A certain Moscow owner hung a sign with this text on his car in 1907.
Alas, with the outbreak of the war, and then the revolution, the domestic paid transportation of passengers fell sharply, and then completely disappeared.
In the days when Russian taxi drivers were urgently drafted into the army, and cars were requisitioned for military needs, their French colleagues accomplished a feat. This operation has become a textbook; millions of copies of souvenirs, books, and countless newspaper articles are dedicated to it. When the Germans broke through the French defenses in the fall of 1914 and threatened to capture Paris, 1,200 taxis transported over 6,500 soldiers to the front along the Marne River in one night. The capital was defended, the “Marne taxi” entered not only the annals of national history, but also strategy as a method of transporting troops not provided for by any regulations.
As for the original purpose of the taxi, no matter what it was called in different eras, the British are still arguing with the French, the undisputed leaders in this area at the beginning of the twentieth century. France insists that the word “fiacre,” which once meant “hired carriage,” came from the town of Meaux, or more precisely, from the local chapel of St. Fiacre, the patron saint of flower growers. They say that it was at a nearby inn that a certain Sauvage introduced in the 17th century two-seater horse-drawn carriages for transporting fellow countrymen. And since each was decorated with the image of a saint, language, always striving for simplification, dubbed the carriages “cabins.”
England contrasts the vague 17th century with the exact year of creation of a similar service - 1639. Then the drivers of four-wheeled carriages, coachmen, received a license for private carriage. And in the middle of the 19th century, heavy carriages gave way on the streets to light two-seater open transport, convertibles, and the derivative of this term “cab” is still in use today. Remember the series about Sherlock Holmes and the cabman sitting high on the box? He had to position himself so that he could distinguish signs with house numbers on the dark streets of London.
However, if the positions of English and French taxi historians agree on something, then the compromise looks like this: the homeland of the hired carriage is still England, and France owns the laurels of the creator of the motorized taxi. And the British, through a pursed lip, admit that the first taxi in their capital was once a French car of the Unic brand. True, they note that at the same time 70 Bersey electric cabs, the forerunners of all current electric vehicles, were operating in London. Nothing good came of it with electric traction then, but this is supposedly because it was ahead of its time.
When it became clear that not every car is suitable for taxi service, Renault's finest hour came. It was she who began to mass produce taxis in bright green or red colors with a taximeter, fortunately invented by the German Wilhelm Bruhn. With a closed passenger cabin and an open driver's cabin. With drivers dressed in long, waterproof leather coats, with an almost army-style cap on their heads. If anyone remembers, this kind of headdress, and even with an angular cut in the style of New York police caps, suddenly began to be worn by Moscow taxi drivers in the 1970s.
Russia, which had already become Soviet, began reviving taxis in 1925. Apparently, the idea of a hired carriage instead of a privately owned one, that is, harmful in a classless society, appealed to the owners of the country. Cars, of course, had to be bought from capitalists, from Renault and Fiat. Since an hour's taxi ride cost 4 rubles 50 kopecks with an average monthly salary of just over 21 rubles, the pleasure was not cheap.
The English London taxi service is considered an exemplary taxi service. Its drivers not only pay a lot of money for a private driver's license, but also pass a difficult exam on their knowledge of the British capital. Only 2-3 percent of them use a GPS navigator - that’s how well they know the city. Conservative-looking “cabs” are required to work for 10-12 years and run 800 thousand kilometers without any problems. In fact, many cars have already clocked up a million kilometers and have served for more than a quarter of a century.
The English and French have been arguing about this for almost 400 years.
They say that the history of taxis began in Ancient Rome. Then these were chariots, on the axle of which the inventive Romans attached a “taximeter” - a rather complex mechanical counter, consisting of two toothed rings with holes, and a box attached to the wheel axle. When the holes of the rings coincided, and this happened every mile, a pebble would fall into the box. At the end of the trip, the stones were counted and the fare was paid based on their number. Unfortunately, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the “taxi” (as well as many other inventions) was forgotten for many centuries.
Convertible or cabriolet?
The reinvention of the taxi occurred in the 17th century. This honor is being challenged by ancient rivals - England and France. Moreover, England is ready to name a specific date - 1639. It was this year that the corporation of coaches (local coachmen) received a license for carriage - and four-wheeled carriages called “hackney” (hackney - “traveling horse”) took to the streets of the country. In 1840 - 1850, clumsy carriages were replaced by two-wheeled open carriages - convertibles. However, the British quickly shortened the name to cab. Since 1907, car manufacturers have begun developing models that could be used as taxis. The traditional color of London taxis is black, symbolizing honor and dignity. Since the beginning of the last century, black cabs have become as recognizable an attribute of London as Big Ben or Tower Bridge.
