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The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

theguardian.com

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Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#81

Post by autoexec »

MDWolinski wrote: post #44
nostromo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny though: cabs have gotten better and Uber has gotten worse. I've switched back to taking cabs from the airport. Ubers are slower (cabs are sitting there just waiting) and much, much expensive now (like 2x the cost of a cab). The product isn't any better anymore. The cars are rundown and often smelly. It is nice to be able to put in an address and not deal with a credit card payment at the destination -- but…

On a recent trip to Chicago, from the airport, the taxi was about half the price of Uber to downtown, which my wife and I waited about 20 minutes for. Uber would have been a faster pickup at that point, however. The taxi picked us up, proceeded to drive us Downtown and upwards of 85-90mph on the highway (was about 11pm at night at this point). The car was probably at least 15 years old and the shocks nearly as old. A…

> The taxi picked us up, proceeded to drive us Downtown and upwards of 85-90mph on the highway (was about 11pm at night at this point).

85-90 might seem like a lot to some folks, but it's not at all uncommon for traffic on the highways around Chicago. Personally, I'd much rather a driver get me to where I'm going quickly if it's safe. 80-90 on an open highway isn't a problem, it's the drivers who are constantly switching lines and cutting off other drivers to "get ahead" I have a problem with.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#82

Post by elforce002 »

yupper32 wrote: post #6

It's also important to realize that the reason Uber and Lyft were able to crush the taxi industry is in part because the taxi industry was absolutely horrible to consumers. The simple act of being able to know what I'm going to be charged beforehand, and know that the driver has little ability to scam me out of as much money as they can extract from me at my destination made Uber and Lyft SO much better. That should…

Nice. It's ok to brake laws just because the service is/was bad. One can extrapolate this type of thinking to any facet of human interaction and the results are scary. Forget about the slippery slope, we're sliding hard with this one.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#83

Post by akhmatova »

fatjokes wrote: post #4

I have zero sympathy for the yellow cab industry. None. I have a lot of negative feelings about Uber, and I would never work there myself as a SWE, but these feelings pale in comparison to my experiences with yellow cabs (NYC bias here). I've had my partner be threatened (the usual pay cash/credit card machine broken or "better be a good tip"), cabs drive right pass after asking where you're going, scammed. I've had…

If [assholes were] the price we have to paid to upend the yellow cab industry, then I for one am willing to pay it.

The article wasn't about TK or about assholes -- it was about political corruption.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#84

Post by bonzini »

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #61
bonzini wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh no, please no more COVID crap...

I was refering to his decisions as the CEO of Microsoft only.

Then you didn't mean early 20s. :) Apologies for the misunderstanding.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#86

Post by taxicabjesus »

balderdash wrote: post #68
taxicabjesus wrote: post #2

I started taxi driving in early 2012. I'd drive my little 1994 Honda Civic Hatchback to the taxi yard and check out a cab for 12 hours or 24 hours. It was a pretty good deal: the taxi company took care of complying with Arizona's minimal taxi regulations, provided insurance and customers. I could do anything I wanted with their taxi, I just had to pay them at the end of the shift. I always made money, even on my 4th…

I’m glad you pointed the driver economics out, I meticulously keep track of my auto costs (hour out to road trip [1]) and am always surprised by what my actual mpg/cost per mile is, as well as how repairs and maintenance add up over time - I honestly don’t think most Uber drivers realize they are just trading deferred maintenance costs, and depreciation expense for cash now. [1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/road-tri…

A lot of miles were not paid for. A typical shift in the cab (12 hours) would have maybe 200 miles, with half of those being paid. I drove for an owner-operator - I think I paid her $75/shift for the use of her car... Maybe $20 for gas, and the rest paid me.

The taxi company put together a system where drivers could take their contract fares (such as in the video I linked) in personal vehicles. I had to get a commercial license plate. Then the company did a safety inspection on my car. Their contracts paid better than standard ride share fares, but the numbers still didn't work. I only did that a couple times. One time I got a solid fare, but it took me out to Apache Junction. It was 40 miles to get home. The technical term for unpaid miles is deadheading [0].

