Uber has agreed to feature New York City taxi cabs on its app amid a driver shortage.
The ride-sharing agency made an agreement with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission that would provide taxi drivers with the opportunity to be featured on Uber’s app if they wish, according to the Wall Street Journal. The partnership, which signifies Uber’s first citywide alliance in the United States, is expected to be launched this spring.
“It’s bigger and bolder than anything we’ve done,” Senior Vice President of Mobility and Business Operations Andrew Macdonald told the outlet.
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Taxi drivers who take advantage of the agreement will be asked to combine certain software used by Uber with their own vehicles.
While fare amounts for passengers will be roughly the same, the city’s 14,000 taxi drivers, unlike Uber drivers, will have the option to view projected earnings from trips and to decline customers.
Drivers with the ride-sharing company generally make more than the minimum time and distance rate set forth by the commission, and taxi drivers who opt in to the agreement will have the option to be paid as regular Uber drivers do, according to the company.
Uber’s partnership with the commission was described as an opportunity to provide more jobs for taxi drivers “without adding more and more cars,” New York City Deputy Mayor of Operations Meera Joshi said.
Uber has been dealing with driver shortages and rising gas prices, problems that prompted both Uber and its competitor Lyft to increase fare prices last June.
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Uber has previously partnered with taxi providers in cities in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Uber and to New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission for statements but did not receive responses back.
