Report: SF Cab Drivers Ditch Taxis For Uber, Lyft

Even real-life, experienced taxi drivers can't catch a cab in San Francisco.

They'd much rather take Uber or Lyft.

Almost 3,000 taxi drivers in San Francisco have abandoned their cabs in favor of driving for Uber or Lyft, according to FORTUNE. That's about 1/3 of the drivers in town.

The big problem seems to be an antiquated hailing system: San Francisco cabs drive empty half of the time, according to the San Francisco Cab Drivers Association.

Thus, being able to cut back on wasted time has allowed one Uber X driver to work 40 hours a week and make $1,500, the news source reported. That Uber X driver used to be a cab driver -- back when he worked longer hours for lower pay.

Cab drivers who have seen their earnings drop or vanish entirely since the ride-providing services began aren't exactly happy.

Cabs have adapted and innovated a bit: 1,500 out of the 1,800 cabs on the street in San Francisco now use Flywheel, an app that shows the location of open cabs to users, FORTUNE reported.