> I honestly don’t think most Uber drivers realize they are just trading deferred maintenance costs, and depreciation expense for cash now.

I referred to this as this 'economic cancer'. Professional drivers figure out how to keep their expenses down.

[0] "They report 40.8% of their total distance traveled (VMT) being lost to deadheading." https://www.caee.utexas.edu/prof/bhat/ABSTRACTS/RidehailingE...

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#87

Post by taxicabjesus »

ciguy wrote: post #10
taxicabjesus wrote: post #2

I started taxi driving in early 2012. I'd drive my little 1994 Honda Civic Hatchback to the taxi yard and check out a cab for 12 hours or 24 hours. It was a pretty good deal: the taxi company took care of complying with Arizona's minimal taxi regulations, provided insurance and customers. I could do anything I wanted with their taxi, I just had to pay them at the end of the shift. I always made money, even on my 4th…

I am glad the taxi industry worked for you as a driver for a while. But it was unbelievably bad for consumers for so long, I have no sympathy for anyone related to the industry pre Uber at all. You might have been a good driver but most were not and frankly the odds aren't in your favor either. I am sincerely glad that the taxi industry got fucked as hard as it did, it forced them to at least think a little bit about…

The hn comment I linked told of how the company I drove for became the default cab company for the Phoenix area. One aspect was how passengers could file a complaint, and they'd look into it.

I got taken for a ride by a taxi driver in San Jose, cira 2003... That should have been a $20 fare, not a $100 fare, but I was naïve.

Sometimes my passengers would watch our route on their phone.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#88

Post by sanjiwatsuki »

yupper32 wrote: post #6

It's also important to realize that the reason Uber and Lyft were able to crush the taxi industry is in part because the taxi industry was absolutely horrible to consumers. The simple act of being able to know what I'm going to be charged beforehand, and know that the driver has little ability to scam me out of as much money as they can extract from me at my destination made Uber and Lyft SO much better. That should…

The *majority* of times I've taken a taxi in my life, the driver has tried to scam me. It was ridiculous. I guess I just look like an easy mark or something. It was very routine for them to turn off the meter in the middle and say "don't worry, I know the cost of the trip" It's absurd that it's happened multiple times to me.

No Uber driver has ever tried to scam me. I'd gladly pay a premium for it.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#89

Post by duped »

autoexec wrote: post #81
MDWolinski wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a recent trip to Chicago, from the airport, the taxi was about half the price of Uber to downtown, which my wife and I waited about 20 minutes for. Uber would have been a faster pickup at that point, however. The taxi picked us up, proceeded to drive us Downtown and upwards of 85-90mph on the highway (was about 11pm at night at this point). The car was probably at least 15 years old and the shocks nearly as old. A…

> The taxi picked us up, proceeded to drive us Downtown and upwards of 85-90mph on the highway (was about 11pm at night at this point). 85-90 might seem like a lot to some folks, but it's not at all uncommon for traffic on the highways around Chicago. Personally, I'd much rather a driver get me to where I'm going quickly if it's safe. 80-90 on an open highway isn't a problem, it's the drivers who are constantly switc…

I drive those highways every day, that's absolutely uncommon unless you're in the exurbs. I drove to Aurora yesterday and speed of traffic was barely over 70.

If you're cruising at 90 in cook county you're asking for a court date. 15mph over the limit mandates it, and I think the highest speed limit is 60 on 290 out in Arlington Heights. It's 45 on the Kennedy once you get into the city right now.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#90

Post by nofinator »

hourago wrote: post #20

News about a whistleblower. HN comments only about how taxis are bad. I see a problem here. Uber has broken the law to incredible extends, and it has corrupted many politicians. That's the truth, that are the news.

Plus the whistleblower was at the head of Uber's push into Europe, the Middle East and Africa. All the horrible stories I've read are about those markets.

But the comments here seem to be about American taxis!

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