The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-19
SUCCESS OF HORSELESS CABS.
Already i'm High Favor with Many
Persons in New York.

New York ommercial-Advertiser.
After four months experiment there is
no doubt that the hOrSeleSs cab is to be a
permanent feature of New York life. There
are twelve of these hansoms in constant
use in the streets of the metropolis, be-
sides a brougham and surrey, all operated
by electricity, and running smoothly along
on pneumatic tired wheels at speed OF
anywhere from four to fifteen miles per
hour. The electric cabs and carriages that
are offered for hire in New York are all
owned by one firm-the Electric Carriage
and Wagon Company, at 40 West Thirty
ninth street.
The motive power is supplied by the stor-
age battery system of Morris & Salon, of
which the carriage company owns the pat
ent. The cabs will run about twenty miles
with one charge of battery, but the COM
pany hopes soon to perfect A system by
which the cabs will run thirty or thirty-hve
miles. At present each cab is maintained
at about one-half the expense of a horse
for the same amount of work The cabs
cost 81. 500 apiece, and they are so strongly
built that it costs practically nothing for
repairs. The cOmpany's books show that in
the month of June there were ten cabs
which travelled two hundred miles a day.
On the LIST of July 247 miles was covered
with nine vehicles.
The motors are each one and a half
horse power, of the Lundell type, used in
series and parallel with the batteries, to
give the different speeds. The driving
wheels are in front, with internal gears,
the steering being done from the rear; the
aXles are rigid the wheels working on a
different speeds. viz, four to five miles an
hour. seven to nine miles-the speed COM
monty employed in New York-and fifteen
miles an hour where it is deemed entirely
safe. The motors can be geared to run at
a higher speed even than this If necessary.
The drivers of the hOrseless cabs are the
same cab drivers to whom New Workers
have become accustomed on the old-fash-
toned cabs with horses Superintendent
Harrington says that it takes a cab driver
only about a week to learn how to drive
an electric cab. An experienced man
shows him how to put on and remove the
current. how to steer and how to put the
break on when necessary. Naturally, a cab
driver who has been used to guiding met
tlesome horse in and out among the traffic
of Broadway, with a press of vehicles and
a tumble of noises that would bewilder an
inexperienced man, is not to be dismayed
by mere electric cab that can be con-
trOlled by machinery with such eXactitude
that there is no reason to make provision
for VagarieS such are common to the
best behaved of horses. That the cab
drivers do learn the principles of the cleo
trio carriage thoroughly is proved by the
fact that there have been no accidents to
speak of in the four months that the cleo
trio system has been in operation in New
York.
The electric cabs that are seen on the
regular stands with horse cabs and hacks
are rented to cabmen at so much a day
by the carriage and wagon company The
rates for cab hire are the same as with
horse cabs and there is the same kind of
disputes between the cabman and his fare
with electricity that there is with horses.
The reason given by Mr.. Harrington for
keeping the cabs under the cOmpany's own
control is that it can watch the carriages
and make improvements as they are seen
to be necessary. IF were to sell cabs or
carriages outright" observed Mr. Har-
rington, I'VE should doubtless be annoyed
by our customers, who might find weak
points and blame us for them. when the
exercise of little patience and ingenuity
would remedy the weakness at once. We
do not pretend that the electric carriage is
perfect in every trifling detail. although in
the main it is all right. We have not had
time to cover it everywhere