There's never a dull moment in the world of taxi cab apps

By Lucy Cohen Blatter | October 26, 2016 - 1:59PM

This weekend's taxi app news was both bad/funny and just bad/bad. According to Gothamist, a New York Times reporter had the unfortunate luck of finding herself in an UberPool from Williamsburg to the West Village with a couple that was making out just a few inches from her.

Since it was the second time this had happened to her, the brave woman decided to speak up, and the lusty couple responded by saying if she didn't like it, she should splurge for an UberX instead. (Excuse me?)

We here at Brick are fans of shared taxis, like Via and UberPool, and have, on occasion, been forced to share with loud, drunk women gossiping about their "frenemies," even louder real estate brokers trying to close deals while sitting two feet from us, and fellow passengers who just seem to want to chat all the way home about everything from politics to dating to real estate.

All of these are irksome in their own ways, but making out? Totally unacceptable. If you want to make out in your cab ride home, you need a yellow taxi or private Uber in which to do it. (The woman forced to witness the canoodling said her Uber driver told her he was really uncomfortable being in the car when these things happen, but it's not uncommon).

While Uber Pool makeouts are gross and fellow drivers who chat nonstop are annoying, even more nefarious is news reported by the New York Post that many drivers at NYC's airport terminals are claiming to work for Lyft or Uber, when they really don't.

At JFK Airport and La Guardia in particular, the drivers—many of whom do sometimes drive for Uber or Lyft but reportedly appear to want to pocket some fares entirely for themselves—claim that their app isn't working and then gouge unwitting passengers when it's time to exit the vehicle.

A spokesman for the Taxi and Limousine Commission told the Post they're “working together with the Port Authority [which runs the airports] on consistent enforcement to keep the pressure on and keep these poachers away from passengers."

In the meantime, perhaps it's time to start taking the bus or, yes, yellow taxis again.

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