Yellow cabs celebrate 100 years

All hail the taxi: 2007 marks the 100th anniversary of the metered cab.

City officials yesterday marked the centennial by unveiling the
first yellow cab decorated with panels painted in floral patterns by
schoolchildren.

"What better way to celebrate the New York taxi's centennial than to
emphasize the creativity of our children and to display that creativity
for the enjoyment of millions of people every day," said Taxi and
Limousine Commission Chairman Matthew Daus.

It's the latest look for the iconic New York City yellow cab, which
originally was red. Businessman Harry Allen in 1907 assembled a small
fleet of 65 shiny red French Darracq cabs, equipped with meters, and an
industry was born.

Allen launched the business after becoming incensed when a hansom
cab driver charged him and a female companion what he saw as an
excessive amount of money - $5 - for a three-quarter-mile trip in
Manhattan, according to taxi historian Graham Hodges, author of "Taxi!
A Social History of the New York City Cabdriver."

"One hundred years of New York City wreaks many changes in our
lives," Hodges said yesterday. "The taxi driver and his cab are
enduring symbols of New York for tourists and denizens alike. Times may
change, but the hackmen, their virtues and their problems go on
forever."

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