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Uber's Battle Against Taxis Is Officially Over, New Deal Brings Almost Everyone Together

After the fuel surcharge, Uber is now making another move: almost all New York taxi drivers will be able to access the app and accept rides. This comes as a surprise for current Uber drivers. Customers also didn’t expect this deal. Here’s how it will work.
Taxis Will be on the Uber App 6 photos
Photo: Andre Benz on Unsplash
Yellow TaxiYellow TaxiYellow TaxiUber driverUber app
Uber will offer access to its app for almost all taxi drivers in New York. This was made possible through a partnership between the popular ridesharing company and two other taxi apps, Curb and Arro, that initially appeared as a response to the fast digitalization Uber and Lyft brought.

Uber and other similar players faced a lot of legal challenges in the past. The established licensed taxi groups wanted car-sharing to be treated under the same laws, but that doesn’t fully happen even today. There were some minor wins, but the ride-hailing entities are looking to keep the gig going without taking on too much responsibility. That’s why the disruptors are now joining hands with the conservatives.

If you’re an Uber user from New York, you’ll be able very soon to book a trip with a yellow taxi. The client and driver database will be shared with Curb and Arro, while Uber will integrate the well-known taxi operators from both apps in its own platform. Now there’ll be no difference between taxis and ridesharing in New York.

The move comes as a helping hand for this industry in the Empire State, just as things are starting to go back to normal. The health situation that ravaged almost any country on Earth in the last two years changed how people saw their activity as drivers. Most of them left because remote work and restrictions meant less and less people had to go places. Instead of making an effort to bring back its former independent contractors, Uber chose to include in its app the licensed drivers that remained active.

This comes as a win for the traditional taxi operators who are now joining forces with their former enemy. Even the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commissioner is welcoming this new development. Ryan Wanttaja said he’s “excited about any proposal to more easily connect passengers with taxis and look forward to learning more about this agreement between Uber and the taxi apps and ensuring it complies with TLC rules,” according to CNN.

Uber’s new idea to partner up with the yellow taxis might also serve as a catalyst for the rapid development of self-driving units that are currently testing in several locations across the country. At the same time, Lyft might also decide to keep its higher than Uber’s prices and become the sole ridesharing app that doesn’t work with taxis. This new development has surely started a lot of thinking everywhere in the U.S. and Canada, too.

Uber is planning on expanding this type of cooperation in every state in America.
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About the author: Florin Amariei
Florin Amariei profile photo

Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
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