• Nov 19, 2024 14:00
• Proffesional Transportation
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History And Evolution Of Vehicles For Hire

Our ancestors of the far past practiced a very different lifestyle than us today. Organized in small tribal groups; settled in relatively small areas; kept busy by working inherited or captured land, hunting, fishing and gathering off of the trees and bushes; which provided means to their existence.

Not before trading took place, was there a need to leave the tribal setting, or commute anywhere. Trading , on the other hand, required the move of groups of people along with the traded goods to be transported. To help with this task camels, donkeys, horses, mules were engaged in the process.

Over the years, trading opened the views of people to new places, made connections between tribes, brought them closer to each other, and contributed to the appearance of communal settlements, which emerged into small and further into bigger cities.

Cities as the hosts for large communities

City living had it’s challenges. Being quite large, one of them was the need of transportation within the city limits to fulfill basic necessities.

Intercity relationships, intensified by trade and political elements, engaged more people needing to commute from one place to another, passenger ground transportation becoming widely practiced by many and becoming a new reality. This made a slow transition from larger groups transporting traded goods, to smaller groups, or individuals transporting goods for trading purposes.

Tradesperson, not always possessing means of transportation, required to be assisted. Creating the base for the beginning and development of passenger ground transportation services. With time people started to be specialized, offering transportation on a permanent basis when needed.

People with service oriented mindsets

Who are the people who found themselves interested and able to offer transportation services ?

In any society, at any given time throughout history, human nature has been same as it is now. There are numerous occupations practiced by people, but it appears that the same types of people perform the same or similar types of activities across history.

There are ambitious people, enthusiasts who are looking to find out what is new, discover or conquer. There are achievers or gatherers, who are primarily interested in the accumulation of wealth, be it in the form of money, land, cattle, buildings, products or goods. There are public oriented thinkers and talkers primarily interested in the creation of an organized social structure and be in charge of it, influence and control over the crowds. And there are communal, service oriented people who do not seem to have neither big ambitions, nor the desire to gather or control. These people are peaceful and friendly, show understanding and sympathy towards their group peers, and genuinely want to help and support their community in any possible way. These people immerse themselves in offering various services to other people, transportation being one of them.

There always were people who could afford to own means of transportation, and at times were looking for someone to operate it. And people who would not own their transportation means, relying on the assistance of the “horse and carriage” person, who would be engaged on demand. This “horse and carriage” type of person would be free to choose at whose service to be, where to go, how long to stay, what price to ask for the rendered services.

Sedans, Limousines and Taxis

Records show that back in early 17th century, first time in 1605 horse-drawn carriages were made available for hire on the streets of London, UK, introducing the concept of Taxi as we would come to know it. Not until 1897, when gas powered Taxi with a meter would arrive on the scene, beginning a new era of Taxi Industry.

Across the channel, particularly in Limoges, France, the wealthy owners of vehicles would hire people to operate it. A coil burning chamber, used in place of the current engine, needed permanent attention, the process being known as “chauffer”. The person engaged in it was called “Chauffeur” and the type of transportation was conceptualized as “Limousine”.

Since then exists the conceptual divide between a Metered Taxi and a Chauffeured Limousine. This way marking the perception of the Taxi being for general public’s use, and the Limousine being available only to a select category of people who are able to afford it.

But where is the service oriented person to be found in this picture ? The simple answer would be on both sides, which would make a fair statement. Although the “horse and carriage” type of person also transitioned into a vehicle owner, who would be for hire and willing to go on a journey. Due to the fact that Metered Taxis are bound to a certain local jurisdiction and have limited hours of operation, and the specifics of the Limousine Service, the “horse and carriage” person of the past, currently a vehicle owner, became known to be offering certain type of services as being : hired by the day, out of town transportation, long distance travel, road tours, special occasions etc. This slowly became to be known as Sedan Service.

Conclusion

Sedans, Limousines and Taxis are present in today’s modern world and are common options of passenger ground transportation services. The interaction between providers and users being bridged by various informational channels as the telephone lines, internet websites, mobile applications, the principle and the scope of service remains unchanged.

While the infrastructure and circumstances are permanently changing and evolving from one form into another, human society has the same needs, ground transportation is one of the necessary basic needs which is better fulfilled according to it’s purpose. Different purposes caused market segmentation into Sedans, Limousines and Taxis which are being engaged in the same process, but differ in the nature and scope of their service.