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Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

smh.com.au

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Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#141

Post by stevage »

FireBeyond wrote: post #132
stevage wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did take taxis in Melbourne and Sydney before and after the arrival of Uber. I never had any issues with any taxi drivers, except one racist arsehole in Townsville.

Hah. Australian ex-pat living in Seattle. Took my girlfriend and her daughter to Australia to catch up with my family, etc. We did Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne. Hell, even with Uber... multiple pretty openly racist drivers in Cairns (I am extremely left wing, but my partner and friends like to tease that I could pass for a 'good old boy', so too many people feel comfortable just erupting in tirades and assuming I'll…

I used to get the opposite problem using GoCatch to call taxis to the airport in the morning. They were so keen for my business they would often call me up to confirm they were on the way. I had no desire for a phone call at like 5.30am...

Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#142

Post by sokoloff »

Eddy_Viscosity2 wrote: post #52
Izkata wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The argument I've heard before (about the medallion system in the US, which had the same result as what GP described with licenses) was that since roads are a limited resource, this prevented too many taxis from causing excess traffic just driving around looking for customers. It's an interesting argument because having the app connect customers means they don't have to drive around aimlessly, which almost sidesteps…

They could fix the whole system by issuing as many medallians as people want. Fixed reasonable price, renewable each year. You have to meet certain criteria for public safety, like good driving record, not a sex offender, the car must pass annual safety inspections, etc. But other that, let the market decide how many taxis.

I can only imagine what NYC traffic would look like if there was an unlimited number of yellow cab medallions allowing pickups in NYC.

Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#143

Post by alistairSH »

snapcaster wrote: post #139
rchaud wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Threatening? Most taxicabs have cameras inside, and I've never heard of a driver getting violent with a passenger over an inability to pay (different from a refusal to pay), considering their picture and cab ID are prominently displayed inside the cab.

This and the sibling comment both show a pretty big lack of sympathy or empathy. Maybe you've never been in a situation where the line is blurry between dangerous/not-dangerous but maybe just assume everyone besides you isn't a moron and it's not as easy as you're saying

It's not a lack of empathy, I literally don't know how this would work in the driver's favor. I rarely carry cash. If we got to the destination and the driver demanded cash, what's he expecting will happen? Everywhere I've taken a cab in the last decade requires cabs to have CC readers.

Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#144

Post by gorbypark »

alistairSH wrote: post #143
snapcaster wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This and the sibling comment both show a pretty big lack of sympathy or empathy. Maybe you've never been in a situation where the line is blurry between dangerous/not-dangerous but maybe just assume everyone besides you isn't a moron and it's not as easy as you're saying

It's not a lack of empathy, I literally don't know how this would work in the driver's favor. I rarely carry cash. If we got to the destination and the driver demanded cash, what's he expecting will happen? Everywhere I've taken a cab in the last decade requires cabs to have CC readers.

Generally the idea is that they say the machine doesn’t work, and if you say you have no cash / won’t go to an ATM the machine magically starts working.

Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#145

Post by smackeyacky »

Nursie wrote: post #70
resolutebat wrote: post #36

It's worth noting that Australian taxis are generally terrible . They're expensive and notorious for ripoffs, particularly from the airport: scenic routes, bogus surcharges, "broken" credit card machines (plus 5% surcharge when they do work), drivers refusing destinations (by law they're not allowed to), and to top it all off they're not even safe, with taxi drivers responsible for a long string of sexual assaults. U…

> It's worth noting that Australian taxis are generally terrible. Over here in Western Australia they are generally better than Uber. You know what sets the traditional operators apart from Uber in Perth? They show up That simple. You book a cab, you get a cab, more or less when you want it. You request an Uber and someone might come. They might not. They might accept the ride and then drive in circles for 15 minutes…

It's weird how different cities in Australia have such different Uber experiences.

Newcastle (north of Sydney) Uber is near unusable. Cancellations etc. as others have detailed here. Taxis are a bit slow but they do at least pick you up.

Sydney - great.

Brisbane - great.

Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#146

Post by Atotalnoob »

araes wrote: post #135
tsujamin wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sydney taxis are extortionate and often operate illegally around the airport, but also taxi plates in Australia costed $100,000’s (on the market, not sure how much when released by the government) and that investment got trashed by ride-share entry. From that perspective I’ve got some sympathy.

The article said they cost $500,000 (each), which was probably the least believable part of the article. If they actually cost $100,000, that might be close to reasonable. Somebody can probably do 5-6 rides a day at $50 a ride for a $100,000 tag. That's pretty believable for an average over a year. Even $200,000 might be. I have difficultly believing they're all making money needing 30 rides at ~$50 every day all yea…

I would believe the 500k number. Taxi badges are ridiculously priced. I think NYC’s was over 1.5m.

Keep in mind, they are able to lease the badge out, so you can have your cab running 24/7.

Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#147

Post by Atotalnoob »

somishere wrote: post #104
ghoomketu wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here in India. A lot of people hate Uber but speaking for me personally it's been a godsend upgrade over the black yellow taxis we had here before. I believe they are the #1 reason why foreigner tourists are scared of coming to India. The amount of scam and harrasment done by these old taxi drivers is just another level. The luxury and straightforwardness of app taxis is unparalleled to what we used to have befo…

I loved getting taxis in India for exactly these reasons, I used to get taken to random shops way out of the way of where I needed to go ... I'd just go along along with it, total adventure time! But I can see how it could grate after the novelty wore off. Or if you were maybe being a bit cautious as a traveller.

This can be really scary for women who are traveling.

You could be possibly sexually assaulted, trafficked, or other things.

Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#148

Post by Retric »

throwawaymaths wrote: post #129
Retric wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice.” So yea that sounds like Uber/Lyft. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxi I regularly see people say they’ll call a cab and then use Uber/Lyft. Ride sharing generally means carpooling/picking up hitchhikers etc. Where the driver i…

> Uber’s initial intention was carpooling where someone would put in their intended destination and could pick people up for money. Historically incorrect. Uber started out as a black car service (with California tpc licenses). Lyft started as a pivot of the carpooling app zimride named after the founder. > Their initial subsidized prices convinced many people to advocate for an exception which was often granted That…

PS: There was sharing but it was time sharing Limos, so I can see getting those swapped.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/11101...

> Initially, the idea was for a timeshare limo service that could be ordered via an app. After the conference, the men went their separate ways. However, when Camp returned to San Francisco, he continued to be fixated on the idea and bought the domain name UberCab.com.

Re: Uber to pay $272M to Australian taxi operators

#150

Post by StackRanker3000 »

araes wrote: post #135
tsujamin wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sydney taxis are extortionate and often operate illegally around the airport, but also taxi plates in Australia costed $100,000’s (on the market, not sure how much when released by the government) and that investment got trashed by ride-share entry. From that perspective I’ve got some sympathy.

The article said they cost $500,000 (each), which was probably the least believable part of the article. If they actually cost $100,000, that might be close to reasonable. Somebody can probably do 5-6 rides a day at $50 a ride for a $100,000 tag. That's pretty believable for an average over a year. Even $200,000 might be. I have difficultly believing they're all making money needing 30 rides at ~$50 every day all yea…

Why are you assuming it must necessarily be paid for in the first year? Are they not keeping these plates indefinitely, unless sold?
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