If you called for a cab with Braintree Best Taxi in Massachusetts over the past week, this is the message you would have gotten: "I've owned and operated the company for about 30 years and after trying everything, exhausting every avenue, I'm sorry to announce that I will no longer be able to stay in business due to the entry of Uber into our city of Braintree."
Greg Najjar decided to close his cab company – the largest one in town – after he says he couldn't compete with Uber and Lyft.
Najjar says he felt helpless leaving about 100 drivers and mechanics without work.
"I feel for him, the marketplace has changed, I don't like to see small businesses go out of business," said Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan.
Mayor Sullivan says the town did look at ways it could regulate Uber and Lyft to protect local cab companies a few years ago, but ultimately decided it made more sense to let the state regulate them.
"We just couldn't be one community out of 351 that were going to operate under different rules," said Mayor Sullivan.
"The convenience of it makes it hard to compete with, for sure," said Jameson Malgeri of Danvers.
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Riders we spoke with said they don't like seeing longtime local companies like Braintree Best Taxi going out of business, but it comes down to price and a ride at your fingertips.
"It's best to pay $3 than $10," said Igor Gomes of Braintree.
"I think it's definitely sad that small businesses are failing because of Uber, but personally, I use Uber a lot," agreed Megan Alakel of Weymouth.
