New York’s first gasoline-powered taxis with meters hit the streets in 1907, when businessman Harry N. Allen imported a fleet of French cars equipped with taximeters — the device that gave the “taxi” its name. Cab companies painted their cars in many colors until yellow — popularized by John Hertz’s Yellow Cab Company in Chicago for its visibility — became dominant, and in 1967 New York required all medallion taxis to be yellow. The yellow cab has since evolved from the Checker Marathon to the Ford Crown Victoria and today’s hybrids.

Timeline

Year Event
1897 Electric cabs appear in New York
1907 Harry Allen’s metered gasoline taxis
1915 Yellow Cab Company founded in Chicago
1937 Haas Act creates the medallion system
1967 Medallion taxis required to be yellow
1999 Last Checker cab retired
2010s Hybrids and the “Taxi of Tomorrow”

Meters and the word “taxi”

The taximeter measured distance and calculated fares; combined with “cabriolet” (a light carriage), it gave us taxicab. Allen reportedly started his company after being overcharged by a horse-drawn hansom driver.

Why yellow?

John Hertz chose yellow for his Chicago Yellow Cab Company after research suggesting it was the easiest color to spot. Many New York fleets adopted it, and in 1967 the city required yellow for all medallion cabs so passengers could tell licensed taxis from unlicensed ones.

The Checker era

The Checker Marathon, with its roomy interior and fold-down jump seats, became the iconic New York cab. The last one left service in 1999. Read the Checker Marathon.

Crown Vics and beyond

The Ford Crown Victoria became the most common taxi from the 1990s. Later, hybrids like the Ford Escape Hybrid and Toyota Camry Hybrid, the Nissan NV200 “Taxi of Tomorrow” and wheelchair-accessible vehicles joined the fleet. Read the Ford Crown Victoria.

Taxis vs black cars

Yellow cabs can be hailed on the street; black cars and other for-hire vehicles must be pre-arranged. Read black car vs taxi and the NYC TLC history.