Yellow Cab-Hailing App Arro Launches In New York City
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Raising your arm to hail a cab may be a thing of the past.
Now, taxi drivers have a new app on their side that they say will hopefully help them compete against other forms of transportation, CBS2's Meg Baker reported.
"There's been a sharp drop in the number of people riding yellow taxis because of Uber, Lyft," said transportation expert Sam Schwartz. "This is a good move by the TLC. Let's hope the public does use it and it really levels the playing field.
Like Uber, Lyft, Via and Get, yellow taxi's now have an app for customers to catch a ride.
Yellow cab-hailing app Arro launched Wednesday. But does it work?
"You should be my first request if it comes through properly," said taxi driver Arnold Singleton.
Baker tried to use the app several times, but to no avail. She walked over to Singleton's cab to see if he was the car she had requested.
"I think it's not working properly," he said.
Singleton downloaded the app onto his meter system and it read "e-Hail Enabled." But when Baker requested a taxi while sitting next to him, the app directed a cab a few blocks away to meet her.
"I'm the closest and it picked up another one about two blocks away," said Singleton.
In a statement to CBS, Arro said "Today was a soft launch so that both drivers and passengers would have a chance to learn how and when to use the app."
Mashable editor Christina Warren thinks it will be interesting to see how drivers balance regular fairs versus people using the Arro app.
"Unlike Uber, these drivers don't actually have phones in their cars. They're all doing it through their dispatching system and meter system in the car. So it's a little bit more complicated, not quite as seamless, but a good first step for the taxi industry," she said.
Arro promises no surge pricing, unlike Uber.
While Uber is fast and efficient, it can be pricey, Baker reported.
Meanwhile, ride-sharing app Via charges $5 per ride anywhere in Manhattan.
Anu Ramanathan and her daughter Ria like Via because it's convenient and affordable.
"I think I prefer this experience. It's quiet, it's reliable. They've never failed me," she told Baker.
According to Arro, 800 new users downloaded the app on Wednesday. Arro said the app will be more useful to those in the outer boroughs, where cabs are harder to come by.
