

Did you know: In NYC, yellow cabs are required to take you anywhere in NYC. - jim_h

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/passenger/taxicab_rights.shtml<p>I think more people need to be aware that in NYC the yellow cabs are required to take you anywhere you want to go in NYC (any of the 5 boroughs).  They cannot refuse to to take you.  As long as they do not have passengers and are not 'off duty', they have to pull over and take you.<p>"It is against the law to refuse a person based on race, disability, or a destination in New York City. A taxicab driver is required to drive a passenger to any destination in the five boroughs.  You can make a refusal complaint by calling 3-1-1."  - http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/passenger/faq_pass.shtml#21<p>What does this mean?  This means you don't need to ask the driver if they go to a certain destination in NYC.  They are required to.  Don't make the mistake of standing and talking to the driver outside of the cab.  Get in and then tell them where you want to go.  If they lock the door and/or drive off, remember their cab number (on the sides/back) and file a complaint.<p>Why do they not want to take you to a destination?  There are any number of reasons.  One of them is probably since it's a long route and they make more money taking people to shorter and more profitable routes.  However, it's illegal for them to refuse.<p>Cabs are supposed to make your live easier and get you to your destination quicker, but yet I still see people make the mistake of accepting that a cab does not go to their destination.  In NYC, all of NYC can be your destination!<p>Why am I posting this?  Yesterday I saw a guy (non-threatening, white, well dressed) get refused by a cab and it seems like he probably got refused by a couple of cabs prior to that.  I didn't take the opportunity to share this information with him as I was in a hurry.  I figure to make up for it, I'll share it with NH since some of you guys may be in NYC too and are not aware of this information.
======
sebg
Just because there are rules saying that something should happen, does not
mean in reality that the thing will happen.

Reasons why cab drivers could not pick you up: 1.) shift change in 15 minutes.
So they can take you 15 minutes away but they can't drive an hour into
Brooklyn and miss their shift change. 2.) Car maintenance, refueling. If the
car is running low on fuel they can pick people up on short drives towards the
gas station but it wouldn't make sense for them to go the opposite way.

I am all for dialing 3-1-1 and think people should, however sometimes knowing
the full context will take you from being upset at the cab driver to being
understanding.

~~~
jim_h
I believe the law is also to prevent discrimination.

How does one know the true reason a cab might refuse to take you? Sex? Race?
Age? What if a cab took a white guy (non-threatening looking) to a location,
but refused to take a black guy (also non-threatening looking) to the same
location?

Yes, there are valid reasons like shift ending, etc, but perhaps they could
have signs stating their hours.

~~~
gyardley
It's almost always between 4:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon. If you need to
catch a cab at that time in Midtown, it's time to find a hotel queue.

~~~
roberts_vc
Yup, has happened to me. They wouldn't go too far out of Manhattan, midtown
exactly, because they're getting ready to clock out and leave midtown. Was
supremely annoying, in the rain. And I was only going uptown about 20 blocks.
After three refusals, I wasn't so open about my destination when I just got
into the next one. I was thinking to myself, "what a crock of sh*t, I can't
get a cab between 4:00 and 4:30?! In Manhattan?!"

------
goatforce5
Similar rules in London, UK. And, I suppose, most cities.

The standard way to hail a cab in London is to lean in the passenger window
when the cab pulls up to you, tell 'em where you're going and then they unlock
the doors and you get in.

A couple of times I had people say they weren't going that way, etc. Once I
said "I know you have to take me!" but there's not a lot you can do when they
say "feck off you cahnt" and drive off. By the time the next day rolls around
it's just not worth the effort to file a complaint.

On the other hand, as many times as that happened, I had cab drivers say that
they were on the way home, heading in the same direction as I was, and so they
stopped the meter early and I got a discount. I also got meters stopped early
a few times for showing them a totally awesome short cut near where I lived.

~~~
tim_iles
Last week I was refused a cab from the south side of Blackfriars Bridge to
Leicester Square, because the driver said it was "too busy" in central London
right now. (Fortunately the cab behind him accepted us, and it didn't seem
"too busy" at all.) Didn't know this rule applied, thanks!

