Thought it might be worth mentioning that you can actually use Uber to hail a regular taxi in a bunch of cities, including SF, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto. You do have to pay a guaranteed tip (which incentivizes the taxi drivers to take Uber dispatches), but in return you get the same race-blind properties of Uber at regular cab rates. Plus no dealing with "broken" credit card terminals...
And yes, obviously there is still inherent socioeconomic filtering that happens when you ask someone to use an expensive smartphone to hail a cab, but the phones will get cheaper, the apps will get better, and hopefully the level of accountability in the transportation ecosystem will continue to increase over time.
If we can prove to them that they can make more money and have a better experience with Uber, getting several hundred on won't be an issue at all. We've launched taxi in Boston, Chicago, and Toronto with no issues gettings hundreds of drivers.
Zamfi nailed it - NYC is 10x the population, but Manhattan is not. If you've ever tried to get a cab in both NYC and SF, you know that difference in medallions is very real.
Hey there, we have about 65 taxis in SF already and should be up in the hundreds shortly. It's a completely different regulatory environment than NYC, and (thus far) much friendlier toward innovation. You can still use Square to pay for a cab in SF, but not in NYC.
Thought it might be worth mentioning that you can actually use Uber to hail a regular taxi in a bunch of cities, including SF, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto. You do have to pay a guaranteed tip (which incentivizes the taxi drivers to take Uber dispatches), but in return you get the same race-blind properties of Uber at regular cab rates. Plus no dealing with "broken" credit card terminals...
And yes, obviously there is still inherent socioeconomic filtering that happens when you ask someone to use an expensive smartphone to hail a cab, but the phones will get cheaper, the apps will get better, and hopefully the level of accountability in the transportation ecosystem will continue to increase over time.