The primacy of the British is disputed by the French, and not without reason. After all, even the word “taxi” comes from the French taximitre - “price meter”. D'Artagnan's compatriots claim that the first taxi appeared in France, in the city of Meaux. At one of the inns near the chapel of St. Fiacre, an enterprising townsman named Sauvage organized a fleet of two-seater horse-drawn carriages and opened a company for transporting local residents. Each cart was decorated with the image of a saint, so soon this type of transport began to be called “fiacres”. By the way, the symbol of Saint Fiacre is a shovel, hence the expression: “Taxi drivers shovel money.” Sauvage's crews were a great success, the business developed, and in 1896, horses on carts were replaced by a gasoline engine. Motorized fiacres continued to carry passengers, but the old-fashioned fare was negotiated in advance, which was very inconvenient.
I pay two counters
In 1891, German scientist Wilhelm Bruhn invented the first taximeter, and the situation changed. In 1907, the first cars equipped with taximeters appeared on the streets of London; they began to be called taxis, or simply taxis.
Assessing the demand for this type of transport, manufacturers began producing special vehicles, and then the French took the lead - Renault became the first. Taxis differed in color - to stand out in the general flow of traffic - and body design. The first Renaults resembled the famous cabs - the passenger part looked like a closed carriage, and the driver was in the front part, open to the rain and wind. Therefore, the uniform of taxi drivers became a long waterproof raincoat and a military cap. Fortunately, cars soon began to be made completely enclosed; a movable glass partition appeared in them, separating the driver from the passenger compartment.
Oh, pigeons!
Taxis in Russia were represented by cab drivers. The cheapest carriages - vankas - came from the villages. Their clientele were mainly minor officials, poor townspeople and clerks. Another category - reckless drivers - had good, capable horses and varnished carriages on tires. Their services were used by merchants, officers and gentlemen with ladies. The reckless drivers waited for their clients near theaters, hotels and restaurants. The aristocracy among the cab drivers were the “pigeons with ringing”, or “darlings”. They installed melodic bells on their carriages. The name comes from the coachman’s famous cry: “Oh, pigeons!”
Each cab driver had a number. At first it was attached to the back, then they began to nail it to the irradiator. The driver had to have special clothing: a blue or red (depending on the rank of the crew) caftan, a low top hat. All crews were divided into three categories. Each person was assigned the color of a stroller and a night lamp. First category: spring covered carriages on inflated rubber tires - red color. Second: the same crews, but without air tires - blue. All other crews are third category.
There were also road rules. The cab drivers were required to keep to the right and drive at a moderate trot - up to ten to twelve kilometers per hour. With the onset of dusk, special lanterns were lit on the carriages. It was impossible to leave the carriage on the street unattended - the driver had to be constantly on the spot. And the carriages could only be placed in one row along the sidewalks.
In 1907, the newspaper “Voice of Moscow” notified readers that the first cab driver appeared in the city. Other drivers followed his example, and soon many cars appeared specializing in driving for an agreed fee. The Revolution and Civil War interrupted the development of the service, but in December 1924 the Moscow Council decided to create a fleet of Soviet taxis. It was planned to purchase 200 cars of the Renault and Fiat brands, and from June 1925 the first 15 cars hit the streets of the city. The fare was the same: each mile cost 50 kopecks.
In 1934, production of domestic passenger cars began, thanks to which the taxi fleet increased more than 6 times. After the war, most of the taxi cars were GAZ-M20 Pobeda, and soon, in 1948, the famous checkerboard stripe and a green light appeared on the side of the body, signaling that the taxi was free.
According to some historical accounts, the pioneer taxi drivers were the ancient Romans. Transportation in those days was chariots, and a basin attached to the axle of the cart was used as a “taximeter”. A pebble fell into it after every 200 meters. The fare was equal to the number of pebbles in the basin upon arrival.
The first signs of a full-fledged taxi began to appear in France in the middle of the 18th century. "Fiacres", nicknamed in honor of Saint Fiacre, were the world's first public carriages. Over time, horse-drawn carriages were replaced by advancing technology. Fiacres were equipped with an engine and levers for control. The newly invented taximeter was also integrated into the taxi. This contributed to the growing popularity of private transportation among the population. 
