Long Beach Yellow Cab to offer discounted fares to compete with ride-hailing companies

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Taxi drivers in Long Beach have seen their incomes reduced ever since customers began using smartphone apps like Uber and Lyft for a ride.

Abdul Basher and his fellow taxi drivers will now have a more level playing field. The Long Beach City Council approved a pilot program that allows Long Beach Yellow Cab to offer discounted fares.

Long Beach is the first major U.S. city to modernize taxi regulations. Yellow Cab officials believe the change will help its drivers compete against Uber and Lyft.

"This is not anything against Uber or Lyft, those are great platforms that a lot of people use here in Long Beach. It's about ensuring there's kind of a competitive marketplace for all of them to coexist," said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

To attract social media savvy riders, Yellow Cab now has the Ride Yellow app. Twenty-four additional taxis will also be added to the fleet, the city said.

"Our competition is able to flex in vehicles and flex out vehicles in order to meet the changing demands hour-by-hour. Our industry needs that same flexibility," said William Rouse, the general manager of Long Beach Yellow Cab Cooperative Inc.

Taxi drivers hope to get more business, but one Uber user told Eyewitness News the changes won't change her mind.

"I love the luxury that Uber and Lyft usually give you. The cars are a lot more nicer," she said.

Rouse says Long Beach Yellow Cab taxis have undergone numerous upgrades.