Taxi was inspired by the non-fiction article 'Night-Shifting for the Hip Fleet' by Mark Jacobson, published in New York magazine on September 22, 1975, profiling several night-shift cab drivers, though nothing from the article was used directly.

The show's creators, James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, David Davis, and Ed. Weinberger, were all brought on board after having worked together on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which ended in 1977.

Robin Williams was considered for the role of Bobby Wheeler, but he was already committed to Mork & Mindy.

Danny DeVito said he won the role of Louie De Palma after asking the creators during his audition 'Who wrote this shit?' and throwing the script on the table, which made them fall on the floor laughing.

The character Latka Gravas was an adaptation of Andy Kaufman's stand-up 'Foreign Man' character, who claimed to be from the fictional island of Caspiar in the Caspian Sea; when Kaufman grew tired of the gag, writers gave Latka multiple personality disorder so Kaufman could play other characters, notably the lounge-lizard persona Vic Ferrari.

The surnames of characters Elaine Nardo and Tony Banta were taken from real-life scriptwriters Patricia Nardo and Gloria Banta, both close friends of co-creator James L. Brooks.

Writer Sam Simon explained that when Jeff Conaway was absent for an episode, his dialogue as Bobby was successfully reassigned to other cast members, which made producers realize the character was expendable, leading to Conaway's departure at the start of season 4.

The opening title footage of a Checker cab driving east across the Queensboro Bridge, driven by cast member Tony Danza, was originally shot as a brief 'bridge' scene transition and was only about fifteen seconds long, so parts of it were repeated to fill the opening titles.

The series was filmed on Stage 23 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles from July 5, 1978, to February 18, 1983.

WBC world welterweight boxing champion Carlos Palomino, appearing as himself in the episode 'One-Punch Banta,' accidentally punched Tony Danza in the face during a brief fight scene.

The opening theme 'Angela' by Bob James had originally been intended for a sequence in the third episode, 'Blind Date,' but producers preferred its slower, melancholic tone over their original up-tempo theme choice, 'Touchdown,' and switched it in before the first episode aired.

George Wendt, Ted Danson, and recurring Taxi performer Rhea Perlman all went on to star in Cheers, the next series from primary Taxi director Jim Burrows.

During the show's final season, Andy Kaufman was famously embroiled in a public feud with pro wrestler Jerry Lawler, later revealed to be a staged work; Kaufman was diagnosed with lung cancer soon after the series ended and died a year after its cancellation.

After ABC cancelled Taxi following its fourth season, Danny DeVito hosted Saturday Night Live and staged a bit where he blew up the ABC building; the cast took 'final' bows during his monologue, only for NBC to then pick up the show.

In 1999, TV Guide ranked Louie De Palma first on its list of the 50 greatest TV characters of all time, while Reverend Jim Ignatowski was placed 32nd on the same list.