The Renault company was the first to start producing cars designed for taxi use. Their shape was similar to a “fiacre”, the driver was in the front in the open part of the car, and the passengers were in the back, closed and protected from the external environment. Thanks to the bright colors, the taxi stood out among the rest of the city's vehicles. There was no service for taking orders or calls; taxi drivers simply drove around the city, attracting attention with loud signals. 
In 1907, the first private cab drivers appeared in England and Russia. Now this year is considered the birthday of taxis. In Russia, the emergence of taxis as a separate type of transport began due to the tense situation with people who came to the capital. A large number of travelers needed to be delivered with their luggage to the right place, and the demand for transport was very high. 
Beginning in 1924, the Moscow City Council began to massively purchase Renault and Fiat cars. The first taxis appeared on the streets of Moscow in 1925. At that time, all cars belonged to the state; there were no private owners. The quality of service was low, and there was a catastrophic shortage of cars. Due to the high profitability for the treasury, the government wanted to eliminate these shortcomings. Replenishment of the vehicle fleet with GAZ and ZIS cars made taxis a public transport option. In the post-war period, the main car for taxis was Pobeda. 
In 1948, taxis were marked with checkers to distinguish them from the flow of other cars on the street. Since then, little has changed. The need for a large number of taxis in cities and villages has only increased greatly. Therefore, if you need an inexpensive and comfortable taxi in Kazan, choose
The date of appearance of the first taxi in Moscow is considered to be September 1907, when the news newspaper “Voice of Moscow” reported the appearance on the capital’s streets of an American Oldsmobile brand car with the sign “Cabin. Tax by agreement."
In the period before 1917, dozens of entrepreneurs in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other cities tried their hand at the taxi business, creating garages that operated from a few cars to several dozen vehicles, most often of French or German brands. It was in the 10s that three types of commercial passenger vehicles were defined:
1) Taxi is a hired car, the fare for which is paid according to the readings of the taxi meter.
2) Rental car - a hired car, the travel for which is paid by agreement between the passenger and the driver.
3) Motor omnibus - a multi-passenger vehicle, a prototype of a bus and minibus.
In the 1920s, when the Government of Soviet Russia announced the New Economic Policy (NEP), the rental car business was the first to revive. In the new capital of the country, Moscow, there were several rental garages, among which were both Russian citizens and foreigners. They used cars of expensive European brands (Mercedes, Austro-Daimler, Talbot, etc.). By the end of 1924, approximately 150 rental cars were operating in the capital. History of the Moscow taxiThe Soviet government decided to oppose private entrepreneurs, rental companies and horse-drawn drivers with cheap state taxis. As a result, at the beginning of 1925, by decision of the Moscow Council of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies, the economic organization Moskommunkhoz, through the Avtopromtorg office, began buying Italian cars and French Renault-KZs on credit for “municipal” taxis. The design of FIAT cars caused many complaints among specialists, and their purchases were soon suspended, and Renault became the main Moscow taxi for several years. These were black cars with a landau type body, a 4-cylinder engine with a volume of 2120 cm3 and a power of 28 hp, disc wheels, and left-hand drive. At first, these cars were based in common garages with company and personal cars, later they were moved to a separate garage, which became the First Taxi Park. By 1930 there were already two parks, and approximately 200-300 cars were operating on the line.
The payment system in taxis of the 20s was the same as that which existed before the revolution - the trip of several passengers was paid at an increased rate. There were also separate increased tariffs for travel of passengers with luggage, for trips at night and out of town, then beyond the borders of the Kommer-College Walls. In addition to Renault, in the late 20s, more powerful and expensive Steyr cars with 6-cylinder engines entered the taxi service. They served Intourist and other important clients at an increased rate.
In 1929, the All-Union Council of National Economy signed an agreement with Henry Ford and his Ford motor company concern on the construction of an automobile plant in Nizhny Novgorod. According to one of the points, the Soviet side pledged to purchase 72 thousand vehicle kits for assembly and finished Ford cars - the money for these cars was included in the payment for the construction of the plant. Thus, taxi fleets began to receive Ford-A cars of the 1928-1929 model with a closed body Fordor Sedan Briggs, which in the taxi modification was distinguished by the absence of a front passenger seat and a partition separating the driver. The cars were distinguished by a variegated two-tone color scheme, for which they received the nickname “magpie.”
