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Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

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Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#61

Post by ihsw »

suneilp wrote: post #51

I can't say I'm sorry to hear taxis lose business. Uber is being innovative and I like it. Taxi drivers, from what I understand, have been getting shafted for a long time by a corrupt system. Uber drivers might not be making bank, but from what I can tell they are doing better. If I'm wrong about please correct me, I'd love to hear some feedback on that. I often ask Uber drivers if the pay is worthwhile since I don't…

I often ask Uber drivers the same and the response is generally:

* the pay is decent (ranging from a hair above minimum wage to a healthy and sustainable source of income)

* the benefits are non-existent (most don't seem bothered by this)

* the job security is guaranteed (a huge plus)

* the work schedule is at their discretion (another huge plus)

* the work environment is quite good (passengers are usually very friendly, you work from the comfort of your car, the on-boarding process is quick and painless)

All in all it's a net benefit for most people, in terms of quality of life and financial stability. What's not to love?

Note: this is all purely anecdotal and most drivers I have spoken to have been working for

Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#63

Post by dominotw »

CodeSheikh wrote: post #30

I would take Uber over rude Manhattan cabbies any day. My personal experience with Manhattan taxi drivers after living in NYC for last two years. 1) They drive as if they are on a rally track. I have had never experienced motion sickness before until I moved to Manhattan. 2) If you ignore the tip or tip them in the range of $1-3 you get snarky remarks from them. 3) If you try to hail a cab and (regrettably) ask the t…

In Chicago

4. They pretend that ccard machines are not working. Demand cash.

5. Cars are so old that someone of them have no Air conditioning.

6. Drivers often have BO and are often chewing gutka(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutka)

7. Rude. This needs to be said again.

Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#64

Post by josh2600 »

ihsw wrote: post #61
suneilp wrote: post #51

I can't say I'm sorry to hear taxis lose business. Uber is being innovative and I like it. Taxi drivers, from what I understand, have been getting shafted for a long time by a corrupt system. Uber drivers might not be making bank, but from what I can tell they are doing better. If I'm wrong about please correct me, I'd love to hear some feedback on that. I often ask Uber drivers if the pay is worthwhile since I don't…

I often ask Uber drivers the same and the response is generally: * the pay is decent (ranging from a hair above minimum wage to a healthy and sustainable source of income) * the benefits are non-existent (most don't seem bothered by this) * the job security is guaranteed (a huge plus) * the work schedule is at their discretion (another huge plus) * the work environment is quite good (passengers are usually very frien…

"Job security guaranteed"... That's so ludicrous, I don't know where to begin. Forget driverless cars for a moment and think about the fact that a few bad ratings can remove your ability to earn income from this source forever.

Put another way, if a few someones you give a ride to rate you low, you lose your ability to earn. That's hardly "guaranteed"... I would certainly contrast it with the current model of "at-risk" employment we have now, but the certainty of your word choice feels facetious at best.

Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#65

Post by dominotw »

bko wrote: post #54
brianwawok wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is the problem 1) Uber comes in pays well - sources on the net for hip drivers - You get awesome English speaking nice drivers 2) Uber starts to drop rates 3) Good Uber drivers quit for lack of pay, existing cabbies start to drive for Uber 4) You end up getting the same cabbies as before Uber, but with surge pricing. It takes a while, but eventually it ends back up in the same exact place as before :( Totally ha…

I don't think cabbies are rude because they are not paid well. I think they're rude because they aren't held accountable for their rudeness and before Uber, there was no meaningful competition. If an Uber driver is rude and got a negative review, in the current system, he would probably be let go rather promptly. It could be that Uber will have to lower the minimum acceptable rating in order to keep enough drivers, b…

> I think they're rude because they aren't held accountable for their rudeness

In chicago you can call 311 but you have to register a case and show up in the court on the hearing date.

Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#66

Post by brianwawok »

stevenmays wrote: post #35
CodeSheikh wrote: post #30

I would take Uber over rude Manhattan cabbies any day. My personal experience with Manhattan taxi drivers after living in NYC for last two years. 1) They drive as if they are on a rally track. I have had never experienced motion sickness before until I moved to Manhattan. 2) If you ignore the tip or tip them in the range of $1-3 you get snarky remarks from them. 3) If you try to hail a cab and (regrettably) ask the t…

Also, some percentage of taxi drivers are racist. I've had tremendous difficulties hailing a cab, Uber removes this (and having to think about it).

