If “green cars” are a blessing in Asia, it’s the opposite in New York City. At least, with how passengers view them.
Right now, those classic green cab drivers are “at their lowest point” in the Big Apple, as passengers now prefer either Lyft or Uber. Not only that they’re sad, but their pockets, too, now.
New York City isn’t just known for their yellow taxis, or yellow cabs, but also for the green cabs. These taxis are known as Boro Taxis, those (big) apple-green cars designed to provide street-hail transport in the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan of the Big Apple. Interestingly, they started just in 2013.
These green taxis bridge the gap in underserved areas, allowing pick-ups in areas such as Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx, and north of East 96th/West 110th Streets in Manhattan, but not in 110th/96th Manhattan.
In May 2015, two years after they launched, there were over 7,500 operators picking up street hails in those boroughs and Upper Manhattan. Nice for these boro taxi drivers, they could hum their favorite tunes while driving, but little did they know these ridesharing apps would appear.
Last February, statistics recorded a nearly a whopping 93 percent collapse – you read that right, 93 percent collapse in the number of working green car drivers, specifically, there were just 539.
While seated behind the wheel of his green cab at East 125th Street and Park Avenue, Bakary Kane, a 50-year-old driver, is now struggling to pay the bills, compared to the years when these green cabs were at their heyday.
“I had a lot of hope,” Kane chatted with Ridesharing Forum while outside the Harlem-125th Street Metro-North station on Monday. “But now I will say that turning green was maybe the worst decision I ever made.”
During their peak year, particularly in June 2025, there were 6,500 green cabs plying across The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and north of East 96th Street and West 110th Street in Manhattan. It’s not that there were operational gaps. They can keep working if not for these ridesharing apps, but people are preferring Lyft or Uber.
In May 2015, these green cab drivers were earning the same range that Lyft drivers today earn, and these doesn’t even include additional earnings from credit card tips yet.
But, last February, according to reports from ridesharing media, those earnings dropped to only around $52 per day.
Not only do the green taxi drivers struggling with pay, but the long waiting time before passengers emerge.
Forty-five-year-old Tamzid Khan told Ridesharing Forum, “One hour, half an hour. We’ve all been waiting more than 40 minutes.”
Due to some interesting and odd reason, or another, these green taxi drivers cannot make the switch to Lyft or Uber. When in fact, these platforms are offering easy ways for them to sign up and get started.
For what could be the cost if these green taxis would be phased-out, ‘coz hey, there’s Green SM taxis already, everybody, and if these drivers would work for Lyft or other trendy ridesharing apps instead? What do you think? Share your thoughts by signing up for your account on Ridesharing Forum today!