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Comment by TylerE | Hacker News Reader

Ironically the one good thing the rideshades did was to get taxis to install credit card readers. Taxis are often half the price of an Uber these days.

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> Ironically the one good thing the rideshades did was to get taxis to install credit card readers. Taxis are often half the price of an Uber these days.

And they made taxi summoning apps better and more commonplace. They basically dragged taxis into the 21st century, which was pretty much never happening without some actual competition.

In fact they're so innovative that Transport for London is now looking at taking the same sort of technology and using it to charge drivers for driving in London, with surge charging and allsorts.

Which location?

Not OP but it is often the case around London, UK. Half price isn't an exaggeration! Better cars usually too.

The difference in London is pretty staggering. Cabs in Manhattan are pretty nice now too. Otherwise I find that ride shares are more available and nicer as an experience.

What kind of taxi? Do you mean black cabs?

When I was in London a few weeks ago the taxi prices were 2-3x the uber prices. Also they'd tell you to fuck off if they didn't want to take you to that location.

I used to love riding taxis because the drivers had such great personalities. I remember when a Jamaican guy in NYC told me all about the OTHER drug users driving around. He didn't have to worry about the rating system, so he was free to share all the dirt. It was a much better time. I wish more cab drivers and uber could tell me to fuck off.

Did you ask to go South of The River?

Why would you ever do that? There is nothing south of the river. If there were anything worthwhile, they would have a tube station around.

(I kid, I live in Peckham).

Is it illegal to visit that half of the city?

Taxis are generally far more expensive than Ubers, and they don't quote up front, and they try and trick you with extra charges, and you can only summon them with an app because of Uber forcing them to engage in competition.

Most Taxi companies I’ve dealt with quote if ask them. Generally you get a few bucks off if you do so at least a day in advance.

I’d rather give a call than install an app anyways.

My experience taught me that taxis are usually around the same price as Ubers in densely populated areas and wildly more expensive outside of those. I’m not very experienced as an Uber user though since I generally prefer public transport.

Must have been a black cab. I just checked and I can book a regular cab for £30-40 depending on the company, while Uber charges £48-55 between 19:30 and 00:30 for the same trip.

Taxis in NYC are often (always?) way cheaper than Uber now.

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