Order an Uber in San Francisco, and a Taxi Might Pick You Up


    
    San Francisco joins New York City as a city where taxis will start picking up some Uber users.
    Angela Lang/CNET
    Uber has struck a deal with local taxi companies in San Francisco allowing taxis to pick up Uber customers, as?first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday.
    In an arrangement similar to the one that Uber set up with New York City’s taxis in March, Flywheel Technologies and Yellow Cab SF taxis will reportedly start taking on Uber users’ ride requests over the next few months. After the San Francisco launch, Uber’s integration with Flywheel, which has 50,000 drivers, will roll out in other cities in the US, according to a press release from Flywheel.
    “We’re excited to partner with taxi software company Flywheel and Yellow Cab SF, as we continue to update our taxi offerings throughout the country,” Dennis Cinelli, Uber’s vice president of mobility for US & Canada, said in a statement. “San Francisco taxi drivers will have more access to demand and cities will get fewer empty miles driven, which is a win for drivers, riders and the cities we serve.”?
    The deal follows years of feuding between Uber and taxi drivers. London cab drivers told CNET in 2017 that Uber, a massive international corporation, posed unfair competition to the local taxi trade.?
    Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC in February that by 2025, Uber aims to set up deals with all the world’s taxi companies. According to Uber, it already works with taxis in places including Colombia, Austria and South Korea. It acquired Hong Kong taxi-hailing app HK Taxi in 2021.
    Yellow Cab SF didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
    
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