If you can’t disrupt them, join them? Once poised to render the taxi system obsolete, Uber reached an agreement to list all New York City taxis on its app. Later this spring, New York City riders will be able to hail a cab right from their Uber apps, helping the company combat its driver shortage and rising fares.
“Our partnerships with the taxi industry look different around the world and as we look at the next five years, we strongly believe that there is no world in which taxis and Uber exist separately,” Uber spokesperson Conor Ferguson told TechCrunch via email. “There is just too much to gain for both sides. Taxis help us unlock new markets. In fact, it’s now our primary product in places like Hong Kong and Turkey.”
The partnership works by integrating Uber’s software with existing taxi software from companies like CMT and Curb, which run in 14,000