Seattle's Taxi Industry Fighting Back with New Apps, Licenses

After taking a 40-percent dive in revenue following the launch of transportation network companies (TNCs), Seattle's Taxi Industry has found new momentum.

1 minute read

December 29, 2014, 10:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Alexa Vaughn reports that in Seattle, "the differences between taxis and services like uberX — Uber’s nonluxury passenger service — are diminishing…"

"Yellow Cab’s 2-month-old ride-request app — a sleeker upgrade from the app it rushed to release about a year ago — is humming along without glitches" and "thanks to a switch to GPS-dictated driver assignments, average response times within the city have almost been cut in half."

Vaughn's report touches on a few of the additional positive talking points for the taxi points for the taxi industry in Seattle, coming against the backdrop of a string of bad news at the national level for Uber, one of the most popular TNCs.

Thursday, December 25, 2014 in The Seattle Times

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

People board a bus in Seattle.

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.

45 minutes ago - KOMO News

Elon Musk in front of a sign for Grok 3

Post election, Texas is no longer Musk’s 'AI oasis'

Elon Musk dolled out $446 million on the 2026 midterms, the most ever spent by a non-canidate.

1 hour ago - Politico

People vote in Chicago behind blue privacy screens

Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners

Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents

November 5 - Block Club Chicago