Driving has not traditionally been viewed as a feminine occupation, a notion even more prevalent in early 20th-century Paris.
It was during this time that history was made by the first women to obtain taxi licenses in the city.
A 1908 report from The Motor-Car Journal mentions a certain Mademoiselle Gaby Pohlen as having “obtained her driver’s license to drive a motor taxicab from the Prefecture of Police.”
However, the story of women driving taxis in Paris may have begun even earlier. According to Jeroen Booij, “three ladies supposedly began an apprenticeship in 1906 to drive a motorized carriage in the City of Light. A lady named Madame Dufaut-Charnier supposedly got her degree as early as February 1907.”
Madame Inès Decourcelle is often credited as the first woman to receive a full taxi license in April 1908, a milestone that garnered significant media attention.
She was frequently featured on postcards and became widely recognized as the first femme chauffeur in Paris.
This claim to fame, however, was contested. After seeing an article in Le Journal celebrating Decourcelle, Mademoiselle Gaby Pohlen wrote to the newspaper, insisting that she was the rightful holder of the title, having begun driving as early as 1906.
The historical details surrounding the first female taxi drivers in Paris remain somewhat unclear, likely due to the novelty of the automobile during that era.
There appears to have been some confusion about whether the early pioneers were licensed to drive horse-drawn cabs or motor taxis.
Both Gaby Pohlen and Inès Decourcelle reportedly obtained their licenses to drive motor taxis in the spring of 1908.
While Pohlen, known for her photogenic appeal and eccentric personality, may have been the first to start driving, Decourcelle distinguished herself by becoming the first woman to receive “diplomas” as both a horse-drawn cab driver, or cochère, and a motor taxi driver, or chauffeuse.
A period guide outlined the job requirements with clear but daunting expectations. To qualify, applicants had to be over 18 and residents of Paris.
Women, in particular, were required to register with the Préfecture de Police and demonstrate an extensive knowledge of the city’s streets to pass a theoretical exam set by the Préfecture.
This was followed by a practical driving exam. e guide didn’t shy away from the harsh realities of the job.
It warned that the work was grueling, with 16-hour days yielding a modest income of just 6 francs.
Moreover, those new to the profession often found it difficult to get hired by larger companies, which favored experienced drivers.
The modern taximeter was invented and perfected by a trio of German inventors; Wilhelm Friedrich Nedler, Ferdinand Dencker and Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn.
The Daimler Victoria—the world’s first motorized-powered taximeter-cab—was built by Gottlieb Daimler in 1897 and began operating in Stuttgart in June 1897.
Gasoline-powered taxicabs began operating in Paris in 1899, in London in 1903, and in New York in 1907.
Taxicabs proliferated around the world in the early 20th century.
The first major innovation after the invention of the taximeter occurred in the late 1940s, when two-way radios first appeared in taxicabs.
Radios enabled taxicabs and dispatch offices to communicate and serve customers more efficiently.
