Taxis are about to be available for service in New York through Uber after the company reached an agreement with two taxi cab apps.
What a full-circle moment. Back in 2009, when Uber was launched, it received widespread pushback from taxis, as the company was quickly and steadily running the taxicab industry down.
Now, Uber is bringing taxis to where the money resides after it reached a deal with two taxicab companies, Curb and Creative Mobile Technologies. CNBC reports the taxi cab apps will integrate their software with Uber, allowing users to book taxi rides in the Uber app.
The news was announced on Thursday, with Uber saying the new feature will launch later in the spring. CNBC reports the new arrangement shot Uber shares up by 4 percent.
“This is a real win for drivers – no longer do they have to worry about finding a fare during off-peak times or getting a street hail back to Manhattan when in the outerboroughs,” said Guy Peterson, Uber’s director of business development, in a statement. “And this is a real win for riders who will now have access to thousands of yellow taxis in the Uber app.”
