Long before the automobile, rented transportation included ferries and animal-drawn coaches.  With the advent of the automobile in the 1890s, electric-powered cabs made their appearance in certain American cities.  In 1900, the New York Taxi Cab Company brought over 600 French-made, gasoline powered, red and green cars.  In England, the first gasoline cabs appeared in 1903.  The name "taxi" is derived from the taximeter, invented by Wilhelm Bruhn in 1893. from the French "taxe" (price) and Greek "metron" (measure); the device measured both distance and time.  The word "cab" derives from cabriolet, a horse-powered carriage.  For material focusing mainly on New York taxis, see the PBS site, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/taxidreams/history/.  For information on London cabs, see http://knowledgeoflondon.com/taxis.html.  For an essay on Canadian taxis, see http://taxi-world.home.att.net/davis.htm.  

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