Commute Challenge: Taxi vs. Rideshare

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Getting around the Bay Area can be tough. ABC7 wanted to get a better idea of the best ways to get around town, so we sent staffers in a rideshare and taxi to compare the two rides on speed, ease of use, and affordability.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco-based companies Uber and Lyft have changed the face of transit here in the Bay Area and around the world.

This has happened at the expense of the taxi industry, but many people still believe that taxi cabs have advantages that ridershare cars can't offer.

Namely, the drivers are more familiar with the cities they service which can result in a faster ride and they don't have surge pricing, so the ride can be cheaper depending on when you take it.

ABC7 decided to put this idea to the test with another commuter challenge to see which is faster and cheaper -- rideshare versus taxi.

We decided to do two rounds: one in the middle of the day during a non-peak commute and another in the evening during the middle of rush hour.

We sent two ABC7 community journalists, Dustin Dorsey and Melissa Pixcar, from our studio in San Francisco to the Marin County side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

For the first round, Dustin hailed a taxi with Flywheel and Melissa took an Uber.

For the second round, Dustin hailed another taxi with Flywheel and Melissa got a rideshare for the evening commute.

It was Dustin in a taxi that took the win this time.

Here are the results of Round 2:

Taxi: 25 minutes from order to arrival - 21 minutes drive time - $26.75 pre-tip (Dustin was able to order his taxi more quickly than Melissa)

Rideshare: 25 minutes from order to arrival - 21 minutes drive time - $28.06 pre-tip

Follow along on their journeys here:

Melissa (Rideshare at 5 p.m.)

Dustin (Taxi at 5 p.m.)

Here are the results of Round 1:

Rideshare: 21 minutes from order to arrival - 19 minutes drive time - $23.39 pre-tip

Taxi: 30 minutes from order to arrival - 22 minutes drive time - $25.50 pre-tip

Follow along on their journeys here:

Dustin (Taxi at 11 a.m.)

Melissa (Rideshare - Uber at 11 a.m.)

But how about the evening commute? Melissa and Dustin will be taking another ride at 5 p.m. to see how it will affect their rides. Stay tuned!

This is all part of ABC7's commitment to Building a Better Bay Area. All this week, we're going to look at how rideshare companies have changed the landscape.

See more stories and videos about Building a Better Bay Area here.

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