Uber, taxicab firm Flywheel partner up in San Francisco pilot program
SAN FRANCISCO -- Some users of Uber may have noticed the option to complete a trip with the company using a San Francisco taxicab as part of a new partnership with Flywheel Technologies to match riders with more drivers in the city. But some taxi drivers worry about Uber's growing presence in their industry.
"For me, I guess the first thought I have is price, if it's the same price then I don't really care but if the price will fluctuate, then I wouldn't want to use it," said Briana Nettie, an Uber user who lives in San Francisco. "The options are generally okay, usually Ubers come within a couple minutes, especially in San Francisco."
Flywheel Technologies already helps taxis get access to customers using an "e-hail" platform similar to what they experience with rideshare apps. The new partnership will allow Uber users to select a traditional trip or "Uber X" on their phone and then get notified they have been paired with a taxi driver. The customer will know upfront the cost of the trip and they can decline to use a taxi for their ride. The taxi driver can also decline to accept an Uber customer.
"It's almost hard to believe, taxis and rideshare have been archenemies for maybe a decade," said Hansu Kim, president of Flywheel Technologies. "We're now actually partners in terms of servicing the public in a very similar fashion and I think the big winner here is the public by far."
Kim says while this is a pilot program limited to San Francisco for now, he believes this is the direction the industry will take across the country with more users able to access taxis on secondary apps in the years ahead. He believes this will not only provide more customers to the taxi industry, some that it lost to rideshare companies years ago, but it could also give drivers more income over time.
"For some taxi drivers, it might be good, just not for me. I don't want to pick up Uber customers and have Uber take a percentage out of every fare," said Joseph Mullins, who has driven a taxi in San Francisco since 2010. "I make pretty good money out here in the daytime."
Members of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance say they worry about meeting the new demand for rides when Uber customers join their requests along with traditional passengers. Leaders for the union say their business has picked up in recent months and they're already struggling to keep up with it. One of their greatest concerns is that their industry will become too dependent on Uber.
"I'm doing what I'm doing, I'm making money out here, I'm putting a roof over for me and my family so I'm not going to change anything," Mullins told KPIX 5 on Thursday. "I believe they're trying to take the taxi industry over it sounds like."
Uber reiterated in a statement Thursday that it has a goal of getting every taxi on their app by 2025. The company explained that taxi drivers would receive the same earnings as those who drive for the rideshare app. Their earnings would be calculated differently than the meter-based system but taxi driver could make less, the same, or more money compared to a cab fare with an Uber customer.
"I think it's quite understanding, if you look at the past history, the rideshares were very devastating to the taxi business over the years and I think that drivers are understandably suspicious," Kim told KPIX 5 on Thursday.
He also explained that this partnership hopes to have a positive environmental impact by using fewer vehicles for more ride requests and creating less congestion. The Taxi Alliance says it's too soon to know the impact and if that will actually happen with this new partnership.
Similar options for taxis on Uber already exist in cities around the world and for some customers, that has been their only experience with a cab. So they welcome the move to get more taxis accessible by phone using an app, instead of dialing the service.
"I don't think I have ever called a cab using phone numbers so I'm fine with that direction," said Nettie.
