Uber cars surpass yellow cabs on NYC streets

Uber has surpassed the number of yellow taxis on New York City streets.

The app-based for-hire car service now has 14,088 cars on New York City streets, compared to 13,587 medallion cabs, according to data accessed through the Taxi and Limousine Commission website. The company launched in New York in May 2011.

“Yellow cab rides significantly outstrip the number of black car rides, including those dispatched by Uber, so the number of their affiliated vehicles in and of itself doesn’t paint a complete picture,” said TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi in a statement sent to Metro.

“In order to get a truer sense of what is and is not being provided to the public, we must consider the differences in requirements between taxis and for-hire vehicle services when it comes to contributing resources to enhancing accessibility and our broader transportation infrastructure. These are areas we are looking at closely as this part of our system evolves,” Joshi said.

Some city council members have been concerned the ride-sharing services’ surge pricing — which the company calls a “dynamic pricing model” that offers an incentive to get more drivers on the road — is hurting city passengers and traditional cab drivers.

Uber says their drivers, who own their own cars, are paid double what yellow cab drivers make without the burden of paying for or renting a medallion, which cost about $872,000 last fall, according to the New York Times.

“Uber having an unlimited number of cars means no drivers – taxi or black car and livery — will earn a decent living. Incomes for drivers are dropping as much as $5,000 per year.

New York Taxi Workers Alliance Executive Director, Bhairavi Desai said in a statement sent to Metro.

Desai said Uber’s “end game is to claim they have the most vehicles,” and are flooding the industry with part-time driver of accomplish that.