Can The NYC Yellow Taxi Survive Uber And Lyft?
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
- 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?
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.
@Jasonlang666 that’s factually incorrect but go off I guess
@Jasonlang666 Correct, I stopped using Uber months ago in the city because the prices are ridiculous. And I don't get the OP's point about "talking to them about the address" either. You get in, tell the driver the cross street and relax. You can even pay for the ride with your phone through Curb.
Thats basically how it goes where i live. The old cab is more expensive (but not by a large margin) but you know for certain that their drivers will be professional, polite, doesn't cancel at last minute and know the streets like the back of their hand instead of just relying on the computer. Ofc that doesnt mean uber drivers and the like are all bad but the traditional cabs just give you that assurance of top notch service.
some yellow taxis rip you off, some if you offer em cash will drive you like 50% less compared to Uber.
Depends on when you took your ride. The Uber prices have been usually slightly higher for me for the last couple of years especially since they’ve stopped giving constant promotions. This is just because Uber is trying to increase profitability after having stomped out so many yellow cab drivers.
you can't sell taxi licenses for $1M and then blame Uber for destroying your business lol
Blame the buyers, as its auction
Well, especially if the license doesn’t mean anything. Like hey; get your trucker license to legally be able to drive a semi. Later: oh, anyone can drive without a license.
even with this trying to make pity of the driver owners. i still don't care because going back to before uber and others having a taxi medallion was seen as a surewin bet that could get you a forever job that could make for owner drivers up $75 and hour (which even after all deductions and cost was a good job ). that is why they took such big loans to buy them.
they where buying high paying no boss no skilled jobs.
so is funny they made it look like they where always making a sacrifice for the city when the moment other people could get in without that stupid medallion you have 5 to 8 times more cars in the street doing their job. and when they say that they should care for their drivers as if there weren't several times more people willing to take their job if they don't want it, all cabs could disappear tomorrow and nobody would care
@@TheBooban yeah but in this case it's different uber can't pickup people from the street only people ordering via app.
and if you have to pay a million dollar just to drive a truck probably it's a bad deal
The people that can't afford to pay $1M for a medallion signed up to drive for Uber and Lyft. LOL
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.
The drivers can see your destination in your request and ignore your request. You never know about those.
@@aulusagerius7127 thats nice we shouldnt have to yet the yellow cabs be dumb asf ... we dont have to argue or haggle with a machine
@@aulusagerius7127it only started recently before driver couldn’t see
@@ahmadsilal3581 Good luck for you if you live in the ghetto with Uber in those days
I’m curious if Uber/Lyft drivers would have declined certain destinations back in the violent crime era of the 70s to early 90s.
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.
100%!!
Had a yellow cab refuse to take me to Queens (LIC) bc it was "too far" 🤷 since then I just used Uber/Lyft.
You couldn't have said it better. I live in Harlem they don't even drop me off. So they don't want my money
Imagine living in nyc 🤮 almost as bad as commiefornia. You suckers have to pay out your nose for everything. And it smells like a bathroom everywhere in that hell scape
And still it perhaps a good thing to remember Uber and Lyft only work for there got capital from other there are burning money there business model are not profitable ... so easy to ofer cheep transport if you don't care on making money
Yes, taxi drivers have a pet reputation. There’s no denying that they are still cheaper the ride share their no surge pricing just a longer wait to flag one
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.
This is what I don’t understand! why did banks even lend money to people to purchase them at that price??!
Exactly, you could buy a Fixer upper for $700K and fix it nicely and sell it for $1,200,000 and make a good profit after paying the mortgage off and taxes and continue on to the next one
@@GaGaObession Were they now able to guarantee the money against the asset like other things? Genuine question, because if they were I would have done the same if I was a NYC Banker.
Ppl pay $200k plus to start a subway franchise or $1M+ to start a McD franchise. Makes sense to me
Open 7 restaurants or buy 2 new and 3 used trucks to start a trucking company is better than a cab medallion..
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
no rational person prefers illegal taxi's. no ethical person would use those illegal taxi's.
Lies again? Gold Cup Gain City Grab CDG
@@yourfriendlyneighborhoodic128dude gives you logical and rational reasons and you calling them the opposite. Have fun in your cabs that aren’t clean and often have no working AC
And not having to pay cash to the driver directly, from what my sister tells me.
The biggest reason I prefer uber etc is I like to know the cost before I agree to the trip, not at the end
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.
Lotta drivers have way worse experience from certain customers, way worse
@@glarx3089Then just quit the job......duh.
