In August 1907 the first metered taxicab took to the streets of New York City. A passenger, Harry N. Allen, incensed at being charged five dollars ($126.98 in today’s dollars!) for a journey of 0.75 miles (1.21 km), decided “to start a taxicab service in New York and charge so-much per mile."
Later that year Harry Allen imported 65 gasoline-powered cars from France and formed the New York Taxicab Company. The cabs were originally painted red and green but Harry repainted them all yellow to be visible from a distance. By 1908 the company was running 700 taxicabs.
Can't make any money that way.
ReplyDeleteNeed to hook an extension on the front and pack it to the rafters.
Front wheel (chain) drive, and rear wheel steering! Along with an exposed driver position. You can be sure it was a slow moving vehicle.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that aircraft designers did the same thing with the pilots during the first 3-4 decades. Odd thinking.