As a seasoned New Yorker I've learned that the best response to "where to?" is to silently get in the cab.
The more savvy you have to be to avoid getting scammed, the more corrupt the system is.
That's pretty much what corruption is.
Would you say the same of third world traffic enforcement because the system is trying to stop the practice of shaking down motorists?
/just moved to NYC
This is the only way you can get to the airport during the "shift change" that's right around PM rush hour. Nobody will take you there if you tell them you want to go there.
That said the new Q70 bus from Jackson Heights (7/E/F/M/R) is quite efficient, and I don't bother with cabs anymore. Not worth paying someone $40 to bitch and moan about going to the airport when the MTA can get you there, from Brooklyn, in less than an hour for $2.50.
Also ten minutes from Penn Station on the LIRR, whose Woodside station is next to the subway station (a bit more expensive than the subway, though).
I personally always take the LIRR to Jamaica when going to JFK. It's a bit nicer than taking the E (from Manhattan), and a bit faster than taking the A (from Brooklyn, get the LIRR at Atlantic Terminal) because the Jamaica AirTrain seems to run more frequently than the Howard Beach AirTrain. The LIRR also runs on an actual schedule, so you will end up at the airport when you expect, which always makes things less stressful.
If, and the happens a lot late at night, the cab does not have the on duty light on you can negotiate.
I've gotten steep discounts or even free rides for agreeing to do stuff like pick up the drivers wife off the clock on the way home.
Like everything in New York, everything is negotiable.
Point is, cabs are completely shady, and nearly all have horrible service.
Since I've been here in NY, I've been using Uber regularly and every single experience has been nothing short of great. 99% have been spotless vehicles that smell good, with A/C in summer, and drivers with an awesome attitude. I've had a few rides where the driver took a non-optimal route and Uber refunded credits each time.
It's unbelievable to me that people dislike Uber and think they're just some "scam" backed by venture capital.
There is a flip side to that, as well. Uber has engaged in questionable tactics, and their drivers are from the same pool as Taxi drivers.
I've had uber drivers accept the fare, then immediately cancel when they figured surge pricing will kick in. I've also had drivers not pick me up from my location, one who would not turn down their christian music when asked 3x.
Uber's support staff is good, and any hint of poor performance results in a 1-star review.
When I first used Uber, the drivers were great. Now with more uber drivers on the road, there is more variance in the service you get.
This is roughly how the market "responded" (0) to Uber in Moscow - Yandex ("Russian Google") rolled out its Yandex Taxi service/app which provided Uber-like experience to user and integrated with taxi companies at the backend. Same experience same driver ratings etc - but on a legal platform. The prices are compatible with Uber too.
(0) I put "responded" in quotes here because Uber launched in Moscow a few years after Yandex Taxi.
Having a single state-sanctioned business (and therefore backed by the threat of violence) is somehow less monopolistic than having a free market where the best service provider is rewarded by becoming the most popular and profitable one?
There's one Uber and maybe Lyft if you're lucky. In the grey-area taxi market, they might fit the definition of a monopoly. I wouldn't argue that though because I know nothing about that market and reading that sentence back makes me laugh.
Microsoft operated in a relatively free market and was the arguably the best software provider as they were the most popular and profitable one for quite some time. They were also deemed a monopoly.
On the other hand, sometimes I've been pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable some cabbies are. I've gotten in a cab at LGA, told them my home address in Brooklyn, and they went there with no directions. I never tip less than 20%, but this efficiency earns a much larger than usual tip.
In Harlem, where I live, cabs will actively honk for any potential fare, especially to the airport. You'll have multiple cabs trying to get you if you have a suitcase. From my conversations with drivers, they prefer airport fares.
This doesn't happen with Uber's model.
Also, I'm paying for a ride somewhere. The top priority for me is not sitting in hot, smelly, filth. I'll stick with Uber.
2. Today Uber has clean, nice smelling cars because it is new. Let's talk after Uber matures a bit like the cabs. We'll be back to where we started, only under the influence of an international monopoly. That does not bode well for the consumer.
3. Uber cannot really solve the imbalance of demand between Manhattan and the peripheries. Uber forces drivers to have a certain acceptance rate threshold. NYC forces drivers not do discriminate based on destination. In either case, drivers will try to game the system to avoid the less profitable journeys.
4. Look to places like Russia and India for the future of Uber. Drivers have 4+ cell phones, subscribing to different services in parallel with holding a cab license.
One more thing, if you pick up a yellow cab, or a "car service", when they are off the clock, you don't have to tip.