Nobody cares 🎉🎉🎉
@@Daniel-ie8sido you have any evidence or data to back up that claim🙄. Didn think so! Accord. To th ny Tim’s taco cab robberies are at all time record low. Mskt peopel in New York don’t even use cabs anymre and there sales are at a record low.
@@glarx3089not they don’t becuase they rare,y ever pick up black and Latino customers but then wanted to pt competition like Uber and Lyft that glady did and owned abojt rideshare customer’s picking up Customers they rude Ed to. There exist beucir backfired and they are now crying about it.
I think the original comment is simply showing another reason why Uber and Lyft are preferred over the NYC cab system. Yea, it's about race, but it's an actual human's actual reason for no longer giving business to the cabs. Whatever the reason the cabs may, in some cases discriminate doesn't matter. They are losing customers to Uber and Lyft who do a better job at just about everything, including not discriminating. And I'm not even in to these topics, I'm from a conservative family in Florida, it's just so obvious from the comment that she had suffered in some way, major or minor, due to race, and shared that now she's done dealing with that BS. Idk about too much about
free market capitalism, but this seems like a real example. If you strip away the names and races and just look at the facts and prices, the yellow can system kinda just sucks both for the customers and even the drivers, even if both are good citizens.
Yellow cab drivers took advantage for years and now w/ competition from Uber/Lyft it just exposed them as a subpar option 🤷🏾♂️
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.
they were sold a scam by other immigrants. lol lets not play the victim. this is america. eat or be eaten
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.
Taxi drivers in London are the best in the world though. It's one of the hardest licensing tests in the world.
@@darrinitopeople don't spend years studying to be the best of the best for just any job.
@darrinw5383 London taxi drivers study for years. It's an extremely rigorous test covering the geography of London, the best routes to take, and specific locations. It isn't just driving.
@@darrinito and yeah, the issue with Uber drivers is that not much is required. It's relatively low skilled labor vs extremely high skilled labor.
@@darrinito Because obviously they formulated the tests before Google Maps existed and haven't bothered to change them since. And no, you wouldn't need Google Maps if you were familiar with how London worked.
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
What they do not know is that racism is bad for business. Even old railroads knew this and some ignored Jim Crow laws.
Also black neighborhoods rough AF chances of getting robbed also tough ya know what I'm saying? I'm glad yellow taxi drivers suffering tho karma bit they azZ an I'm glad I got my get back
Maybe if certain demographics didn’t commit 50% of violent crime they probably would stop for you?
@@Mshi- let me put drugs and guns and low education in your community and let’s see how it pans out. It’s all systemic bro.
Same thing in london. Famous saying was “black cab don’t stop for no black man lol”. Uber was a lifesaver for many. Funny thing is the sheer backlash from the black cab drivers, a lot of it was racist as most black cab drivers were white British working class males, whilst a lot of Uber drivers or private cabbies in U.K. are ethnic minorities sons of immigrants from the 50s-70s from across the ex British empire. They were more mad than the usual anti Uber protests.
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
Now there’s Curbed. A little cheaper than Uber and Lyft
@@Dragon228833 For now.
I remember in the late 00s with the advent of the smartphone and apps, and there was plenty of talk in the taxi-cab business literature about creating an app to make ride-hailing and pre-trip planning much easier. Problem was that there was no consensus on how to go about this. Heck when Uber started, they mentioned about using taxis as a lower-end service to piggyback on their app, as they initially competed with limo/livery services. Well, once they went to UberX and anyone with a Corolla can be a taxi cab, it was the end of the traditional cab business.
And I know who your driver is in case there was a problem
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
straight up
lmfao why dont you black people also talk about the fact that you people literally don't pay the fare and run away 🤡My father and all of his friends who drove the cab always stated black people ran away. My father even had a gun pointed at him by a black man when he driving the yellow cab. Even black cab drivers don't pick up black people. Let's also talk about the fact that black teenagers who killed a black immigrant after the black immigrant chased them since they didn't pay their fare. Yall are so quick to claim racism and yet don't talk about your community doing this stuff
Sorry for your horrible experience man, that sucks..
Same in Brazil, my friend!
truth
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
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.
you would negotitiate with the cabby for destinations in NJ. The meter rules dont apply. Show the cab driver the uber app and use that as a base for negotiation.
@@johnsamoilis6379 oh cool! I didn’t know that!
@@johnsamoilis6379That’s already to much I just want to go
Note that it is UBER and not Uber
Make sure you are paying attention to detail
and that your brain sees exactly what your eyes are L00KING at.
