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In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

toddwschneider.com

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Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#101

Post by [deleted] »

ethanbond wrote: post #17
jasonbarone wrote: post #15

When I moved to New York a few years ago all it took was a handful of taxi rides to figure out that Uber will eventually put them out of the business. I've had drivers lie about not knowing where to go, intentionally take longer routes, and lie about credit card machines while trying to get rides from New York to Brooklyn, or Brooklyn to Brooklyn. To add insult to injury nearly every single cab is filthy and smells h…

Important point: while costing to the customer the same, if not more. The result? Uber operating at huge losses. The result of that? Well, austerity measures. You can already see the signs of Uber starting to clamp down and make their service worse and worse. Recommended pickup locations -> No longer door to door? Assigning next rides before the previous one has completed -> No longer "feeling like a baller" while yo…

[deleted]

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#102

Post by potatolicious »

falsestprophet wrote: post #71
HoyaSaxa wrote: post #66

Uber really doesn't have that great of a value proposition in NYC IMHO. While Uber provides a huge value add in most markets via markedly lower rates and the convenience of not finding a taxi, this is not the case in NYC. Drivers still need to be licensed by the taxi commission so rides end up being more or less the same cost all in with the 20% tip as a normal yellow cab. More importantly, a cab is often the worst w…

"Uber really doesn't have that great of a value proposition in NYC IMHO." Uber offers $5 shared rides anywhere in Manhattan during communing hours.

Which is only a value proposition if you're an agoraphobe - the trip takes eons compared to the subway.

There was some good discussion on the NYC subreddit when Uber rolled this out, and the general consensus was against it (including people who used it). Manhattan traffic during rush hour is awful - a cab is already likely slower than the train, even without the additional pooled passengers.

Add the pooled passengers and suddenly your commute becomes a full-hour affair - and some users reported exactly this sort of duration just getting from the UES to Midtown.

IMO the (genuine, deserved) popularity of ride-hailing around the US is less a validation of that specific transportation model and more an indictment of our utter failure to produce working mass transit. Where we have effective mass transit (and the MTA isn't even that good) the value proposition of ride hailing starts to fall apart. Ride-hailing is a local maxima, not a global maxima of transportation.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#103

Post by bananabill »

I'm going to give my two anecdotal experiences that caused me to no longer feel bad about using uber over taxis.

When I was in Miami, I decided to use a cab from the airport instead of an uber, because the cab was already there. The seatbelts in the back seat didn't work, which the driver assured me was legal in miami. It is legal, but definitely not preferable. He drove me to my hotel, told me the price was 35 dollars, which seemed a little steep, so I checked the meter and found that he hadn't run it. I guess he drove me to the hotel and thought to himself "That felt like about 35 bucks".

When I took an uber from my hotel to the airport a few days later, it was 10 dollars, and the seatbelts worked fine.

The second one, just a few weeks ago, is only related to price. Richmond airport taxi ride to short pump, 70 dollars. Uber from short pump back to the airport? 30.

I understand that uber is operating at a loss, but that still makes it cheaper for users, so just because it's likely going to cost more in the future, isn't going to stop me from using it now.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#104

Post by bogomipz »

vkou wrote: post #83
bogomipz wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In order to take the train to the airport you need to take the E train to Jamaica station. From there you will need to exit the underground an go upstairs and buy an $8 dollar ticket on AirTran. This is a separate purchase and a separate train line. Your monthly card will not cover this "special train." I wasn't referring to airport-related taxes, I was referring to the taxi surcharge to take a taxi to the airport du…

AirTrain is also responsible for getting you around the terminals. You can't expect the subway to have a stop at each terminal. $8 is steep, but it is essentially an airport fee. Who pays airport-related taxes is relevant to this conversation - you were talking about residents getting tax-gouged when they had to go to the airport.

My comment was that there is "no single" train that takes you to the airport. Which is 100% accurate as it is two completely separate trains and two distinct payments and tickets with zero integration. The downvote is for what? Being correct?

And while you can take two trains to get JFK you can take no trains to LaGuardia. So yes a rush hour surcharge to take a taxi to the airport is insulting.

You don't need a separate rail system to take you around Kennedy airport like you do Dallas Fort Worth or Heathrow as its far more compact. A stop within the airport and people movers would have been sufficient. And this proposal of extending into the aiport was on the table at one point within the Port Authority.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#105

Post by bananabill »

CPLX wrote: post #47
ethanbond wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Important point: while costing to the customer the same, if not more. The result? Uber operating at huge losses. The result of that? Well, austerity measures. You can already see the signs of Uber starting to clamp down and make their service worse and worse. Recommended pickup locations -> No longer door to door? Assigning next rides before the previous one has completed -> No longer "feeling like a baller" while yo…

I agree, Uber drivers seem to be getting progressively more clueless and inexperienced. Last night I had one that would just stare at the moving map on the GPS, without any situational awareness at all, up to the point where we were down to about 15mph on an interstate highway while he tried to figure out which of the tangle of exit ramps it wanted him to take, which was wildly unsafe. It did occur to me that for all…

I've been noticing that too. When I was trying to go to Github Universe the cab driver ended up taking a call from his kid's daycare, meanwhile driving me to the wrong pier, stopping at a power station and asking if this was the right place.

