Ah that makes sense then.
The NYC TLC (Taxi and Limousine Commission) heavily regulates livery drivers. To get a taxi medallion you have to undergo a rigorous and cutthroat process. Only yellow (and to a limited extent green) cabs are allowed to respond to hails. Any other pick-up has to be prearranged. The driver that you hailed that picked you up broke the law.
I’ve had countless NY cab rides, and while not every experience was wonderful, the driver getting lost was not something I ever had to worry about – even when going to residential areas outside of Manhattan.
ETA: Re-typed on my computer to fix some clunkiness.
