21 Comments

An update on this, I believe the tips are in fact being deposited in the new paypal system which replaced the Commercial/Government card WAV /TIF payment system. It's confusing to verify because the deposits are not itemized.

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Spoke to at least one yellow cab driver who actually told us the TIF payments weren't even being made correctly. He also sent us a long email chain with the TLC, which actually acknowledged that some technical issues were occurring due to the PayPal switch. However, about a week ago he emailed us saying TLC was finally resolving the issue. What have you heard? Is the main app you are using Curb/Arro? When you get the grouped payment is it higher than what you would expect from just the standalone WAV / TIF payment is?

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Interesting thanks for the update. I haven't really heard anything. I'm just using the CMT T-PEP terminal. It comes up as an Uber offer. There are also Arro offers. If Curb still exists I believe it's only in the other credit payment system (not sure of the details) which is typically used by owner-operators. As far as the payments yes I now believe there is extra in there to account for tips. It's difficult to calculate because AFAIK Uber trips do not pay the $1/trip TIF if you're driving a WAV cab. You'd have to know the exact number of Uber/Yellow trips per day then reference it to the paypal payment period which seems to average once every two weeks. It would be very helpful if paypal deposits were itemized.

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Agree, hopefully they'll itemize it in the future! Did you email TLC about itemization? They might be able to help as well.

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Not yet but I should. I'm frankly hesitant to contact the TLC about anything. You know their upstairs neighbor in the Falchi building is Uber. I hear they do lunch sometimes. Our last TLC Commissioner Joshi seemed to be a big fan....

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Would contact them, at the end of the day they are funded by taxpayer money 👍

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Someone on the uberpeople board says he gets tip notifications on his phone but uses the terminal for trips. So I guess you have to be signed up with Uber to be notified.

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Thanks for the info! So on yellow cab e-hails on Curb / Arro, those apps don’t seem to be doing it, but Uber is. Hopefully, Curb / Arro will follow suit!

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Final follow up to this. After the Bank of America cards were converted to Paypal, CMT issued a new card where Uber tips and TLC WAV dispatch fees are deposited. Everything else goes to Paypal. Only found out by a chance conversation with another driver. You have to go to CMT in person in LIC.

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Thanks for your insight and follow through! Seems like an extremely quirky, one-off dynamic occurred, but definitely important to note.

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I confirmed that passengers can tip Yellows through the app. A passenger told me she tipped $6.00. I got $0.00. There's no way this is a 'mistake,' Uber set up the payment system through the T-PEP and everything else works fine. This is a major story IMO. I have contacted the TLC and NYTWA. If you want to cover it I think it would be a very worthwhile story. Reaching out to drivers would be very helpful as well.

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Thanks for the tip, will try to get more info on this, reach out to some drivers and put together a story! - DM

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Uber can keep their prices low by adding more vehicles , more rides for them less money for the driver.

Anything that allows my cab to make more money, I’m ok with

Ultimately the city gave the right to street hail to medallion yellow taxis and that right has been clouded by persuasion, that it should not apply. But that persuasion will eventually fad back to the premise that we need to control the amount of cars , we need to regulate those cars to accommodate all people in the city, and we need to make sure all make a decent living —yellow cabs were chosen for that and yellow cabs will return

Originally uber should have only been allowed to use their app in taxis

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Really interesting commentary! So, as a taxi medallion driver you wouldn't be against doing Uber trips that are not subject to the taximeter?

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The taximeter doesn’t mean much to me what means much to me is how much I make, the more I make the higher the value of the medallion if Im the one who chooses whether to pick from the avenues or apps I wouldn’t care , as long as I control my medallion, and I decide ,

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Do you know if the driver is still charged the surcharges? The couple of times I looked they were listed on the receipt even though it doesn't use the meter. I'm 99% sure the driver pays. So a $10 Uber trip would be around $5.50.

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Everything that transacts in the cab goes thru Arro or Curb , as I am aware of . All the surcharges are automatically deducted from the gross cc then that balance is passed to the owner.

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Yes I believe the surcharges are being deducted from the Uber fare. It's not presented to the driver as a gross fare, they're under the impression that they get the full fare. If true, we're talking about $5 rides after surcharges.

Add to that the apparent fact that Uber rides never seem to include a tip despite the notice that the tip is added after the ride and you will be notified. Can you confirm ever seeing a tip or getting a notification?

No one is talking about this not even NYTWA.

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I haven't paid close attention, but the couple times I did look, Uber trips in Yellows show a $0.00 tip. When you accept the ride it says Uber passengers tip after the ride is over and you will be notified. I have never received a notification. Is Uber keeping the tip? If so, there needs to be an investigation. I wonder if there's even an option on the app to tip Yellows.

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Thanks for sharing, that's a very interesting point! Will see if we can found out more details.

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Hold on, this could be a bumpy ride into positive possibilities!

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