A new chart released this week shows that the New York City taxi cab is not only an endangered species but that its days are numbered. Today, there are 65 percent more ride-hailing trips than taxi trips in New York City.
Genius employee and data-visual enthusiast Todd Schneider pulled from the reams of data released by the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission each month that shows fares by car type — taxi or ride-hailing service. His analysis shows the tide has turned: At the end of 2017, all monthly ride-hailing pickups (Uber, Lyft, Juno, Via, Gett) numbered 15 million, while taxi pickups numbered less than 10 million.
As use of yellow taxis (which primarily serve Manhattan) and green taxis (which primarily serve the other four boroughs) has been on the decline, there’s been a sharp increase in the use of ride-hailing apps.
A Ride-Hailing Surge: The chart below shows the data behind one of the most dramatic changes in America’s largest city over the past five years. The way people in New York (tourists and locals alike) get around has flipped, and it doesn’t show any sign of stopping, according to Schneider’s analysis.
Ride-hailing apps vs New York City taxis.
Uber is King of New York: Also, Uber alone sees more pickups than yellow taxis, a milestone it passed in November.
Here's a breakdown of trips by Uber, yellow taxis, Juno, Via, and outer-borough green taxis.
The Effect of #DeleteUber: The #DeleteUber movement in January 2017 came as a result of customers reacting to Uber suspending its “surge” pricing for its vehicles at JFK airport. The suspension was widely viewed as Uber trying to take advantage of the taxi driver’s strike — called as a protest of the Trump administration’s ban on incoming U.S. travel from Muslim-majority countries — to make money. On that day, many deleted Uber, and Lyft, its top competitor, saw an uptick in rides. #DeleteUber worked, if only for a short time.
When asked what motivates him to do this sort of data analysis, Schneider tells Inverse: “[Theres’] no deep reason, other than that I find it interesting.”
Read his full March update on his blog, where you can pore through more charts that show the taxi cab is about to become an anachronism. The yellow cab is going the way of the pay phone.
