Remember the days when people would say “Good luck trying to find a cab!” in the city that never sleeps? Or when you would need to plan accordingly because there was a very good chance that finding a cab would consume at least 15 minutes of your time? Well have you realized that lately that hasn’t been the case? We’re in luck New Yorkers, as hailing a cab is getting a whole lot easier.

So if you, like us and the thousands of New Yorker’s who hail a cab every day or at least almost every day to get to work are finding it more and more easier, you can thank apps like Uber and Lyft. With the apps becoming increasingly popular, so are empty cabs. The Wall Street Journal reported on a decrease in daily rides by New York taxi’s, with the average daily trips going from 500,00 to roughly 370,00.

With this large decrease, it is becoming more and more common to finding a cab that is empty or willing to stop in order to make money. Since last year there has been a decrease of 10%, and since June 2012, there has been a 26% decrease, according to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Just from 2014 to 2015 there have been decreases as back in 2012 the average cab occupied by passengers was 50% and it is now down to 46% of the time. This also follows suit to Mayor Bloomberg’s green ‘boro’ taxis, which are different in the sense that they are not allotted to pick up street hails, meaning they are not allowed to pick one up at the airport or below East 96th and West 11oth streets. These cabs also have affected the common yellow cab.

Although convenient for one, drivers are suffering with the lack of use. It might not be financially stable for drivers as their rides might decrease less and less with the course of time. Taxi drivers are also finding it increasingly more difficult to find people who need a ride. Back then it was simple to get a rider right after another one got off, as many heavily relied on taxi’s. Nowadays that is not the case anymore, and New York taxi drivers are certainly becoming more and more concerned.

Featured Image via Wikimedia