The changes in domestic policy that came in the “year of the great turning point” put an end to private taxi rental companies. City taxi fleets received a monopoly on passenger transportation. Until 1934, they received only Ford-A cars of the modernized model (second generation) of the 1930-1931 model, also Fordor sedans. This American car was replaced by the first domestically produced taxi car, GAZ-A. In terms of the design of its main components, it did not differ from the Ford-A of 1930-1931, but its body was open, similar to another American modification, the Standard Phaeton 35B. The closed modification of the GAZ-A was not mass-produced in Gorky. The Moscow body plant Aremkuz created an original sedan on the GAZ-A chassis, but it turned out to be much more expensive than the regular Gazik. True, the GAZ-A phaeton was slightly inferior to the American sedan. Canvas tops and clip-on sides instead of door glass remained common on many cars in the 1930s, and the closed Ford did not have interior heating. But GAZ-A became the first taxi in which the passenger could sit next to the driver.
In 1936, a new Gorky passenger car model, the GAZ-M1, appeared, in which a closed sedan body was made the base. This car, which went down in history under the popular nickname “Emka,” became the most popular passenger car in the pre-war USSR, and over the next 10 years, the most common taxi. Compared to the Ford-A and GAZ-A, the GAZ-M1 has a noticeably increased service life of its units. The salon remained unheated, but received a well-thought-out ventilation system. As before, like the GAZ-A, the Emka did not have a trunk. The special modification of the M1 taxi, developed by GAZ, was not widespread; most “Emok” taxis differed from the rest only in the meter.
The second taxi of the late 30s was the ZIS-101. The production volumes of limousines were large, which made it possible to supply them to taxi companies in large quantities. In addition to linear taxis, ZISs worked as route taxis. These cars were painted not black, but blue, cyan, beige, cherry and possibly other colors. ZIS vehicles were used not only in the city, but also on routes from Moscow to Noginsk and Bronnitsy.
The fare for the GAZ-M1 since the late 30s was 1 ruble per kilometer, and for the ZIS-101 - 1 ruble 40 kopecks per kilometer. In total, until June 1941, six taxi companies were formed in the capital: First, Third, Fourth, Tenth, Thirteenth, Seventeenth. There was also a garage-free car storage area in the Airport metro area. In addition, cargo taxis were based in the Eleventh and Twelfth parks (their number increased from 36 to 860 cars from 1936 to 1941).
Since 1934, a dispatch service for ordering a taxi by telephone has operated in Moscow. The car was driving on a call with the meter turned off, the passenger paid the driver two rubles for the call - they were added to the cost of the trip. The provision of taxi services to organizations upon request was also widespread. For example, collectors were transported not by special cars, but by taxis. Taxis sometimes replaced official transport even for the People's Commissariat of Defense. Among the regular clients were such organizations as Intourist and Mosconcert. Foreign guests were usually served ZIS. And “Emki” taxis were used as daily transport by many scientists, writers, and artists who did not have personal transport, since before the war it was very difficult to purchase a car as a property. By the way, “limit” books were even introduced for such clients - a passenger who fell into this category paid the driver not in cash, but with a tear-off coupon from a special book.
During the Great Patriotic War, ZIS vehicles were mothballed, and most GAZ-M1s were requisitioned for the army. All the parks were closed, leaving only one column of old, worn-out Emoks. These machines were used, for example, to transport money to savings banks and store revenue. At the end of the war and in the first post-war months, the passenger transport market was occupied by private owners of captured cars and drivers of official cars, who were nicknamed “leftists”. Their business was illegal, but the repression had no effect. Only the revival of cheap state taxis could bring down the business of “leftist” drivers.
In 1944, the First Taxi Park resumed operation, to which, after the war, new Pobeda GAZ-M20 and ZIS-110 vehicles began to be supplied. A special taxi color scheme was introduced on these cars - a light gray top and a dark gray bottom, checkers appeared on board for the first time and a “free” signal in the form of a green light. But by the mid-50s, the uniform gray color scheme was abandoned, and multi-colored cars appeared in the parks.
The most common taxi was Pobeda. Its interior became wider than that of the Emka; the car had a heater and a spacious trunk. The engine developed the same power as the GAZ-M1 (50 hp) with a smaller displacement per liter. The aerodynamics of the body have radically changed. These design solutions reduced gasoline consumption.
The number of ZIS cars in taxis amounted to dozens of cars. They worked both on the line and as minibuses. The high cost of these machines made them unprofitable. At first they tried to use the 110s on route ah from the city to airports, then ZISs were released on intercity routes connecting Moscow with Vladimir, Ryazan and even Simferopol. In the capital, there was an excursion route from the Center to the Lenin Mountains, on which ZIS-110B convertibles operated.