It is clearly not necessarily all your fault - as you were programmed to be a ZOMBIE
ZOMBIEs have eyes but cannot see- ears and cannot hear
Learn for once that all CORPORATE {legal} names are always in the ALL CAPS iteration
APPLE and not Apple
TESLA and not Tesla
SONY and not Sony
TOYOTA and not Toyota
ARMY and not Army
AIR FORCE and not Air Force
NAVY and not Navy
BOEING and not Boeing
AIRBUS and not Airbus
..... and so on ---
Pay attention to detail and stay conscious
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.
In order to take Uber/Lyft you need to have a credit card on file along with your personal information. Yellows are required by law to take cash and assume all the risk. Make Ubers take cash and see what happens.
yep
@@AsymmatrixWTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT
@@OXHAMMERSTONE_NYC The fact that Uber drivers assume virtually no risk vs yellow cabs. Yes sometimes yellows are hesitant to pick people up. They go to a bad area, the person runs out or worse. They don't get paid. Uber drivers already have the name and credit card number in the system. No risk. Yellows can't do that.
@@Asymmatrixa taxi driver once ripped me off, charged me $65 for a 15 min ride from JFK to my house, since then never took a taxi
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.
Note that it is UBER and not Uber
Make sure you are paying attention to detail
and that your brain sees exactly what your eyes are L00KING at.
It is clearly not necessarily all your fault - as you were programmed to be a ZOMBIE
ZOMBIEs have eyes but cannot see- ears and cannot hear
Learn for once that all CORPORATE {legal} names are always in the ALL CAPS iteration
APPLE and not Apple
TESLA and not Tesla
SONY and not Sony
TOYOTA and not Toyota
ARMY and not Army
AIR FORCE and not Air Force
NAVY and not Navy
BOEING and not Boeing
AIRBUS and not Airbus
..... and so on ---
Pay attention to detail and stay conscious
Sounds like you need to tie up your boots.
The city created this problem. They wanted to regulate this industry but did not regulate the cost knowing well the permits were being sold at ridiculously inflated prices that drove people into debt.
Nah, I blame the buyer not the seller
@@pranaym3859 City issued permits should not be resalable. You passed go without collecting $200.
@@UpUpDnDnLtRtLtRtBAStartI don't care. Anyone with brain takes a million debt, it's definitely not for a permit to drive taxi.
You have to be responsible for your choices
My heart goes out to that poor man and his brother 😢 stay strong.
while a sad familiar history. the reason they took those big loans was because before uber and others owning a medallion was like buying yourself a high paying job with no boss no risk of getting fired and no mental skill required. the medallion system was always wrong this people just though it was gonna last forever. the fair thing to do is the free market set the number by getting overpopulated at first then people dropping out as they ran out of money or realize they are not making more money that another boring job.
and for the consumer the apps are better than taxis
This is what happens when you turn some as basic as a license to work into an ‘investment’
Feel bad for that taxi driver in debt.
To be honest with you as a person of color yellow cabs would not stop for you so Uber and lift were a godsend. I never had a good experience with yellow cabs.
Yellow cabs would not stop to pick me up as a black man. That’s business.
11:51 “and that customer [the most important one in the industry] is the driver”
Well… I guess we can clearly see the problem right there… shouldn’t be the passenger? 🙃
It's 2023 and this clearly shows they still have no idea why people don't want to ride taxi cabs. I guess they'll never know.
When I remember the number of times the yellow taxis have skipped me for less melanined fares on NYC streets, I don't care whether they dissolve or evaporate. Uber and LYFT all the way.
Here in Miami.Florida..those old yellow cabs have Completely Disappeared..Thank God !!!... I remember waiting 20min for a cab n also getting Ripped Off on the fare... Uber is awesome
Here's where it all goes wrong in 'The Future' section. The customer is NOT the driver but the poor individual who ordered a taxi! Lyft and Uber get that, but NYC taxis still struggle to understand.
That being said, what's stopping a yellow cab driver from also driving for Uber or Lyft? One of the advantages of ride-sharing apps is that you can know the driver's reputation beforehand. If you're a regular jerk like most yellow cab drivers, driving for Uber/Lyft would result in bad performance reviews, and hardly anyone would accept you as their driver. I've had too many negative experiences with 'professional' taxi drivers. I'd choose an amateur Uber/Lyft driver any day of the week over the professional yellow cab drivers. They still need to learn how to treat their passengers. A yellow cab driver can treat you poorly without facing consequences. However, that won't fly with ride-sharing services...
Uber, Lyft & Taxi view the driver as the true customers. Riders cant even call uber unless its something uber can be sued over. Drivers otoh, can call support.
Finding cheap asses to pay $10 for a ride across town is easy. Getting the driver to it is the HARD part.
