How taxis appeared in the USSR and what happened to them: "Comfortable transport accessible to a working person"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

During the Soviet era, taxis were not used very often. This was not the mode of transport used by the average citizen. Quite often a trip in a checkered car was a whole event: they used a taxi in exceptional cases, ordering a car by phone or waiting for it at special street parking lots. Read about when and where the first taxi services appeared, what was the first taxi car in Russia and why the profession of a taxi driver in the USSR was very prestigious.

First taximeters in London and horse-drawn taxi service in Russia

Before cars appeared in every city in the world, cabbies worked instead of taxis. They waited for wealthy clients near theaters, restaurants and other public places. In the 17th century in England, in London, the authorities issued an official license to the coachmen to drive, that is, something remotely resembling a taxi service appeared. At the same time, such services began to appear in Paris and Moscow.

Time passed, and at the end of the 19th century, horse-drawn carriages - fiacre - left on the streets of France. They did not become popular among the population, because there was no single fare for travel, and the trip was quite expensive. Fiacre were often viewed as fun. The name itself came from France - taxi. It comes from the term taximeter, which means a counter. The cars were called taxis. Since the beginning of the 20th century, taxis have increasingly been equipped with taximeters in Europe. As for the Russian Empire, the so-called horse-drawn taxi was in great demand, but customers were unhappy with the prices. There was no single tariff, and the cost depended on the mood of the driver.

It was impossible to stop technical progress. At the end of the 19th century, in St. Petersburg and Moscow, they started talking about the introduction of a unified travel tax. The drivers were reluctant to install meters, as it interfered with left-wing income. It was impossible to inflate the price in terms of bad weather, night time, unfavorable area. The fare has become cheaper. The owners of taxi companies, feeling the discontent of the drivers, decided to buy models with built-in taximeters, these were French Renault.

The first auto-taxi in Russia, Moscow Oldsmobile, taxis in St. Petersburg and the dominance of foreign cars

In pre-revolutionary Russia, the first taxi car hit the streets in 1906. It happened in Turkestan, when a local merchant brought a Berlie car from Moscow to the capital of the Semirechansk region, Verny. In 1907, in Moscow, a car enthusiast hung a sign on his car “Cab driver. Tax by mutual agreement. " In the same year, the Taxi Exchange was opened in Moscow, and in St. Petersburg in 1909, the private office "St. Petersburg Taxi" was opened. The vehicle fleet consisted of Ford cars.

The Association of Automobile Movement was opened in Moscow, at its disposal were 4 cars of the Fiat, Darracq and NAG brands. A year later, there were already forty cars, and in 1912 - 250. Taxi services were gaining popularity and had a good profitability. During the First World War and the October Revolution, the taxi was forgotten; it was remembered in 1925 as "a comfortable transport available to an ordinary working person." In the thirties, services began to develop rapidly, Fords were purchased, and the production of domestic cars began. The first model that increased the Soviet taxi fleet many times over was the GAZ-A, then the M-1 appeared. These were copies of Western cars with reinforced chassis, which was very important for driving on Russian roads.

Post-war limousines and the triumphal procession of GAZ-21

In the pre-war years, the so-called "Soviet limousines" - ZiS-101, drove around in Moscow and Minsk. There were no more than 55 of them, since the models were premium. They did not differ in good maneuverability, were not used in the army, so they became the base for post-war taxi companies. During the Great Patriotic War, the taxi did not work, all cars were sent to the front. Taxi began to return only towards the end of 1945.

True, by this time the ZiS-101 were technically outdated. The legendary "Victories" produced by the Gorky Automobile Plant began to appear on the roads. Such cars were painted according to a single standard - they had a gray bottom and a white top, which were separated by a strip of checkers. This appearance made the taxi stand out from the mass of transport. But the most famous taxi car was the GAZ-21 "Volga", which appeared in 1957. It is worth remembering the famous films "The Diamond Arm", "Three Poplars on Plyushchikha", "Beware of the Car" - this "Volga" appeared everywhere. The GAZ-21 taxi was painted in a light green-yellow color, in addition, it had a radio communication system with the dispatcher and was distinguished by a comfortable and spacious interior.

Soviet taxi drivers, and why it was very difficult to become one

Taxi in the USSR was a unique phenomenon: on the one hand, it is a luxury and comfortable movement, and on the other hand, low prices and endless queues at the parking lots, to which Soviet people are so accustomed. The profession of a taxi driver in the USSR was very prestigious and well paid. Finding such a job was very difficult, unlike today. The driver had to have excellent driving skills, be able to navigate in any terrain, even unfamiliar (there was no question of modern GPS navigators that suggested the way). In addition, the driver was required to be well versed in the structure of the car and be able to repair it.

The situation with car repairs in the USSR was also not very good. Well, and communication with people - with passengers you had to be polite and tactful. A kind of universal specialist, isn't that so? The attitude towards taxi drivers and taxi services was ambiguous. Someone used it with pleasure, someone annoyed, but in any case, Soviet cars with checkered sides were remembered by many. The best traditions of Soviet "taxis" are reflected in modern services.

Although working in a taxi was considered a man's job, women still turned the wheel. As well as mastered space and other complex professions.