First taxis in U.S.

What did people hail before there were cabs? They still hailed cabs, actually — the horse-drawn type. Cabriolets were two-person carriages popular in France and became synonymous with any cab for fire in Britain. The name still stuck even after the method of propulsion changed and he “taxi” part came from the introduction in 1907 of a taximeter, an “automatic meter to record the distance and fare.” Taxi cab cars became increasingly popular with both owners an passengers after the adaptation of the taximeter.

On this day, May 31, in 1907, the first cabs of the New York City Taxicab Company, imported from France, began running in the city streets. Their red and green design made them easily distinguishable from the ordinary traffic, but at fifty cents a mile ($12 today), they remained a luxury.

The yellow color and checkered design of taxis came in the 1920s came from the enormously successful Checkered Cab Manufacturing Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan, founded by Morris Markin. His iconic taxis would be the mainstay of New York life for decades, and their design copied by the rest of the world.