The history of taxis in Madrid: from their origins to today

The history of taxis in Madrid begins long before the motor car. When the royal court settled in the town in 1561, there were already people hiring out mules and sedan chairs for getting around its streets; then came horse-drawn cabs for hire, which the city named simones and manuelas, and which the City Council gradually brought under rules on ranks and prices. At the start of the 20th century the first autotaxis (motor taxis) with meters appeared and, over the course of that century, the taxi became a public service with a municipal licence, its own livery and radio dispatch. Today it adds card payment, booking by phone, website or messaging, and an increasingly electrified fleet.

With the capital came nobles, officials, ambassadors and merchants who needed to get around narrow, steep and often muddy streets. Keeping your own carriage was expensive, so transport to order emerged.

Hired mules and sedan chairs

A mule was hired by the journey or by the day, often with a lad who went along with it and brought it back. For short distances, and for anyone who wanted to arrive without getting dirty, there was the sedan chair, an enclosed seat carried on the shoulders of two porters; litters, which were larger, could be carried by people or by animals. These were services for the few, but they already held the idea of the taxi: paying someone else for a specific journey.

The simón and the manuela

Once the main streets were better suited to wheels, the horse-drawn cab for hire took over, and Madrid gave it two proper names that ended up as common nouns. Simón was for a long time the Madrid word for a hired carriage with a coachman, taken by the journey or by the hour; the most widespread explanation, recorded in the Spanish Royal Academy dictionary, is that it comes from the name of a Madrid carriage hirer. The manuela was a light, open carriage drawn by a single horse, associated with outings in good weather, Sunday trips and street fiestas; in cold or rainy weather people preferred a closed carriage.

The coches de punto and the first municipal rules

The carriages that waited for passengers at a fixed spot in the street were called coches de punto, because they stood “de punto”, at a rank. They raised problems very similar to those of today's taxis: where they can stop, how many fit, who you complain to if the coachman overcharges. The answer was municipal regulation, which over the 19th century comes down to four ideas:

• Designated ranks in busy squares and streets, so as not to block the way.
• Identification of every carriage, so that complaints could be made.
• Prices set by the authorities, by the journey or by the hour, instead of being agreed each time.
• Minimum standards for the carriage, the horse and the coachman's conduct.

This was the seed of the licence and of official fares. Hiring a carriage worked almost as it does today: you looked for the nearest rank or waved down a free one and paid according to the fare in force. The word that would eventually name the service came later and from abroad: we explain where the word taxi comes from.

Madrid's first motor taxis were the autotaxis, hire cars with a chauffeur and a meter that began running at the start of the 20th century; the date usually given for their launch is 1909. They arrived in a city in full transformation: work on the Gran Vía began in 1910 and the first metro line opened in 1919. Madrid was growing out towards its new districts and a fast hire car fitted that new pace.

The big novelty was not just the engine but the meter. The taximeter was a mechanical device, connected to the wheels, that added up distance and waiting time to show the fare. The first models had a small metal flag that the driver lowered at the start of the journey: hence the expression «bajada de bandera» (“lowering the flag”) that Spaniards still use for the initial charge. We explain the device and how it evolved in the history of the taxi and the taximeter. With use, “autotaxi” was shortened to “taxi”.

Years of coexistence with horse-drawn cabs

The changeover was not immediate. During the first decades of the century, simones could be seen at the ranks alongside motor cars: some passengers stuck with the horse out of habit or because of the price, while others preferred the speed of the engine. The chauffeur gradually replaced the coachman, and the rules designed for carriages were extended to motor vehicles.

At first it was a service for particular occasions and deep pockets: getting to the railway station with luggage, going out to the theatre at night or arriving on time for an urgent appointment.

Scarcity first, growth later

The Civil War and the post-war period were very hard years: cars, fuel and spare parts were in short supply, and many vehicles stayed in service well beyond their working life. With a national car industry and the economic growth that followed, Spanish-made cars became more affordable and the city spread out towards the outskirts. The taxi went from an occasional luxury to everyday transport.

A livery of its own so the taxi could be recognised

For much of the century, Madrid's taxis were black with a red stripe, the image that appears in photographs and films of the period. Later the current livery was adopted: a white body with a diagonal red band on the front doors and the city's coat of arms. We go into detail in the colour of taxis in Madrid. On top of the paintwork came the illuminated roof sign, the green “free” light, the visible licence number and fares on display for the passenger.

Licences, associations and radio dispatch

Over those decades the pieces we now take for granted fell into place:

• The municipal licence, which limits the number of taxis and links each one to a holder and a vehicle.
• The driver's permit, which certifies that whoever is at the wheel knows the city and the rules.
• Taxi drivers' associations and federations, which represent the sector before the authorities.
• Radio taxi dispatch centres: the customer phoned, the switchboard located the nearest free car by radio and the taxi went to pick them up. It was the first big revolution in how people ordered a taxi since the arrival of the engine.

From the city centre to the airport

Madrid no longer ended at its ring roads. The surrounding towns grew, Barajas gained traffic and taxis had to cover ever longer journeys. To organise this, a joint service area was defined in which taxis from Madrid and several nearby towns can operate, the airport included; its boundaries are set by the regulations in force. Passengers changed too: families with lots of luggage, groups and business travellers, who today can travel together in taxis with up to 7 seats.

With the new century, GPS and card readers became standard, apps made it possible to order and pay from your phone and new competitors appeared in transport with a driver. Concern about air quality pushed the sector towards hybrid, gas and electric vehicles.

For airport journeys, the big novelty was knowing the price in advance. With our service, the trip between inside the M-30 and any Barajas terminal costs €33, a fixed fare that does not depend on traffic; the other areas are listed in our table of fares by area. What has changed in recent years and where the sector is heading is something we analyse in the past and future of the taxi in the capital.

Between a simón and a modern taxi, speed, comfort and payment have changed, but some things are constant:

• A service regulated by the City Council, ever since the coches de punto.
• A controlled price: first fares by the journey or by the hour, then the meter and now fixed prices too.
• Ranks and journeys as the way the service is organised.
• Knowledge of the city: from coachman to taxi driver, the value of the trade has always been knowing how to get there.

The reasons for taking a taxi have not changed that much either: that station with trunks is today the airport with suitcases. If you are travelling early, you can book your airport taxi in advance and, if you are arriving by plane, ask to be met with a pickup at the terminal.