Another type of taxi was the GAZ-MM minivan with an open passenger body for 10 people. They ran between stations, compensating for the post-war shortage of buses.
By the beginning of 1952, about three thousand taxis were already operating in five fleets in Moscow. In addition to the Pobeda and ZIS, taxis have been supplied with GAZ-12 ZIMs since 1950, which also served as linear vehicles and minibuses. In addition, a special column was formed from ZIMs in the First Taxi Park to serve delegates of party congresses, sessions of the Supreme Council, international conferences and meetings.
The next renovation of the park followed in 1956-1957. First, MZMA released the new Moskvich-402, and then GAZ released the first Volga. Since the end of 1957, “Victory” cars in taxi fleets began to be replaced en masse by “Volgas”; new columns and entire fleets were formed from them. The Volga differed favorably from the Pobeda with a more spacious interior, increased to 70 hp. engine power, increased resource. The taxis first received GAZ-21s of the first edition “with a star”, then the modernized Volgas of the “second edition”. They differed from the base model in that they had a dashboard with a built-in meter and no radio. On the first Volgas, mobile radiotelephone communication systems with the control room began to be introduced.
About 150 Moskviches worked in taxis, but soon a new job was found for these cars. The government of N.S. Khrushchev decided to create a car rental service without a driver. The first rental point was opened at the 12th taxi depot in 1956. Ordinary users were given “Muscovites”, professional drivers and trusted clients who had not been involved in accidents were trusted with “Volga”. The rental company suffered heavy losses due to accidents and theft of spare parts, and was closed in 1964. Some of the “Muscovites” that remained after the liquidation of rental services were used in linear taxis, such as the car that was filmed in the film “Green Light.”
By the mid-50s, the cargo taxi system was restored in Moscow, and in Gorky they launched production of a special modification of the GAZ-51 truck with high sides of the body, a raised or lowered awning, benches along the sides and a gate door in the rear side. In terms of chassis, cabin and engine, it was no different from the basic on-board vehicle, although some cargo taxis were equipped with gas equipment.
Moscow taxis abandoned the ZIS-110 in 1958. “Pobeda” were used (for example, in the Seventh Park) until 1962, ZIMs - until the mid-60s. In 1965, the Moscow VNIITE Institute proposed a project for a special taxi car based on Moskvich-408 units. This car did not fit into the requirements of the growing industry of giant parks, and remained in a single copy.
Many passengers needed to carry things that did not fit in a regular taxi - bicycles, televisions, radios, small furniture, baby strollers. In the 50s they hired ZISs and ZIMs. GAZ created a compromise modification of the Volga taxi, in which, instead of a sofa, a separate front seat was installed - a driver's seat and a passenger seat, which could be folded when transporting large luggage. The introduction of this solution coincided in 1962 with the modernization of the Volga and the appearance of the “third series” GAZ-21. Until 1970, the GAZ-21T with a new appearance and a separate seat became practically the only linear taxi in the country. In 1968, the Moscow City Council decided to highlight taxis in traffic by painting the roof red-orange. At first, the so-called “red hat” was given to cars that had undergone a major overhaul, then it was introduced on new cars, but with the start of the transition to the GAZ-24 taxi, the project stalled.
In the 60s, the appearance of minibus taxis radically changed. The ZIM was replaced by minibuses of the RAF-977D family, which were mass-produced by the Riga Bus Factory since 1962. On the road and in the parking lot, the RAF occupied no more space than the Volga. Moreover, due to the carriage layout, 11 passengers could fit in the cabin. Since all components retained maximum unification with the GAZ-21, the minibuses could be operated and repaired in the same garages as the Volgas without cost. Travel on a bus in Moscow in the 60-70s cost 5 kopecks, and on a minibus - 15 kopecks. A kilometer of travel in a regular taxi in the 60s cost 10 kopecks.
At the end of the 50-60s, more than a dozen parks were opened in Moscow, including those located under the Novoarbatsky and Bolshoi Krasnokholmsky bridges. For new parks in “dormitory” areas, multi-storey garages were built among standard five- and nine-story residential buildings, sometimes in industrial zones. The numbering of new parks, as before, was not in order, but randomly.
