Riders May Soon Be Able To 'E-Hail' A Regular Taxi Using A Smartphone
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles wants taxi drivers to get on board with a mobile app that will allow customers to hail a taxi from their smartphones.
If and when implemented, taxi drivers who don't use the app "e-hail" could face fines of up to $200 a day, starting in August.
"Right now, very different, very change because the Uber guys, they took some business," said Paremit Singh, a taxi driver.
Singh didn't hesitate to talk about his competition and the money he says he loses to other ride-sharing companies.
"They took almost $100, $70, so we lost business actually. Not only one company. All companies lose something," he said.
That's why the city wants to require all 2,300 taxi drivers to utilize the app in an effort to level the playing field and make the process easier for customers.
Eric Spiegelman, the president of the Los Angeles Board of Taxicab Commissioners, told Reuters: "It's probably not going to be a panacea, but it's going to improve things. … At the very least, it's a gigantic first step."
"At least a different choice and if it is out there, people I think will start using it even if they stick with Uber, they'll have another opinion, second option, I guess," said Amanda Haller, a rider.
But Haller says she's still an Uber fan as it's cheaper and after trying one of the taxi apps, the response time was just too slow.
For Singh, who has a family to support, he hope things pick up.