NYC Taxis Could Soon Charge Surge Prices Like Uber

NEW YORK, NY — New York City taxis have to charge the same rates even in bad weather or heavy traffic, when competing services like Uber and Lyft make passengers pay expensive "surge" prices. But that could soon change under a Taxi and Limousine Commission proposal that would let cab companies charge different rates for certain rides.

The TLC plans to approve a resolution later this month creating a pilot program allowing taxi companies to set their own rates for rides ordered on smartphone apps, spokeswoman Rebecca Harshbarger said. That means cabs could charge different prices based on different factors, she said.

"This could include rates of fare that are higher than what one might expect from the taximeter," Harshbarger said in an email. "Companies can experiment with different pricing models in the pilot, and set the prices they want and use any factor to determine it."

Taxi companies that want to participate in the program would have to submit their proposed rate structures to the TLC for approval, Harshbarger said.

The program, first reported by Politico on Tuesday, would include other changes that would help the city's taxis catch up with services such as Uber and Lyft.

Approved taxi-hailing apps would also be able to show the price of a ride before it's ordered, Harshbarger said, as Uber and Lyft do now.

"Given the increase in the ridership in the for-hire vehicle sector, the TLC wants to test if passengers who book taxi trips through an app prefer upfront pricing," Harshbarger said.

The program could also make it easier for cab companies to set special rates that would "encourage shared rides," Harshbarger said. Such rates would be similar to Uber Pool and Lyft Line, which charge a lower price for a ride that picks up and drops off multiple passengers.

New Yorkers won't have to worry about paying more when they hail a cab the old-fashioned way. On-duty cabs would still be required to pick up riders hailing on the street, who would still pay the standard metered rate, Harshbarger said.

But the program would give cabs more "flexibility" in catering to the many New Yorkers who order rides from their phones, TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi told Politico New York.

"It’s an opportunity for taxis to have a bigger presence in that smartphone arena," Joshi told Politico.

It's optional for taxi companies and cab-hailing apps to apply to participate in the pilot program, the commission says.

The apps Arro, Curb, Via and Waave have TLC licenses to connect riders with taxis. Arro touts the fact that its taxis don't charge surge prices on its website.

A spokesman for the company told Politico that taxi meters are important to its passengers.

"The meter has been an important tool to be transparent to the passenger, knowing exactly how much they’re paying for a taxi ride," the Arro spokesman, Michael Woloz, told Politico. "There’s just nothing hidden about it."

(Lead image: Photo by Kobby Dagan/Shutterstock)