Uber Pool Vs Curb: Which NYC Ride-Sharing Service Reigns Supreme?

NEW YORK, NY — Ride-sharing has exploded in New York City. The streets are teeming with drivers working for services such as Uber and Lyft just waiting for New Yorkers to cry out, "I can't bear taking the subway right now."

Patch recently tested four car services — Uber, Lyft, Via and the good ol' yellow cab — in a head-to-head race from the Upper East Side to the World Trade Center. But now we're pitting four ride-sharing services against each other.

This time the format is a bit different. Instead of a four-way head-to-head matchup, Patch is testing services against each other in a bracket-style tournament. The rules of the ride will be the same — passengers will order their respective rides at Third Avenue and East 86th Street at the same time heading to the same place. Whoever's car gets to the World Trade Center the fastest will be declared the winner.

The contestants: Uber Pool, Lyft Line, Via and Curb.

In Patch's first matchup Uber Pool proved victorious against Via. Newcomer Curb topped Lyft Line the second week of the tournament.

In this week's championship round Curb faced off against Uber Pool.

Uber Pool

Price: $11.47 plus $3.08 tip

Pickup wait: About four minutes

Pickup location: East 86th Street and Third Avenue

Trip time: 24 minutes

Drop-off location: In front of 1 World Trade Center

The Uber app told me to wait at the southeast corner of 86th Street and Third Avenue, but the driver, Mohammed, arrived at the northwest corner at 10:16 a.m. Mohammed asked how I was doing when I got into his black Toyota sedan, which had a slight odor of air freshener.

He then asked whether I wanted to take the West Side Highway or FDR Drive. I said I preferred whichever route was faster. He made a U-turn on 86th Street and headed toward the FDR.

The ride was easy after the pickup hiccup. We didn't pick up anyone else up on the way downtown. Soft rock played on the radio as Mohammed drove smoothly down the congested highway, with an iPhone on his left side displaying a map. Light air conditioning made the car pleasantly cool.

The Uber app sent me a notification that I'd soon be dropped off just before the trip ended. Mohammed let me out on West Street right in front of 1 World Trade Center at 10:40 a.m., making the ride 24 minutes. The $11.47 fare was similar to the first Uber trip I had taken two weeks before.

- Noah Manskar

Curb

Price: $30.25 with tip

Pickup wait: 5 minutes

Pickup location: Southeast corner of Lexington Avenue and East 86th Street

Trip time: 19 minutes

Drop-off location: West Street between Albany and Liberty streets.

Matching up with a Curb driver is a strange experience. In this case, I had to walk a full avenue over to Lexington and East 86th Street to meet my driver, which was strange considering it would have taken me less time to just hop in a yellow cab.

After getting in the crossover-style cab I told my driver to take me to 1 World Trade Center. Unlike with other ride share services, once you match with a cab and get inside it basically operates like a normal taxi ride. The drive itself was pretty uneventful. My driver took the standard route of the FDR to the West Street exit and no other passengers were picked up.

Dropoff was a little awkward. Once my driver realized the area around the World Trade Center is a no stopping zone he asked me to get out about two blocks away. I tried telling him that he can drive past the no stopping zone and I'd be closer, but he pulled over to the side of West Street anyway. I got out of the cab and walked about three minutes to get to the World Trade Center.

From when I got into the cab to dropoff was only 19 minutes, which is pretty impressive. Curb does charge a much steeper rate than other ride share services at $30 after tip.

The Verdict

Uber Pool cost less than half the Curb fare, but Curb provided a quicker trip despite the awkward dropoff.

The Winner: Curb

Do you agree with our verdict? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Shutterstock