A brief history

1890 North-west German Industry and Trade Show in the Bürgerpark.
1894 25 hackney drivers found the Bremen Hackney Carriage Association. The fare is calculated for the first time with distance meters instead of timers
1902 The Bremen Hackney Carriage Association is incorporated.
1906 The first petrol-powered hackney, a Daimler, licence no. 501, is put into service in Bremen. The hackney association gets its first telephone number: "1340". The telephone is put in a public house and the coachman is called with a horn
1908 After protests from the people, the Bremen Senate decides to license only the electric hackneys.
1910 After a legal dispute, petrol-operated hackneys are once again permitted.
1912 The first telephone box is put into service beside the swimming baths in front of Central Station.
1914 First World War breaks out. Many hackneys are used for military purposes.
1916 "Pleasure trips" are banned.
1924 The first call terminal for hackney points is developed.
1925 The Bremen Hackney Association purchases 2 open omnibuses for tours.
1928 Only 6 horse-drawn hackneys are left in Bremen; no more licences are being granted.
1936 A new association building is acquired at Breitenweg 48.
1937 The National Socialists attempt to nationalise the passenger service industry. This was prevented not least by the Bremen Chairman of the Hackney Association, Johann Lausen.
1940 Most of the Bremen hackneys, particularly German makes, are seized by the armed forces. The authorities forbid Jewish citizens to use taxis.
1944 The last horse-drawn hackneys go out of service - only 10 motor hackneys are left.
1946 The Bremen Hackney Association changes it name to "Autoruf, Vereinigung Bremer Kraftdroschkenbesitzer".
1947 Taxi-Lloyd GmbH starts up business. American GIs are only permitted to use these taxis.
1950 Another competitor arrives on the scene: "Hansa Taxen-Dienst"
1952 A site is bought in Jakobistr. 20, on which a low-profile building and filling station is built.
1962 The building in Jakobistrasse is replaced by a four-storey new building.
1965 The first radio emergency call systems are installed in Autoruf taxis.
1968 A glass partition between the front seats and rear bench becomes law to protect against hold-ups. Autoruf presents an innovation of its own, which is much cheaper than other providers.
1969 Autoruf changes its name: "Taxi-Ruf Bremen 31 00 31". As the sole Bremen taxi organisation, members have the right to sport the Bremen key on their cars. The glass partition law is repealed.
1969 For taxis, light ivory instead of black is now the obligatory colour.
1976 Taxi-Ruf launches an in-house development: a swivel passenger wheelchair seat.
1983 The number "31 00 31" has to be replaced by "14 0 14" due to changes in the Federal Post Office.
1990 The organisation's own workshop is opened in Kieler Strasse 11.
1992 The filling station in Jakobistrasse is closed. Data radio is used for the first time in radio dispatching.
1994 In collaboration with the Senator for Work and Women, Taxi-Ruf introduces the Women's Night Taxi - without state subsidies.
1996 1996 Commissioned by the BSAG and BrePark, Taxi-Ruf runs the "Viertel-Taxi", a shuttle from the parking lots at the Weser Stadium into the Ostertor/Steintor district.
1997 Taxi-Ruf and Hansa Funk Taxis sign a cooperation agreement. 85% of taxis in Bremen are now dispatched via a joint office.
1999 The first Taxi-Ruf cars have a satellite-assisted emergency call system.
2000 The Bremen taxi industry mourns the first murder of a colleague since the war: 62-year old Gerhard Wendelken is killed by multiple stab wounds by a passenger.
2000 Taxi-Ruf now travels the skies with its hot-air balloon.
2001 The new, GPS-assisted dispatching system is put into service. All approx. 2,000 drivers are specially trained.
2003 Taxi-Ruf introduces quality standards in service. The term "Service-Taxi" is trademarked.
2005 Taxi-Ruf Bremen celebrates its 111th anniversary.
2007 Chairman Fred Buchholz is elected president of Germany's taxi and hired car association (BZP).
2008 Cabs are supplied with new dispatching technology comprising of Windows computers, TFT- screens, printers and card readers. Taxi-Ruf Bremen will be the first taxi company in Germany that runs only taxis with navigation systems and video surveillance.