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As everyone knows, the Bloomberg Administration implemented the green cabs for the outer boroughs, as a middle ground. But Uber put everyone out!
The green cabs were launched way too late by the city (summer of 2013). The reputation of the yellow cabs were already done for before the green cabs. Also, Uber/Lyft were ramping up and building their customer base during that time.
Ironically another thing killing cabs are all those GD Citibikes. Fit young people often will take a bike rather than hop in cab or even take subway/bus.
Ironically another thing killing cabs are all those GD Citibikes. Fit young people often will take a bike rather than hop in cab or even take subway/bus.
Ironically another thing killing cabs are all those GD Citibikes. Fit young people often will take a bike rather than hop in cab or even take subway/bus.
Yellow cabs had a monopoly and they decided to only concentrate on Manhatttan (96th st to battery park, JFK, and LGA).
Which is why largely no one is shedding a GD tear over taxi cab drivers and fleet owners fate.
For decades the treated public with disdain. Won't go out of Manhattan. Won't go to Harlem or uptown. Won't pick up blacks, gays, or anyone else they didn't like. Taking the most GD longest route possible to run up meter. So busy yakking it on phone totally blew past destination street.
Cabs with no AC, or most of it concentrated on driver. Front seat pushed back so far (for driver's comfort) that backseat passengers were squashed. Smelly cabs, busted cabs, dirty cabs....
My all time favorite is that yellow cabs changed shifts at morning and evening rush hours. Meaning you couldn't get one for love nor money. Oh and then you have the "off duty" drivers who pull up and if your trip was deemed worthy would take the fare, but meter off.
None of this touches tourists and others who were ripped off on rides to and from airports even after city created set rates, and required posting of same in cabs. All of a sudden freaking Habib or Mohammed doesn't speak English that well...
Uber and other ride shares came along and ate taxi's lunches. Now they're bellyaching over paying way too much for their medallions or whatever.
Which is why largely no one is shedding a GD tear over taxi cab drivers and fleet owners fate.
For decades the treated public with disdain. Won't go out of Manhattan. Won't go to Harlem or uptown. Won't pick up blacks, gays, or anyone else they didn't like. Taking the most GD longest route possible to run up meter. So busy yakking it on phone totally blew past destination street.
Cabs with no AC, or most of it concentrated on driver. Front seat pushed back so far (for driver's comfort) that backseat passengers were squashed. Smelly cabs, busted cabs, dirty cabs....
My all time favorite is that yellow cabs changed shifts at morning and evening rush hours. Meaning you couldn't get one for love nor money. Oh and then you have the "off duty" drivers who pull up and if your trip was deemed worthy would take the fare, but meter off.
None of this touches tourists and others who were ripped off on rides to and from airports even after city created set rates, and required posting of same in cabs. All of a sudden freaking Habib or Mohammed doesn't speak English that well...
Uber and other ride shares came along and ate taxi's lunches. Now they're bellyaching over paying way too much for their medallions or whatever.
Hehe!
You just evoked an image of Danny DeVito's angry little face for a moment.
Have you been in an Uber? The drivers often reek of body odor, too much cologne, spicy ethnic foods, farts, and are often screaming into their cell phone on speaker having family arguments. Their English is also often questionable and some chose to communicate with grunting. Many also choose to have loud Middle Eastern/Indian music or koranic sermons on blast which they refuse to turn off or pretend they cannot understand you. My last driver, Mohammed (such a common cabbie name), was angrily gesticulating at the women in summer clothes walking around the Manhattan streets and talking to himself about "corruption", "infidels", and "moral decay."
This is terrible and sounds exaggerated and awfully, negatively stereotypical.
Some of the best Uber drivers I’ve had were Middle Eastern.
Polite, friendly, and yes they know how to talk to people.
To play devil's advocate, the local government created the NYC taxi medallion system and guaranteed medallion owners a monopoly in cab transportation in this area. Many hard-working individuals trusted this guarantee and invested significant amounts of money in medallions. They have a strong case for breach of contract in my view. That said, this system should never have been created in the first place.
To play devil's advocate, the local government created the NYC taxi medallion system and guaranteed medallion owners a monopoly in cab transportation in this area. Many hard-working individuals trusted this guarantee and invested significant amounts of money in medallions. They have a strong case for breach of contract in my view. That said, this system should never have been created in the first place.
IIRC medallion system was created to bring some order to the previous chaos that was taxis in NYC (especially Manhattan) that existed previously.
It worked well (ok, sort of) long as medallions were largely in hands of individual owners. Over the years post 1930's more and more of the things ended up being owned by just handful of people, the fleet owners. Thus that government created monopoly did what such things always do; made a select percentage rather well off at expense of others.
Medallion owners both fleet and individual became rather buddy buddy with politicians, and since any vast increase in number of medallions would dilute current prices (and cut into holder's profits), despite increased demand for taxis in NYC, it never happened. Basically keeping taxis in short supply did what economics 101 always tells us; prices went up and since people didn't have a choice.....
Then came ride shares like Uber which turned entire apple cart upside down. Uber and their lot simply provided a superior product to a market fed up with antics of yellow/green taxis. In short order value of medallions fell, and rest as they say is history.
Nothing is ever anyone's fault, so city nor state will ever admit fully to their hand in things. But long story short yellow/green cab market while not quite totally dead, never again will be what it once was.
Even after covid-19 is a distant memory ride share will still be the preferred choice of many regardless of what city tries to do.
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