Did you know that the word taxi is the same in most languages? But only the New York City taxi will have its 100th anniversary in 2007. No other taxi has been more celebrated and reviled; no other has been more visible in film and television; the NYC taxi is internationally known. Every type of human interaction you can possibly imagine has taken place in the back of a NYC taxi. Over 30,000 yellow taxicabs ply the streets of New York City, and more than 60,000 cab drivers are regulated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Parsons and the Design Trust for Public Space, a nonprofit group, invited members of the taxi industry, New York City’s taxi regulators, and some of the nation’s finest designers to brainstorm about changing the taxi system and the vehicle itself.

At a recent forum titled “Designing the Taxi,” T&LC Commissioner Matthew Daus pointed out that “a taxi is not just a car; it is as much a part of our public space as plazas and sidewalks” (he also declared that yellow is his favorite color). “Taxis may be ubiquitous and iconic, but they are not practical or beautiful,” said architecture critic, Pulitzer-prize winning author, and the dean of Parsons School of Design, Paul Goldberger.

© 2005 Antenna Design New York Inc.

Recognizing the difficulty of changing such an embedded yet problematic system, “Designing the Taxi” moderator and culture critic Kurt Anderson asked whether it was too blue-sky to think that the taxi world as we know it could be radically different. On the other hand, he said, if anyone had floated the notion in 1990 that there could be a 70- percent reduction in crime within 15 years in New York City, we’d have thought they were crazy … so change is possible.

Suggestions from a wide range of panelists (urban, architectural and graphic designers, taxi fleet owners, drivers, and regulators) ranged from fantastic to feasible. Harris Silver from design firm CityStreets (a nonprofit focusing on urban transportation issues) envisioned the “Cabsule,” a tall, narrow vehicle in which up to six passengers could sit or stand, with automatic doors for handicapped access, a dog compartment, room for strollers, and built-in baby seats. To ease traffic congestion, he proposed “dynamic ride-sharing,” where the passenger could opt in or out (with financial incentives to increase the number of passengers). A drive-in taxi stand, with a carwash and a bathroom for drivers, would also allow hybrid-vehicle recharging, and a cashless system (pre-paid or credit card) would eliminate robbery as a motive (obviating the need for crime-stopping bulletproof partitions, which often cause serious injuries). Silver wants to see gender parity and health insurance for drivers; he also designed a series of drivers’ hats to personalize the fleets.