SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy • Hacker News Board

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#181

Post by criddell » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 3:59 AM UTC

fweespeech wrote: post #71

criddell wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The traditional taxi business in the US hasn't exactly been the model of regulatory compliance. Regulatory capture on the other hand...

I never said they were perfect but pretty much every single person who defends Uber falsely claims that Uber is complying and/or not engaging in activity that is shady. And when it comes to things like insurance and background checks, Uber is worse than the Taxi companies in many areas. [e.g. Houston ]

I think a more interesting question revolves around the effectiveness of regulations.

Maybe it's time to deregulate the Taxi business and see how things go. If there's a big problem, reintroduce regulations that make sense.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#182

Post by billiam » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:07 AM UTC

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…

Dude, you clearly know nothing about this company. Do you even live in SF? I haven't been in anything except a new or near-new Yellow Cab in years, and yes, they know how to use Google Maps.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#183

Post by iamleppert » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:09 AM UTC

Good riddance. Almost all of my Yellow Cab experiences have been awful.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#184

Post by sirkneeland » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:10 AM UTC

nommm-nommm wrote: post #176

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…

I've had Google maps tell me to go the wrong way down a one way street. Two different times! You gotta be paying attention to where the GPS is telling you to go. Knowing the roads in invaluable for a driver. That being said I've had many cabbies who had no idea where they were going.

To this day Google/Waze will suggest I get onto the 101's Octavia entrance by just driving down market and turning right onto the 101, neglecting the very longstanding rule that you have to run the Octavia St gauntlet to get on the 101's Octavia route.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#185

Post by Grishnakh » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:11 AM UTC

saryant wrote: post #95

toomuchtodo wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> oil companies Yes. They've known about their products causing climate change for decades. They should be liquidated. > agriculture companies Some, not all. > and all the large banks Only the ones that are "too big to fail" or those engaged in illegal activities.

So... who provides the energy that makes our lifestyle possible is this magical world of yours?

I interpreted his "liquidate them" comment to mean basically forcing the companies to break apart and sell everything off, (perhaps seizing all their assets judicially). So, presumably, we'd still have a bunch of oil companies, but they wouldn't be the ones we have now, or nearly as powerful, and their current owners would all be up a creek.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#186

Post by kasey_junk » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:15 AM UTC

mikeash wrote: post #110

"In reality, we have the best color scheme there is in the world, we’ve got a lot of loyal customers, we still get a high volume of calls to our color scheme on a daily basis" Does "color scheme" have a special meaning in the taxi business, or is this guy actually bragging about how their cars are painted?

I've been told by a couple of different foreign nationals that guide books in their country recommend only taking "yellow" cabs to distinguish between non-licensed cabs.

I have no idea if that phenomenon is worth anything though.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#187

Post by Grishnakh » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:19 AM UTC

mikewhy wrote: post #97

Grishnakh wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem there is that the driver had to manually input the address. With Uber/Lyft, that problem doesn't exist, because you input the address into your phone's app, and that's relayed to the driver's phone and automatically used to route them. Any time you have humans entering data, you're bound to have problems like this.

> you input the address into your phone's app > ... > Any time you have humans entering data, you're bound to have problems like this So no matter what there will be problems like this?

I don't know about you, but I know my home address just fine, and have no trouble entering it in (in fact, the Uber app probably lets you save it as a "favorite"). I don't expect some random Joe to be able to enter in my home address error-free.

Now, if you don't know your own home address better than some random driver, then you have problems.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#188

Post by Grishnakh » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:23 AM UTC

saurik wrote: post #104

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…

> Who cares about knowledge of city streets? Haven't they heard of Google Maps and Waze and GPS? If I get into a cab, the driver asks where I am going, and I stump them by naming a major hotel, I personally feel like that was a frustrating failure, as now we are stuck in an intersection while I try to teach them the layout of a city I know less about than they do: the reason I am hiring a cab driver in the first plac…

Please explain why you think the cab companies would have used this software. What incentive do they have, when they have a monopoly? To improve customer service? Why would they care about that? They've never demonstrated that they care about customer service at all. Uber/Lyft aren't going to give their software and service away for free, and cab companies aren't going to pay for something they don't need unless they're forced to by the government (which was in their pocket).

Uber/Lyft did the only thing they could: an end-run around the taxi cartels.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#189

Post by fweespeech » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:26 AM UTC

simoncion wrote: post #159

fweespeech wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Background checks are a canard. How do the cab companies check the background of someone from Uzbekistan? In other words, "Hey, Uber hires known felons and its okay because I can think of a scenario where background checks fail." By that logic, stop visiting the doctor, using seat belts, or any safety device known to man because it can fail for some non-0 fraction of the time. > U/L do carry insurance for their dri…

> In other words, "Hey, Uber hires known felons and its okay because I can think of a scenario where background checks fail." You say this like it's a bad idea to hire people who were convicted of felonies who've served their time and are now out of jail. > There are some pretty significant gaps in that coverage that shift the burden to drivers, depending on the state. > In fact there is an entire business built arou…

> You say this like it's a bad idea to hire people who were convicted of felonies who've served their time and are now out of jail.

Yes, because its a good idea to put them in a position of power right after they are out of jail. Did you not bother to read the link to the drunk girl who stupidly got into a car with one of these guys?

One of the main arguments proponents make about these services is driving people who have been drinking home and people in strange places home.

"Hey this one situation is risky, we shouldn't let them do X because there are clear instances of bad things happening because they pick up impaired passengers." isn't even close to saying "HEY NO ONE HIRE FELONS".

If you want to engage in childish strawman arguments that have nothing to do with the problem I'm discussing, go troll someone else.

> Anyway. In CA, folks who drive for nontraditional taxi services like Lyft and Uber have access to (and are required to carry) coverage while transporting a fare, coverage between the time they accept that fare and the time that they pick up that fare, and all other times they are operating their vehicle. [0][1][2]

> But drivers have been incurring all sorts of risks when they use their personal vehicles for TNC work. During Period 1, Uber and Lyft do not offer collision (coverage for when the policyholder is at fault), comprehensive (for fire, theft and other damage), underinsured motorist coverage or medical payments. (They also do not offer those coverages for the succeeding periods, unless drivers carry them on their personal policies).

> The new insurance is offered by Farmers as a supplement — called an endorsement — to drivers’ personal auto policies, and it will cost an additional 8 percent of their premium. A smaller insurer, MetroMile, already offers individual ride-service insurance, but it’s exclusive to Uber drivers. That insurance costs a base rate plus a per-mile charge.

Yes, your article agrees I'm correct despite you arguing with me for some bizarre reason(?)

The drivers themselves need to buy supplemental insurance or there is a gap in coverage during Period 1.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#190

Post by Grishnakh » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 4:26 AM UTC

kasey_junk wrote: post #175

godzillabrennus wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Never, not once in 15 years, have I had a cab claim their meters are down. I've suspected a padded fare a couple of times but the difference was so small, that as a native I didn't notice. Credit card readers being down used to be a common refrain, but seems to have gone away in the face of Square. What I have had, not commonly but often enough that it no longer surprises me, is extremely racists statements about whe…

With Uber and Lyft, you can put your destination address into the app well before the driver arrives, so he can see exactly where you're going.