Written by / Zhang Ou
Edited by / Tu Yanping
Design / Shi Yuchao
Source / New York Times Author: Winnie Hu, Kellen Browning and Karen Zraick
Question picture shot / Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/GETTY IMAGES
2011 Uber When the metropolis came to New York, the iconic yellow taxis in the metropolis dominated the entire city streets. Uber paid $1 million to obtain an operating license that allowed passengers to carry.
Uber, which was founded only two years ago, persisted in attracting passengers, and began to accuse the taxi industry of inefficiency, corruption and greed. The taxi industry has counterattacked the foreign "alternative" transportation operator that has brought economic losses to taxi drivers.
Now, after the war for passengers lasted for several years, the two sides chose to work together.
htmlOn March 24, Uber, together with two taxi companies, Curb Mobility and Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT), announced a partnership to open taxi bookings to New York City passengers through the Uber App. This is also the first time in the history of the US travel industry that this type of large-scale agreement has appeared.
Sharing economy has gradually matured, and more and more passengers have begun to accept the way of traveling by booking vehicles through the App. In the third year of coexisting with new crown , whether it is online car-hailing or taxi, they are working hard to recover from the impact of the epidemic. This cooperation was achieved at this critical time.
"On the one hand, the cooperation between Uber and the little yellow car is like an amazing fusion of water and oil; on the other hand, whether people stop taxis or call Uber through the APP, the ride process is actually not much different from before," said Bruce Schaller, a former city transportation official.
Starting later in spring 2022, passengers can easily choose taxi by opening the Uber App. Uber forwards the request to the two taxi technology companies, and they will notify the driver to take the order. fares are based on Uber's pricing and policies, including peak premiums.
Before passengers confirm their trip, the app will display a prepaid price, just like all Uber users. The company said the price of taxi rides through the Uber App is roughly the same as their standard personal Uber, i.e. UberX.
The driver of the little yellow car that responds to Uber App’s ride will also see the price in advance. According to the agreement, they can choose whether to accept it.
Broader opportunities for taxis
New York City government officials said the partnership does not require approval from the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). Ryan Wanttaja, acting specialist at
TLC, said: "We support innovative tools that can expand opportunities for taxi drivers, so that such cooperation makes it easier for passengers and taxis to connect. Of course, we will continue to focus on more details of the agreement to ensure it complies with regulations."
passengers can still choose the most traditional way to wave to stop taxis on the street, or book through two taxi companies' own apps - 13,587 small yellow cars in the city are equipped with Curb or CMT's own technical systems, connecting Curb and Arro apps, respectively. They offer pre-valuation like Uber.
Curb has more than 2 million users in New York City, and CEO Amos Tamam said that the average daily number of rides for consumers has soared from about 2,000 in 2019 to more than 15,000 now.
"Taxis are back in the consumer's sight," Tamam said. "The partnership with Uber may continue to increase the number of orders taken by taxi drivers."
Both Uber and taxi companies are able to charge fees when passengers book taxis through Uber.
37-year-old Muhammad Rahman drove a taxi in New York for 8 years and is passionate about his future work. He said: "Uber customers are everywhere. In this way, maybe we can get more demand for rides in neighborhoods where taxis are not often visited." On the other side of
, Uber drivers are not so happy. Antonio Cruz, 50, who drives for Uber two days a week, believes he will face more competition from taxis, especially in the most luxurious Manhattan area.
New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents 21,000 drivers in the city, believes that taxi drivers will earn 15% less per trip per trip than the traditional billing method on average.
In fact, the itinerary costs are controlled by algorithms that vary by application, itinerary distance, the time the passengers require to use the vehicle, and other factors. It is difficult to draw a conclusion on what impact this cooperation will have on passengers and drivers.
Uber will provide more details about taxi options in the coming months.
Uber's self-rescue and planning
In mid-2010, then-CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick (Travis Kalanick) said that his company was participating in a global political campaign, "the opponent was a bastard named a taxi."
After Uber entered New York, taxi drivers accused it of causing a sharp decline in the number of taxi passengers, the value of passenger licenses fell, and even a series of tragedies of driver suicide.
New York City has begun cracking down on ride-hailing services, Uber calls on customers to complain to the city hall, and the government responds with stricter regulations. In the next few years, litigation cases will be influential after regulating online ride-hailing platforms and setting the validity period and issuance limit of operating licenses. "Uber further demonstrates a new position of willingness to work closer with the industry. Harmonious relationships with taxi companies can also help Uber ease its relationship with lawmakers and policy makers."
After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, passenger demand dropped sharply, and many drivers left the Uber platform for safety and more stable income.
With the rebound of the US economy and cities relaxing restrictions, customers are back, but not many drivers are back. Online ride-hailing companies, including Uber, have almost all increased their prices (50% and above), while passengers have longer waiting time. The epidemic has undoubtedly brought huge troubles to the riding field.
Until early 2022, Uber announced that the number of drivers on the platform reached the highest level since the outbreak began in February 2020. However, many drivers are still unhappy with their income.
Some drivers told the media that oil prices have risen and profits have become increasingly thin. Many of them have reduced their driving times or stopped driving at all. Many Uber passenger car drivers and Uber Eats delivery drivers have launched protests in various cities, calling on Uber to increase revenue from fuel surcharges and reduce huge commissions.
html In mid-March, Uber announced a fuel surcharge of $0.45 to $0.55 per trip to customers, but this is just a drop in the bucket for drivers, who prefer to see a fee per mile rather than a flat one-way charge.Therefore, adding thousands of taxi drivers is actually to help Uber offset the losses caused by its driver's departure.
Outside the Uber building in Manhattan, New York, , the driver held a slogan and called for increased fuel surcharge ▼
Uber had previously integrated with more than 2,500 taxis in Spain and cooperated with taxi service company Tax Express in Colombia. In 2021, it continued to acquire HK Taxi app in Hong Kong, China and joined hands with SK Telecom in South Korea. Uber in countries and regions such as Germany, Austria and Türkiye have also reached agreements with local taxi companies.
Compared with the open ride-hailing platform where overseas markets have long become the norm, New York (or the United States) seems to be moving a little slower.
At Uber Investor Day in February, Andrew Macdonald, senior vice president of mobility and business operations, said that he hopes that by 2025, all taxis in the world will be able to land on its platform.
McDonald believes that when Uber offers more transportation options, customers will naturally choose from it. More consumption and higher user loyalty.
On March 28, according to foreign media reports, Uber will soon reach an agreement with Flywheel Technologies, a taxi service company headquartered in , San Francisco, to allow passengers in the city to book taxis through Uber. The San Francisco Transportation Board will approve this at its April 5 meeting.
New York is just the first stop for Uber’s grand taxi ambitions in the United States.
This article is originally produced by Automobile Business Review
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