22 March 1907…The first TAXI Meter fitted to a motor cab

22 March 1907…Happy birthday in London to the first TAXI Meter fitted to a motor cab

The Taximeter gave its name to the London Taximeter Cab, later to be shortened to TAXI. 

The PCO did not pass the meter for horse drawn cabs. This resulted in 3 different tariffs in London.

Motor cab 8d for the first mile and then 2d a quarter of a mile

Horse drawn cabs within the four mile circle 6d a mile then, a shilling a mile.

Outside the four mile circle one shilling a mile all the time.

Source: Stanley Roth

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT:

Taximeter

The name taxicab was taken from the word taximeter. The taximeter is the instrument that measures the distance or time a vehicle travels and allows an accurate fare to be determined. The taximeter was invented by the German inventor, Wilhelm Bruhn in 1891.

Daimler Victoria

Gottlieb Daimler built the world's first dedicated taxi in 1897 called the Daimler Victoria. The taxi came equipped with the newly invented taxi meter. 

On 16 June 1897, the Daimler Victoria taxi was delivered to Friedrich Greiner, a Stuttgart entrepreneur who started the world's first motorized taxi company.