Taxi Share Experiment Arrives Without Fanfare

At the taxi share stand on Columbus Avenue between 72nd and 73rd Streets. (Gothamist)

Since last week's planned launch of the taxi share experiment was marred by the snow, the Taxi and Limousine Commission said that pilot would begin today. But when we stopped by the stand on the Upper West Side, we only saw a tiny sign indicating that there was a taxi share stand, a TLC vehicle, three members of the press, and van parked where taxis would presumably pull up—no taxis, no would-be passengers. Sad trombone.

Cityroom was even moved to compose poetry about the debut: "Not a person showed, not a taxi arrived / The grand cab-share experiment had gone awry! / The signs, cabbies said, were small and ill marked; / Drivers couldn’t tell where to park"...and so forth.

We asked TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus about his department's expectations, and he said in an e-mail, “I would hesitate to characterize the project’s very first day in terms of expectations. We have, and will continue to aggressively reach out to both potential passengers and taxicab drivers, and now that the stand is off the ground, word of mouth will bolster our efforts and help the participation to grow over the coming weeks and months. Considering what we wanted to accomplish, today was a good day, and not at all about numbers.”

There are two other taxi share stand locations—East 72nd Street and Third Avenue and West 57th and Eighth Avenue—that operate during the morning rush hour and all the taxis have the same destination, Grand Central Terminal. It does seem to be a steal, since each person would pay $3 (from 57th) or $4 (from East and West 72nd Streets)—the regular base fare is already $2.50 plus the 50 cent NY State surcharge.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on March 3, 2010 4:20 PM

Comments [rss]

Darrell

Eh, I don't get why people would want the discomfort of a dollar van with the high cost of a yellow cab.

Hackflack

Hello all, my name is Allan Fromberg, and I am the spokesperson for the Taxi and Limousine Commission. FYI, the reason why the TLC chose these particular sites is specifically because GPS data from the new taxi technology shows them as having the largest density of taxi pickups for transportation to the group ride's destination. Bottom line -- this is a smart, economical transportation option for the many people who regularly make this popular trip.

Knickerbocker

If you are really Allan Fromberg, then please listen up.

I grew up in Manhattan in the days of jump seats in checker cabs. I also went to college in DC where taxi share is mandatory city wide.

This may be the worst TLC experiment ever conceived. There is absolutely no advantage to waiting on line, sharing a seat with some random stranger on a ride which is 2-3 times the cost and slower than the subway.

The chosen locations are terrible. There are already express subways at 57th and 72nd St/Columb. They should be where there are no nearby express subways (i.e. 2nd Ave, 86th + Bway, etc). There is also no downtown access.

You want ride share to be success, try doing in the Village on weekends after 11pm. There may be more trouble (random drunks, etc), but that's where you find the most hands in the air looking for a quick ride home.

JenChungsBaby

I know it's just the first day, but the program seems pretty limited. There are three places to embark and just one destination, which is already served by several other forms of mass transit. If I'm on 72nd and 3rd Avenue and wanted to get to Grand Central I wouldn't do it in a shared cab.

Tower18

Getting from 57th and 8th to Grand Central at rush hour would take twice as long in a cab. Those inclined to take a cab over the subway no matter what the added time/cost will probably not want to share.

I don't get it.

theLtrain

Not everyone takes cabs from 57th and 8th to grand central during rush hour.

Cabs are just plain convenient a lot of the time. Especially in upper manhattan.

I wouldn't want to share a cab either though.