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> There is the high-pitched whistle, the two-handed gesticulation, the rapid snapping of fingers. Many favor the classic wave — an open palm raised high, stretc

> There is the high-pitched whistle, the two-handed gesticulation, the rapid snapping of fingers. Many favor the classic wave — an open palm raised high, stretching into coming traffic. Does anybody honestly do anything but stick their hand out (Statue-of-Liberty style)? On a more serious note: I'm surprised they're even attempting this with medallion cabs. I honestly don't see the need here - Uber's availability in NYC is decent... could be improved, certainly, but there are well more than enough gypsy cabs/car services around to tap into, it seems. The NYC medallion system is one of the few that I think works well. Unlike in other cities, the rules that Uber would potentially be violating are those which only affect medallion cabs, and explicitly exclude car services like Uber. (The intent is to have the medallion cabs resemble a 'public' transportation system more, in that they cannot refuse service to anywhere within the boroughs, cannot refuse passengers etc.), while the private cab companies can do whatever they damn well please, more or less. I'm not sure what Uber has to gain by doing this - it's a hefty risk, especially since the forces they're probably up against here in New York are very powerful and very well-funded, and the laws are already rather lenient - they've been able to establish a successful business already without pushing the envelope.

elliottcarlson 14y ago
Oddly, I have seen some of these other gestures used to hail a cab - but luckily it's not very frequent. I just had my first Uber ride today - it was such a breeze and my driver Julien was friendly and very easy to talk to. One of the first things I noticed (and checked for) was that he had a TLC issued license plate - so I know he is paying his dues somewhere. One of the more interesting parts of our conversation included the fact that he owns his own vehicle and pays his own TLC fees - but at this point he only takes fares via Uber. He said it's hassle free and the people seem friendlier overall (except the one lady who rated him 1 star because there was traffic - who knew Manhattan could have traffic congestion?!) I like the idea of Uber and hope they succeed in the NYC marketplace - while just a little bit more money, the experience was far better than I have ever had in a standard medallion cab, and even some of the other car services out there.
- jc4p 14y ago
  I'll throw in another datapoint in here. I've lived in NYC for the last 2 months and have taken NYC taxis only five or six times since mostly everywhere I go is on the same subway line. I used Uber last weekend to get a ride to JFK last minute from Brooklyn and it was a fantastic experience. The price was similar to that of a taxi and I ended up paying much less because it was my first ride and I had both a $20 off first ride coupon (Add it! It's YelpSF, it worked for me in NYC) and I had $15 coupon from something else I don't remember, so I ended up paying barely $30 for a quick cab ride from Brooklyn to JFK. The driver was extremely friendly, but he wasn't a regular taxi driver, he had a day-time job and did Uber on the weekends and nights only when he needed the money. I thought it was a bit weird since I've read articles on here about NYC's weird medallion deals, but it seemed great for both sides. Oh, and I forgot: The driver was so god damn friendly it was a weird experience, we had a conversation the entire time to the airport versus being in regular taxis where the driver is on his cellphone talking to someone the entire time.
wickedchicken 14y ago
> Does anybody honestly do anything but stick their hand out The patrons outside my poorly sound-isolated SF apartment prefer to whistle all through the night, unaware that I have a better chance of hearing them than the cabs do.
bradleyjg 14y ago
They are probably running into two opposing trends: 1) The areas that most resemble thier other markets and have a big unmet need for convenient cabs are in upper Manhattan / and the outer boros (minus Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights) and are served - when served at all - by black cars. 2) The people most likely to have heard of their app and have it on their phone are mostly in core Manhattan and the aforementioned parts of Brooklyn, and are pretty well served by the yellow cabs.
patmcguire 14y ago
The rules and the reality are somewhat different. Most cabs will straight up refuse to take you someplace they're unlikely to quickly find fares. Yeah, you can get their number and complain, but it's not going to get you to Brooklyn that night.

elliottcarlson 14y ago

Oddly, I have seen some of these other gestures used to hail a cab - but luckily it's not very frequent. I just had my first Uber ride today - it was such a breeze and my driver Julien was friendly and very easy to talk to. One of the first things I noticed (and checked for) was that he had a TLC issued license plate - so I know he is paying his dues somewhere. One of the more interesting parts of our conversation included the fact that he owns his own vehicle and pays his own TLC fees - but at this point he only takes fares via Uber. He said it's hassle free and the people seem friendlier overall (except the one lady who rated him 1 star because there was traffic - who knew Manhattan could have traffic congestion?!) I like the idea of Uber and hope they succeed in the NYC marketplace - while just a little bit more money, the experience was far better than I have ever had in a standard medallion cab, and even some of the other car services out there.

jc4p 14y ago
I'll throw in another datapoint in here. I've lived in NYC for the last 2 months and have taken NYC taxis only five or six times since mostly everywhere I go is on the same subway line. I used Uber last weekend to get a ride to JFK last minute from Brooklyn and it was a fantastic experience. The price was similar to that of a taxi and I ended up paying much less because it was my first ride and I had both a $20 off first ride coupon (Add it! It's YelpSF, it worked for me in NYC) and I had $15 coupon from something else I don't remember, so I ended up paying barely $30 for a quick cab ride from Brooklyn to JFK. The driver was extremely friendly, but he wasn't a regular taxi driver, he had a day-time job and did Uber on the weekends and nights only when he needed the money. I thought it was a bit weird since I've read articles on here about NYC's weird medallion deals, but it seemed great for both sides. Oh, and I forgot: The driver was so god damn friendly it was a weird experience, we had a conversation the entire time to the airport versus being in regular taxis where the driver is on his cellphone talking to someone the entire time.

wickedchicken 14y ago

> Does anybody honestly do anything but stick their hand out The patrons outside my poorly sound-isolated SF apartment prefer to whistle all through the night, unaware that I have a better chance of hearing them than the cabs do.

bradleyjg 14y ago

They are probably running into two opposing trends: 1) The areas that most resemble thier other markets and have a big unmet need for convenient cabs are in upper Manhattan / and the outer boros (minus Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights) and are served - when served at all - by black cars. 2) The people most likely to have heard of their app and have it on their phone are mostly in core Manhattan and the aforementioned parts of Brooklyn, and are pretty well served by the yellow cabs.

patmcguire 14y ago

The rules and the reality are somewhat different. Most cabs will straight up refuse to take you someplace they're unlikely to quickly find fares. Yeah, you can get their number and complain, but it's not going to get you to Brooklyn that night.