------
sedachv
There's a great book on NY cab drivers and their tricks from someone who
worked there a while, the one catch is it's written in Russian as it is
authored by an immigrant from the Soviet Union:

<http://fictionbook.ru/author/lobas_vladimir/jieltiye_koroli/>

It came out in the late 80s but the rules and the medallion system haven't
really changed. The book describes the business and the psychology of drivers
in-depth.

The book helped reinforce two opinions I hold:

Cab drivers are for the most part scumbags. I can't wait for self-driving cars
and automated cab service.

"Political exiles" from the Soviet Union are for the most part scumbags (the
author of the book is a "dissident" who worked as a propagandist at Radio
Liberty but took up cabbying because that wasn't paying enough).

Now as to how this relates to the parent:

There are four reasons why a cabbie won't pick up passengers in NYC (these
have been mentioned in various replies here):

1\. Going from the city to the boroughs is a waste of time for cabbies.

2\. Cabbies parked in front of hotels only want airport fares.

3\. Cabbies racially profile for certain categories of people that have a
reputation for paying their fares, tipping well, and unlikely to be muggers.
This also depends on the time of day and pickup location.

4\. In the 80s certain parts of the city were unsafe (going to Harlem meant
being pelted with rocks and getting carjacked; not an exaggeration). Again,
depending on who is going and time of day, there is still risk even today.

Yeah, robot cabbies, can't wait for them.

------
rmah
While it may technically be true that a cab has to take you anywhere within
city limits, it seems to me that it is only polite to ask first before you ask
to go someplace out of the way.

On the occasions where I wanted to use a cab to go from Manhattan to Brooklyn
or an airport, I always ask first. Most of the time, they say ok, and it's all
good. Once in a while (maybe 1/4 of the time) the driver refused. I'm fine
with that, you can usually catch another cab within a few minutes -- one who
will be happy to serve you.

These guys work long hours and I do not view it is as my right to force them
to provide me with service. The law is probably a good one. That said, I
believe a certain level of consideration on the part of customer would also be
nice.

~~~
wan23
It's not easy for everyone to catch a cab in New York, and unfortunately the
unlucky ones are more likely to be going to "somewhere out of the way". Better
to prohibit discrimination for all reasons, not that it helps me even though I
live in Midtown.

------
Apreche
I am fully aware of this rule, and I have a strategy to deal with it.

The last time I had trouble I was trying to get a ride from the Javits to
Queens. Having a friend helped. First we would take a picture of the cab as it
approached, getting the number on the roof and proof that he was on duty.

What guys will do who refuse you, but know they aren't allowed to, is switch
their on/off duty light. If you tell them you are going to report them and
have a picture, they might suck it up and give you the ride.

If they refuse, call 311.

On a moderately related note, did you know that it is a violation of a
merchant account agreement for anyone who accepts a credit card as payment to
have a minimum charge or to charge you a different price because you chose to
pay by credit/debit? If someone is giving you trouble, call the number on the
back of the credit card to report them.

~~~
Timothee
On your second point, I'd like to ask if that applies to gas stations as well.
Because many of them display in big numbers a price that is reserved for cash,
while a higher one (~10-15c more a gallon) for credit. Is it illegal?

On a related note, I also believe (no link or citation sorry) that there can't
be a maximum on the amount you want to pay with credit. For example, car
dealerships tend to say they can only accept up to a certain amount to be put
on a credit card, even though the agreements with credit card companies say
they can't do that.

~~~
Apreche
None of it is illegal. It's just a violation of the merchant account
agreement. The worst that can happen if you complain is that they will lose
the ability to accept credit cards at all.

~~~
heimidal
In many states, including New York, California, Colorado, and a few others, it
is actually a crime for them to add a surcharge to a credit card transaction.

For example, in New York, levying a surcharge is a misdemeanor punishable by a
fine of up to $500, one year in prison, or both.

------
jwu711
The other problem is even though this is the law, I have had friends who avoid
taxi's who don't want to take them because of that sense of hostility.

Unless I'm desperate for a cab, normally I would just find a new one. It's not
like SF where there's no way you'll ever find a cab, NY they're so abundant

------
BobbyH
My experience is that if you do not look like a white yuppie, cabs won't even
stop for you to refuse service, especially at night. I once grew a goatee that
made me look Hispanic, and I couldn't hail a cab at night to save my life.

