History

The Early Days

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Along with Times Square, bagels, pizza and the Empire State Building, nothing says New York quite like this city’s iconic yellow cab.

 

But do you know the origin of the NYC taxi?

 

It began with the invention of the Hansom cab by Joseph Hansom in 1834. Hansom, who (ironically) hailed from York, England, soon saw his invention take off in London, Paris, Berlin and ultimately, New York. By the late 1800s, these two-wheel, single-horse drawn vehicles were the primary source of private transportation in our great city. And while the city’s private transportation problem had been solved, this invention gave rise to another challenge. One that was far more messy.

 

With over 100,000 horses plying the streets of the city, New York was knee-deep in manure. The situation had reached crisis proportions; however, because necessity is indeed the mother of invention, a solution was at the ready.

 

Enter The Electrical Vehicle Company, a firm that developed electric versions of hansom cabs (yep, electric!). By the early 1900s, EVC had up to 1,000 of its electric cabs transporting residents and passengers around NYC daily. Sadly, the company went bankrupt in 1907 due to a perfect storm of events: a fire that destroyed a third of its fleet, the economic collapse caused by The Panic of 1907, and the fact that their vehicles were proving too costly compared with gas-powered vehicles.

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Later that year, a man by the name of Henry N. Allen decided to start his own taxi service in New York, and imported 65 red and green autos from France. It was Allen who decided that he would paint all his cars yellow, because he believed that the color yellow was more noticeable from a distance. And he was absolutely right. So now you know why taxis are yellow!  

 

Within a year, Allen’s New York Taxicab Company was operating over 700 taxis in the city. More companies entered the fray, and by the 20s, major car manufacturers such as Ford and GM jumped in and began designing and operating taxi fleets here. The 1930s saw the rise of the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company, the company that created the iconic cabs that many of us so affectionately remember.  

 

Regulation Arrives

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Soon there were more than 300,000 taxis operating in the city, and it was evident that some form of regulation was sorely needed. The Haas Act of 1937, which created the taxi license and medallion systems we know today, was signed into law by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who wanted to ensure that NYC taxi drivers would be able to make a good living. The law required purchase of a medallion to operate a taxi in the city, and limited the number of cabs to 16,900. Today, that number is a little over 13,600. The City further regulated the taxi industry by adding an MTA tax and by auctioning off medallions in an effort to ease its own budgetary shortfalls.

 

Taxis and Tech

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During the 70s and 80s, Checkers were phased out and replaced by models from Ford (remember the Crown Victoria?), Dodge, and Chevy. Tech took hold in the new millennium, and by 2008, all taxicabs in the city were equipped with Passenger Information Monitors, which provided live GPS information, entertainment, and importantly, the ability for passengers to swipe a credit card to pay for their ride. Then, in 2012, along came ride-sharing.

 

Shifting Gears

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Independent ride-sharing services hit the scene in 2012, and NYC’s taxi industry was shaken to its core. The gig economy changed everything. Suddenly, Gen X and Yers were ‘apping’ instead of hailing. Eventually, the city’s yellow cab industry countered by introducing ARRO and CURB, its own ride-sharing apps. But ride-sharing companies had already made serious inroads (pun-intended).

 

Then something really interesting happened…after several years, it was evident that the attractive pricing offered by the new ride-sharing companies was proving to be unsustainable. Unable to turn a profit, these companies raised their prices. A lot. Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly more than half of ride-share drivers stopped driving altogether.

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A crack in the chassis, perhaps?