In the late 1800s, electric taxis came out as a new way to get around cities, competing with horse-drawn wagons and the first gasoline-powered cars. When they came out in 1897 in London and New York City, these first electric cabs were a quiet, clean, and easy-to-use alternative to their noisy and polluting peers.
Bersey Electric Cab
The London Electrical Cab Company brought the Bersey Electric Cab to London in 1897. It was the city’s first cab that could move itself. These unique black and yellow cars were designed by Walter Bersey. They had a Johnson-Lundell electric motor and a 40-cell lead-acid battery that gave them a range of 48–56 km and a top speed of 12 mph. The Bersey cabs were called “hummingbirds” because of the sound they made. At first, they were very popular, but they had some problems running. Their large size put a lot of stress on the batteries and tires, which caused them to break down often and cost a lot to fix. Because of these problems and the high cost of power, they were taken out of service by 1899.
Samuel’s Electric Carriage
Samuel’s Electric Carriage and Wagon Company brought electric hansom cabs to New York City in 1897. They started with 12 cars and quickly grew their fleet to 62 by 1898. These cars, called Electrobats, were made to be used in cities. They have features like quick acceleration and quiet operation. Because of how well the business did, it changed its name to the Electric Vehicle Company and by the early 1900s had nearly 1,000 electric cars running in New York. Even though electric taxis were very popular, they had problems, like needing new batteries all the time and having a short range. The business finally shut down because of a terrible fire in 1907 and the financial crisis that same year.
Pros And Cons
In the late 1800s, electric taxis were better in a number of ways than their gasoline and steam-powered peers. They were cleaner, quieter, and easier to use because you didn’t have to change gears by hand or turn them by hand to start them. This made them very popular with people who lived in cities. But these cars had a lot of problems, like a short range and the need to swap out batteries often. At their Broadway workshop in New York, the Electric Vehicle Company created a unique battery swap system that lets 1350-pound battery packs be quickly swapped out using hydraulic pistons. Despite these efforts, electric taxis eventually went out of business in the early 1900s because they were expensive to maintain and use electricity, and gasoline cars were getting better at what they did.
The Fall And The Legacy
Several things led to the end of electric taxis in the early 1900s. One was Charles Kettering’s invention of the electric starter for gasoline cars in 1912, which got rid of the need to turn the starter by hand. Also, the mass production of cheap gasoline cars like the Ford Model T, which came out in 1908, made internal combustion engines easier for more people to get. Even though they were no longer seen on city streets by 1935, the first electric cabs paved the way for future improvements in electric cars. Their work continues to inspire modern attempts to make city transportation more environmentally friendly. For example, electric and hybrid taxis are becoming popular again in New York City, where the Tesla Model 3 was approved for taxi service in 2019.