply searching “taxi near me”!