3 ms·

Good riddance. I was in New York recently, and hailed a taxi for the ride to EWR instead of Uber/Lyft because my phone's battery was flat. The same ride that

Good riddance. I was in New York recently, and hailed a taxi for the ride to EWR instead of Uber/Lyft because my phone's battery was flat. The same ride that cost me <$50 on the way in on Uber was over $100 the way back, including effectively mandatory 20% tip -- and this was the lowest of the "suggested" options of 20%, 25% or 30%! And yellow cabs are a lot less comfortable as well, you're separated from the driver by a Plexiglass cage with a TV screen bolted on, attempting to blare ads into your face. I sympathize with cabbies who spent a lot of money on buying a medallion of their own in the early 2000s and drove their own cab. I have less sympathy for the guy who invested $2.6 million in 2013.

yodsanklai 9y ago
> including effectively mandatory 20% tip -- and this was the lowest of the "suggested" options of 20%, 25% or 30% I moved to NYC just before you could pay by card in the cab. At the time, my friends told me to give $1 if the ride was less than $10, and $2 if it was less then $20 and so on. Most of the time, I think I effectively tipped between 10% and 20%. I kept with that habit after they introduced card payement with these insane suggested tips. How is it now? are you really expected to tip that much?
- epc 9y ago
  The default tip on most machines is $0.00, but there's usually three buttons for 20%, 25% and 30% (or 20, 25 and custom). I personally tip 20% most of the time, 25% rarely. If I'm paying cash then typically $1-2.
  - em3rgent0rdr 9y ago
    I feel their use of not providing options between 0% and 20% is deliberate to guilt you into selecting 20% because they know you want to tip something.
    - epc 9y ago
      I have absolutely nothing to back me on this other than gut instinct that the 20% is the base because that's what the IRS assumes for NYC metro area tippable wages. In reality the TLC probably organized a committee of accountants and medallion holders and spent a year discussing what the three options would be.
epc 9y ago
The fares between EWR and NYC are insane because New York State and New Jersey don't have reciprocal taxi licenses. That $100 covered the "lost" fare back to NYC as well as the fare to EWR. If you take a taxi from EWR to NYC you'll also pay effectively a return fare since the taxi can't (in theory) pick up a legal return fare. Most metro-area car services are cross-licensed in both states (so an NYC black car service can pick up in NJ and vice versa).

yodsanklai 9y ago

> including effectively mandatory 20% tip -- and this was the lowest of the "suggested" options of 20%, 25% or 30% I moved to NYC just before you could pay by card in the cab. At the time, my friends told me to give $1 if the ride was less than $10, and $2 if it was less then $20 and so on. Most of the time, I think I effectively tipped between 10% and 20%. I kept with that habit after they introduced card payement with these insane suggested tips. How is it now? are you really expected to tip that much?

epc 9y ago
The default tip on most machines is $0.00, but there's usually three buttons for 20%, 25% and 30% (or 20, 25 and custom). I personally tip 20% most of the time, 25% rarely. If I'm paying cash then typically $1-2.
- em3rgent0rdr 9y ago
  I feel their use of not providing options between 0% and 20% is deliberate to guilt you into selecting 20% because they know you want to tip something.
  - epc 9y ago
    I have absolutely nothing to back me on this other than gut instinct that the 20% is the base because that's what the IRS assumes for NYC metro area tippable wages. In reality the TLC probably organized a committee of accountants and medallion holders and spent a year discussing what the three options would be.

epc 9y ago

The fares between EWR and NYC are insane because New York State and New Jersey don't have reciprocal taxi licenses. That $100 covered the "lost" fare back to NYC as well as the fare to EWR. If you take a taxi from EWR to NYC you'll also pay effectively a return fare since the taxi can't (in theory) pick up a legal return fare. Most metro-area car services are cross-licensed in both states (so an NYC black car service can pick up in NJ and vice versa).