taxicab

A taxicab is an automobile, driven by a chauffeur (or "cabbie"), that carries passengers between two points for a fare. The term taxicab is derived from two words taximeter and cabriolet. The taximeter, invented by Wilhelm Bruhn in 1891, is an instrument that automatically records the distance and/or time of a journey. This enables a driver to accurately determine the fare to charge a passenger. The cabriolet was a two-wheeled, one-horse carriage, which could be rented.

The earliest taxi service was established in 1640 in Paris, France. It used horse-drawn carriages, rather than automobiles, to transport customers. Electric-automobile taxis were first put into service in the late 1890s in Germany. The modern, gasoline-powered taxi made its debut around 1907. Frenchman Louise Renault (1877-1944) operated the first fleet of gasoline-powered taxis.