On July 15, 1970, GAZ completely replaced the base model of the Volga, and immediately introduced the new GAZ-24-01 taxi. It differed from the base model by a derated engine, so that instead of the new high-octane gasoline AI-93, it would be filled with the common cheap A-76. Instead of the new high-octane gasoline AI-93, it would be filled with a common bus factory. The idea of carrying luggage next to the driver was abandoned forever, and the problem of transporting luggage was solved in 1973 by releasing a taxi with a GAZ-24-04 station wagon. The complete transition from GAZ-21 to GAZ-24 in taxi fleets was completed in June 1975. At the end of the 70s, the fleet of minibuses was updated - the RAF-977DM was replaced by minibuses of the new RAF-2203 series.
In the 60-70s, taxis in Moscow and other large cities of the USSR turned into a real industry. There were 21 taxi companies in the capital. In large cities there were several parks, and in small cities columns of taxi cars appeared at passenger transport enterprises. In 1970, there were 14,500 taxis operating in Moscow, and in 1975 there were already 16,000 linear taxis. In the 80s, the total number of taxis reached 18-19 thousand. The parks have turned into huge transport enterprises with multi-story garages, conveyor lines for vehicle maintenance and repair. In 1968, the city transport company “Mosavtolegtrans” was formed, uniting all taxi fleets and five passenger transport factories. It became possible to catch a taxi at any time of the day, there were dozens of taxi stands in all areas where free cars were parked, and there was a dispatch center for calling a taxi by phone. Tariffs have increased over the years, but remained affordable - at the level of 15-20 kopecks per kilometer. As before, taxis not only served private clients, but also worked on vouchers - orders from organizations, which sometimes paid for travel by bank transfer.
The last new model of the Soviet taxi was the Volga GAZ-24-11, modernized in 1985, a modification of the GAZ-24-10. Also in the second half of the 80s, several hundred Moskvich-2140 vehicles operated in the parks.
The era of market relations that began at the turn of the 80s and 90s undermined the existing taxi transport system; privatization led to the closure and ruin of a number of parks. Taxi competition came from private car owners. Since the mid-90s, taxi transport began to be revived in the form of numerous private, joint-stock and municipal transport companies, most of which grew on the basis of old Soviet taxi fleets. Only minibuses, with the advent of Gazelle minibuses, reached an unprecedented peak and managed to partially displace the passenger transport market from traditional public transport. But the modern taxi business is developing according to different laws than Soviet-era taxis.
At the end of the 20th century, cars that worked in the Moscow taxi in the 90s: these are GAZ-31029, Moskvich-2141, and the updated Moskvich - 2141 Svyatogor, and the last of
domestic cars Volga GAZ 3110.
In the new century, the taxi fleet in Moscow consists mainly of foreign cars. The most popular cars are Renault Logan, Ford Focus, Citroen Berlingo, Chevrolet Lacheti, Hyundai Sonata, Skoda Octavia. Also, in addition to the small and middle class, business class cars (Nissan Teana, Ford Mondeo, Toyota Camry) and premium class cars (Mercedes-Benz E class) appeared.
Modern Moscow taxi represents a huge number of carriers, including illegal ones. In 2011, a new taxi law was adopted. Now, to provide taxi services, you must have a license for this type of activity. We can only hope that in the end Moscow taxi will acquire a new status, a status that will be determined by safety, high-quality services and service.
History of Moscow taxi - modern taxi
June 29, 2012 in the Central Park of Culture and Leisure named after. Gorky, the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the Moscow taxi took place. Visitors were presented with the past and future of the capital's taxi industry.
The inventor of the predecessor of taximeters is considered to be the ancient Greek mathematician, physicist and mechanic Heron of Alexandria, who in the first century BC calculated the ingenious device odometer - a counter for the number of revolutions of the wheels of a simple cart. Its real design remains unknown, and the idea of the odometer was the coincidence of holes in the cover of the device and in a horizontal disk, which was rotated from the axis of the cart by a precisely calculated system of gear and worm gears.
Presumable design of the odometer of the prehistoric inventor Heron of Alexandria
At a certain moment, previously prepared balls or pebbles fell into the receiving box, and their number was used to determine the length of the path traveled and, accordingly, the amount of the fare. In subsequent designs, the disk rotated digital cylinders that indicated the mileage traveled.
The world's first taximeters and taxis
After tens of centuries, these ancient inventions were revived, redesigned many times and they came up with the word “taximeter”, which is understandable to the whole world, meaning simply “price meter”. These were mechanical devices with several digital drums for measuring the distance traveled and determining the tax - the cost of travel. At first they were installed on hired horse-drawn carriages, which were then replaced by special passenger cars equipped with taximeters - taxis or simply taxis.
The second invention of the taximeter took place in 1889, when the German engineer Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn developed and assembled the first odometer for horse-drawn carriages, patented in November 1892.