I’ve had an innumerable number of absolutely horrible experiences with cabs. Really none with Uber/Lyft. They are clean, polite, and a fraction of the price of a cab. Honestly, I would gladly pay far more to an Uber than a cab to have a more pleasant experience.
Businesses need to adapt or die. Its hard to hear, but only the financially strong and able survive. The way things are for the boomer and older generation won't stay the same.
Problem is it's always some massive corporation that benefits from economies of scale and multiple degrees of separation from dirty business practices that allow them to lower prices, cut corners, and not pay people their worth - only so that some billionaire investors can transfer even more wealth from small business owners to the top 1%.
You're right, only the financially strong can survive. But when a single company is worth more than every taxi car, medallion, and collective lifetime of wages for all taxi drivers in history combined, then obviously they can just take it over as an afterthought.
As others have mentioned, these guys have held us hostage for far too long. No pity from me.
Back in the days we had no other option but to deal with it, not anymore!
There's been countless times when I've been kicked out of a cab because they refuse to take me to a specific outer borough location.
I once had me and my entire family kicked to the curb because our destination was not within Manhattan. Thank God for UBER.
And you believe that Uber won't do the same to you once they have a monopoly?
I spent half the video going through the comments below it, and didn't see a single one in support of cab drivers. I agree 100% with everyone else that these guys put themselves in this position thanks to years of racism, rude drivers, unfair pricing and tipping policies and refusal to drive people where they need to go. I can attest that it happens in other countries too. I've had horrible experiences in Moscow, Seoul, Bangkok and Guangzhou. In fact the incident in Guangzhou led to a physical altercation with the taxi driver. Another time, a driver angry that I got out of the cab when I realized he was deliberately going the wrong way and running the meter showed up at my workplace demanding money. These guys deserve what they get! Uber for life!
Is it U or the drivers ? Think about it. Why do they get attitude from certain ethnicities ?
@@Da_Truth It's called racism, genius. It's not that complicated.
@@keelahrose Racism from whom ? The drivers or you ?
I have given the taxis service quite many chances but it honestly fails me every single time. From rude drivers to those who wants to take extra money by going around the same blocks multiple times to straight up asking for tips that were about 50% of the fare (I usually tip the driver 20-25% depends on multiple factors). But hey, it's not only the system that is at fault for the dying taxis industry is what I'm trying to say.
Don’t forget about their refusal to serve the outer boroughs and Black/Hispanic neighborhoods. These guys had it coming. They held the city hostage for decades and now they’re paying for it. The city can do a lot to help them, but it’s not enough to change the public’s perception of yellow cabs.
Stop tipping 20-25% make their employers pay them.
@@tobiramasenju6290 trust me as much as I want to, I have heard way too many stories about how some of them resort to violence and I want to avoid conflict as much as possible.
Just took a cab from JFK to a hotel about 3 miles away. Cabbie was some Indian immigrant. Expected a tip. After he got his tip wouldn't drive up to the hotel front door because a hotel shuttle was parked in front of him (he could have gone around).
We have 6 pieces of luggage which he wouldn't help load or unload. For 20%???
*As someone who is on a disability pension love the fact that I know what price I will be paying before I decide has been a great thing. I live in Australia and my mum was hospitalized recently so I had to rely on Uber to go see her every day and what I loved was knowing the prices. with cabs, the prices can be unpredictable and it usually costs $6 before you even enter the cab*
In my country taxi drivers have been reported to be reluctant to accept handicapped passengers as they have to help the passenger in & out of the wheelchair & then fold the wheelchair before/after storing them in the boot/trunk (though some drivers are older & say in their defence that they have more difficulty doing that)
In 2012, I took my first and last yellow cab ride in long Island towards Astoria on my way to NYC. It felt like I was an NPC in death race. The taxi was half falling apart, the driver was racing in and out of traffic like his life depended on it and the cab smelled so bad. I never took another taxi my entire trip and haven't since. The demise of this industry as it was is deserved.
Uber is no better
@@danieltongaww Uber makes it easy to report reckless drivers, at least
@@ulisesxavier1116 uber dosent really do anything i drove for uber years ago in 2020 and things are still the same they really wont do anything unless police is involved or it was something serious but if the taxies would adapt to the uber style and im major cities not allow lyft or uber to operate at full capasityand amke it a law that uber and lyft cant get out of
@@danieltongaww Uber is way much better and cleaner.
@@KNByam not really alot of ubers cars arenold and u can tell there car is past do for a check up i had one uber ride whos car had roaches and lot of uber drivers seem to not car about speed limits or stop signs like im in a racecar
Watching large monopolies that exploit their consumers kick and scream when a technological innovation comes in and breaks their monopolistic practices is my kink
I'm surprised they've survived all the limousine services. I don't know what they cost now, but 15 years ago, you could ride in a black Escalade from Manhattan to JFK for $45.
