In New York, mobility options for people who do not own a car include the subway, busses, Yellow taxis, Green taxis,¹ ride-hailing services, and livery cabs. Unlike other taxicabs, livery cabs are not authorized to pick up customers who hail them in the street. Customers must call a livery cab base station to book a ride. Many of the base stations are in the outer-boroughs and low-income areas of New York where public transportation options are sparse. Many stations are owned by Latino immigrants and owners and drivers live in the neighborhoods they serve. Dispatchers in some cases are multilingual. Many customers feel more comfortable calling for a ride from these services, from people they have known for years and who speak their native language. According to Cira Angeles, spokesperson for the Livery Base Owners Association, livery cabs continue to be an integral part of Latino neighborhoods.

However, in recent years, fewer livery cab bases are able to stay in business. Today’s market size shows the number of livery cabs in New York City in 2015 and 2019. More than 100 livery cab bases have gone out of business since 2015; 46 in 2019 alone. According to owners of these types of businesses, caps on the number of licenses, while meant to reduce traffic congestion and keep salaries high by limiting competition, make it harder for them to replace retiring drivers and drivers whose licenses cannot be renewed due to outstanding tickets. Also, more bookings through ride-hailing apps coincide with fewer calls to livery cab bases. Livery cabs are not the only types of transportation services to see fewer riders as a result of ride-hailing services, however.² From October 2015 to August 2019,³ rides per day increased by nearly 300% for ride-hailing services but dropped 75.5% for Green taxis, 57.6% for livery cabs, and 51% for Yellow taxis. In October 2015, Yellow taxis completed more than 397,000 trips per day; ride-hailing services, 163,168; livery cabs, 91,496; and Green taxis, 52,598. By August 2019, ride-hailing services topped 648,000 trips per day. Yellow taxis completed 194,798 trips per day; livery cabs, 38,815; and Green taxis, 12,866.

¹ Green taxis, also known as boro taxis, are types of livery cabs that operate in northern Manhattan and the boroughs outside of Manhattan. They are authorized to pick up customers who hail them in the street. Customers may also call their livery cab base to arrange a ride over the phone. In addition, as part of a two year pilot program that started in 2018, customers can use an app to book a ride.
² Ride-hailing companies include Uber, Lyft, Juno and Via.
³ August 2019 was the most recent month in which livery cab data were reported by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Geographic reference: New York, New York
Year: 2015 and 2019
Market size: 22,000 and 9,600
Sources: Claudia Torrens, “In Ride-Hail Boom, Livery Cabs Feel Squeezed,” The Denver Post, December 29, 2019, p. 2K; “Taxi and Ridehailing Usage in New York City,” available online here; “Aggregated Reports,” New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission available online here; “Taxicabs of New York City,” Wikipedia, January 1, 2020 available online here; “You Can Hail NYC Green Cabs With an App,” Fox 5 New York, September 25, 2018 available online here.
Original Source: New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
Image source: Pexels, “automobile-automotive-blur-car-1845650,” Pixabay, November 21, 2016 available online here