The sunshine state is always teaming with tourists and holiday-goers. From beautiful beaches to ideal weather conditions, Miami has it all! But not all visitors to Miami are here for recreational purposes. Miami was recently named the top city for small businesses in America, making it a booming business hub with lots of growth. As businesses in Miami grow, the city can expect to see more business travelers. Here’s why taking a Miami taxi is one of the best ways to get around the city.
Miami As a Business City
Miami has a modest population compared to cities like New York and Los Angeles. Still Miami managed to rank first in a recent report by Biz2Credit as the best city to start a business in America.
Business growth and profit margins compared to debts were two important ranking factors. To compile the list of 25 top cities for small business in America, small businesses with less than 250 with an annual revenue of less than $10 million were examined.
There are a couple of businesses in Miami that particularly stand out. Miami’s booming tourism industry has long been a source of income for the city. Seeing as weather in Miami is always pleasant, the tourism industry is busy year-round.
Miami is also a central point for importing and exporting. The city has one of the busiest ports in America and Miami International Airport is receives the most cargo flights from South America and the Caribbean compared to any other U.S city.
To further Miami’s business thriving business activities, it’s also a media center for the Spanish language. Many of the biggest Spanish media outlets are either based in, or have key branches in Miami.
Miami Taxis Remain Popular
Despite the ride-sharing becoming the craze in recent years, taxis in Miami are far from going extinct. In April 2015, 10 months after ride-sharing provider Uber launched in the city, taxis were still far more popular option for business travelers to get around.
Although the rise of ride-sharing has impacted the taxi industry worldwide, taxis in Miami remain very popular, even in 2019. There’s a simple reason for this – Miami taxis are among the best in the world!
There are several reasons why business travelers in Miami prefer to take a taxi rather than reaching for their smart phones.
Taxi Transport to Miami International Airport
Business travelers can enjoy the convenience of taking a taxi to or from Miami International Airport. Most Miami taxi companies charge an affordable flat rate for airport trips. Most business travelers arrive in Miami at the airport, so transport to and from Miami Airport will be an important part of the trip.
Ride-share providers were banned in from operation at Miami Airport at some stage, but this is no longer in effect, which means travelers have a choice between taking a taxi or an Uber.
There’s a good reason why Uber wasn’t allowed at Miami Airport. Ride-sharing providers were banned in Miami-Dade county till 2016. This didn’t stop them from operating in the area though, as Uber was illegally operating in the county since the summer of 2014.
Regardless, Uber and other ride-sharing providers are now legally operating in Miami-Dade county and the airport is no exception. There might still be misinformation regarding the legality of ride-share providers in Miami, especially for visitors who heard of the ban, but aren’t sure if it’s in effect anymore.
What should be noted, is that taking a taxi from the airport rather than a ride-sharing car, still offers many advantages. More about this later on.
Taking a Taxi to Work in Miami
Business travelers differ from tourists and holiday-goers in one simple way – they need to work. A lot of business travelers need to go into work on a daily basis and return to their accommodation in the evenings.
The problem with catching a ride-sharing car is that rates differ depending on current demand. In peak hour traffic, everyone is trying to get around. Rates for a ride-share car will be far more expensive because of this.
Taxis, on the other hand, charge the same rate per mile any time of the day, so they’re definitely a better choice for daily commute to work and back.
Ask a local Miami taxi service if they can collect you every morning at a certain time for the duration of your stay in the city. This is much more convenient than even going on an app to get your ride every day. Just don’t let your driver wait for you, as this will inflate the costs. If you’re unsure what time you’ll finish work each day, rather tell the taxi service to arrange for a time every day.
To set up an arrangement for a taxi to collect you from your accommodation every day, call Yellow Taxi Miami and speak to get assistance from our friendly staff.
Taking Taxis for Recreational Purposes
Want to go to Miami beach in your spare time? No problem. Taking a taxi is a great way to get there. The benefit of taking a taxi to Miami beach is that – same as with your daily commute to work – you won’t need to pay more during busy times. Over the weekend, a lot of people are traveling to the beach and back, which can significantly increase the demand for rides.
Disadvantages of Ride-Sharing
As mentioned earlier, there are a number of reasons why taking a taxi can be better than reaching for your smartphone. Here are some of the disadvantages of ride-share providers.
Driver Background Checks
The whole concept behind ride-sharing is that anyone with a car that qualifies can sign up as a driver. This makes it a lot more difficult to scan drivers for background checks.
Taxis are regulated by the government and so are the drivers. Taxi drivers usually have to undergo background checks. Criminal records, health aptitude tests and previous driving offenses, such as DUI charges.
Although many ride-share drivers are very professional, and some even have experience as cab drivers, ride-share providers simply don’t have the same capacity to screen all their drivers. The driver rating system on the app can help monitor drivers, but it isn’t as reliable as proper screening.
Various incidents have taken place where Uber drivers harmed passengers. In 2016 an Uber driver named James Dalton turned out to be a serial killer, after murdering six of his passengers in Kalamazoo. This is also just one of the most drastic incidents involving a ride-share driver – there are more.
Of course, even drivers without criminal records can harm passengers. The benefit of taxi cabs compared to ride-share is just that there’s more accountability. Under its terms and conditions, Uber accepts no harm to passengers in these circumstances. Whether a driver robs a passenger at gunpoint, or kills them, Uber won’t be held liable for such incidents.
Ride-share Risks for Drivers
Ride-sharing not only poses more risk for passengers, but also drivers. Seeing as ride-share providers aren’t employees, they receive no health benefits – not even in cases where they get injured on the job.
There have been incidents where passengers have assaulted Uber drivers. To some extent, the assaults should come as no surprise, as a lot of Uber passengers use the service to avoid driving while under the influence. This means that being an Uber driver on a typical Friday night can actually be risky.
Nevertheless, cab drivers will face the same risk when transporting drunk passengers. The main difference, however, is once again accountability. An employee at a cab company can expect to get some compensation for medical bills and paid leave during hospitalization in such an incident – ride-share providers, once again, won’t accept any liability in these cases.
Ride-share Lack of Social Responsibility
Working conditions for drivers who use ride-share providers are, in fact, quite poor. Earlier this year on 8 May 2019, ride-share drivers worldwide decided to go on a strike to protest for better working conditions.
One of the objections from drivers was that there’s little to no investigation into passenger complaints. If a driver receives too many complaints, he or she will simply be “deactivated” (which in this case means fired) at the press of a button. This makes for very volatile income security for drivers.
Of course, not all passenger complaints are necessarily reasonable. Many drivers complained of bad reviews as a result of racism or discrimination on behalf of their passengers. Furthermore, drivers could get bad reviews if a passenger is late for an important meeting after getting stuck in traffic. It goes without saying, drivers themselves would change traffic conditions if they could. Faster trips mean more trips. More trips mean more income. But it’s humanly impossible to make traffic congestion disappear.
Still there will always be passengers who are unreasonable “bad apples” and punish drivers for circumstances out of their control.
To conclude, taking a taxi is not only cheaper in peak hour traffic, it’s a responsible choice for your own safety and the well-being of your drivers.
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