Taxicabs around the world

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Main article: Taxicab

[edit] Australia

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. It is interesting to note that Hansom Cabs were still being used in Brisbane until 1935, and were operating 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. 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 itaxis, 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.

[edit] Queensland

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

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. Before 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.

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.

During the 1920s the Yellow Cab Company imported their taxis from the United States, 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.

Allan (Walter) Ingram of Mount Morgan in Rockhampton has been driving taxis continuously for over 40 years. 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.

The Taxi Council of Queensland is the trade association and its objective is to expand the total market for taxi services.<ref>The Taxi Council Queensland Inc.</ref>

[edit] France

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.

[edit] Germany

In Germany, taxicabs are a light, pale yellow/beige (ivory-colored, RAL number 1015) (since November 2005 in some jurisdictions the color has not been compulsory anymore; before 1971 they were black), with a small illuminated cylinder-like "TAXI" sign on the roof of the car (on when available, off otherwise). Typically the taxicabs are Mercedes-Benz E-Class along with other, mainly German, brands. Taxicabs are either sedans, station wagons, or MPVs. Common station wagon taxicabs include Volkswagen Passat, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Among the MPVs, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, and Mercedes-Benz V-Class are common. Most taxicabs are automatic transmission, and some have navigation systems on board. Rates are high; the convenience and high quality of public transportation in most German cities eliminates the necessity for German civilians to use taxicabs.

[edit] Hong Kong

Main article: Taxicabs of Hong Kong

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.

[edit] India

Taxicabs in India are mostly Premier Padmini or Hindustan Ambassador cars. They have a yellow-black livery, and taxicab drivers paint many signs and slogans such as God is Great etc. Most of these cabs do not have an air conditioning system but there are 'Cool Cabs' which are air-conditioned.

Indian taxis are very cheap and the drivers are very friendly. Depending on the city/state, taxis can either be hailed or are hired from taxi-stands. In cities such as Delhi, taxis need to be hired from taxi, whereas in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore, taxis can be hailed on the street. There are additional surcharges for luggage, late-night rides and toll taxes are to be payed by the passenger.

By Government regulations all taxis are required to have a fare-meter installed. However, regualtion by authorities is lax and many cabs operate either without fare-meter or with defunct ones. In such cases, fare is decided by bargaining between the customer and the driver.

Taxis face stiff competition from auto rickshaws but in aome cities, for example Mumbai, auto rickshaws are banned in the main city district, thus giving taxis a monopoly.

[edit] Indonesia

Taxi cabs began to be 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.

In the 1970s, taxis were in various colours, although at that time mostly yellow, and a quite reliable and famous operator ran light blue taxis. The major vehicle replacement for most taxi operators was in mid-1980s when they replaced their old fleet with Nissan Stanza 1.6 T11.

Due to poor sales in the private car market, but good fuel economy and reliability, Holden Gemini diesel cars were used as taxis during the 1980s. The same happened to Nissan Sunnys and Ford Lasers 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. Although most taxis are blue, there are also painted in any colour depends on the operators.

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 Solunas are still in operation alongside the Limo. Other cars also used as taxis are Hyundai Excel, and Kia Rio. The Nissan Sunny 1.6 Neo was operated by a company together with the Soluna and Limo.

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

[edit] Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, the term taxi is reserved for vehicles that may pick up on streets and where the fare is determined by a meter. In 2006 there were over 16,000 taxis in the Republic, the majority in Dublin. Taxi vehicles do not have to be a particular colour but all carry a distinctive roofsign with the licence number prominently displayed. A wide range of vehicles are used, typically medium-sized saloons, such as a Toyota Corolla. Some wheelchair accessible taxis are available, typically using a small van such as a Fiat Scudo. In September 2006 a nationwide taxi fare system was introduced so that charges no longer depend on the county or city council area.

The term hackney is used in Ireland to refer to a service which can only carry passengers from a pre-booked destination (or the hackney company's office) to another destination, similar to a minicab in Britain. Such vehicles are indicated by a small yellow plate above the registration plate with the word Hackney and the licence information. They normally operate for an agreed fare.

Both taxis and hackneys are licenced by the Commission for Taxi Regulation<ref>Commission for Taxi Regulation, Ireland</ref>.

[edit] Mexico

Total fleet: 60,000
In Mexico City, according to Mexican legislation introduced in 2001, public taxicabs (in contrast with private taxicabs, or 'taxis de sitio') must be 4-door red cars, with a white roof. Before 2001 most taxicabs were green Volkswagen Beetles with a white roof. They had the front-left seat removed in order to ease entry for passengers. Originally they were yellow with white roof, until they were changed in mid-90s (allegedly because of yellow color beeing the official color of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática who at the time was competing for the newly-created Mexican District gobernancy with the Partido Revolucionario Institucional which is mostly identified with green color. Officially it was to identify green taxicabs as enviromentaly-friendly 'ecológicos', but still beeing exactly the same polluting Volkswagen Beetles.) As in most of the world a special license must be obtained in order to run a taxicab.

