City records.
A closer look.
Cab Archive follows street hire, closed syndicates and the people behind the taxi trade.
A city seen from the cab.
A cab rank is a small map of power: who may wait, who sets the fare and who gets the next passenger. We follow these questions through the records of working cities.
Illustrated essays connect horse cabs, motor fleets, dispatch rooms and driver associations. Collections trace the institutions and daily work behind a familiar ride.
Curiosity, with context.
Begin with the place
A licence, a rank and a union mean different things in different cities. We keep the place, period and legal setting in view.
Follow the changes
A memoir, a newspaper allegation and a court finding are different kinds of evidence. We distinguish them, including when a closed association was entirely lawful.
Leave a trail to read further
Article references are a starting point for further exploration. Where accounts disagree or evidence is uncertain, we aim to leave room for that uncertainty and for more than one interpretation.
Images invite you in. Context takes you further.
Our illustrations are editorial reconstructions made with generative tools, not archival photographs or documents. Writing and translation also use AI assistance; sources and interpretations deserve critical reading.
Choose a city. Follow a fare.
Start with a collection, search for a city or open the latest chronicle. Every route leads into the archive.
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