The world's first retractable odometer for horse-drawn carriages designed by Friedrich Bruhn. 1893 The most important result of his work was the world's first taxi car, Taxametr Droschke, on the chassis of a four-seat self-propelled Daimler Motorkutsche vehicle with a taximeter and a four-horsepower rear-mounted engine. The car was ordered by a local owner of horse-drawn carriages and in May 1897 he demonstrated it on the streets of Stuttgart.
The world's first self-propelled hackney droshky Motor Taxametr Droschke with a taximeter on a Daimler chassis. 1897 In addition, Bruhn was the first to equip taximeters with manual folding levers with signs informing passengers whether the vehicle was free or occupied. In subsequent years, the German inventor received a number of patents for new designs of his massive rectangular and cylindrical taximeters, demonstrated them in different countries and then founded several factories for their mass production.
A massive, sophisticated car taximeter used in St. Petersburg. 1906
Cylindrical taximeter with digital cylinders made by an unnamed company from Berlin
The first steps of taximeters and taxis
At first, when there were no special taxi cars, the only example to follow were horse-drawn carriages, the design of which had been fine-tuned over centuries. The French adopted their legendary fiacres as a basis, the British - tall, prim cabs, in the countries of Central Europe - droshky, in Russia - the cab driver's cab. The problem of converting them into self-propelled carriages was solved quite simply: the horse was unharnessed from the horse-drawn carriage, replacing it with a lightweight gasoline engine and rear-wheel drive. And here's a motor taxi!
Car taxis of the late 19th and early 20th centuries looked almost no different from ordinary passenger cars, not counting the taximeters sticking out on different sides, and in the old fashioned way they were called motor fiacres, cabs, droshky. They were equipped with different types of engines, open or closed bodies with canopies or canopies to protect passengers and the “motor cab” from the sun and bad weather. It was believed that the driver should have freedom of movement, good visibility and the ability to communicate with pedestrians, police and other drivers.
French "span" Unic 12/14CV model 1908, English assembly in the London City Museum (photo by the author) 
On the streets of Berlin, Opel 10/20PS taxi cars with round taximeters next to the driver's seats. 1907 
British hackney cab Rational 10/12HP with horizontal engine and planetary gearbox. 1909 These not very convenient and comfortable self-propelled strollers of small dimensions were lightweight, maneuverable and could accommodate quite a lot of luggage - on the platform behind the driver’s seat, on the running boards, the rear wall of the body or on the roof.
Of the huge number of various taxis, the light car Renault AG-1 with a 12-horsepower engine and a bright red four-seater body, produced in 1907-1914, became a particular celebrity.
Parisian Renault AG-1 taxis with taximeters on the left edge of the bodies reached speeds of 50 km/h It was a fragile and purely civilian car, which, by the will of fate, influenced the course of a major military battle and became known as the Marne taxi. In September 1914, such vehicles were used to urgently transfer a large number of reservists to the front, defending Paris from German troops who had already crossed the Marne River.
The driver of a Parisian taxi Renault AG-1 is ready to go to the front line on the Marne. September 6-7, 1914 
An unrestored Marne taxi AG-1 was kept in the Paris Army Museum near Napoleon's tomb In pre-revolutionary Russia, supporters of the creation of a taxi service had to start with a struggle for spheres of influence with cab drivers, who flourished rapidly in all cities. The official taxi business in St. Petersburg was opened in May 1907; in Moscow, one of the first motor taxis appeared in September. For them, only imported cars from small and more well-known Western companies were used.
A Laurin-Klement GDV car operating in St. Petersburg with a taximeter and an 18-horsepower engine. 1910 Rare exceptions in the field of taxis were trial electric cars (a story about them ahead), cars with front-wheel drive and horizontal engines, as well as English and French taxi cabs with a high driver’s seat, sitting “on the beam” behind a covered passenger compartment.
Original British low profile Pullcar 12/14HP taxi with front wheel drive. 1906 
British Vauxhall taxi cab, assembled in 55 copies for tourist trips around London. 1905
Single-seat stroller with an elevated driver's position. 1910
French covered taxi Roval with a high location of the driver and controls. 1909 Heavy and massive taximeters gradually gave way to compact cylindrical structures, which were installed in special sockets in places where the driver and passenger could see them at the same time: in front of the windshield, in doorways, on the backs of seats, etc.
