Why are Taxi Cabs of Yellow Color, in So Many Countries? — History of Taxis
Who has never asked the question: “ Why are the taxis yellow?” Although it seems to be a nonsense question, it turns out to be very interesting for everyone, since the answer has a scientific and commercial concept, and as well a historical factor. In the vast majority of countries in the world, taxis are yellow, even though in some countries things are changing. But for example, this will never change in big cities as New York, where the first yellow cabs have traveled; it could be said that the taxi service or urban land transport is around the world, either by luxury cars of the latest technology or the first models of the beginning of the last century, but the thing that in the majority of cases they have in common, is the yellow color that establishes the cabs. The yellow color, combined with the black color is the key that prevails in taxis of almost all nations of the world, the choice of that color range becomes an icon of those essential means of transport in the modern era.
The answer to the previous question is by commercial strategy, but with a scientific and historical basis. Everything begins in the US, especially in Manhattan, in the 1920s, shortly before the crisis of 29. At that time, there were several taxi companies and each with a distinctive color. In Chicago, the entrepreneur John Hertz funded a project to find out what was the best way for people to use a taxi, so the University of Chicago, through the researchers, determined that the yellow color is more visible at a distance and for therefore, it is easier to know if a car provides this service.
In that decade, with the crisis of 1929, began to emerge pirate companies of urban transport. People went out to look for their daily sustenance and for this reason they made irregular trips without having permission. Mayor of New York Fiorello H. La Guardia, faced with this situation and to deal with the crisis issued a decree for official taxi permits, as the company that had the most cars used yellow, all official taxis had to have this visible spectrum color at a greater distance. In this way, all other companies had to paint their cars in this way. But now we will explain better the historical reasons behind the so called “yellow cabs”.
The history of New York taxis began in 1907, when a somewhat stingy gentleman, Harry N. Allen, found a theft of the $ 5 that he wanted to charge him for a journey of scarcely a mile to his house. Actually Allen was right (those $ 5 equals about $ 125 today), but it is also true that walking a mile through the New York of the early twentieth century was not an easy task.
Many of the streets were still unpaved, others were with some tiles that slipped as if they were ice and many of them appeared full of all kinds of filth, since the animal and motorized traction still coexisted in the street.
In the end the drivers charged what they wanted and since there was no regulation on safety or comfort, the quality and price of the service ended up depending on the goodwill of the driver. Allen decided that things could not go on like this, so he imported 65 French cars with gasoline engines and created the New York Taxi Cab Company. The first modern professional taxi service in the United States had just been born.
And not only that: he ordered all of his cars to be painted in a bright yellow color that attracted attention, and to prevent customers from feeling scammed he installed taximeters with unified rates. In addition, he drafted a protocol of action and courtesy of his drivers.
Their services were not cheap: 50 cents per mile was a considerable price for the time, but the clients, at least, knew what to expect.
The success was immediate and soon came competition to the Cab Company. The hardest was the one led by John Hertz. Hertz even allowed its customers to drive their own taxis, and over time that would be the germ of the famous car rental company that bears his name.
Ford and General Motors soon took over the New York taxi fleet. At that time, there was no need for an official license to be a taxi driver, which gave rise to favorable treatment from the factories, the appearance of small mafias and problems of supply of spare parts.
Morris Markin, a Russian emigrant who had arrived in the United States in 1912 at the age of 19 and without speaking a word of English, immediately realized the potential of meeting those needs. In 1922 he created the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company to manufacture only taxis and their refills, and in less than five years the Yellow Checkers (with the characteristic checkered side band) took over the streets of New York.
Markin was an extraordinarily clever guy. He instructed his engineers, for example, that the checkers’ roof be high enough so that the knights could travel without removing their hats. It also made a baby stroller fit in the back seat without problems, so that mothers felt comfortable in New York taxis.
On the other hand, by not commercializing vehicles for the general public, it did not have to face the all-powerful generalist brands. Third, he agreed to negotiate with the unions in the sector the price of their cars.
The successor of the Checkers for New York taxis is the Ford Crown Victoria sedan of 1991. It is a model initially designed as a police car, although it was quickly adapted as a yellow cab as well.
However, its resistance is almost legendary, it is cheap to repair, has a trunk of more than 700 liters and a huge rear bench seat in which four people can fit without problems. It is also extremely comfortable and can withstand impacts that would have volatilized other cars. In the nineties it was already a technically outdated car in all aspects, but its enormous popularity and the good sales figures that it continued to present extended the operational life much more than the logical.
Finally, in September 2011, the latest Crown Victoria left the Ford factory in St. Thomas, unable to comply with anti-pollution legislation and punished for unacceptable consumption. Up to that time, 9.6 million units had been manufactured. In any case, the Crown remain a majority in the New York fleets and will be in the streets of the Big Apple for quite some time.
In September 2013, after the City Council appealed, the implementation of the NV200 was a reality, although not an obligation. In any case, the objective is that, in short, at least 80% of the fleet is Nissan.
Although the brand does not matter: the only thing we can say with certainty about the future taxis in Australia and all other countries is one thing: they will remain yellow.
