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SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

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Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#111

Post by flippyhead »

I'm currently programmer nomad-ing in Uruguay and have been delighted with Easy Taxi. I don't know if all the cabs use it, but tons of them do and it works just as well as Lyft/Uber did for me in Seattle. Real-time updates of location, ratings, instant confirmation of fare acceptance... I say I want a cab and pretty much get one within 5 minutes no matter where or when I am.

It's all the same yellow and black taxies but everyone has a cell phone mounted to their dash and.. it just works. I'll never ever understand why taxies in the US haven't done this. Had they, I probably wouldn't have switched _exclusively_ to using Lyft.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#112

Post by BHSPitMonkey »

xxpor wrote: post #108
randomdrake wrote: post #94

This is not surprising at all. Traveling around the world, cab drivers are often times some of my favorite people. I like the profession, generally finding cab drivers to be interesting and knowledgeable of local areas. In San Francisco, I try to take regular cabs when I can just to meet people and support the old profession and working class folks. Bay Area, about a week ago. It was dark, cold, and raining around 5:…

Why do you let them tell you they don't take cards? From a quick googling, it seems like taxis in SF must take cards. If they drive me somewhere and the machine's broken, that's not my problem.

They only have to take your card if they want to get paid. They're not required to pick you up in the first place.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#114

Post by godzillabrennus »

bstanfield wrote: post #103
rhino369 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GPS still doesn't beat a good driver 9 out of 10 times for city driving. Uber drives consistently miss exits, head down clearly mistaken paths created by GPS errors, sit there staring at the GPS rather than the road I uber to work everyday and 90% of the time the uber driver blindly follows GPS through an alley that isn't really meant for traffic, ignoring the much simpler and faster route that whatever GPS uber uses…

You Uber to work every day? Isn't that terribly expensive?

I'm in Chicago and it's about an $8 cost per trip on average to go from one part of the city to another. The subway system is about $2.50 for the same trip but it's not on demand.

If you only care about cost in a big city there are likely less expensive options but if time is more valuable to you then cost isn't the big concern.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#115

Post by godzillabrennus »

rayiner wrote: post #105
karmacondon wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never had any of these experiences when riding in cabs. The cars were always ok, the drivers were polite and well spoken, they took direct routes and never demanded cash. I use Uber for one simple reason: It's 30% cheaper than a cab. It isn't the quality of the cars, the personality of the drivers or the nature of the service. All of those things vary from case to case for every transportation service. Uber's on…

Uber is sometimes more convenient and sometimes not. Downtown Chicago, NYC, or DC, it's more convenient hail the cab already driving by you. In the burbs Uber is more convenient. From Union Station in DC I take Uber, even though the cab line is way more convenient. It's about 40% cheaper accounting for no tip. Silicom Valley subsidizes my morning commute!

Disagree about that in Chicago. Can companies often claim their meters are down or go the "long way" to jack up the fare. Uber and Lyft have justly eaten up the market here.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#116

Post by rhino369 »

bstanfield wrote: post #103
rhino369 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GPS still doesn't beat a good driver 9 out of 10 times for city driving. Uber drives consistently miss exits, head down clearly mistaken paths created by GPS errors, sit there staring at the GPS rather than the road I uber to work everyday and 90% of the time the uber driver blindly follows GPS through an alley that isn't really meant for traffic, ignoring the much simpler and faster route that whatever GPS uber uses…

You Uber to work every day? Isn't that terribly expensive?

I'm only 4 miles, so the trip costs about 9 bucks each way. I don't have a second car and even if I did, my office charges 300 (pre tax so really less) to park. And if I'm forced to stay late, I can expense the ride home. So I'm pretty sure it's cheaper than driving myself.

But I could do public transit for around 2.50 each way. But adding about 15-20 minutes transit time.

What I really should do is bike to work. It's better for my health, wallet, and environment. I really have no excuse.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#117

Post by viraptor »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #76
muaddirac wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where I live there is a minimum fare of $75 imposed on Uber cars leaving from the airport. I took an Uber there and had a great, simple experience ($34 fare) but had to take a taxi back when returning from my trip. The cab was falling apart. One of the doors didn't open from the inside. The axles made horrible, periodic thunking sounds (I'd guess the CV joints but am no car expert). The engine light, the wheel stabil…

Travel to the car rental center and have Uber pick you up there to avoid the fee. This also works at airports that outright ban Uber.

This is an awesome idea! I never thought of it, but it should work in most places.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#118

Post by mikeash »

xxpor wrote: post #108
randomdrake wrote: post #94

This is not surprising at all. Traveling around the world, cab drivers are often times some of my favorite people. I like the profession, generally finding cab drivers to be interesting and knowledgeable of local areas. In San Francisco, I try to take regular cabs when I can just to meet people and support the old profession and working class folks. Bay Area, about a week ago. It was dark, cold, and raining around 5:…

Why do you let them tell you they don't take cards? From a quick googling, it seems like taxis in SF must take cards. If they drive me somewhere and the machine's broken, that's not my problem.

It's easier to go with someone who wants my business than to try to force someone who doesn't want it to take me anyway.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#119

Post by rayiner »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #115
rayiner wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber is sometimes more convenient and sometimes not. Downtown Chicago, NYC, or DC, it's more convenient hail the cab already driving by you. In the burbs Uber is more convenient. From Union Station in DC I take Uber, even though the cab line is way more convenient. It's about 40% cheaper accounting for no tip. Silicom Valley subsidizes my morning commute!

Disagree about that in Chicago. Can companies often claim their meters are down or go the "long way" to jack up the fare. Uber and Lyft have justly eaten up the market here.

How do you "go the long way" in a city with a strict street grid?

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#120

Post by preds »

mempko wrote: post #83
Grishnakh wrote: post #4

Too bad, so sad... If they hadn't allowed their service to get so horrible, with nasty old cars, drivers that don't speak English and drive around in circles to increase fares, drivers claiming their card readers are "broken" so you have to pay cash, taking an hour to show up when called, passing by black people, etc., then this wouldn't be happening. From the article: "Cab drivers, on the other hand, maintain that t…

I used to fly to SF from Chicago often. I was surprised by how poor the quality of the taxi's were in SF vs Chicago. I understood then why Uber started there. My taxi experiences in Chicago were far better than SF and I suspect a company like Uber would not have started in Chicago precisely because the cabs are better here. Also of course public transportation.

I had exactly the same experience coming to SF from NYC. I took taxis in NYC every once in a while, the only bad experience was on new years eve where everybody turns their lights off and operates without the meter. After moving to SF I had such poor experiences with taxis that when I raised it with a friend they exclaimed oh, nobody uses taxis here they're awful - use uber (I now use Lyft regularly).

Some of those experiences include:

- very obviously driving me around the block after I asked to be dropped off at a particular location. The driver refused to let me out when I asked

- driver refused to drive me with a "I don't want to go that way"

- two drivers claimed their card machines didn't work and insisted on cash, the second tried it even after I asked before the ride if paying by card was okay

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