Taxis

Taxis or cabs are traditional vehicles for hire. The term cab originated in the 18th century when hired transport consisted of carriages (and derived from the French word cabriolet). Hansom cabs for rides are still available in tourist destinations such as London or Central Park (with or without a bearded driver, as in The Muppets Take Manhattan).
The motorized taxicabs emerged in the 1890s, with both electric and gasoline driven vehicles. The conveyance, while used globally, would attain a particular association with New York City, to the point where cab drivers in pop culture were usually portrayed with New York accents. The stereotypical cabbie was either talkative and comedic (often with a Damon Runyon quality) or gruff and surly. The latter trait inspired the voice of Oscar the Grouch, in an oft repeated anecdote by Caroll Spinney about his encounter with a Bronx cab driver. Oscar himself would frequently operate his own taxi service, usually consisting of a single vehicle, The Sloppy Jalopy. A roller coaster based on Oscar's taxi, called Oscar's Wacky Taxi, opened at Sesame Place in 2018.
Fellow Sesame Street resident Grover has driven a taxi on various occasions, including a sketch driving Mr. Johnson, Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting, and The Street We Live On. Some cabs, such as that driven by Taxi Driver McGillicuddy, can even be accessed in the wilds of the jungle. For smaller scale passengers, particularly those manufactured as children's playthings, the services of Cruiser are available (in The Christmas Toy and on The Secret Life of Toys).
The word "Taxi" can itself be used for transportation, as a surprised Kermit the Frog discovers during a lecture. His encounters with cabs were not always so fortunate, however. A New York taxi hits Kermit in The Muppets Take Manhattan. The driver does stop to render assistance to the stricken frog, but the vehicular incident leads to a case of amnesia.
For actual New York taxis, Elmo recorded a Talking Taxi safety message in 2001, both spoofed in The Street We Live On and the recording process by Kevin Clash dramatized in an episode of the drama series Deadline.
Taxi services, while still available, would later face competition from ride-sharing for hire services such as Uber.
==Taxi services==
Beauregard's taxi.jpg|Driver: Beauregard
Grouchtaxi.jpg|also known as Grouch TaxiDriver: Oscar the Grouch
Grouchcabdriver.jpg|
Dean-305a.jpg|Driver: RowlfThe Jimmy Dean Show Episode 305
==Other cab drivers==
PIYN-VetTaxi.jpg|Taxi Driver"The People in Your Neighborhood"
Richkathcameo.jpg|Richard HuntThe Great Muppet Caper
0891 Buffy taxi.jpg|BuffySesame Street Episode 0891
2081b.jpg|HonkerSesame Street Episode 2081
Letters-whoopi.jpg|Whoopi GoldbergA Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
==Merchandise==
Elmostaxicabconfessions.jpg|Elmo radio-controlled taxiDriver: Grover
Neighborhoodtruckscount.jpg|Knickerbocker People in Your NeighborhoodDriver: Count von Count
Bertstaxicab1.jpg|Sesame Street die-cast cars (Hasbro/Playskool)Driver: Bert
Matchbox elmo's taxi cab.jpg|Sesame Street die-cast cars (Tyco/Fisher-Price)Driver: Elmo
Nycbigbird.jpg|Sesame Street plush (Gund)NYC Taxi driver Big Bird
File:SP WackyTaxi plush.jpg|Sesame Street plush (Sesame Place)Driver: Oscar
Konikoni2001-img517x600-1131545985choro-q-elmo-taxi-1.jpg|Sesame Street figures (Universal Studios Japan)Driver: Grover
File:Bert taxi wallpaper.jpg|Sesame Street wallpaper (Borden)Driver: Bert
File:ElmoTaxi.jpg|Sesame Street plush (Universal Studios Japan)Driver: Grover
File:SP Big Bird taxi pin.jpg|Sesame Place pinDriver: Big Bird
==See also==
* Taxi, 1980s sitcom
* Taxi Driver, Scorsese film
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Category:Muppet Vehicles