What's odd to me is trying to discuss Uber in NYC by comparing to yellow cabs. We have a thing in NY called "car services" which basically everyone uses, and wh

What's odd to me is trying to discuss Uber in NYC by comparing to yellow cabs. We have a thing in NY called "car services" which basically everyone uses, and which are much more comparable to Uber than taxis are. You call a car, they come to your house, they pick you up, and they take you where you want to go for a predetermined price. In general, the car services I take are cheaper than Uber or metered taxis. But not always. And they can be a little more annoying to deal with than just using an app on your phone. Certainly Uber would be far less intimidating for tourists. Plus Uber was able to pick me up in the rain on Halloween, because of surge pricing. And they only charged me triple! But seriously: if you are talking about Uber in New York and not mentioning Arecibo car service, which has several hundred of cars all over the city at all times of the day and night, and is one of many such services in operation, you are missing a huge part of the equation.