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Comment by crmd | Hacker News Reader

Uber proposed $43.00 yesterday for a 23 minute drive from park slope to brooklyn heights in New York City, versus $2.90 for a 35 minute R train ride.

I am humbled by how myopic I was in 2010 cheering for a taxi-hailing smartphone app to create consumer surplus by ordering taxis by calling taxi companies.

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Uber charged me $85 (plus tip!) for a 35 min ride from the airport. Yeah, my fond memories of those nascent rideshare apps are long gone...

Yellow cab is still more expensive and the cars are dirtier. I wonder why they don't try to compete on price at least with Uber.

It's been my experience (~ 4 years ago) that generally taxis were cheaper than Uber in new york, especially for anything like "Get me to the airport", sometimes like $25 cheaper.

In my experience its actually cheaper at least for airport rides. $50 flat through yellowcab app and no surge nor tip when ordered through app compared to $65 at best sometimes well over double during a bad surge.

Does Uber pay the same licenses and insurance fees yet?

Airport trips these days are often over $100 for me. What is crazy is yellowcab will take me to my area for $50 flat tip included through their app. We’ve exceeded even taxicabs by this point.

>versus $2.90 for a 35 minute R train ride.

Comparing the two makes as much sense as comparing how a $500k rolls royce and a $1k shitbox both get you from point A to point B.

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