NYC's taxi commission votes 'yes' to one-year trial of cab-hailing apps
Despite copious quantities of bickering between the New York City taxi commission and Uber (amongst others), it looks as if said entity is going to give this whole "21st century" thing a whirl. Skift is reporting that the commission voted just moments ago to allow a one-year trial of taxi-hailing apps, with seven members voting "yes" and two abstaining. It's a huge, huge victory for apps like Lyft, Hailo and Uber, and it could very well set the stage for the first major leap in how the cab-hailing process works in a very long while.
We're learning now that passengers using any e-hail app below 59th Street will "only be able to hail taxis within a half-mile radius of their location," while cabs will be allowed to pick up e-hail passengers "within a mile and half radius everywhere else in the city." Moreover, drivers must be able to accept trips with a single touch, and all payments have to be processed through a T-PEP provider. Not surprisingly, each app will be required to report to the TLC each quarter. Commissioner Yasky was quoted as saying the following: "Like all pilot programs, this will provide a wealth of information and allow us to make a better decision down the road. We should not ignore technology that is out there. Uber, Hailo, and GetTaxi are out in other cities of the world."
