36 hours in Manhattan Uber vs Taxis

taking a poll!

Pros and cons?

Not sure which of these is easier and economical

Thanks. :cool:

taking a poll!

 

Pros and cons?

 

Not sure which of these is easier and economical

 

Thanks. :cool:

What are you planning to do? Between what locations are you planning to take taxis or Uber's and what time of day? Is this a theoretical or practical question?

For many practical situations subway could be your answer instead of taxi or Uber. Weather could be the wild card.

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Depending on the time of day you may be better off with a subway or walking. Personally I can't be bothered looking for license plates & making sure that is my Uber/Lyft when it's just as easy to grab a cab.

Where will you be? Some places it’s very easy to hail a cab while other places Uber is easier. It also depends on the weather and time of day. My daughter lives in Manhattan and uses Uber or the subway. One thing I love about Uber is that it’s a fixed price. Another thing is no having to jockey into position to hail a cab if no cab stand.

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Trick question: Subway/Walking is the correct answer, as the others have said

I agree...subway can be very effective, with just a little research. Have been to NYC several times, without ever getting in a car (taxi, Uber, etc).

Of course, we don't know where you are trying to go, or coming from. So any serious answer or discussion is challenging...

Trick question: Subway/Walking is the correct answer, as the others have said

But not everyone is prepared to utilize the subway or walk.

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Uber/Lyft (actually car services, too ... if you read their fine prints) have surge pricing for peak/high demands period, and rush hour, etc. that they've been known to impose and charge, to provide incentives for more drivers to join the availability pool.

Going across-town, vehicles often go no faster than taxi, buses & other means of transport ... equivalent to walking. Then, there are certain "core" midtown city blocks where there are restrictions on only allowing certain vehicles to turn or not turn, going straight thru only, etc. -

Let's not forget the growth & expansion of "Bus Only" lanes, 7 AM to 7 PM to keep the city "moving".

Comfortable walking shoes should be part of one's sightseeing strategies, unless mobility is a factor, to be supplemented by underground subway trains. Those Hop On/Hop Off double decker buses are great for tourist in good weather, when you aren't in a hurry.

Manhattan traffic (particularly mid-town traffic) is very congested during most of the day. Being in a for hire car can be a waste of time and perhaps money. As others have said the subway or walking would be my choice.

Following

In 50 trips to NYC over the past 10+ years we have taken 2 taxis.

Both times we have gotten out halfway thru the trip and walked/jogged the rest of the way as traffic was so slow we were going to miss curtain time.

Thanks everyone, besides getting from the hotel to the ship ... I think we are not having to be anywhere any certain time, so we will stroll around, eat, drink and be merry. :cool:

We have found Uber much easier than hailing a taxi , it also is normally cheaper , and there cars are more comfortable than taxi

In concurrence with everyone else...it depends on the situation.

Examples:

Trying to get from midtown to downtown or vice versa? Subway

Trying to go just a few blocks, especially during rush hour? Walking

Tired of sightseeing, want to get back to hotel asap, and am in an area with zillions of cabs going by? Or at a hotel with a doorman who is better than me at hailing a cab and need to get somewhere further than I care to walk? Taxi

Leaving hotel in the city to go to airport in Queens or cruise port in NJ? I prefer the fixed price of Uber or a car service.

I prefer using uber, but there prices are affected by demand. If you try to get an uber at a high demand time than the price could be higher than normal. But I find it annoying to try to hail a taxi so uber is the way to go for me.

This is like asking if the food is good on a cruise ship it all depends on the person.

Uber/Lyft/Juno etc have surge pricing while Yellow Taxi is $0.50 per minute in "slow traffic".

Surge pricing can be high, my normal work/home trip averages $38, during a thunderstorm it was $155 for all ride apps (a few dollar difference between them).

Then on the other hand during a thunderstorm try hailing a yellow taxi. Yellow taxies also have their own app too(Arro or Curb) and the "Black Car" services like Dial 7 or Carmel also have their own apps that show you where the car is and price no matter the time it takes.

My last trip back from JFK to home I price Yellow, App and Dial 7 and Dial 7 at 11p at night was the cheapest by $8 and the car was there in 8 minutes, no coupon.

Nothing truer than the saying YMMV!

One option not mentioned, (until I just saw the previous post that appeared after I wrote this) - car services. We find that Dial7 or Carmel Limo gives superior service at a very competitive price to taxis and Uber. Nicer than taxis, and MUCH more familiar with the streets and locations than Uber or Lyft (especially the Red Hook terminal). We use always Dial7 for transportation to/from airports and cruise terminals on our (at least) annual visits.

As others have mentioned, if the stairs aren't an issue, the subway is unbeatable. And easy. And safe. (And old and sorta' ugly). ...although there are some locations that are not well served by the subway.

My husband has mobility issues and has problems with stairs and distances greater than a few short blocks. Since we focus our visits around Broadway shows (Seeing 7-8 shows in 6 days this September), the theaters are near each other, and we stay as close to them as possible (Marriott Marquis) - we walk for over 80% of it. We take taxis for further trips (for instance to an off-broadway theater near Union Square). It's easier to hail a taxi on the street or hotel than to bother with Lyft or Uber. The apps for hailing taxis, like Curb, are mostly ignored by NY cabbies in our experience. Just stick your arm out.

One night, we'll be seeing a show (Mean Girls) near the northern end of Times Square on 52nd St and going for a post-show drink at Sardi's on 44th. Since it's too far for him to walk comfortably, the subway would take 4 blocks to walk, and traffic (especially when shows start or let out) absolutely crawls, we're going to hire one of those touristy pedicabs to take us through Times Square.

(EDIT - Brighton Line, Above, I mentioned that our experience with taxicab apps in NY was not good. However, I know that these things can change quickly and our last visit was last May, have you found the taxi apps to be helpful?)

(EDIT - Brighton Line, Above, I mentioned that our experience with taxicab apps in NY was not good. However, I know that these things can change quickly and our last visit was last May, have you found the taxi apps to be helpful?)

Haven't used it enough for a solid opinion, better than raising your hand and hoping though.

Haven't used it enough for a solid opinion, better than raising your hand and hoping though.

Thanks. Which app have you been using? Since we'll be visiting in September, we may have opportunity to use it - and more options are always better!

- Mark

Thanks. Which app have you been using? Since we'll be visiting in September, we may have opportunity to use it - and more options are always better! - Mark

Curb no discount unless the app finds someone to share your ride.

Arro is too new, haven't used it.

The biggest advantage is you can use the App's to pay.