Yellow Cabs on Fifth avenue
The yellow cab may be as synonymous with New York as pizza, Broadway and the Empire State Building, but more and more it is no longer the ride of choice. This fixture of city life — a touchstone of popular culture in movies like “Taxi Driver’’ and the hit television series “Taxi” — was once the main alternative to subways and buses, hailed by rich and poor alike. Cabdrivers were the ambassadors of the streets, welcoming newcomers, passing along city lore and dispensing advice even when no one asked. But yellow-cab owners and drivers complain that while they serve the same customers as the ride-hailing apps, they are more heavily regulated by the city. Uber, for instance, can use surge pricing to charge higher fares during peak times while cabs are locked into fixed rates. By 2020, half of all yellow cabs must be wheelchair-accessible while the new services have no such mandate.
└─► Business Insider
