BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Amarjit Singh, a cab driver of 22 years for Airport Taxi Service in Cheektowaga, says since the arrival of ride-hailing last Thursday, he's lost up to 65 percent of his fares. He's worried he will lose his job as a driver.
"Since they came over here, Uber, and I heard it, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack," Singh said.
Officials with Airport Taxi declined to speak with us on camera, but did say it's too soon to know what effect Uber and Lyft at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is having on their business.
Bill Yuhnke, president of Liberty Yellow Cab, Buffalo's largest taxi company, says it's early but so far, his company has seen little to no impact from the new competition. He still remains a critic of the differences in regulations between cab companies and ride-hailing services, including different insurance requirements and pricing.
Companies like Uber and Lyft can use price surging, or charging different rates during prime hours. On the other side, cab companies must charge the same regardless of time of day.
"If they're going to do this, then de-regulate us too," Yuhnke said, "and then we can be on that level playing field and I could put surge pricing in at night."
Yuhnke said the cab industry across the country needed to get better, and companies who evolve with changing times and technology will survive.