Apps let New Yorkers share a yellow cab

Two ride-sharing companies are teaming up to try and keep yellow cabs relevant in a city where apps are disrupting the industry.

New York has a lot of people; we know this. But how friendly are New Yorkers? That we don't know so much. But as of this week, transportation apps Via and Curb have combined to give New Yorkers the ability to share their taxi cab rides. A win-win, they say.

Amos Tamam of Curb said drivers will make more money while riders will save up to 40 percent of the fare on the shared portion of the ride.

The new sharing feature now means the 15,000 yellow cabs using Curb combines with the reach of 800,000 Via users. For now, ride sharing of cabs is only available north of 32nd Street and south of 110th Street, but that zone is expected to grow quickly.

"Our mission is to create a better transit system in New York City, improve congestion and just give our users, our consumers the best possible transportation option," Via co-founder Daniel Ramot said.

Fewer cars, less traffic, lower costs in a more convenient app. Maybe that is cause for New Yorkers to get friendlier. Symbolically, one might think as two competing apps, Via and Curb, wouldn't be besties, yet here they are working together.

"I think New Yorkers are actually much friendlier than you might give them credit for," Ramot said.

The service will eventually expand to include all boroughs.