However, due to the increasing demand for public taxicabs, and the difficulties and cost of obtaining such license, there are many illegal 'pirata' taxis. These look like common taxis, but lack the legal and regulatory requirements to carry fare-paying passengers. Pirata taxis pose a higher security risk for passengers due to the lack of background checks for drivers, and can be distinguished because they carry a regular particular vehicle licence plate (which is brown in the format XXX-YYY where X a number and Y a letter) or have a number drawn or printed in place of a licence plate instead of a taxicab licence plate (which is is in the format LXXXXXX where X is a number). These pirate taxis are common throughout the city due to the failure of the authorities to enforce the regulations. Indeed, sanctions have been threatened by the trade unions, and others, should there be any clampdown on the illegal taxis.<ref>"Estrenan `Panteras` nueva personalidad", February 13, 2005</ref><ref>"Amenazan transportistas con medidas de presión si hay operativo contra taxis piratas", June 28, 2002</ref><ref>"Acusan taxistas extorsión en operativos de PGJDF", September 4, 2003</ref>

Matchbox launched in 2004 a 1:64 scale model of the taxi, released as "Beetle taxi".

[edit] Oman

Taxicabs in Oman are usually yellow models of Toyota or Nissan. They do not have any meters installed. Fare is generally decided by bargaining with the driver, though most commuters have a good idea of what can be considered a reasonable price. The rider may choose to have the taxi "shared," or "engaged." In an engaged taxi, the driver will not take any more passenger (as opposed to a shared taxi). Usually drivers charge much more to have the taxi engaged, sometimes as much as 8-10 times the price of a shared taxi. In a shared taxi, the driver will usually get more people who need to go along the same way. Due to low costs of fuel and fairly high purchasing power parity in Oman, taxicabs are extremely cheap when compared to other parts of the world, even in the engaged mode.

A variation of the shared taxi also exists. These are usually 12-seater Toyota vans. These taxis ply along a fixed route, stopping mostly at bus stops to pick and drop passengers. Passengers usually hop onto the taxi that is headed towards their destination. To attract more passengers, taxis stick to highways and main roads. If one wishes to go towards a place not along the main road, it is generally more economical to use a shared van to commute between two bus stops, and then switch over to another taxi headed for the destination, as opposed to taking the regular taxi to commute between the 2 places.

For a generally idea, traversing from one end of the city to the other would cost approx. R.O. 5-6 (US$ 12-15) for an engaged taxi, and about R.O. 0.8-1.0 (US$ 2-2.6) in a shared van.

[edit] Philippines

Taxicabs in the Philippines are almost always white. In metropolitan Manila, some cab companies use bicolor configurations to help distinguish their cars from other companies. Many taxis here are 7th or 8th generation Toyota Corollas, though Mitsubishi Lancers, Nissan Sentras can also be found. Toyota Tamaraws also serve as Manila's famous "FX taxis", albeit in more of a shuttle form serving certain routes, much like jeepneys. The popular Honda Civics cannot be used as taxis due to a stipulation in the buyer's contract that these cars cannot be used as such. In Baguio City, cabs are mainly Kia Prides.

[edit] Russia

Regulated 'official' taxis are rare in Moscow, but there is a long tradition of so-called (in English) 'gypsy-cabs'. These are private motorists, typically in Lada 1300s or similar vehicles, who will pick up passengers in the street. For some drivers gypsy-cab work is their main source of income, whereas many others will cruise around after finishing their day jobs. Some Muscovites who are not driving specifically for hire will nevertheless pick up paying passengers travelling in the direction of their own destination.

Gypsy-cabs can be hailed within moments in central Moscow by stepping up to the kerb and raising a hand. Driver and passenger will negotiate a price through the front window; occasionally the driver does not wish to go to the requested destination or the passenger and driver cannot agree a mutually acceptable price, in which case the car may leave and the passenger is able to try his luck with another one.

While there is obviously a risk of crime in getting into a stranger's car in any city, using gypsy-cabs in Moscow is seen as relatively safe. The British Embassy in the city officially discourages the practice but many British expatriates, particularly younger people likely to be out late at night, use them regularly without trouble.

In contrast to taxicabs, prebooked private-hire vehicles are available in Moscow on a conventional commercial basis.

[edit] Singapore

Main article: Taxicabs of Singapore