Uber will now list all New York City taxis on its app, bringing to an end a decade of animosity between the two sides.
You can now call for an Uber and have a classic yellow taxi arrive in New York. The new alliance means that Uber will team up with two taxi companies, Curb and CMT, to let passengers order yellow taxis via the Uber app.
This marks Uber’s first citywide partnership in the United States. It comes at a time when riders are embracing apps more and more in order to secure rides, both for Ubers and for taxis. Companies are struggling to recover from the Covid pandemic, which battered the ride industry.
The deal could make it easier for people to find rides in New York, especially as ride-hail companies, such as Uber, have faced a shortage of drivers lately.
Uber and the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission will integrate their back-end software.
The deal could also equalize the fare difference between yellow taxi cabs and Uber cars in the city.
Uber and taxi companies have long been at odds with each other, especially in New York. Back in 2014, the former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick made the analogy of a political campaign, and that the candidate was Uber but the opponent “is an asshole named Taxi.”
When Uber first came to New York in 2011, yellow taxis were the rulers of the streets. Drivers paid $1 million for the coveted taxi medallions that gave them the right to pick up riders. Uber relentlessly lured riders away from taxis and derided the taxi industry as inefficient. The taxi industry accused Uber of bringing economic ruin to taxi cab drivers.
Covid has meant that people are working from home more, and also that the tourism industry is way down. Both have had an effect on the ride-hailing industry. The companies hope that the new alliance will help drivers of the companies.
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