Can The NYC Yellow Taxi Survive Uber And Lyft?

Yellow taxis are an iconic symbol synonymous with New York. But it’s a tough job with drivers on average working more than 9 hours a day, 6 days a week. Taxi’s have also had to contend with a host of other issues. Medallion prices were artificially inflated in the early 2010's due to predatory lending forcing many owner-operators into bankruptcy. The industry has also been overwhelmed by ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft which launched in New York in 2011 and 2014 respectively. Today roughly 13,000 yellow taxis compete with about 80,000 ride-share drivers.

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
01:57 — The legacy of yellow taxis
03:58 — The medallion crisis
08:55 — The rise of ride-hailing services
11:43 — The future

Produced, Shot and Edited by: Liam Mays
Animation: Jason Reginato
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Senior Producer: Shawn Baldwin
Additional Camera: Natalie Rice
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Brooklyn Public Library, New York Times, New York Taxi & Limousine Commission

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Can The NYC Yellow Taxi Survive Uber And Lyft?

[nintendo]

Honestly a huge problem with yellow cabs is cost. I took an Uber from one place to another in NYC, then I took a cab from that same point to another. The cab driver was rude, the fare was three times higher, and having to talk to them about the address, tip, and price was annoying. I know that cabs are iconic in New York but they are literally terrible.

[arun]

you can't sell taxi licenses for $1M and then blame Uber for destroying your business lol

[hejiranyc]

I know taxi drivers are human beings with families, goals and dreams. But they really only have themselves to blame. I live in Manhattan and I have literally not stepped foot in a taxi in over 10 years. In general, taxis have been dirty/smelly, often did not accept electronic forms of payment, drivers were often rude and the fares are unpredictable and can go very high, which makes me anxious. The taxi industry failed to establish standards and codes of conduct. They failed to innovate and develop value for riders such as smartphone apps. They were asleep at the wheel, pun intended, while the disruptors 3000 miles away in Silicon Valley re-invented a better wheel. Sure, it's sad that an NYC icon like the yellow taxi is in decline, but I'm sure it was also sad to see the horse and buggies get put out to pasture (also pun intended). You either evolve with the times or you get left behind.

[MubashirullahD]

Who in their right mind would pay $700, 000 for the right to drive a taxi? Its an insane amount of money. The things you could do with a loan like that.

[marcross]

When I lived in NYC years ago, sometimes yellow cabs wouldn't take me places they didn't want to go. Especially certain neighborhoods. Lyft has never told me no.

[Lr-tvmh]

Knowing the price before hand, knowing who is your taxi driver, and knowing where you are on the trajectory is why Uber, Grab, or Lyft are preferred

[RobertScholten]

The biggest reason I prefer uber etc is I like to know the cost before I agree to the trip, not at the end

[jayg]

Yellow cab drivers took advantage for years and now w/ competition from Uber/Lyft it just exposed them as a subpar option 🤷🏾‍♂️

[jm]

I’ve had more bad yellow cab experiences than good. Drivers, when they do decide to stop for a Black woman, are rude. Uber and Lyft does a lot to eliminate that for me. And as far as safety, I easily share my ride info with loved ones. It’s just better overall.

[deemanDavid]

As a black dude that got turned down from taxis, had taxi cabs lock the door as I approached, and have been refused to be dropped off in outer boroughs. Screw them! Uber has a better product, more reliability and the ability to provide feedback if I am treated like crap. Blame the bad taxi drivers for this outcome

[willcookmakeup]

I dont think I ever once called a taxi when I lived in the city. They're so unpredictable and expensive. And if you're a NYC native, its very easy to know if you are being taken on the best route, which they often don't take. This isnt Ubers fault

[Luckys]

I went to London last year and rode in an official taxi. It was £90. I checked Uber beforehand and it was £60. The reason I went for the taxi is because it was there and I was tired from a long flight, but in hindsight had I know a taxi would be that much more expensive, I would've went for the Uber.

[jtgd]

Yellow Taxis failed to take advantage and use technology like apps to become more convenient for riders.

Uber and Lyft are highly used mainly out of convenience. You don’t need to wave one down, you can request a ride from your phone.

They’re like 10+ years late

[confidentialp]

As an African American in NY the yellow cabs most of the time didn’t stop for black people unless they were wearing a suit. Also late nights they wouldn’t go to other boroughs. Cabs would ride pass you to pick up a Caucasian person. One cab driver once to me he doesn’t pick up black people bc they don’t tip. He said this to me bc he thought I was Hispanic. When Uber and Lyft arrived it was a breath of fresh air. Now yellow cabs would stop for a lion flagging them down lol. I don’t feel bad for them and trust me a lot of people feel that way

[tres]

The immigrants driving taxis were sold a scam on the medallion prices and at the same time these drivers had no "people service skills" which made for bad customer experiences and smelly cabs. Also, cabs were not up on tech and the shady fares for travelling across town were deplorable. Add it all up and UBER, etc. looks good.

[dunggg]

This is what happens when you turn some as basic as a license to work into an ‘investment’

[tjr-tt]

The only good thing for yellow taxis is that now both Uber and Lyft are becoming just as expensive. It’s close to $60 to JFK airport from where I am in Brooklyn using Uber. I used to avoid yellow taxis because of this. There was this time when a yellow cab driver took unnecessarily longer routes just to run up the meter on my trip. Now all of them are ridiculously expensive. Whenever I have to use a taxi I call a private company that’s way more affordable than Uber, Lyft and the yellow cabs.

[HeatherSummerRaine]

I bought a train ticket from Penn Station to EWR airport on Thursday. When I arrived at the NJT the first three trains going out that morning were cancelled. I ended up using an Uber! There were taxis lined up outside the station, but I chose Uber because it was much cheaper! My Uber driver was polite, helpful, and his car was spotless. A much better experience than I had in the past with taxi drivers.

[FIDEL_CASHFLOW_]

Watching large monopolies that exploit their consumers kick and scream when a technological innovation comes in and breaks their monopolistic practices is my kink

[JamesNY]

Another issue with yellow cabs that I don’t see any mention of is that for a long time they largely ignored black and Hispanic patrons. They never went to their neighborhoods and even in places like lower manhattan they would consistently drive by us. So they further depleted their own income source once competition moved in that didn’t neglect a single patron in NY.