Also, every uber driver I had when visiting virginia would ask me how to get where I wanted to go. I would have to tell them that I have no idea, and then we'd get lost.

I guess I assume that these drivers would eventually get weeded out thanks to the rating system, but since the system isn't anonymous, I think most people rate 5 stars no matter what.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#106

Post by falsestprophet »

potatolicious wrote: post #102
falsestprophet wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Uber really doesn't have that great of a value proposition in NYC IMHO." Uber offers $5 shared rides anywhere in Manhattan during communing hours.

Which is only a value proposition if you're an agoraphobe - the trip takes eons compared to the subway. There was some good discussion on the NYC subreddit when Uber rolled this out, and the general consensus was against it (including people who used it). Manhattan traffic during rush hour is awful - a cab is already likely slower than the train, even without the additional pooled passengers. Add the pooled passenger…

"Which is only a value proposition if you're an agoraphobe - the trip takes eons compared to the subway."

There are parts of Manhattan that are not well served by the subway.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#107

Post by prophetjohn »

imagist wrote: post #74

Brooklynite here. In theory, I want to be behind taxi drivers. They're a local business owners with ties in the community, and I would rather support them than a Silicon Valley startup with a questionable stance on privacy and poor treatment of their workers. In reality though, taxis need to fix a few issues: 1. I don't need to be able to hail a cab anywhere--I can't really hail Ubers, either. But if I call a cab, I'…

Also Brooklynite.

I'd just like to another: The confidence of knowing that the driver will get me where I need to go. I have, on more than one occasion, gotten in a cab in Williamsburg (which is in Brooklyn), asked to go to Park Slope (also in Brooklyn) and after staring at my phone for a while, looked up to find myself on a bridge headed to Manhattan (not in Brooklyn and not on the way between the two).

With Uber, I punch in my destination before even getting in the car and they just follow GPS. No cabbies that don't know the city making mistakes and no sitting in unnecessary traffic jams that technology could have helped me avoid.

Now when I'm in a proper cab, I have to be on constant high alert to make sure that they're going the right way if not giving them turn-by-turn directions on my own.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#108

Post by xapata »

imagist wrote: post #74

Brooklynite here. In theory, I want to be behind taxi drivers. They're a local business owners with ties in the community, and I would rather support them than a Silicon Valley startup with a questionable stance on privacy and poor treatment of their workers. In reality though, taxis need to fix a few issues: 1. I don't need to be able to hail a cab anywhere--I can't really hail Ubers, either. But if I call a cab, I'…

> local business owners

Uber is often locally-owned to the same extent. In both cases, the driver is your neighbor. Uber takes its cut, but the taxi medallion owner who rents the car to the driver might be taking a much bigger cut. Every driver I've met who has made the switch from taxi to Uber/Lyft says they're happier now and earning more.

The only folks you should feel sad about are the drivers who decided to take a loan to buy their own medallion. Those are the folks who need a hand because of the catastrophic collapse of their investment. But hey, that's what bankruptcy is for. Do you feel like failed restauranteurs deserve a bailout?

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#109

Post by hackuser »

Why should I care if Uber succeeds? I care if drivers succeed, whether taxi, Uber, Lyft, bus, or otherwise. How are the drivers doing in NY? (I don't need the Uber PR version.)

Uber goes out of its way to say it doesn't care about workers, my community, or our rules. Why should I care about them?

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#110

Post by hackuser »

stuxnet79 wrote: post #89
imagist wrote: post #74

Brooklynite here. In theory, I want to be behind taxi drivers. They're a local business owners with ties in the community, and I would rather support them than a Silicon Valley startup with a questionable stance on privacy and poor treatment of their workers. In reality though, taxis need to fix a few issues: 1. I don't need to be able to hail a cab anywhere--I can't really hail Ubers, either. But if I call a cab, I'…

> I've gotten in the habit of flagging cabs for black people, and even after the cab stops, sometimes when they realize that it's a black person getting in the cab instead of me, they drive off. Good on you. This is terrible - I've never been to NYC but I always hear from black people down there how difficult it is to flag a cab. Wasn't aware that it was still happening to this extent in 2016. The fact that the cab s…

> I don't believe any company (not even AirBnb) can provide enough incentives to mitigate this kind of stuff happening.

They can't stop it altogether, but certainly they can and will mitigate it. We can't stop murder and rape, but we do work hard to mitigate them.

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