From Manhattan to JFK - Flat rate - $70 - With the toll and 10% tip we are looking around $90 to a $95 ride.
The biggest reason I started taking uber/ lyft was because I'm black and the yellow cabs often wouldn't stop for black floks. I alway found the yellow cabs pretty, but beyond that I'm not sorry to see them go.
Sure...
Progress is progress. I got mad when my new car didn't have a CD player anymore but now that I can listen to anything I want with pretty good quality I've accepted the current offering is better.
Uber and Lyft have created a superior product. End of story. The Taxi "Curb" app is a start, but stop making this into a "evil giant Wall Street companies" vs the Everyman argument.
In Dubai, They have integrated ride hailing services to the taxi services. This is mostly a win-win situation (for how I understand how the scheme works) as it caters more passengers due to a larger pool of cars available at the same time doesn’t alienate your classic taxi. I think they can do something similar to it.
Meanwhile in my country (Singapore) some private-hire drivers may feel that the laws are biased against them as unlike taxi drivers, they may not be exempted from having to carry child seats on-board (for passengers with younger children). I also read that taxis were even exempted from needing airbags, maybe as drivers in a business (instead of for personal use) are seen as more professional & thus less likely to cause accidents
This has happened in Finland as well. I drive a regular licensed cab that's allowed to pick up passengers on the streets, but I also accept Uber fares for additional revenue, especially when it's otherwise quiet. Even if the Uber fare is lower than the metered fare, it still beats sitting in the queue for half an hour at a rank. I'm an employee, so I don't really care if it's less profitable for my employer to do Uber fares, all I care about is keeping the customers happy and the money flowing in.
Why people prefer Uber or Lift? Have the taxi drivers ever wondered that? Terrible service, scam, smelly dirt cars, that's the only thing I remember from them.
Being a New Yorker, this is tragic. I left that city years ago because of how expensive it is. YC fares are also the most expensive to pay. Which is why Uber & Lyft get so much network traffic there.
People knew for decades that being a YC driver there is probably one of the shadier jobs there is. My friend “rented” a medallion for about 2 years and that poor kid could barely put food on the table. He would tell me horror stories of drivers bum rushing him to pick up a passenger, threatening to beat him up because he “stole” a passenger. It’s very desperate work to do this job and very tragic as well. Now to rely on others to pay your wages is an entirely different risk factor (alla restaurant workers).
From what I remember in my own experience, they’re also the ones who broke rules that apply to everyone else. Double parking, and speeding in a busy street (lived in upper Manhattan) were the most prevalent.
While tragic what’s happening, there’s not much they could do. But these types of business deals were known about decades ago. I can only hope for this to be figured out, because to see others struggle like is tragic.
Condolences to that man who lost his brother......things change as tough as that can be your goal of surviving doesnt change but your plans must be flexible in order to survive this world......
I hate to say it Uber or Lyft is just better. When we visited the Big Apple, all we took was Uber because of how hard it was to get a taxi. That and the one time we did get one, the guy said he couldn't take a credit card and that it had to be cash. Uber is just easy to hit them up on the app, and within less than a minute, someone is on their way, and I don't have to mess with cash. Heck, using taxis in Paris was basically as easy as using Uber or Freenow. The crazy debt these NY cabbies take in for a medallion, and the lack of tech will cause them to fall behind and die if they keep on the path, they are going to disappear. Yellow Cab needs a functioning app like Uber and needs to switch away from this cash mentality. Maybe these guys could partner with a European rideshare company looking to enter the US market.
You also paid more then then the netter fare would have been at certain times of the day or night yes,
@@tdadp I guess. If we did it wasn't noticeable. We also used the subway a couple of times. In Paris we used the metro almost everywhere we went. Except when we were just too tired to worry about navigating the metro. Though the Paris metro was easier to understand and navigate than the New York subway.
I don't feel sorry for them. One night I hailed a taxi to get home from a club. The driver initially confused me with a previous rider (I had never taken a cab before that time). He stated that he was low on gas and needed cash to stop at a gas station. I said I will only pay in card. He said he would drop me at an ATM. I relented. He dropped me at an ATM and then drove off. I've been using Lyft ever since.
Either taxi cabs will adapt or die
Literally
Charging so high for a cab license. failing to adopt to changing needs and technology, being rude, overpriced and then blaming Uber! Well done
Well, why they cost so much is because they are supposed to be the only ones allowed to be taxis. So what gives?
