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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

#91

Post by tajen »

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…

Few professions attract as much despise as taxis, and this is worldwide. Hotels and hostels being undercut by AirBnb because of taxes? Yes we could have some compassion. Taxi drivers? Unanimity against[1]. Worldwide.

The debate is not only for NYC or DC. It's knowing that your transportation service in Paris, Kinshasa or Moscow has a 4.5 rating.

[1] I don't even have a personal opinion on this, personally I loved cabs in Madrid, but I'm just taking notice of a worldwide trend.

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

#92

Post by asavadatti »

codyb wrote: post #80
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…

Why would you ignore the tip? Points one and three are valid, and you should always hop in before you direct, but ignoring the tip on what is essentially a luxury good (metro is $2.75 a ride and you can transfer as many times as you need to get where you need to go) is quite rude when it's expected and part of the culture. If you can't afford to tip your taxi driver, take the train. Sorry.

That is no justification for the driver to be rude or snarky.

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

#93

Post by suneilp »

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…

Pretty much the same I hear, but one other thing they seem to prefer is longer rides than short ones.

About the benefits, most of them do Uber as a side gig so they often get benefits from their main job or Uber is a temporary thing.

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

#95

Post by telotortium »

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…

Uber replacing public transit is not a case of disruption as defined by Christiansen, though, since Uber is more expensive. It's not even disrupting street hails per se. Uber is disrupting taxi dispatch, and in doing so displacing street hails by making them less relevant.

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

#96

Post by vtlynch »

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…

Once Uber drivers have been doing it for 15 years like cabbies have they will be just as rude

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

#97

Post by beambot »

mbca wrote: post #75
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…

The quality of Uber drivers in San Francisco has dropped all the way to the point where I simply will not try to use Uber anywhere near downtown. They will accept the ride and the app will show they are "1 minute" away, however it will often take upwards of 15 minutes for them to reach me because they don't know their way around the city and are confused by all the one-way streets in downtown. I promise I"m not exagg…

Sounds like an opportunity for Uber to improve their software to include GPS navigation for fare pickup.

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

#98

Post by motxilo »

codyb wrote: post #80
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…

Why would you ignore the tip? Points one and three are valid, and you should always hop in before you direct, but ignoring the tip on what is essentially a luxury good (metro is $2.75 a ride and you can transfer as many times as you need to get where you need to go) is quite rude when it's expected and part of the culture. If you can't afford to tip your taxi driver, take the train. Sorry.

I guess not tipping enough is linked to its previous point around rudeness. This happens to me in the city. They are usually rude, and when I tip them %10 or less, their rudeness becomes even more apparent. Meh.

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

#99

Post by vtlynch »

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…

Uber and other "on-demand" apps are literally the opposite of "guaranteed" job security.

There is a finite amount of job potential which you are able to compete for. That's why Uber drivers often drive for Lyft as well because they are just sitting around waiting for someone to hail them, because there is no job security past the fare you are currently picking up.

This is also reflective by the fact that you arent an employee but an independent contractor who has very little rights and no benefits.

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

#100

Post by alex_anglin »

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…

Check out a critique of the theory of disruptive innovation: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/23/the-disruption-...
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