Uber Is Gaining In Popularity But Yellow Cabs Still Kicking In NYC

Uber is growing in popularity among people looking to save a few dollars, but in New York City, yellow taxis are still alive and kicking, even if demand is declining year over year.

According to the most recent data published by New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, in April, 11.1 million taxi trips happened in the month, averaging 400,000 trips a day. That’s a 9 percent decline from a year ago, but it is still more than Uber.

Morgan Stanley found in a recent research report that, in April of last year, Uber had 4.7 million rides, which is a 121 percent increase year over year. But while Uber saw an increase in usage, Uber dispatches a similar amount of drivers per week as taxi companies, which indicates taxi drivers take about twice as many fares a week than Uber drivers did.

Morgan Stanley found Uber drivers did an average of 44 trips in a given week. That amounts to about six trips per day over a period of seven days. Taxi drivers perform 91 trips a week, which amounts to 13 trips per day.

While it’s not surprising that taxis are doing more business than Uber, it does underscore the disparity between taxi drivers and Uber drivers. Taxi drivers, unlike Uber drivers, often have to pay off the costs to use the yellow cab before they can start recording a profit.

Among other ways to get around New York City, Morgan Stanley found car-sharing company Lyft had an 871 percent increase in trips, with around 750,000 rides in April, which accounts for 4 percent of the trips in New York. Via, the rideshare shuttle service, had an average of 1,023 drivers a week. Via rides pick up as many as five passengers per ride, which raises its count.