I was upset about this and even once filed a complaint with the Taxi and
Limousine Commission (TLC) after a cab slowed down, looked at me, then sped
away to pick up a white guy down the street. However, for the complaint to
result in a sanction, you have to show up at the TLC court to testify, or the
complaint is tossed. I didn't want to spend a day in TLC court so I didn't
follow up.

When it got warmer, I shaved my goatee and stopped wearing my leather jacket.
Magically, I then got picked up every time. I was disgusted by this and now I
take cabs only in extremis.

~~~
jim_h
I don't know when you filed your complaint. However, you can attend the
hearing over the phone. You just call and everything is all set on the other
end. The driver (and his lawyer) has to be present.

My coworker had his hearing over the phone a few weeks ago.

~~~
rodericksilva
Agreed. My mother-in-law owns a NYC cab. They get hit with complaints all the
time...even when its not them and the person had the wrong cab number.

Cab drivers are guilty till proven innocent.

------
nikhilgk
Thank you for posting this, could be useful to someone.

But let me remind you that this post does not fall within the general
guidelines for HN posting. For your reference:

<http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html>

Hacker News Guidelines

What to Submit

On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes
more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the
answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.

Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're
evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters,
or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-
topic.

~~~
topherjaynes
This is on topic and you wouldn't have objected if he put "start-up
transportation advice for newbies to NYC"in the heading or the first line.

This is a good tip for anyone who is working or having meetings in NYC.
Getting around the city trying to meet clients or partners can be tricky and
if you're in a hurry you don't have time to argue if the cab driver can get
you there or not.

~~~
topherjaynes
Or further down:

Please don't submit comments complaining that a submission is inappropriate
for the site. If you think something is spam or offtopic, flag it by going to
its page and clicking on the "flag" link. (Not all users will see this; there
is a karma threshold.) If you flag something, please don't also comment that
you did.

------
gyardley
Was it around 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon? Likely just shift change cab
drought.

Around shift change, cab drivers have to get the cab back to the garage so the
next cabbie can take over. If they don't get it back on time, there are
repercussions. But cabbies like to maximize their working time, so they're
happy to take fares going in the same general direction they're going.

You can file as many complaints as you want, but no cabbie is going to take
you to the Bronx when they have to be in DUMBO in fifteen minutes. If this
rule was 100% enforced, the alternative isn't more convenience, it's less
convenience, since cabs around shift change wouldn't stop at all. At least
this way people moving in the general direction of the garage get rides.

------
mikerhoads
God forbid a service provider be able to decide for themselves what services
they actually want to sell.

~~~
SHOwnsYou
This is absolutely ridiculous.

Cab drivers are free to pursue any other career path if they so choose and are
made aware of the rules before they get behind the wheel.

They are implicitly agreeing to the laws governing Yellow Cabs by driving one.

What you're suggesting would be like if I told my boss I wasn't programming
today and if he wanted any work out of me that he better come up with
something else.

~~~
mynameishere
Err, no. It would be like XYZ random client coming to your boss and saying, "I
want a website that does FOO. I'm paying your standard fee, and if you don't
build it, I'm filing a complaint with the government."

Also, FOO might just be something that statistically increases the chance of
your boss getting robbed/murdered.

~~~
SHOwnsYou
If your boss is required by law to provide FOO upon payment of the standard
fee, then our examples are the same.

Cab drivers aren't blind sided by the potential pitfalls of their job. They
know the hazards when they start. To suggest anything else is not only
ridiculous, but it undermines the judgment of cab drivers.

~~~
mikerhoads
I'm questioning the existence of the law not the judgment of the taxi drivers.
I'm also questioning why hackers would report people under this law in the
transportation industry when an analogous law in their own industry would be
rebelled against and circumvented almost immediately.

~~~
SHOwnsYou
If there were similar laws in my industry then I wouldn't have sympathy for
myself.

I knew the risks of my industry before I started the job. I made a decision to
take it based on my salary/benefits vs the potential hazards. Cab drivers do
the same. The law is in place to prevent people from being exploited by cab
drivers. If my industry likewise needed further anti-exploitation rules, I
wouldn't be opposed to them.

But not only that, as fun as it is to debate the merits or pitfalls of laws
regarding yellow cab drivers in NYC, at some point it is important to
recognize that the laws are a certain way and until they are changed or made
"blue", they are the system that we have to work within.

