Uber to list all city taxis on its app
Uber, a nemesis of New York’s yellow cab industry, has reached an unlikely agreement to list all city taxis on its app. The partnership is a game-changing move that could ease the ride-hailing giant’s shortage of drivers and offer some relief to the city’s struggling cabbies.
As of this spring, some New Yorkers will be able to hail roughly 14,000 yellow cabs through the Uber app before the feature more widely rolls out during the summer, according to Uber partners Creative Mobile Technology and Curb Mobility. The companies, which run ride-hailing apps Arro and Curb, said they will integrate their apps’ software with Uber.
“This is a real win for drivers—no longer do they have to worry about finding a fare during off-peak times or getting a street hail back to Manhattan when in the outer boroughs,” Guy Peterson, Uber’s director of business development, said in a statement. “And this is a real win for riders, who will now have access to thousands of yellow taxis in the Uber app.”
How is the deal likely to affect the price of a ride?
Customers will pay roughly the same amount for taxi trips as Uber X passengers, and cabbies will be paid on the same scale as Uber drivers when they accept fares through the app, according to Uber. In New York City, Uber drivers are paid a time and distance rate set by the city Taxi and Limousine Commission.
First of its kind in the U.S.
The e-hail company has formed similar partnerships with taxi operators in other countries, including in Barcelona and Hong Kong. But the New York alliance is the first of its kind for Uber in the U.S. and is a departure from its image as a disruptor in the yellow cab industry.
Uber’s arrival in New York a decade ago ushered in major upheaval for the city’s cabdrivers, as taxi medallion values plummeted and cabbies found themselves crushed by insurmountable debts.
Deal builds on Uber advertising deal
Uber's advertising division last year reached a deal with the largest medallion fleet-owner group in New York to manage advertising for digital screens on up to 3,500 cabs. More than a thousand screens are now live with Uber ads.
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/uber-will-list-all-new-york-city-taxis-its-app
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