What You Should Know:
– Curb, a taxi platform that connects two-thirds of the city’s
yellow and green taxis, has partnered with organizations like NY Langone,
Mount Sinai, American Cancer Society, and the NYC Department of Health &
Mental Hygiene to provide frontline workers with a safe alternative to public
transit and rideshares like Uber.
– Launched during the pandemic, the partnership has enabled Curb to power more
than 100,000 taxi rides for doctors, patients, and other essential
New Yorkers.
Curb, a mobility platform for licensed taxi and for-hire rides in North America, released details on the company’s efforts in transporting New York City’s healthcare workers to and from the frontlines and providing a safe, reliable alternative to public transportation for all other essential New Yorkers during the COVID-19 global health emergency.
COVID-19 Impact on Reliable Transportation in NYC
Tens of thousands of NYC clinical professionals, healthcare
workers, and volunteers on the frontlines of the pandemic commute from other
boroughs and outside the city on a daily basis. Due to more limited options and
the need to maintain social distancing, many of these essential workers have
turned to taxis as a safe, reliable transportation option to get to and
from work. Even during the city-wide curfew, Curb provided essential workers
and those in need of medical care with transportation without interruption in
service during the hours when for-hire vehicles were not operating.
Powering 100k Taxi Ride for Frontline Health Workers
With two-thirds of the city’s yellow and green taxis connected via its platform, Curb has powered more than
100,000 taxi rides for frontline health workers in partnership with
the city’s leading healthcare organizations, including NYC Health + Hospitals,
NYU Langone Health, Mount Sinai Health System, and American Cancer Society.
Curb is also working with various state and local agencies like the NYC
Department of Health & Mental Hygiene to safely transport essential workers
throughout the city and the New York City Emergency Management Department to
provide taxi rides to help New Yorkers access City programs.
“Essential workers are doing so much to help during this time
of need, so we want to ensure that we do everything we can to offer our
continued support,” said Amos Tamam, CEO of Curb Mobility. “Through our
partnerships with these healthcare organizations, we’re able to get New York
City’s heroes where they need to go as well as support our taxi drivers, who are also valued essential workers.”
Unlike ride-sharing vehicles, a vast majority of New York
City taxis are equipped with a permanent physical partition to
serve as a safety barrier between the driver and passenger. Taxi drivers are legally obligated to wear face coverings
and clean and sanitize their cars on a regular basis, making riding in a taxi one of the safest forms of transportation during this
time of uncertainty. Curb is also partnering with fleet operators and owners to
provide safety kits with hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, and other resources to
help drivers keep their vehicles safely operating now and as the city reopens.
Contactless Payment Options
To make it easier for riders to practice social distancing and pay for taxis, Curb offers contactless payment options. Riders can either e-hail a taxi using the Curb mobile app or hail a cab on the street, get in, and tap “Pair & Pay” to sync their ride and pay via the app. These features not only reduce the physical interaction between drivers and customers but serve as a more convenient way for New Yorkers to travel to and from locations across the city in a taxi.
“Our residents are working around the clock to help patients, so they often have limited transportation options that enable them to practice social distancing and follow other safety guidelines as they commute,” said Rishi Parikh, Vice Chair, Administration, Department of Urology at Mount Sinai Health System. “Curb has enabled taxis to help fill that gap by giving us the ability to e-hail rides on-demand or in advance for our residents when they need them.”
