Taxi, Uber, and Lyft Usage in New York City
Most of the people I&#x27;ve talked to in my age group (mid twenties to early thirties) adamantly avoid taking a taxi whenever possible. The reasons why have been beaten to death by now, but they include:<p>- Uber&#x27;s show up on time, and I can track them using an app. Before Uber, I had to call a cab company, hope someone would answer, be told I&#x27;d have to wait 45 minutes to an hour, then hope the taxi would actually show up.<p>- For almost all of the Uber&#x27;s I&#x27;ve taken, if the car wasn&#x27;t on the newer end, it was at least clean. I&#x27;ve never been in a taxi and thought &quot;Wow! They really take care of these things.&quot; I usually get out feeling like I need a shower.<p>- The rating system (which goes both ways, your driver rates you as well) helps ensure that they want to provide a good experience for you. Taxi drivers have no motivation - most people won&#x27;t call a hotline to report and issue vs just choosing a star rating on their phone.<p>- The price is reasonable, and I get an estimate before leaving. I hate how taxies just go without any idea of what you&#x27;ll be paying. It&#x27;s even worse when you&#x27;re in a city you don&#x27;t know, and you&#x27;re unsure if they&#x27;re taking the best route.<p>- Most taxi drivers I&#x27;ve met have been incredibly rude and impatient, and then expect a 20% tip. On top of that, I&#x27;ve had a bunch of them lie and say they don&#x27;t accept credit cards after the trip is complete, even though there is a sign that says they are legally required to. &quot;The machine is broken&quot; isn&#x27;t a valid excuse.<p>- With Uber, I don&#x27;t have to worry about them awkwardly watching me decide how much to tip, it&#x27;s included in the price. I don&#x27;t even have to worry about figuring out how to pay! I just get out and go and it&#x27;s automatically charged to my card.<p>I&#x27;m surprised when I hear that people are in favor of saving taxies. Yes, Uber and Lyft should probably be a bit more regulated. But taxies were doing so many things almost comically wrong for so long, it&#x27;s not surprising a competitor has come along and been successful.