Abstract The Great Depression prompted a reconsideration of value in urban space. This occurred in the taxi industry when flat rates supplanted metered rates. The arrival of low fare flat rate taxis in Madison, Wisconsin in 1932 quickly led to a threefold increase in the number of cabs and the nearly complete cessation of cabs’ use of taximeters. Similar developments occurred elsewhere in U.S. cities during the 1930s. Earning the same fee for trips that varied in length and distance disrupted the homogeneity and abstraction of space and time which meters provided. The low fare flat rate system held out the promise of affordable transportation to passengers and economic self-sufficiency to drivers. However, despite its standardized rate, the space produced by participants in this system was characterized by unpredictability and uncertainty, as drivers sought to maximize their number of trips while minimizing the distance and duration of each trip. The uncertainty generated by these efforts, the lower capital costs associated with the flat rate system, and a rise in customer demand led to a significant increase in taxicabs traveling city streets, which in turn made it more difficult for drivers to make a living. By examining the production of space engendered by the low fare flat rate system, this article demonstrates how the pressures of the Depression deepened the contradictions of capitalist political economy.

中文翻译：

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威斯康星州麦迪逊市大萧条时期的统一收费出租车和城市空间的生产

摘要 大萧条促使人们重新思考城市空间的价值。这发生在出租车行业，当时统一费率取代了计量费率。1932 年威斯康星州麦迪逊市推出低价统一收费出租车，导致出租车数量增加了三倍，出租车几乎完全停止使用计价器。1930 年代，美国其他城市也出现了类似的发展。为不同长度和距离的旅行赚取相同的费用破坏了米提供的空间和时间的同质性和抽象性。低票价统一费率制度承诺为乘客提供负担得起的交通服务，并为司机提供经济上的自给自足。然而，尽管其标准化率，该系统参与者产生的空间具有不可预测性和不确定性，因为司机力求最大限度地增加出行次数，同时尽量减少每次出行的距离和持续时间。这些努力产生的不确定性、与统一费率系统相关的较低资本成本以及客户需求的增加导致在城市街道上行驶的出租车显着增加，这反过来又增加了司机谋生的难度。本文通过考察低票价统一费率制度所产生的空间生产，论证了大萧条的压力如何加深了资本主义政治经济的矛盾。客户需求的增加导致出租车在城市街道上的显着增加，这反过来又增加了司机谋生的难度。本文通过考察低票价统一费率制度所产生的空间生产，论证了大萧条的压力如何加深了资本主义政治经济的矛盾。客户需求的增加导致出租车在城市街道上的显着增加，这反过来又增加了司机谋生的难度。本文通过考察低票价统一费率制度所产生的空间生产，论证了大萧条的压力如何加深了资本主义政治经济的矛盾。