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I've been in NYC for a week, and I've used all three services to get around when needed. Taxi is actually by far the easiest to get a ride on. The reason is bei

I've been in NYC for a week, and I've used all three services to get around when needed. Taxi is actually by far the easiest to get a ride on. The reason is being on the correct side of the street and for the car to be traveling in the direction you're headed is crucial. Grabbing a Lyft or Uber may commit a driver to having to turn around the block, which can take several minutes, and in that time, you could have hailed half a dozen taxis.

mertd 11y ago
That's only true in the lower half of Manhattan. Good luck hailing a random cab in the middle of the night elsewhere.
- tomjakubowski 11y ago
  Completely doable on a random weekday or weeknight on Atlantic Ave anywhere west of Barclays Center, in my experience.
  - JBReefer 11y ago
    That's still the urban core. Try it in Glendale and report back.
Camillo 11y ago
I do wish Lyft and Uber would just tell me to cross the street for a faster pickup. In many cases, I could even walk a couple of blocks, and from the route on the map I even know exactly where to walk. But I cannot, because the driver would still go to the original location.
- eric_h 11y ago
  The Uber app has been doing that for me for a few weeks now. "Go here for faster pickup?" or something to that effect.
- stormbrew 11y ago
  Or if the GPS guiding the driver to the location would take into account side-of-street so they come in on the right side in the first place. In jurisdictions where U-turns are legal (California) it's less of a problem, but often them taking a slightly later turn before they 'arrive' would get them to me faster than the fastest direct route and then finding a parking lot to turn around in.
notirk 11y ago
"Taxi is actually by far the easiest to get a ride on." Unless it's raining, 5PM (taxi shift swap time), a peak time (eg. bar closing time), or most places in the five boroughs that are not Manhattan below 96th street (but the green cabs help with that.) Being a Queens resident who does not live on a main artery to Manhattan, Uber/Lyft every time.

mertd 11y ago

That's only true in the lower half of Manhattan. Good luck hailing a random cab in the middle of the night elsewhere.

tomjakubowski 11y ago
Completely doable on a random weekday or weeknight on Atlantic Ave anywhere west of Barclays Center, in my experience.
- JBReefer 11y ago
  That's still the urban core. Try it in Glendale and report back.

Camillo 11y ago

I do wish Lyft and Uber would just tell me to cross the street for a faster pickup. In many cases, I could even walk a couple of blocks, and from the route on the map I even know exactly where to walk. But I cannot, because the driver would still go to the original location.

eric_h 11y ago
The Uber app has been doing that for me for a few weeks now. "Go here for faster pickup?" or something to that effect.
stormbrew 11y ago
Or if the GPS guiding the driver to the location would take into account side-of-street so they come in on the right side in the first place. In jurisdictions where U-turns are legal (California) it's less of a problem, but often them taking a slightly later turn before they 'arrive' would get them to me faster than the fastest direct route and then finding a parking lot to turn around in.

notirk 11y ago

"Taxi is actually by far the easiest to get a ride on." Unless it's raining, 5PM (taxi shift swap time), a peak time (eg. bar closing time), or most places in the five boroughs that are not Manhattan below 96th street (but the green cabs help with that.) Being a Queens resident who does not live on a main artery to Manhattan, Uber/Lyft every time.