According to a recent announcement, the goal of the new program is to make it easier for riders to find service when they need it while also providing drivers with more fare opportunities. Uber’s Director of Business Development, Guy Peterson, stated “This is a real win for drivers—no longer do they have to worry about finding a fare during off-peak times or getting a street hail back to Manhattan when in the outerboroughs. And this is a real win for riders who will now have access to thousands of yellow taxis in the Uber app.” It builds off CMT’s Arro taxi app, which allows users to hail a cab electronically. Now that technology will be working in conjunction with the Uber app to provide what CMT is expecting to be a “seamless experience” for everyone. Riders will have access to thousands of cabs (that are already part of the Arro platform) in addition to regular Uber drivers. And taxi drivers will see potential Uber fares pop up on the monitors they’re already using for Arro. It’s important to reiterate that this applies only to cabs affiliated with CMT and will only be happening in New York. So far, there are no details about expected fare pricing or if cabs found via the Uber app will participate in surge pricing. A beta for the new program is set to begin in the spring of 2022, rolling out to the New York public later in the year during the summer. No word has been given on whether or not it will extend beyond New York at some point in the future.