~~~
mikerhoads
Your last sentence confuses me. The way to change them is to first debate
their merits and pitfalls. Your entire case seems to be "The law is the way
that it is and thats final, anyone who doesn't like it just shouldn't be a cab
driver". My argument is that "this system is inefficient and does more harm
for the majority of consumers and cab drivers while benefitting the larger cab
companies that can work their way towards a monopoly or oligopoly easily so we
should act, as consumers, to reform it (or at the very least jeer it)".

If there is a similar law in your industry you'd just give up? Your argument
of knowing the risk beforehand is irrelevant. I'm not a cab driver nor do I
want to be, I'm just pointing out that this system is ill conceived and as
most of us our entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs or just problem solvers
in general I am surprised that this sort of scheme of creating an artificially
high barrier of entry, price fixing and regulation has received such a
positive response.

~~~
SHOwnsYou
I am shocked that you're still clinging to this argument. You are suggesting
that officially sanctioned NYC cab drivers should be allowed to not give rides
to people based on race and destination (extrapolate to any service provider
be allowed to discriminate against anyone for any reason). The fact that
you're claiming racism (and any other subjective thing about a rider) solves
harms caused by inefficiency in the NYC cab industry is morally repugnant.

I don't appreciate how you've bastardized my argument and then really
eloquently explained yours. But that doesn't matter because your argument is a
wash.

Maybe the system is inefficient, maybe it's not. The law came out of people
not offering rides based on race and destination. What is the point of a
subjectively offered city service with no viable alternative?

I know you think you understand the system, but why do you claim to know the
system is inefficient and does more harm to both consumers and cab drivers? Is
it based on this article? The comments? Have you done or read studies on
effects of official city taxis and how their destination rules impact the
citizens and drivers?

I doubt you have. So _this is my argument_ You're trying to impose what you
think (with likely not enough information) on an entire industry and all of
its consumers. If the industry was so terrible towards cab drivers, then the
industry would change because no one would be a cab driver. But there are
still more people willing to drive a cab than there are medallions available
so this horrible injustice your claiming doesn't seem to impact drivers as
much as you wish it did.

If there was a law that made my industry so inefficient it harmed me and my
customers so much and benefited my boss to an outrageous extent then I would
show my disapproval by changing industries (either permanently or temporarily
via a strike). That is how changes to the status quo are made in a market.
Reducing demand so suppliers have to change their offer.

~~~
mikerhoads
>>You are suggesting that officially sanctioned NYC cab drivers should be
allowed to not give rides to people based on race and destination

My argument is that a private company should be able to offer whatever service
they want. If the city of New York wants to offer a complete service then they
should add a taxi service as part of the MTA. Also, I don't think I mentioned
race. Destination discrimination is mainly about minimizing risk and avoiding
areas dense with blue dots on this map
<http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map>

>>What is the point of a subjectively offered city service with no viable
alternative?

This is not a city service. It's a private service in the city that well
established companies have lobbied nyc government to increase the barrier of
entry for. Subways and busses are city services, they are the ones that should
have universal service routes.

>> If there was a law that made my industry so inefficient it harmed me and my
customers so much and benefited my boss to an outrageous extent then I would
show my disapproval by changing industries (either permanently or temporarily
via a strike). That is how changes to the status quo are made in a market.
Reducing demand so suppliers have to change their offer.

No, going on strike would decrease supply NOT demand. Also, do you really
think cab drivers have an alternate industry to flock to?

~~~
SHOwnsYou
>My argument is that a private company should be able to offer whatever
service they want.

This is not your original argument. The Yellow Cab company does offer the
service they want -> A trip to anywhere that cant be discriminated against
based on race or destination (it’s on the NYC transportation website). Your
argument was that each individual driver should be able to pick and choose who
to take based on any factors they deem relevant, which DOES include race,
religion, or any other factor you can think of.

>This is not a city service.

I apologize, I began to use “city service” instead of “only service
governmentally sanctioned by the city.” But the argument remains, what is the
point of allowing subjectivity in the only government sanctioned cab company?

>No, going on strike would decrease supply not demand

Again, I apologize for not being more explicit. I was referring to the demand
for cab driver jobs by potential cab drivers. I switched from talking about
the market for cab rides to the market for cab driver jobs without explaining.
Going on strike would decrease the demand for cab driver jobs. The suppliers
would then have to make a more compelling offer to potential cab drivers for
them to get back behind the wheels of cabs.

>Do you really think cab drivers have an alternative industry to flock to?

Yes. At any point I’m sure there are thousands of other unskilled-labor jobs
in NYC that cab drivers can get in to. Driving is not a field of specialized
labor. Anyone with a license and can pass the test can do it.

------
bdittmer
SF has similar laws. The one I see cab drivers break most often is refusing to
accept payment via credit card. If you ever get in a cab in San Francisco and
they tell you they don't take credit cards they're either lying or shouldn't
be driving the cab in the first place.

