Is the Taxi Industry Becoming Obsolete?

 The bright yellow taxis with their black checkered patterns littering the streets of Manhattan, have been a staple amongst any media depicting New York City. 

They have become a symbol of the city itself in a way often featured on touristy "I Heart NYC" shirts — along with apples and images of the Statue of Liberty, and yet they're less and less prevalent nowadays. 

Obviously, taxis still litter the streets of Manhattan, they'll be speeding through the busier streets uptown, near Penn Station, and most notably Times Square. But in other boroughs that are less gentrified, they become less of a familiar sight. 

Many people even often prefer to take the alternatives of Uber, Lyft, or the MTA, rather than chasing down a taxi. It's interesting to see the development over the years as the daughter of a cab driver. 

Hearing his increased complaints about the state of the industry and how the streets are "no good." The good days of the taxi industry where you'd make around $800 a day are done according to him. 

The trips per day of yellow taxis have been declining since 2015 around the time Uber and Lyft began rising in popularity and yellow taxis haven't been able to bridge the gap since with ride-hailing apps averaging around 600k trips per day in comparison to their 97k per day as of July 2024.

It's interesting to think about since I myself will take an Uber if I find myself outside of Manhattan and my dad isn't available to pick me up. But I wonder if this preference toward Uber is a trend amongst all NYC residents or just transplants and tourists. 

"I do use taxis more than Uber and Lyft, I feel like they're more accessible as you don't have to wait as long," said Sadie Fidler, a current New York City resident. "It's kinda a dying industry and we have to keep it alive." 

Despite this, my hopes for the industry dwindle as my father continues to voice his complaints after hours on the road each day and as I see the fatigue etched on his face week after week.