Had a weird experience with the "Taxi" area at Secaucus
Arrived at Secaucus earlier this week with a plan to Uber from the station to Essex St., because the trains to Essex St. are so random, for some reason. I happened upon the Taxi area at Secaucus, and there was a car with one of those "Taxi" signs on the top. I had ordered an Uber, but it was going to be over a 10min wait, so I walked over to the "Taxi" car. Driver was smoking, but immediately asked me if I needed a ride. I said yes and got in. Told him my destination and he said $60. I said: Uber quoted me $30. I hesitated, still wondering whether I should just wait for the Uber and risk being late for my medical appointment. Guy kept haggling, eventually getting down to $45, rushing me and saying: "I just wanna get going." I eventually, reluctantly, said fine because I was risking running late. I canceled the Uber.
Drive was fine, and the guy, true to his word, charged me $45 (plus tip). But I have no idea how he came up with that quote, or what app he used to charge my card (I'll have to go check my transaction records, I suppose). Super sketchy--didn't seem like he was registered with any actual cab company and like he was making up the numbers.
So, who is this guy? Some rando civilian who's posing as a taxi driver and who fleeces unsuspecting passengers out of double what they would pay for an Uber? Super bizarre experience. Usually with yellow cabs in Manhattan, the fare is identical to Uber's (I think Uber and yellow cab have synced up) and is totaled based on your mileage.