They can be “Taxis” but they shouldn’t be the only people allowed to sell a ride. They are crying because the monopoly they thought they had bit them hard.
Weren't there a bunch of Taxi driver's who would have made a killing selling their medallion after their prices became inflated?
The medallion will become worthless when Uber and Lyft are more cost competitive, and put traditional taxis out of business.
The one place I would actually prefer a taxi over uber/lyft is NYC. Unfortunately, the taxi drivers outside the city very much abused their privilege and now they're all paying the price for it.
Before Uber and Lift New York cabs were, dirty, the drivers were often rude, and not always available like after a play. Ride-hailing services forced cabs to clean up their act... A little.
They gotta do what every industry does when stuff hits the fan :innovate. Either sell products like food and water or provide services like tours or advertise using the vehicle. The internet would probably enjoy livestream sessions of a new york driver as well as being a way to promote safety
Hope not, taxi drivers gotta have the most annoying people behind Bouncers
There are so many reasons why the NYC Taxi industry is going under: the ridiculous cost of a medallion, the slow pace of innovation - ability to order one via app and pay, and specifically in my opinion, the racist/biased practices of treating citizens of the outer boroughs as an after thought. When I am traveling to the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn or Harlem, I've not been denied a ride - but I do remember the 90s and early 200s when this was common practice. And when a yellow cab did stop for me and learned they had to go to Queens, it was an unpleasant ride because I had to listen to the cab driver complain. So, while Uber and Lyft have certainly had an effect, taxi drivers themselves, the TL&C, and government of the city of NY, bare responsibility too.
Someone give that man a hug, remain strong good sir.
Same situation in Paris. The taxi licence is very expensive compare to the rest of the country and reason behind was "there is a lot of money to make". But with Uber and the others comming into the dance, competition is real now. The "new" drivers kind of bought a stock from a falling corp.
I hate taxis. Unlike Uber/Lyft, taxis charge you by meters (time+distance) so you don't know the total cost until the end of the trip. What most riders want is transparency (estimated cost) ahead. For an example. I was in Kiev airport (Ukraine) 2 years ago, the taxi driver quoted me $37 USD from the airport to downtown Kiev so I decided to use train ($4 USD) instead. A month ago I was in Chisinau airport and the Taxi driver again quoted me $19 so I took the public bus (less than $2 USD) instead. I had similar experiences in the US as well.
Here are some additional facts about the medallion taxi crisis: The average debt owed on a medallion is $600,000.The value of a medallion has fallen from over $1 million in 2014 to around $100,000 today.As of 2022, there have been over 100 suicides by yellow taxi drivers.The New York City Council has passed a number of laws to help drivers, including a $600 million fund to help drivers who are struggling to pay their medallion loans.
Well, the council could instead follow the law. Like those without medallion can’t be taxis. That was the whole point, wasn’t it?
Why off youself when you can just disappear? Just jump on a cruise and don't come back
@@TheBoobanExactly
@@BilalKhan-kv7ti Jumping on a cruise isn't easy though I do agree you shouldn't off yourself.
Go after the loan scum who lent an average day man 700k and effectively ended a man’s life
the people here make it sound like the only solution is for Lyft and Uber to leave NYC... Well its not happening. U gotta move on with technology. Join uber or lyft then if working as a cab driver alone doesnt make enough. Earning something is better than earning nothing. Life is hard every industry is. The lower the skill required the harder the job is.
Uber is cheaper and better. While I do not live in NYC I have taken both when I have traveled there over the years. Uber is better and cheaper in almost every way. I live in a bigger southern city and Uber has pretty much put the cab services out of business. The only downfall (IMO) is the price gouging that goes on during big events such as concerts, sporting events, etc. but for your average trip to get from A-B in a quick and cheap manner, it’s uber all the way.
Don't think it's going to remain cheap for very long, with Uber bleeding cash year after year and soon having a monopoly over the market.
Almost all of the stories related to yellow cabs are geared towards eliciting sympathy for the cab drivers. Frankly as a customer its not my job to worry about their families. I am paying for a service and thats it.
In Bulgaria there were a lot of scam taxies which charged 5-10 times the rate posted on window. The taxi union failed to do anything about it. Now drivers are slaving to few apps for calling taxi (not uber , they did outlaw it) . I have little sympathy for the drivers and the industry as a whole.
have a mortage on a house, can i ask the government to get rid of half of that?
Unfortunately there's a reason why rideshares have an 86% market share of ALL rideshares in NYC and this logic applies nationwide: it's because taxis are not a better product than rideshares and I hate to say that because I know many taxi drivers are struggling like this video showed. Improve the regulations on the driver, create a new way to tip, create standard fares where people don't get ripped off, make an app where you can get picked up, etc. Rideshares are inherently a better and more convenient product.
