The yellow taxi cab has been part of the large city American landscape for many years and so are popular variations of the service in large cities around the world. These cars have served to haul rides from origin to destination safely for a long time but now the entire taxi industry faces a certain competitor that could mean the detriment of the service altogether, the ride sharing services that are being offered by companies such as Uber and Lyft. the question at hand has more to do with whether or not we still need taxi services in areas that currently have them?
This question is brought to the forefront because of the recent law that was passed in Massachusetts that gives five cents of every twenty cent fee to subsidize the taxi industry in the state. At the onset, this would seem as if the ride sharing services are funding a competitor and that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The challenge is to know if the taxi services are actually still necessary on the market and the answer to that is that they are needed. These are still the most convenient and readily available ways to get a ride when you need one in a hurry, but only in some cases.
Right now a taxi could be available in many areas of large cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas or Los Angeles on many streets and you’d have an economical way to get where you need to go in a hurry. The ride sharing companies would argue that a small amount of preparation could do the same for you if you simply know the app and how it works. While an Uber or Lyft driver won’t be waiting outside your hotel or at the airport to take you where you need to go you can schedule your pick up a few minutes ahead and have a ride ready when you are.
The fee that’s being charged and given to the taxi industries will be scaled back over the next few years. This means the taxi industry needs to use this money to invest in revamped smartphone apps and driver hospitality training in order to have the upgrades that will actually compete with the ride sharing companies. It does make some sense to give this organization a fighting chance, but in reality, the money from the ride sharing companies going to improve their chief competitor seems counterproductive.
I guess we’ll see how the taxi industry uses this money and if more states get on board than just Massachusetts. Certainly ride sharing has had a huge impact on the taxi industry when it’s easy to push a couple buttons on a smartphone and have the ride you need at your door in a few minutes. If this spreads across the country the taxi markets might actually have a fighting chance, but otherwise, the taxi of the future will be from a ride sharing app and you will have to plan ahead to have the ride you need when you need it.
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