Rideshare in Chicago

Umar Sheikh, Walter Payton, Senior, Summer 2024

You don’t see cabs around the city of Chicago like you used to. NBC Chicago reports, “There were 27.2 million taxi trips in 2013, compared to just 6.5 million in 2023” (Sisk, 2024). 2013 is around the time that Uber and Lyft were introduced in the city, and they have had a notable impact on the cab industry around the world. These apps allow for the convenience of calling up a ride wherever you are. “It’s much more convenient than waiting around a block to hail a cab,” explains Uber user Antonio Zamudio.  Uber has been a big success in Chicago; as of 2018, Uber has 67,000 drivers, almost ten times as much as the 7,000 licensed cabs in the city (Channick, 2018). 

A taxi medallion (a license to operate a taxi) isn’t cheap and costs roughly $350.00 per week in the city. Zayn Ahmed, a local taxi driver states, “It takes me roughly three days just to pay for the medallion. It makes it very hard to keep up with all my payments, especially since I have kids as well.” 

However, there have and are many advancements being made to help cab drivers keep up. Curb is an app for taxis that functions in a similar way to Uber and Lyft. Curb is available in big cities across America, including Chicago. The fares tend to be cheaper during surge hours as well, which can help keep cabs competitive with Uber/Lyft. 

Uber seems to have responded by allowing cab drivers to work directly with the company.  Starting in late April of this year, Uber has given the option to hail cabs from their phone. When this program started in San Francisco, “taxi drivers earned on average 30% more than their counterparts who chose not to provide Uber trips” (Wade, 2024), which is a huge amount of money. Not all cab drivers see working with Uber as a positive because of the control that the company has over their meter. Cabbies are also not being welcomed too warmly by existing Uber drivers, who are concerned it will increase an already large competition. No matter, Uber and Lyft have had a massive impact on all rideshare workers. 

List Sources:

• 2- Statistic Links to both article sources

https://abc7chicago.com/uber-ride-taxi-in-chicago/14646118/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2018/10/31/too-many-uber-drivers-chicago-cabbies-and-ride-share-workers-join-forces-urge-cap-on-uber-and-lyft-cars/#:~:text=There%20are%20more%20than%2067%2C000,taxi%20driver%20union%2C%20said%20Tuesday.

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/uber-chicago-taxis-expand-partnership-that-allows-taxi-drivers-to-pick-up-riders-requesting-through-uber/3407969/#:~:text=For%20years%2C%20taxis%20ruled%20the,just%20a%2010%2Dyear%20period.&text=According%20to%20City%20of%20Chicago,just%206.5%20million%20in%202023.

• Name of 2 people you interviewed, title/position, email if possible

  • Professional: Zayn Ahmed, cabbie

  • Non Professional: Antonio Zamudio