New York City Becomes First Place On Earth To Cap The Number Of Uber Drivers Allowed In The City
Source - New York City is hitting the brakes on fast-expanding ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Lawmakers on Wednesday approved a proposal to freeze new licenses for car service drivers for one year, becoming the first large city in the U.S. to impose such restrictions.
In a statement to CBS News, Uber said the decision will “threaten one of the few reliable transportation options while doing nothing to fix the subways or ease congestion.”
The company said it will continue to work with New York City government and state leaders for solutions to keep up with the growing demand, such as congestion pricing.
I’m not going to lie, I love this move. People swear by Uber but to be honest, unless you’re going to the airport or sticking to a strict schedule, most of the time it’s a pain in the ass. The problem is it’s too much of a production. You have to check your phone fifty times to see when they’re coming and where they’re going to be. Then they end up canceling on you or driving around the block for a half an hour like an idiot all while sixty yellow cabs go whizzing by. Everything about it is obnoxious. The drivers are fake happy because they want a good score. Which makes you feel like you have to be extra polite so they’ll give you a good score. So you’re in this awkward polite-off with a complete stranger. Not only that, they drive too slow and no matter what stick to the navigation which most of the time takes you on a fucked up route that you have to alter mid-trip. And don’t even get me started on aux cords or the fact that for some reason every Uber driver on the planet wants to give you their life story. All I want from a driver is someone who can get me where I need to go and fast.
That’s why I take yellow cabs over Ubers. Those guys don’t give a shit about anything other than getting you in, getting you out, and getting paid. They could care less about the temperature or whether or not you have air conditioning or the overall safety of the ride. And that’s how it should be. Most of them don’t even speak English. They just mumble into their iPhones while weaving in and out of traffic at a thousand miles an hour like they’re back in the old country. It’s great. I’ve never once been asked to provide directions or put an address in my phone because yellow cab drivers know where everything is. Yeah, the prices may be slightly more expensive but time is money and if you can get me where I need to go faster than the next guy, I’ll pay the premium.
I understand that it may make things more difficult for people in the outer boroughs, but I don’t care. I’m a yellow cab guy and I always will be. Now all we have to do is figure out how to get rid of the subway and things will really start to look up.