~~~
kgermino
Chicago had a similar problem when they started requiring that taxi's accept
credit cards at no extra charge. When someone tried to pay their fare with a
credit card a cab driver who didn't want to pay the service fee would either
say that the machine was broken or "accidentally" overcharge riders. They are
moving towards screens in the back seat now though.

------
rodericksilva
Everyone is saying that they might be on their way back to the garage and I
agree except that the driver should have the off-duty light on at that point.
They should pull over and explain "Hey I'm on my way back to the garage but I
can take you if its close"

 __Note __On the cabby's behalf: If you rent and drive a yellow cab it cost
you $150 to get in it. You have to fuel it up at the end of the shift so thats
another $30-40 per shift.

At $5-10 per ride and assuming you can average 2 or 3 rides in an hour...it
explains why they drive like maniacs and look to hustle.

------
cosgroveb
Is asking a cab if they go somewhere in a major city normal? Excuse my
ignorance if it is, but I'm from a very small town (so no prior experience
with cabs in general) and have lived in Chicago (city and suburbs at various
times) for the last 5 years and I have never even thought to ask a cab driver
if he goes somewhere in particular. And I've taken cabs pretty far within the
city.

The only time I was ever refused was when I tried to get a ride to the suburbs
(a mega expensive cab ride but I needed it).

------
notirk
It's true. I've learned my lesson after living in Brooklyn and now Queens for
the last few years. Just get in the cab, ensure your entire party is in the
cab. Shut the doors. Say where you're going and sit tight. I've been fortunate
to live by the bridges in both locations so I have an easy counter if they
start to argue. Hold your ground!

------
RickHull
Out of maybe 100 cab rides from Manhattan to Brooklyn, I have sensed
reluctance maybe 5 or 10 times. Definitely get in the cab, close the door, and
only then start talking destination.

Also, be aware that they have a counter-strategy if they don't want to take
you. One time, my girlfriend and I got into the cab, told him where to go in
Brooklyn, and within 60 seconds he had "car trouble". I was pretty sure sure
he was bluffing and called him on it, and he said either (can't quite recall)
he needed to go to a shop immediately, or he needed a tow. We sat in the cab
for about 30 seconds, and then got out. He pulled away, almost certainly to
find another fare.

Next time, I will get the details and file a complaint. If he really did have
car trouble and a record of service, he should be able to have it dismissed.

------
dayjah
Any idea why a cab driver would want to reject a journey? Is there some other
bureaucracy that makes it hard for them to turn a profit if they abide by
this?

For example it is very common in England for "distance and a half" fares to be
invoked when journeys are outside of a particular region. This is in place so
that if a cab driver takes you to "Stixwich" they're not out of pocket on the
drive back since there are likely no return fairs from that point. Does NYC
deny this 1.5x for further journeys?

~~~
alanstorm
It's about a New York City that's 25 years long gone, but this question, and
thread, reminded of Ted Rall's recollections of driving a Cab in NYC during
the early 80s

<http://www.rall.com/longarticle_003.htm>

~~~
wyclif
Hey, that's still a great read. I love the little vignette about Woody Allen.
I voted you up because reading this completely answers the question of "why
won't NY cabbies take me to Brooklyn?"

------
JustinD
Good info, indeed.

Personally, these kinds of articles always crack me up. New Yorkers know this.
Transplants from CT, NJ or whatever cul-de-sac in Wisconsin you people are
coming from lately, frankly you deserve whatever crap treatment you get from
cabbies.

