One hundred years ago
ONCE more a cab-distance recorder is declared to have been perfected. The Times of Tuesday describes it as a dial fixed inside the cab, on which the number of revolutions made by the wheel are expressed in miles. No doubt the invention, if successful, would do away with one of the chief minor worries of London — the question, how much to give the cabman — but we expect that there will be found insuper- able objections to the plan. What is to prevent the cabman, when it is a ques- tion of just getting over the two miles, zigzagging across a broad and empty throughfare, and so running up his revolutions? We believe that the best plan for people who have not London distances at their fingers'-ends, is to stick to the old rule of a penny a minute. If you look at your watch when you get in, and again when the cab stops, and find that not more than twelve minutes have elapsed, you are safe in assuming that it is only a shilling fare. Two miles in twelve minutes means ten miles an hour. But cabs are not allowed by the police regulations to drive at anything like that pace and as a matter of fact never do. By adopting the penny-a- minute calculation, the "fare" is sure to be well on the liberal side.
The Spectator, 3 October 1891
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