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Uber launches taxi service in San Francisco after New York retreat

Uber launches taxi service in San Francisco after New York retreat

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Uber admitted just yesterday that it was dropping the taxi component of its service for New York residents due to regulatory disputes, but that's not stopping the company from moving forward: it's launching a similar service in San Francisco today. According to a post on the company's blog, the San Francisco Uber Taxi will let customers hail cabs with their iOS or Android device, just as they currently do for the company's other car services. The cost for a given ride will be generated from the meter in the taxi itself, with users paying a built-in 20-percent tip and a booking fee of one dollar in addition to the base fare. Users' credit cards are charged automatically through the app without any money changing hands in the taxi itself.

Uber already offers San Francisco residents three tiers of car services, from smaller, eco-friendly vehicles, all the way up to SUVs. The addition of the taxi service won't pull any of the current offerings off the table, but it will likely give customers an even cheaper option for getting around the city without having to hail a cab from the street corner.

Uber doesn't make any mention of how many vehicles will be participating in San Francisco, but it does note that it isn't linked to a single fleet like traditional dispatch services. Uber Taxi is slowly rolling out to San Francisco residents now — but whether the service will end up facing the same kind of problems it did in New York still remains to be seen.