2020 Was Tough on Uber, Lyft, and Taxi Businesses
2020 tough year
2020 was a tough year for Uber, Lyft, and Taxi Businesses. Uber reported its gross revenue was down 75%, from $12 billion to $3.3 billion.
Lyft, on the other hand, had such a bad year, they did not report any numbers.
Traditional taxi service in New York City saw the number of taxi rides drop from 6.8 million in January 2020, to just 287,000 in April, 2020, a 96% drop.
Taxi Zero, a local taxi service in Potsdam, NY saw a decline in airport destinations especially. Throughout 2020, there were a number of travelers locally and throughout St. Lawrence County.
Two of the North Country taxi services are no longer operating. Potsdam Taxi, in Potsdam, NY and Green Taxi in Massena, NY. It is not known how much of a role the Covid pandemic influenced these decisions.
Taxi Zero continues to operate from Potsdam and Canton, NY to local, regional, and airport destinations.
Owner, John Meyers, upgraded the one and only vehicle from a 2015 Prius to a 2019 Prius in October 2020. “This decision is driven more by the number of miles-per-year that the taxi demands than the immediate demand for taxi service in 2020. It was time to upgrade, and I put off the purchase from Summer 2020 to Fall 2020, but it was time to upgrade.”
Taxi Zero has operated hybrid cars exclusively since opening in 2014.