Report: Taxi drivers bolting yellow cabs for services like Uber

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Taxis are part of life in the city. If you need to go somewhere, you just step outside and hail a cab. But that traditional way of catching a ride could soon be a thing of the past.

If hailing a yellow cab is a little more challenging these days, industry experts say you can probably blame Uber. The ranks of the on-demand car service are growing, much to the dismay of taxi fleet owners and operators.

James Vasey, of the Cab MGT Corporation, says Medallion business is down about 10 percent, with cabs sitting on the lot.

"We've seen a decline in the applicants," he said. "We do have more lost shifts now than we did a year ago."

The "lost" shifts are possibly being lost to the on-demand companies and even to green outer-borough cabs. But there's no shortage of drivers. The Taxi and Limousine Commission says there are more licensed drivers than ever before, but drivers now have choices.

"Yellow cab company is hard," one driver said. "You have 12 hours to drive, maybe more money, more profit...People drive like crazy on the streets, you know?"

Uber drivers supply their own cars, don't have to rent a taxi from a fleet or buy a medallion, and there's promise of good money because the fares come to them.

They also don't have to look for customers by hunting down street hails, so they save on gas wasted driving around.

In a statement, TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg said, "There's no question that new transportation options have given the taxi industry some stiff competition, but it remains robust and viable."

And all of that trickles down to options for riders.

Many find Uber fast and don't mind waiting for the arrival of the cab, which they can track on their smartphones. They also cite cleanliness as a factor for choosing an on-demand service, as well as being able to pre-pay on their phones.

But the immediacy of a cab also has its benefits, and as fewer drivers bolt yellow cabs for the alternatives and drivers see lower profits, Vasey foresees many drivers coming back to traditional more means in the end.