When Uber arrived in New York City in 2011, yellow taxis ruled the streets, and drivers paid $ 1 million to coveted taxi models who gave them the right to pick up passengers.
Undaunted, Uber worked tirelessly to attract riders, making the taxi industry inefficient, corrupt, greedy and ridiculed as a “cartel”. The taxi industry has accused its drivers of causing economic devastation.
Now, at a time when bitter rivals have been battling to control city streets for years, Uber is attacking an impossible alliance: Uber, along with two taxi companies, Kirb and CMT, will allow New Yorkers to order yellow taxis. Uber processor, companies said Thursday.
The announcement – the first such large-scale deal in the United States – comes at a time when riders are increasingly embracing applications to order both Uber and taxis. Companies are struggling Recovering from an infection This has affected the riding industry as people work from home and tourists stay away.
“On the one hand, Uber and the yellow car looks completely water and oil,” said Bruce Schaller, a former city transportation official. “On the other hand, when you go in a cart or go to your smartphone to get Uber, it will be the same experience as before. So it’s like a big change and one thing at a time.
Late this spring, riders will be able to open the Uber app and choose a taxi. Uber will then send the request to two taxi technology companies, which will inform drivers to pick up passengers. Fees will be set based on policies including Uber pricing and top prices, which will significantly increase costs at peak times.
As with all Uber rides, the app will show you the advance price before the rider requests a trip. The company claims that riders will pay the same price for a yellow taxi as for a standard personal Uber ride called UberX.
Yellow copiers responding to Uber App Hail will also anticipate the price of the ride and have the option to accept or reject it under contract. Under city regulations, eHail taxis – unlike street-hail taxis – have the right to refuse fares.
Uber though Collided with taxi crews For years it tried to capture markets All over the world, Instead of fighting with taxi companies, it has found that it can turbocharge its business, especially overseas. Partnerships with taxi fleets and technology companies in other countries, as in New York, allow Uber riders to order taxis in use.
Those deals, in conjunction with the New York Partnership, will “reflect Uber’s new page or new position to work more closely with the industry that once tried to disrupt,” said senior research analyst Tom White. With financial institution DA Davidson.
He added that being “a little more friendly” with taxi companies would help Uber “improve Uber’s relations with legislators and policymakers in those cities.”
Uber said it has integrated with more than 2,500 taxis in Spain, acquired a local HK taxi operator in Hong Kong last year in partnership with TaxExpress, a taxi service in Colombia, and started an alliance with SK Telecom in South Korea, working on other taxis. Countries including Germany, Austria and Turkey.
Uber’s new partnership with the taxi industry in New York, first announced by The Wall Street Journal, will generate more revenue for the company as it charges for every ride ordered through its use.
On Uber’s Investor Day in February, Andrew McDonald’s senior vice president of mobility and business operations at Uber said the company wants to have every taxi in the world on its platform by 2025.
Adding taxis is about money, ”he said. McDonald said: “When Uber offers more modes of transport, the company finds that customers use multiple modes that are“ more expensive and more loyal ”.
Mohammed Rahman, 37, who has been a taxi driver in New York for eight years, said he hopes the Uber connection will bring in higher fares in areas where hail is rare on the street. “Uber customers are everywhere,” he said.
But another taxi driver, Helmer Monroe, 67, was more skeptical. “I don’t think the Uber is going to help the yellow cart industry,” he said. “They did not destroy the industry – but they damaged it.”
Antonio Cruz, a 50-year-old Brooklyn resident who drives for Uber two days a week, said he was concerned the new Uber-taxi partnership could lead to more competition for yellow cars, especially during the days he works in Manhattan. “We’re going to lose business,” he said.
Prior to the outbreak, taxi drivers in New York lost pay for Uber and elevator ride-utility services, and then faced financial ruin. Borrowing Buy medals at elevated prices.
Uber faced its own challenges during the epidemics. Initially, the demand for rides dropped and many left the stage as drivers became concerned about the corona virus.
As the U.S. economy recovered and cities relaxed restrictions, customers returned but found that the same number of drivers did not return, thus having to wait longer for higher fares and trips.
Both companies agreed last year He said they have been struggling to attract enough drivers to meet the need, but recently the problem has abated. Uber reports that the number of drivers on its platform is at its highest level since February 2020.
However, many drivers were unhappy with how much money they were making, and some said they were not driving less. Since high gas prices began to eat away at their revenues. Adding thousands of taxi drivers will help offset other driving departures.
The new Uber-Taxi partnership in New York does not require the approval of the city’s taxi and limousine commission, which oversees rental vehicles, including taxis and Uber, city officials said.
“We are always interested in innovative tools that can expand the economic opportunities for taxi drivers,” said Ryan Wandaja, the agency’s executive commissioner. “We’re excited about any plans to easily connect passengers with taxis, and look forward to learning more about this agreement between Uber and Taxi Apps and ensuring it complies with TLC rules.”
New Yorkers can still pick up yellow taxis on the street or order through two taxi apps, the Curb and the Arrow, which offer the same advance price as Uber rides.
The city’s 13,587 yellow taxis are equipped with the technology systems of Curb or Creative Mobile Technologies, which operate the Arrow processor.
With more than two million users in New York City, the curb has increased demand over the past year of the epidemic. In 2019, more than 15,000 rides were ridden daily by individual consumers across the city from 2,000 rides, said Amos Dammam, CEO of Corbin.
“Taxis are back on consumer radar,” he said. Tamam said the partnership with Uber would lead to a “significant increase” in taxi drivers’ rides.
When a rider requests a yellow taxi through the Uber processor, Uber and the taxi company will also charge for the ride. Taxi drivers will continue to be paid through the Curb and CMT systems.
It is difficult to say how this deal will affect passengers and drivers, as travel costs and driving charges are controlled by algorithms that vary depending on the app, the length and distance of the trip, the time riders’ cars require, and so on. Factors.
In some cases, drivers may pay more for the taxi they order through the Uber App than for the taxi coming down the street, but not always. Similarly, drivers can sometimes, but not always, get more per meter of travel than they can order through the Uber app. Uber said it will provide more details about the taxi option in the coming months.
Bhairavi Desai, leader of the Taxi Workers Coalition, a group representing Captrivers, said he hoped drivers accepting trips from the Uber processor would earn less than picking someone up off the street and taking them to the same place.
He urged drivers to negotiate better tariffs from Uber, which was contracted “at a time when companies need this deal more than drivers” because Uber “causes bleeding for drivers”.
“We are going to use it as an opportunity for drivers to negotiate the right rules,” he said.
Others expressed greater confidence.
Mr Schuler said the new system would benefit drivers and customers if it was implemented properly, following existing regulations.
“I always expected yellow carts and right-hail applications to eventually come together, but I would not have predicted 2022 if you had asked me in 2019,” he said. Schailer added.
Brian Rosenthal contributed to the reporting.
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