I like how the yellow cabbies are the victims... and how they always omit pointing out the obvious... why are customers choosing uber/lyft over yellow cabs... in their eyes, they should have the right to monopolize the market, smh
I would feel more sympathy for these drivers if I hadn't had so many unpleasant interactions with them when I lived in New York. I lived in downtown Brooklyn for a decade, just on Atlantic Avenue. I quickly learned that I had to get in the cab before giving them my address because if I asked in advance, they would say no. Different story in Chicago. Cabs were just never around. I remember running out in Sheridan Road when a friend of mine was having a health emergency at 11 p.m. and no cabs to be seen. Eventually, we called the city and got an ambulance. A taxi would have been cheaper. Nowadays, I use my cell phone and I can get an Uber driver at any time of day or night within 10 minutes. Taxi drivers just haven't used technology effectively. When I lived in Washington, D.C., and I wanted a cab, I called for one on the telephone-way faster than Chicago. In fact, when I lived in D.C. in the 1960s, public transit was very bad. We always got around in cabs. I think it's an attitude problem in many cities, no matter what the decade.
My jaw dropped when at 11:52 the guy says "The industry had stopped treating its most important customer with respect and value, and that customer is the ... driver". Clearly explains why the taxi industry has been continuously losing marketshare. Uber/Lyft weren't the cause of people stopping using taxis, it's because people didn't want to use taxis in the first place that Uber/Lyft were successful.
Can CNBC’s videos survive my attention span?
Not with this mono tone dude
😂😂
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few😮
Then what does that make the few chopped liver?
The needs of the many don't outweigh anything we all have rights.
@@Cacowninja that means Uber wins
@@captiantim1 What's wrong with that?
I've never had friendly taxi drivers. I've never had rude Uber drivers.
I just rode in a Revel ride share the other day, and boy was it smooth.
I remember a taxi driver calling the police on sister mom and I. Was very little he pull to the side of the ride and threw our bags out. Never rode a taxi again. This was before Uber and Lyft was a thing in the early in the mid 2000s and when the police came they said we where right.
It's the same in The Netherlands. Taxi companies and drivers have been screwing their customers for years. On top of being rude a lot of the time. Then they complain about Uber and even become violent. In Amsterdam the taxi wars has (and probably sitll is) been a thing for years.
Fact is that most taxi companies have been super anti-consumer: they are expensive, rude, aggressive and drive like idiots. Uber with real-time location info and customer ratings just offers a superior experience. Instead of fighting it, they should learn from it.
I have not ever ridden in a taxi in NYC however I live in DC where taxis and ride share options are prevalent. I hate riding in Ubers and Lyfts the drivers are always rude and that’s if I can even get them to pick me up. In DC at least there is a huge problem with Uber and Lyft drivers accepting a job, then dropping it when something else they perceive as better comes along. Love them or hate them I can always rely on a taxi to pick me up and take me where I need to go.
When your in a yellow cab and they ask how did you get the ride? I answered Curb the NYC Taxi app. The cabbie had no clue. It also took 20 minutes for that cab to get me when i saw other units. He came from across town. This was many years ago. What's interesting the window behind him is plastered with Curb the taxi app, and its also on the side of the cab!
can't they get their app made like uber or lyft?
Someone on earth paid 1Million for a taxi cab license? SMH. How much money does a taxi driver make? Must be millions! My life is not so bad.
And can’t understand banks giving loans for that. Can’t you just declare personal bankruptcy and don’t pay it off? Like people do with mortgages.
I use Curb. It’s the taxi industry’s version of Uber and it’s usually cheaper.
I always wanted to get into the Cash Cab (not to be confused with the Bang Bus) ❤
So I will answer the question - no, yellow cabs can’t survive Uber and Lyft. The robotaxi will be a thing in ten years. A smart cab driver would either retire if they are able or declare bankruptcy and start over in something else.
Declaring bankruptcy isn’t so easy when many of these drivers have other assets they can still lose, it isn’t some magic wand
taxi cabs cost to much
I live in Saudi Arabia and recently the Taxi industry here changed a lot. Every taxi has POS for electronic payment, Meter with receipt printer and also smart screen shows the ride details and for safety there's a emergency which passenger can press to connect to police. So it's more safer then Uber to ride Taxi.
The CULTure in the broader United States is that the USA is the best
in everything - when in reality they are NOT.
Their indoctrination with fake BS patriotism - their ignorance and arrogance
prevents them learning from others and other cultures.
