Anectodal evidence from my trip to Chicago last week. The same trip cost me twice as much when I took a taxi vs Lyft. So guess what I'm going to take the next time...
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Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
191–200 of 270 posts
Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
That man took out a loan for a medallion, with the idea that he should be able to sell it once he retires. The medallion is now worthless. If Chicago cares about the cabbies, individual owners should be paid dollar for dollar the value of those medallions, even if no one else will buy them in the future. (Does Chicago buy back the medallions, or do you have to have to sell them to someone else? Is the 300,000 the mar…
> If Chicago cares about the cabbies That's the thing though, they don't. And why would they? These cabbies made a bet that the medallion would not lose value until they sold it, and they lost that bet. How is this different from any other small-time business going bankrupt?
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Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#193Earlier quoted context omitted.
and who do you think is paying for your cheap Lyft trips? Does not matter which ride sharing company you use right now. It is all VC money. Stop the whole Lyft has higher ethical moral ground BS. It is all about capitalism and supply demand.
Supposedly Lyft is on its way to profitability [1]. Twitter is still not yet profitable, but it shouldn't stop me from using the service if I find it useful. > and who do you think is paying for your cheap Lyft trips? Mostly my own contribution, and partially VC money. 1. http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/12/pipsqueak-lyft-could-reach-pr...
Of course you should not stop using it if you prefer it. It was implied here that only uber rides were cheaper because of VC money. Which is not the case. Same applies for Lyft.
Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#194I probably won't ever take a taxi again, but have some sympathy for the cab drivers who put their life savings in medallions. The city effectively promised them the exclusive right to give taxi rides, but didn't do anything about a non-medallion entity doing that same thing. They put hundreds of thousands of dollars into something meaningless.
Its hard to even consider taking a taxi at this point. I was in Chicago last weekend and considered taking a taxi from the airport into the city. Taxi wanted ~$60 and Uber wanted ~$25. The same thing happened in SF a few months back. The driver wanted $90 to goto Palo Alto and I took an Uber pool for $23. Granted I don't believe for a second that's the actual rate and I'm confident the driver was trying to take advan…
Unless the price spikes and one ends like that guy in Edmonton owing over $1100.
Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#195I'm left wondering... so what? The "personal transportation" market has massively changed. Whether it's for the better or worse simply doesn't matter . Veteran Chicago cabbie John Aikins,67, who is facing foreclosure on two medallions for which he owes more than $330,0000, said he has little hope that the industry can be saved. "It feels like the city is just watching us collapse," Aikins said. "Right now, there are…
> I'm left wondering... so what?
Well, ~10,000 people, mostly male, are going to be left not only unemployed, but heavily indebted. That combination cannot be good for social stability. If you are a resident of Chicago, you should care. This problem won't go quietly into the night.
> The government in no way insured that medallions would be a winning business investment.
People who recently took out loans to purchase a car to work for Uber are going to be facing the exact same problem if and when they roll out their autonomous fleet. That's around 200,000 nationwide.
I care about these things because I want the society I live in to continue to be relatively peaceful. And America is certainly well equipped, there are as many guns are there are people. Situations like these are how bloody revolutions start. Everyone has fears about AI's running amok. I fear what people will do when AI's take their jobs.
Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is the argument I usually get into with my more libertarian friends who think property rights and individual freedoms don't impose limits on one another. What happens when someone buys the land all around your house and prevents you from even getting to or leaving your property?
If you buy land where the only access is through another person's private property, that is your own fault. The purchaser has a responsibility to do their own due diligence.
I was thinking more the opposite; You could already own the land and then someone else buys up everything surrounding it.
Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm pretty sure Lyft, which is just about as good as Uber for taking ordinary trips, will moderate that. Lyft isn't going anywhere; their cash reserves are large. Also public transit, car rentals, etc.
Public transit and car rentals are a poor substitute for a taxi service.
Taxi service and rental cars are a poor substitute for public transit.
I love that I live in one of the few cities with a train that leaves directly from the airport.
Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#198As much as I think the taxi system needed replaced, I'm not sure how I feel about companies breaking laws to innovate. If we go down that path are the south american drug cartels just ahead of their time.
laws that are obvious bullshit need to be broken
Requiring background checks on people driving taxis (yes, ubers are taxis. You're not ride sharing, they weren't just going that way and gave you a ride) is a bullshit law that needs to be broken?
Having predictable pricing so you don't end up paying 5x more when there is a major event on (aka price gouging) is a bullshit law that needs to be broken?
Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#199Earlier quoted context omitted.
laws that are obvious bullshit need to be broken
Requiring background checks on people driving taxis (yes, ubers are taxis. You're not ride sharing, they weren't just going that way and gave you a ride) is a bullshit law that needs to be broken? Having predictable pricing so you don't end up paying 5x more when there is a major event on (aka price gouging) is a bullshit law that needs to be broken?
if taxi protectionism led to better drivers, id agree.
but it does not. taxi drivers are mega sketchy, to the point where id be very worried if my gf or future children had to deal with them.
beyond their sketchyness, they act entitled to a point that is just not respectable.
apparently, you think their pricing is regulated, which its not. whats regulated is their pay per time. to jack prices up, they take bullshit routes, which not only wastes my money but my time on top of that.
if surge pricing guarantees that i will get a ride (at a higher price) then im all about that. sure, it incites peasant rage when other people have to not compete for rides becuase theyre priced out of it. big deal.
uber and travis may be a shitstack, but theyre a shitstack thats vastly less shitstack-y than the taxi industry.
edit: this is actually about background checks? well then, how many uber drivers have rape-murdered passenger so far? how many taxi drivers did?
the price gouging bit is entirely retarded. surge pricing happens to control the demand. when i need a ride and cant get one because the comic con happens and a million teenage weebs need a ride, i like having the option of getting one guaranteed - at a higher rate.
Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
VCs are just paying for rides until self-driving cars get to the point that drivers are no longer needed. I'm not concerned with the price of rides increasing, I'm concerned with the unemployment our country is going to get punched in the face with. Between cab drivers and OTR (truckers), we're going to have a MUCH bigger problem on our hands than we've seen since Detroit collapsed (which was arguably less of an issu…
VCs are needed until a self-driving car can pick an elderly passenger at the airport and help them with their baggage when they get home. Uber will run out of money long before we have self-driving cars.
There have been services to help elderly people get their bags in and out of the car at the airport for literally decades.
As for "at their home" - if you think that the cross section of elderly people who:
Can't lift their bag into a car.
Travel frequently.
Have no friends or family to help.
Have no neighbors to help.
Don't live in assisted living.
Is enough to sustain the industry, I think you're in for a rude awakening.