And don't complain to 311, you transplants complain to much as it is. Just
hash it out in a nice little argument with the cabbie. It'll be cathartic and
maybe it'll get you down enough to not buy that V-neck.

~~~
roberts_vc
"New Yorkers know this. Transplants from CT, NJ or whatever cul-de-sac in
Wisconsin you people are coming from lately, frankly you deserve whatever crap
treatment you get from cabbies."

Really? Guess what? Everyone in NYC is a transplant, at some point. And
everyone has to learn just how things work, in detail, over time. It's a
process, not a badge to brag about. Natives are the worst...

------
ary
So I'll ask the obvious question as a person who has visited, but never lived
in, NYC. Why is this a problem?

I've never had a problem getting a cab to take me where I want to go in the
cities I've lived in nor the ones I've visited. The only downside I can see is
if you're requesting somewhere that's remote and that would be difficult for
the cab to find another fare on the return trip. NYC does not strike me as a
place that would have this problem.

~~~
rdouble
There are a surprising number of remote places in New York. For instance, I
doubt any cab would pick up a fare to Broad Channel, Queens. The truly far
places like Staten Island aren't an issue, because the fare is so expensive
nobody is trying to cab it out there anyway.

The fares the cabbies hate are to emerging yuppie gentrification neighborhoods
in Brooklyn, Uptown and the part of Queens near Manhattan. Places like
Greenpoint, Astoria, Windsor Terrace, LIC, Prospect Heights, Morningside
Heights, etc. In these neighborhoods a cabbie is almost certainly not going to
get a fare back to the city, especially late at night.

~~~
zorander
Astoria has never caused trouble for me..not once have I been refused, and I
cab it back to 23av/31st a couple of times a week from lower manhattan. Maybe
it's all of the tlc-oriented services along 21st that make it less of a
hassle?

------
hammock
Be polite to the cab drivers. Ask first. You don't have to be an asshole just
because the city ordinance allows you to be one.

------
bgruber
it's odd that tv and movies haven't fixed this problem. i'm always surprised
when i see people talking to the cabbie before they get in, because a) i'm
from queens and therefore would never do that and b) have they ever seen
someone in a movie do that? no. standard protocol is the cab stops, you get
in, and THEN say where you are going.

------
asmithmd1
It is pretty rare that a cab drives around with his doors un-locked. I almost
always have to tell them where I am going before they unlock the door.

Another pro-tip: many times Lincoln town cars will take you like a taxi but
they are not allowed to pick you up unless you called for a car so get in
before negotiating the price

~~~
Apreche
I recommend people never take a non-yellow cab. They have far fewer
regulations, so they can charge ludicrous amounts. Even if you negotiate a
price beforehand, it might surprisingly change when you arrive.

~~~
leviathant
Agreed. I took one of those black Towncars once, and the driver tried to
charge me something absurd at the end of the rather short trip. I told him all
I had was a twenty, didn't get any change. That was the first and last time
I'll ever hail one of those.

~~~
Hominem
Negotiate through the window before you get in, they have set prices based on
"zones". Those towncars are roughly twice as expensive I find. I Don't tip
those guys since it they are doing it without the dispatcher's knowledge so
it's pure profit for them

------
aonic
Thanks for the tip, I see people getting refused for Queens/Bronx/Staten
Island from Manhattan all the time.

~~~
jim_h
I actually learned of this from my coworker. He filed a few complaints already
since they refused to take him from Manhattan to Brooklyn. It's actually to a
nice part of Brooklyn too.

------
atuladhar
Somewhat OT, but I'm wondering why you felt the need to mention that the guy
who was refused was white along with "non-threatening" and "well dressed". I
appreciate your posting this and would like to thank you for it, but it made
me feel really uneasy when I came to that part.

------
elliottcarlson
And that's why I tip really good when I need to cab it back to Staten Island -
I understand that they won't make any money on the return trip and that it is
out of their way.

------
hkuo
All this talk of NY cabbies and not a single mention of Uber App? I can't wait
for them to arrive here in the city and disrupt this chaotic system of NY and
gypsy cabs.

~~~
tedunangst
What's the distinction between uber app and gypsy cabs?

------
dantheman
I think it is fundamentally immoral to force someone to take part in a
transaction that they don't want to, just because the law forces them to do
it. You wouldn't point a gun at them and make them do business with you, why
do you want someone else to do it.

~~~
roberts_vc
I don't see it as a moral issue, in the least. The law was created, for a very
good reason. Prior to the law, I've no doubt the public got screwed over,
often, and on a regular basis. Let alone "less desirable" fares.

