2024-11-14T12:14:35-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/117655517/taxis-stop-whining-and-start-innovating-to-compete-with-ubers-of-the-world Amelia Taylor-Hochberg 2015-01-05T14:33:00-05:00 >2015-01-14T22:20:23-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/w8/w8mjv8ei1ddeknzw.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>A little over a year ago, Seattle sought to determine the quality of TNCs like Uber and Lyft relative to taxi services, and the result was a stinging indictment of traditional taxis' speed, convenience, and ease of payment. [...] In response to competition from the Ubers and Lyfts of the world, taxi operators across the country have done more than complain about the loss of their monopoly on for-hire transportation ... and actually worked to improve service to be competitive</p></em><br /><br /><p>It's important to remember that in the midst of Uber's corporate gaffes and other criticisms of alternative Transportation Network Companies, taxi companies are struggling, but operating. And as Shane Phillips, Masters of Planning student at USC, points out in his Planetizen blog, a silver lining of Uber et al's practices is that they've forced taxis to improve services that "traditionally sucked", in order to&nbsp;be more competitive in an app-driven market.</p><p>Phillips cites cases in Los Angeles and Seattle, WA, where quantitative comparison of taxis to Uber/Lyft etc. clearly show taxis' disadvantages and weaknesses. In Seattle, comparing metrics like speed, service quality, and ease of payment, traditional taxi drivers clearly needed to, in Phillips words, "get [their] shit together". Both cities' taxi commissions are working on enforcing the use of e-hailing apps, which reduce wait times, ease payments, and hold drivers responsible through customer reviews.</p><p>In the end, Phillips encourages...</p>