Curious - Why No Yellow Cabs?

eatwell

Always wondered - Why are there no yellow cabs in Park Slope/other residential neighborhoods in Brooklyn?
Just wondering if there is a reason.

opossumqueen

You can usually find one on main roads (9th St, Flatbush, 4th Ave) on busy Friday and Saturday nights...I guess mostly ones bringing folks home from the city.

It seems like they could stay busy if they hung out in some of these Brooklyn nabes. If the local car services are too busy to answer phones, there are likely lots of yellow cabs out and they can be found on those main roads if not the less main roads (I've found this out by frustration with Arecibo and the like several times).

vidro3

because more money can be made in manhattan. higher density of people and generally easier/quicker trips.

i do think it could be a good idea for the city to auction off a certain number of medallions that would have to be used in the outer boroughs as a test/pilot program.

puckbrooklyn

This is semi-related, but NY Mag had a good article about Arecibo a couple of weeks ago....

http://nymag.com/news/features/54678/

sir_eccles

Whether this is a sign of the current economy I'm not sure, but I have noticed it has become easier (or there is at least less complaining) to get a cab from Manhattan to Brooklyn. They seem more willing to take what they can get rather than pretend they don't know where Brooklyn is.

new2hood

what a great article.

booklaw

It has been some years since I had any difficulty getting a yellow cab to drive to Brooklyn. For years after I first moved to the Slope (1976), it was nearly impossible.

I once got picked up in front of a hospital in Manhattan, where I had groin surgery an hour or so earlier, and the driver refused to go to Brooklyn. I said that was fine, that I would go where ever he wanted to go, but I couldn't and wouldn't leave his cab or pay for any destination other than Brooklyn. We had the exact same discussion again after crossing the Brooklyn bridge, and he finally took me home.

I sometimes take cabs home from Manhattan once or twice per week; no cabbie has argued with me for years.

The only remaining friction is that they all want to take the FDR Drive, even when starting on the west side. The FDR is often faster, but it also results in a considerably more expensive fare (travel east to get the FDR, then a long, slow line at the Brooklyn Bridge exit, and then going back west to get on the bridge).

vidro3

if they really want to save the toll from the battery tunnel they could take the west side down to the underpass and then the FDR north to the bridge. but there is also usually a log jam on west st as well, so probably 6 of one half a dozen of another

idlewild

You make more money as a yellow staying in Manhattan or going to LGA or JFK. The theory and practice goes that during busy times as soon as you drop off a fare in Manhattan someone else will immediately get into your cab for another short ride. Short fares mean the constant restarting of the meter and at least a 50 cent to a one dollar tip on a average five dollar fare.

veets

all previous postings shed more light on the true situation. When I grew up in Brooklyn in the 1960's there were yellow cabs available on Brooklyn's main streets and avenues. There were no car serives that I knew about. With proliferation of car service in the outerboroughs the yellow cabs seemed less evident. I have taken cabs back from Manhattan and it has been a long time since any driver refused me (illegal) or didn't know where Brooklyn was or any excuse.

carmen

booklaw wrote:

I sometimes take cabs home from Manhattan once or twice per week; no cabbie has argued with me for years.
.

I have never had an issue getting a cab to park slope, but when I lived in bedstuy more often than not I would be denied service. I would say 75%+ actually. Yes, I know they have to take you technically but whats a drunk 23 year old to do at 4am in the east village? Not argue with a large cabbie yelling at me to get the fuck out of his cab, thats what.

danielle123

Until the last 5 years, I always had cab drivers tell me that all of a sudden their brakes weren't working or some other lame excuse because they didn't want to take me to Brooklyn (or worse, they would keep the doors locked so I couldn't get in the cab until I told them where I wanted to go - I learned to tell white lies about my destination until they unlocked the door).

Anyway, I often had shouting matches with cab drivers who refused to take me to Brooklyn. I always won the shouting match when I would tell them that if they didn't take me to Brooklyn, I would call the cops and I would take out my cell and start to dial. Then they would grumble but take me home. ;-)

Now, no one gives me a hassle. They know that Carroll Gardens is a wealthier neighborhood now and that they will not only get tipped but they will pick up a fare on the way back if they drive along Clinton Street.

bluemagoo

Back in the day I remember taxi stands at various busy locations in Brooklyn that originally had yellow cabs and then the car services took over. The last one I remember was located on Kings Highway right under the Brighton line station at E 16th St. One place in downtown Brooklyn where you can almost always get a cab is outside the Marriott hotel on Adams street.

The lack of cabs in the outer boroughs is the reason that livery cabs & dollar vans have come into being to serve those areas that others are to "yellow" to drive into.

michaelkeys

In the last year or so, I've seen--and hailed--more than a fair share of yellow cabs in the Slope during weeknights. (Plenty more during the weekends.) This has been largely post-10 PM, so I'm assuming these are the ones making their way back to Manhattan after dropping of a fare here.