Can they see your name or profile picture when you hail? Or just your rating? I fear that racism tends to overcome technology ;(

Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#67

Post by marcosdumay »

brianwawok wrote: post #45
CodeSheikh wrote: post #30

I would take Uber over rude Manhattan cabbies any day. My personal experience with Manhattan taxi drivers after living in NYC for last two years. 1) They drive as if they are on a rally track. I have had never experienced motion sickness before until I moved to Manhattan. 2) If you ignore the tip or tip them in the range of $1-3 you get snarky remarks from them. 3) If you try to hail a cab and (regrettably) ask the t…

Here is the problem 1) Uber comes in pays well - sources on the net for hip drivers - You get awesome English speaking nice drivers 2) Uber starts to drop rates 3) Good Uber drivers quit for lack of pay, existing cabbies start to drive for Uber 4) You end up getting the same cabbies as before Uber, but with surge pricing. It takes a while, but eventually it ends back up in the same exact place as before :( Totally ha…

Ok, that may happen. But with Uber-like services some group can decide to differentiate by offering better service at higher prices, while others may focus only on price.

Taxis do not compete in any meaningful way.

Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#68

Post by prostoalex »

josh2600 wrote: post #64
ihsw wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often ask Uber drivers the same and the response is generally: * the pay is decent (ranging from a hair above minimum wage to a healthy and sustainable source of income) * the benefits are non-existent (most don't seem bothered by this) * the job security is guaranteed (a huge plus) * the work schedule is at their discretion (another huge plus) * the work environment is quite good (passengers are usually very frien…

"Job security guaranteed"... That's so ludicrous, I don't know where to begin. Forget driverless cars for a moment and think about the fact that a few bad ratings can remove your ability to earn income from this source forever. Put another way, if a few someones you give a ride to rate you low, you lose your ability to earn. That's hardly "guaranteed"... I would certainly contrast it with the current model of "at-ris…

It seems taxi services would also be quick to fire if a series of customer complaints emerged, so not sure how Uber's model is strictly inferior to status quo.

Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#69

Post by timdierks »

slimslam wrote: post #44
mgob wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that uber will replace public transit in NYC is laughable. Sure, there is a group of rich yuppies (and their parents) that will gladly give uber their business, but NYC's transit system serves a much, much broader demographic of customers that cannot and/or will not to pay ten dollars or more every time they want to get around the city.

Laughable? Check out the theory of disruptive innovation. From http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/01/ec... : "The theory of disruptive innovation was invented by Clayton Christensen, of Harvard Business School, in his book “The Innovator’s Dilemma”. Mr Christensen used the term to describe innovations that create new markets by discovering new categories of customers. They do this partly by harnes…

Have you ever been to NYC? Do you have any idea how much extra vehicle capacity would be necessary for Uber to supplant the subways? A subway track has capacity of roughly 25000 people/hour (112 people per car, 10 cars per train, 20 trains per hour) in each direction; that's as much as 10 freeway lanes. Manhattan has 20 subway tracks across its width (5 lines, each with express and local, in 2 directions), so that's at least 200 extra lanes of cars for Uber's disruption to innovate out of nowhere.

Re: Uber Is Taking Millions of Manhattan Rides Away from Taxis

#70

Post by pavel_lishin »

dominotw wrote: post #63
CodeSheikh wrote: post #30

I would take Uber over rude Manhattan cabbies any day. My personal experience with Manhattan taxi drivers after living in NYC for last two years. 1) They drive as if they are on a rally track. I have had never experienced motion sickness before until I moved to Manhattan. 2) If you ignore the tip or tip them in the range of $1-3 you get snarky remarks from them. 3) If you try to hail a cab and (regrettably) ask the t…

In Chicago 4. They pretend that ccard machines are not working. Demand cash. 5. Cars are so old that someone of them have no Air conditioning. 6. Drivers often have BO and are often chewing gutka( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutka ) 7. Rude. This needs to be said again.

In New York, I believe that if a card reader is broken, a taxi driver has to inform you of this before you get in the car.

I mean, it's obviously a scam, so most of the time they don't, and they're not actually broken, but at least there's something you can yell back at him when you arrive and he demands cash.

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