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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

#111

Post by xapata »

bananabill wrote: post #105
CPLX wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> isn't anonymous

They don't know who rated them what. All they know is their average over the last 500 riders.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#112

Post by imagist »

xapata wrote: post #108
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…

> Every driver I've met who has made the switch from taxi to Uber/Lyft says they're happier now and earning more.

This was true initially, but is no longer true. Many drivers are switching back, or switching to Gett.

> 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?

Medallions are form of corruption mandated by the city. That's a little different from a failed restaurant.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#114

Post by xapata »

ethanbond wrote: post #31
potatolicious wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm less concerned about it being UberLateModelPrius (a not-fancy car was always part of the deal with X), but I've noticed last time in SF it was becoming UberFilthyLateModelPriusWithRudeDriver. That I do mind. They're becoming just like the cabs they replaced, just without the brightly colored paint jobs.

And insurance policies + regulations (even if said regulations go unenforced more than they should).

AFAIK many states require (and Uber provides) commercial insurance while a rider is in the car.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#115

Post by xapata »

ethanbond wrote: post #49
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its not about the app. Its about the Uber lawyers gaining entrance into local markets across the world. That's where the money is going.

It's about Uber's very expensive lawyers clearing the regulatory path for competitors (who are only app installs away) to then utilize for free from here until the heat death of the universe? Clever strategy.

You seem to think it's easy for customers to switch. I think there's enough barrier that they can keep the network intact.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#116

Post by Declanomous »

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 agree with everything you've said. I live in a Chicago neighborhood people might describe as "sketchy," and while cabbies were fine driving me there, getting a cab from my neighborhood was and is an exercise in futility.

Before ridesharing became common, I had the same experience flagging cabs for black people. One time I watched several cabs drive past a young black woman with a child in a stroller. I stood slightly up the block from her, and flagged a cab for her. The cabbie drove off with their trunk open after they realized that I had flagged them for the mother rather than for myself.

I've actually experienced problems getting Ubers and Lyfts in my neighborhood as well though. I live close to a highway, and I'll often get drivers who are on the highway heading westbound, towards one of the wealthiest suburbs in the Chicago area. I'll watch on my map as they "miss" several exits in a row and keep heading west. I've kept my map open long enough to watch them get off on the exit for the nice suburb. With Lyft and Uber, I have a recourse though, because I know their name, and I can watch where they actually end up.

I've noticed that as time has gone on, more and more of the drivers are from my neighborhood or other similar neighborhoods nearby. This has become one of my favorite things about ride sharing. My neighborhood has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the United States. In certain areas, more than half of the young adult males are unemployed. Lyft and Uber, and the gig economy, have created access to economic opportunities that they wouldn't have otherwise had.

That being said, I think "gig employment" is a poor replacement for normal (W4) jobs, since they don't come with the same legal protections and benefits.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#117

Post by imagist »

CptJamesCook wrote: post #98
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'…

In theory you want to support a group of people that are blatantly racist, provide terrible service, and are create a noisy, stressful environment? This is actually one of most convincing pro-Uber comments I've ever seen.

Sure, by removing all nuance from what I actually said, you can argue for anything.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#118

Post by hackuser »

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…

With respect, I find these stories hard to believe. I've been in a very large number of NY taxis and very rarely had these experiences. Cabs aren't problem-free or pristine, but they are almost universally clean enough and very functional.

The cab driver doesn't want a bad-smelling, filthy cab either; they work in it, it affects their income, and the great majority are responsible, reasonable people.

Why would anyone believe otherwise? I think there's some class-based stereotyping here - maybe not in the parent comment, but in these comments generally - cabs are working class, Uber is professional class. Working class is the 'other' to many professional people; something foreign, unknown, and scary.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#119

Post by jy1 »

bananabill wrote: post #103

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 dolla…

Just a side note. Was the miami fare a flate rate? Many Airport to City routes are flat rate without meter.

Re: In Brooklyn, Uber is now bigger than taxis

#120

Post by [deleted] »

bananabill wrote: post #103

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 dolla…

[deleted]
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