When you look at taxi cab service, the image that most likely springs to mind is a car. It is probably a sedan, and it's maybe yellow. Many cabs are yellow in color simply because it is thought to be a highly noticeable color, but nowadays many other bright colors are used.
The idea of hired transportation predates the automotive by a large margin. It might be that people were hiring others to take them to locations long before you jumped into that Aurora airport taxi. It would probably be a safe bet that hired transport has existed for almost since the wheel has been around. Some of the initial taximeters we know about were simple tools used in early Rome.
It wasn't till the 1600s that the taxi business saw any sort of organization or control. Prior to this time, most cabs were privately owned. The first recorded taxi service was launched in Paris in 1640 and England's 1635 Hackney Carriage Act was among the first pieces of legislation administering hired vehicles.
More regulation and a perhaps a bit of modern business acumen resulted into the widespread popularization of the Hansom cab in the 1800s. Hansom cabs were lightweight and faster than previous designs. Then again, their real appeal was in the added basic safety and cornering ability afforded by the low body and center of gravity.
Nowadays things are a little bit different. Early taxis depended solely on muscle strength, usually from horses and sometimes from people. These days most taxi cab service providers make use of a fleet of cars and vans to move passengers.. Whether you're using an Elk Grove Village taxi or a Naperville airport taxi, a common sight is a van or SUV, as they have more room for passengers and luggage.
Cars are nevertheless the most common taxi cabs. In years past there were firms that made cars solely for use as taxicabs. Today a lot of them are normal cars. In the U.S. they are usually large domestic cars like the Crown Victoria that offer abundant interiors.
Many taxi services have used smaller models with much better fuel efficiency, or even hybrids. In China the taxi of choice is a Volkswagen or Hyundai. Many of Great Britain's taxis, generally known as Black Cabs or Hackney Carriages, are manufactured solely for the industry. For a long time Mexico's public taxi fleet included original Volkswagen Beetles but these have been phased out.
Other taxis have practically nothing to do with cars at all. In coastal cities like Venice or Amsterdam taxi boats are really good because their canal systems make water transport very simple. In other locations, a taxi boat may take visitors to an offshore island for sightseeing. In some parts of the world motorcycle taxis are also used by attaching a cart to the bike. Some folks might just hop on the back, providing what might end up to be a traumatic experience.