Taxi on the road to manhood
In the 1920s in Western Europe, the final transition took place from horse-drawn passenger carriages to fairly durable, sophisticated and practical taxi cars based on serial passenger cars, outwardly distinguished only by taximeters placed to the side of the body. During the difficult interwar period, the desire to acquire the cheapest cars led to the creation of miniature and inexpensive public taxis from the famous brands Renault, Citroen, Hanomag, Dixi and others.
A primitive unique Hanomag Kommissbrot nicknamed “stale humpback” in a taxi version. 1927 (photo by the author) 
French taxi cab for exploring Paris on a Citroen C2 minicar with the driver's seat behind the cab. 1923 
The German 24-horsepower mini-taxi Dixi 6/24HP with a Landaulet body developed a speed of 80 km/h. 1924 To make it easier to get in and out, transformable bodies were installed on a number of cars, but they didn’t catch on.
Bold experiments with Renault KJ1 taxi for the convenience of passengers. 1924
To quickly identify taxis in city traffic, they began to be painted in bright colors, and the bodies were equipped with a yellow distinctive stripe or special waist bands with black and white squares - “checkered”. They say they were invented by some joker who took as a model a hat ribbon worn by women of easy virtue to attract attention.
American Checker taxi car, which first featured a checkerboard stripe on the sides. 1922 
Luxurious Austrian taxi Steyr XII with large “checkered” panels on the sides of the passenger compartment. 1928 Upon completion of settlements with passengers, most taxis turned on a folding lever with the word “Free” in different languages. On such signs and along the sides the inscription “For Hire” was often written, and attractively bright lights of different colors lit up.
Mechanical light taximeter with two bulbs of different colors. 1924
English Argo device with a rotating flag with the inscription For Hire. 1936
In the 1930s, small-scale production of spacious and solid so-called “London taxis”, painted only black, began in Great Britain. Over time, they won the championship in Europe in special and exotic cars with an original interior layout, an internal partition, open space for large items and a removable grille on the roof.
One of the first London Austin 12/4 taxis with Mulliner body and side rack. 1933 
Serial taxi Morris Commercial G2SW with space for loading large luggage directly from the street. 1937 Their main innovation was a spacious luggage compartment with completely open access from the outside, located on the front left side of the car. In France, similar taxis with widened doors were produced.
French taxi Renault KZ11 with a front door that swung open 180 degrees. 1933 (photo by the author) With the end of the First World War, a large diversified company from Scotland, Beardmore, began its activities, producing four types of roomy taxis of controversial appearance, intended to serve paved roads and characterized by high ground clearance.
The Scottish taxi car Beardmore Mk II with a ground clearance of 254 mm reached a speed of 110 km/h. 1923 In the early 20s, a small American company, Checker, began producing its own taxis, to which Yellow Cab, which used serial chassis from the General Motors Corporation, soon added. Both represented a unique case in automotive history, as they specialized almost entirely in the production of original multi-seat taxis in exceptional yellow color.
A typical American Checker taxi with a narrow checkered belt and lots of lights. 1933 In June 1925, the first 15 Renault KZ cars, which were called “irons” or “Brownings” for their strange appearance and shiny black color, took to the streets of Moscow. Passengers, who had never seen anything like it, were most interested in the box with moving numbers (taximeter): they were surprised at how smartly and accurately it counted without getting lost; they asked how the box guessed how many miles had already been covered.
Display of the French five-seater Renault KZ Brownings on the chassis of the Vivaquatre passenger car. 1925 
The outlandish 35-horsepower Renault KZ taxi car, more than four meters long, reached a speed of 85 km/h In 1932, the Gorky Automobile Plant began producing GAZ-A passenger taxis with a partition in the cabin, a middle folding seat and space for luggage next to the driver. After it, the taxi category was supplemented by the GAZ M-1 emka with a taximeter installed above the windshield, a rear folding luggage rack and a lamp with an illuminated inscription “Taxi”.
"Emka" taxi with a trunk enlarged by moving the spare wheel to the left step. 1936 By the end of the interwar period, more advanced and compact mechanical taximeters had appeared, which provided an expanded set of information (date, time of boarding and completion of the trip, distance traveled, etc.). They were driven by soft rollers or flexible cables, which transmitted torque from the gearbox through special gearboxes. Small taximeters began to move inside the body and settled on the instrument panel, where, together with speedometers, they formed a single device with two independent functions. On the outside, they were replaced by illuminated signs on the roof with the inscription Taxi, giving the impression of a complete absence of taximeters.
The title photo shows a picturesque scene at a London train station: suitcases being loaded into an open luggage compartment and onto the roof of a 1929 Morris Commercial G1 taxi
