Thought it might be worth mentioning that you can actually use Uber to hail a regular taxi in a bunch of cities, including SF, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto. You do have to pay a guaranteed tip (which incentivizes the taxi drivers to take Uber dispatches), but in return you get the same race-blind properties of Uber at regular cab rates. Plus no dealing with "broken" credit card terminals...
And yes, obviously there is still inherent socioeconomic filtering that happens when you ask someone to use an expensive smartphone to hail a cab, but the phones will get cheaper, the apps will get better, and hopefully the level of accountability in the transportation ecosystem will continue to increase over time.
Zamfi nailed it - NYC is 10x the population, but Manhattan is not. If you've ever tried to get a cab in both NYC and SF, you know that difference in medallions is very real.
I think I maybe once saw a cab in Brooklyn, but it turns out it was just a yellow car driving like a maniac.
(99% of taxi trips in NYC start or end in Manhattan. There are no cabs in the outer boroughs and they will only take you there if you get in, close the door, and get out your phone to call 311 if they refuse to take you. I don't even try anymore.)
Hey there, we have about 65 taxis in SF already and should be up in the hundreds shortly. It's a completely different regulatory environment than NYC, and (thus far) much friendlier toward innovation. You can still use Square to pay for a cab in SF, but not in NYC.
I've had Chicago cabbies sometimes use Square instead of the card reader. They tell me the card reader costs them 5-7% (too many middlemen) while square is 3%ish
I happily pay with Square to give the guy more money for the service. I pay the same, he gets more and Square gets more business. Seems good to me.
Yeah I read about that. I don't understand why I (as a passenger) would care, though- it's replacing one credit card terminal with another. Except the new one will have a more responsive touch screen. Yay?
If we can prove to them that they can make more money and have a better experience with Uber, getting several hundred on won't be an issue at all. We've launched taxi in Boston, Chicago, and Toronto with no issues gettings hundreds of drivers.
Thought it might be worth mentioning that you can actually use Uber to hail a regular taxi in a bunch of cities, including SF, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto. You do have to pay a guaranteed tip (which incentivizes the taxi drivers to take Uber dispatches), but in return you get the same race-blind properties of Uber at regular cab rates. Plus no dealing with "broken" credit card terminals...
And yes, obviously there is still inherent socioeconomic filtering that happens when you ask someone to use an expensive smartphone to hail a cab, but the phones will get cheaper, the apps will get better, and hopefully the level of accountability in the transportation ecosystem will continue to increase over time.