They cannot learn how to pronounce foreign names and places properly -
They cannot even pronounce SOLD-ER properly - and all the ignorant sheeple say SODER
They do not understand a base 10 numerical system and are mentally stuck
in the wild-west days.
The list of faults with the USA is endless - and they want to teach DEMOCRACY to other countries.
The US GOVERNMENT cannot get its own country in some sort of workable equitable system.
As a DEMOCRACY the USA is a total failure
Going to NYC and riding in anything else than a Crown Vic is like going to Venice Italy just to eat a microwave pizza.
If it isn't a Ford crown Victoria it isn't a real yellow cab, Plain and simple.
Funny, it was all good fifty years ago. Now suddenly it's Uber fault. No questions about taxes, licenses fares and fees.
Charging yellow cab drivers a congestion fee is one of the most insane and sadistic proposals I've ever heard.
Give them free access to the East river
Absolutely. Taxis should definitely be exempt.
All I can say is "WOW"
That is so sad 😞. I had no idea 🤷♀️ all of the regulations on drivers in N.Y.C. . I am in Pennsylvania, but if I am ever up there again, I think 🤔 I will take a joy ride in one, just to help them out. My condolences 💐 to the man who lost his brother.
I’ve been in taxis that intentionally took a longer routes to make more money it’s usually only a good option going to and from an airport when they can’t change the price but I always check Uber first
Use a decent GPS navigation app to ensure the TAXI driver is
taking the best route -
I have SYGIC Navigation on my phone - and the maps used are
provided by TomTom ™
Neither do I need the Internet to make it work - as one can
download the maps for their country
I stopped taking yellows because of the stupid partition that makes it so cramp in the back, the smell and nastiness, and the rude drivers.
Cabs are cheaper for short runs. However longer trips Uber is better and cleaner (most times). I think it’s best to blend the two service’s together and get rid of medallion and licensing requirements.
You're probably right. In the end everyone out there is providing pretty much the same service, and if one group is bound by one set of rules and another by a totally different set, it's an unsustainable situation. Maybe the solution is that the government sets a maximum rate but doesn't limit the number of cabs or Ubers. A maximum rate would allow drivers to charge less when the city is quiet, and it would keep prices from getting out of control in busy times.
00:07:06 man…. my heart goes out for this guy..
[edit] reminder: you are strong, you are important, and you are loved!
700K or 1 millions USD for just a mere taxi license/permit with some fancy name?😊 they would be better off if they bought dividend stocks with that 1 millions. Atleast they would still getting thousand of dollar quarterly or monthly dividend for income😂
Pure absurdity that US government allowed this type of capitalism or scam going on there.
But this whole taxis industry problem or dying is not happened just in the US but also happened in many foreign nations in which they cant keep up with the extreme competition and services by e-hailing companies that usually offered cheaper and good services.
The way i see it for the licensed taxis to survive is they need to implement e-hailing system to their operation and tweeked it a bit to suite their operation and current time demand.
In other countries they banned under and got their own app. What’s so hard about that?
Who even runs them? I'd try and make them cheaper and allow them in certain areas normal cars are restricted from
The question is not whether taxis can survive Uber/Lyft. The real question is whether they should survive. If they can't compete, they should be allowed to fail. Capitalism is creative destruction. Keeping taxis on "life support" just prolongs the inevitable.
Uber and Lyft are so ridiculously expensive compared to a classic yellow cab on most of my rides.
You can fly into midtown via blade for $200. Virtually same price if rolling solo and WAY faster! Plus free drinks upon landing!
Best way to get to JFK ! 😎
Yellow taxis help keep the magic of NYC! If a driver is rude whether it be Uber or not you can complain to the taxi commission! I find that drivers who drive "yellow" are very proud of being in the industry. Many like to converse with passenger when asked a question about the city! Go Yellow!
‘Keep the magic’? By using Toyotas? Yeah, so much for the magic… feels like going visit Tokyo
First it was Nissans and now RAV4.. I’ll never ride yellow again as long as they use foreign vehicles…
@@taniabanes4707 Obviously you do not know the industry! Drivers do not always have the availability to buy what they want! Yellows will survive without YOU!
@@alyceb2216 It sure will, but will it without the dozens choosing Uber instead ?
Everyday I see people taking taxis so don't worry too much about those choosing Uber or other groups! There is business for all so enjoy your Uber ride and perhaps your Uber Eats! The taxi business will do just fine!
@@alyceb2216 The important is to believe 😁
yeah I don’t need someone taking me on circles around the city to up the fare. They’re dishonest and try to barter with people outside port authority.
9:37 Was this filmed before a hurricane?