Uber to integrate its network with New York yellow cabs

NEW YORK — Uber said on Thursday it will collaborate with New York taxi networks, a longtime transportation rival, boosting driver supply as the city emerges from the pandemic.

Under the partnership, Uber will integrate its smartphone app with those used by the city's 14,000 iconic yellow cabs, an Uber spokesperson said, confirming a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The taxi apps, run by Creative Mobile Technologies and Curb Mobility, allow riders to pay with a credit card.

Passengers will pay roughly the same under either system, while cab drivers will be able to decline rides if they aren't lucrative enough.

As was the case in other cities, Uber's arrival in New York in 2011 pressured its cab network, which had operated under a quasi-monopoly.

City officials froze new licences for rideshare drivers in 2018 after surging Uber and Lyft use lifted the number to more than 120,000.

The partnership comes as Uber has struggled to find enough labor after some drivers took other jobs during the pandemic. The industry has also been tested lately by spiking gasoline prices, which has prompted both Uber and rival Lyft to add fuel surcharges to fares.

Andrew Macdonald, senior vice president for mobility and business operations, said the company's ventures with taxis "look different around the world" and that the latest alliance "will benefit taxi drivers and all New Yorkers".