Production model of Heron Rogers taximeter, 1910

This production model of the ‘Roger taximeter’ was built in around 1910, most likely by the Reason Manufacturing Company Limited in Brighton.

This machine has an enclosed tape recorder, moved mechanically by rollers, the tape being marked and recorded by a combination of ink lines and hole-punches to indicate the distance and time of taxi fares. A ‘For Hire’ flag can be pushed up and down to show the availability of the taxi car, and an ‘extras’ display is shown to highlight extra costs for out-of-city or night fares to potential customers.

The ‘Roger taximeter’ as it was commonly named in the UK and Europe, was initially proposed by Mr. A. Heron Rogers in his 1903 patent for a highly reliable and secure taximeter design which improved on previous versions. By 1908 the design was finalised, now meeting the rigorous standards of the UK law enforcement which require untampered and consistent taxi fares across the country.

The finalised machine did this through a mechanism which rotates a narrow strip of paper over rollers and marks the tape with ink and perforates the paper with pins to create ‘timelines’ of what the taxi is doing every minute of the day. By comparing the lines of ink and the frequency of the holes in the tape, the distance and time taken for a fare becomes clear.

Transparency and accountability for taxi drivers was also ensured by another key feature of the final 1908 model: the ability to create receipts for ‘fares’. This innovation was particularly supported by Scotland Yard, who had become increasingly occupied by the amount of fare fraud in the taxi industry.

Roger taximeters were originally built by The Reason Manufacturing Company Limited in Brighton, which was eventually acquired by Allen West and Company. Production of this model of taximeter spread across the UK, then into Europe, and eventually across the world via the British Empire.