# How is a "car service" different from just calling a cab?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-car-service-different-from-just-calling-a-cab/638616>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 23, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-car-service-different-from-just-calling-a-cab/638616 "2012-10-23T14:23:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-car-service-different-from-just-calling-a-cab/638616/21 "2012-10-25T01:27:42Z")

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In Houston there are no cabs roaming the streets to hail. You can call and schedule ahead of time, or do it online like I do. They have been reliable. Never used a car service but we have those too.

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**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-car-service-different-from-just-calling-a-cab/638616/22 "2012-10-25T17:33:10Z")

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> [@Hari\_Seldon](#):
>
> What’s the largest city in the world with no taxi service?
> 
> Brooklyn. Oh, you will occasionally see a taxi on the street and hail it, but if you want anything you must call a car service. There was a proposal to license special outer boroughs (i.e. any borough but Manhattan) but the licensed taxis strongly objected and I believe it has been dropped.

Brooklyn hasn’t been a city since 1898

As well, the ‘black car service’ industry [began in NYC](http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/04/nyregion/black-cars-take-over-radio-calls-of-taxis.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm) in the late 1980’s because up until then you _could_ call ahead for a yellow cab. The medallion light on the top of the car had a separate ‘On Radio Call’ panel that would be lit so that people on the street would know why their hails were being ignored.

It was the abuse of this system (drivers not wanting to pick up fares in certain areas, not wanting to pick up minorities, not wanting to pick up fares in the rain, etc.), that led the TLC to create a new category of licenses.

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**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-car-service-different-from-just-calling-a-cab/638616/23 "2012-10-25T18:09:43Z")

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> [@postcards](#):
>
> Brooklyn hasn’t been a city since 1898

Besides that it was also an incorrect statement, that is what I was going to say.

Otherwise, the question has been answered. In NYC, you cannot call a yellow cab, and you cannot hail car service. As for car service, it runs the gamut from raggedy cars that would probably fail inspection to upscale services. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. While there are yellow cabs in the outer boroughs (well, maybe not Staten Island, but I only use SI to pass to southern Jersey), there are fewer and you won’t find one to hail except in certain areas (unless you are really, really lucky and find one just after a drop-off).

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