Sick of Uber? Check Out These Alternatives

NYU Local Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 15, 2015

By Kate Fustich

Uber has changed the landscape of NYC travel. With just a few taps on your beloved smartphone, a man in a shiny black Cadillac will pull up to your house, wait for you outside while you finalize your outfit, and take you wherever you want to go. Sometimes, they even throw in free mints and bottled water.

While we are being whisked away to Brooklyn in class and comfort, taxi drivers are watching their business rapidly decline. In March 2015, The New York Post reported that the number of Uber cars had overtaken the number of taxis on New York City streets, with 14,088 black cars and 13,587 yellow cabs, respectively. Since March, Uber has increased their NYC fleet to over 20,000 vehicles.

It’s also worth noting that Uber has been plagued by allegations of sexual assault, kidnapping, and DUIs. A handful of countries and major cities have instilled partial or full bans against the app as a protest against Uber’s quasi-dubious business practices. Despite its worldwide reach, Uber is going to have to own up to its mistakes and fix the gaps in its ethics sooner than later, lest we all start using Lyft for fear of otherwise ending up in a ditch.

Here are a few other tech-savvy options for getting around the city with just as much convenience, but without quite as much guilt.

Arro

Launched just last month, Arro is yellow cab’s official comeback. This taxi-only app works a lot like Uber: input your location and find a car available near you. Your card will be automatically charged the fare when you arrive at your destination. Even if you’re already in a cab you hailed the old-fashioned way, you can still use Arro’s interface to pay. Nifty!

Arro prides itself on fair pricing and claims you will never be charged surge pricing, the omnipresent bane of an Uber user’s existence. The app is currently being tested in 8,000 NYC taxis, with plans to expand within New York and across the country.

Price: Free

Platform: Available for iPhone and Android

Gett

You may have noticed Gett’s recently line of snarky, Uber-bashing advertisements covering NYC bus stops and subway walls. The snark might be validated, though, by the promise of “$10 rides anywhere below 110th St.” Gett is a another black car service, so it’s not exactly taxi-friendly, but it boasts a pretty solid combination of the two: surge-free pricing, digital payment, and city-verified drivers. Gett also has a feature that lets you book a car up to two-weeks in advance. Perfect for when you plan to order a 5 AM Uber to the airport only to find that your neighborhood is a desolate, car-less wasteland.

Price: Free

Platform: Available for iPhone and Android

Via

If you’re trying to make new friends, you should consider downloading Via. This ridesharing app picks up you as well as others heading in the same direction. Possibly uncomfortable, possibly Craigslist Missed Connection fodder, but only $5 either way! Via is currently on the up-and-coming track, so its service area (between Canal and 110th Street) and hours (weekdays, 6:30 AM to 9 PM) is currently limited.

Price: Free

Platform: Available for iPhone and Android

[Images by Michael Lanza and via Apple App Store]