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Taxi: History & Fun Facts

Where the Word "Taxi" Comes From

That rooftop sign reading "TAXI" traces back to a French word, taximetre, which itself combines the Greek word for tax or charge with the French word for meter. A taximeter is the mechanical device that calculates a fare based on distance and time, and horse-drawn cabs fitted with early versions of the device were called taximeter cabs in Europe by the early 1900s. English speakers eventually shortened that mouthful down to just "taxi."

Before meters existed, hiring a horse-drawn carriage meant haggling over a price with the driver every single time, and visitors to a new city had no way of knowing whether they were being overcharged. The taximeter changed that by giving both driver and passenger a fixed, visible number, which is a big reason the device caught on so fast across major cities.

Gasoline Engines Replace the Horse

New York City's first fleet of gasoline-powered taxicabs hit the streets in 1907, imported from France by a businessman named Harry Allen after he grew frustrated paying inflated horse-cab fares. Allen painted his cars yellow on purpose, reasoning that the color would be easiest for a passenger to spot from far down a crowded block. That choice is why yellow became the taxi color associated with American cities ever since, even though cabs in London, for example, are famously black instead.

The checkered stripe seen along the side of many taxi bodies, including the one in this scene, has its own separate history. A Chicago cab company adopted the checkerboard pattern in the 1920s specifically so the car would stand out sharply against city traffic, and the design became so recognizable that the company itself eventually took "Checker" as its name.

The Meter, Light, and Sign on the Roof

Inside a modern taxi, the meter still does the taximeter's original job: tracking mileage and time to calculate a fare automatically instead of relying on a haggled price. The rooftop light box, called a taxi topper or medallion light in some cities, usually switches on to show the cab is available and switches off once a passenger is riding, letting people on the sidewalk tell at a glance whether a cab can be flagged down.

Licensing marks vary by city too. New York taxis need a small aluminum medallion bolted to the hood, while London's black cabs require drivers to pass a notoriously difficult memorization test called "The Knowledge," covering thousands of streets and landmarks by heart.

From Curbside Hail to Smartphone App

For most of the 20th century, getting a taxi meant standing at a curb with an arm raised, hoping an empty cab happened to pass by, or calling a dispatch office and waiting. That system stayed mostly unchanged for decades until smartphone ride-hailing apps arrived in the early 2010s, letting riders request a car from a phone screen and watch it approach on a map in real time.

Despite that shift, the classic yellow cab with its checkered trim and rooftop sign remains one of the most recognizable vehicles in any city skyline, appearing in countless films and postcards as instant shorthand for urban life.