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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

#151

Post by decafninja »

askl wrote: post #126
someuser2345 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's your first time in a new city, you probably just want to get to your hotel as fast as possible instead of learning the transit system.

I've only traveled in Europe and Asia so far but this never looked like an issue to me. Also I'd also use the transit system for the following days in the city, so have to learn about it anyways. (Not that there's really anything to learn)

Lugging around luggage through buses and transit, especially if there are stairs involved, is not pleasant.

It’s not pleasant in cities with great transit like Tokyo or Seoul, and it’s downright miserable in most of the cities being discussed here in this thread.

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

#152

Post by werrett »

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…

You know that is a direct result from competition from rideshare alternatives, right?

Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, taxis always added an exciting extra frisson to any airport trip or evening date. Would they turn up at all? Would they turn up, honk their horn, and drive away if you didn't run out the door in under a minute? Were you going to be left stranded at the end of the night with a constantly engaged taxi call line? Leaving you to resort to calling friends and family to pick you up?

Perth taxis were some of the most expensive and hardest to book in all of my experiences around Australia, pretty much right up to the late 2010s, which unsurprisingly was a few years after Uber's entrance into the market.

If taxis are a better service than Uber now, that's great. We probably want to keep that competitive pressure to keep the bastards honest.

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

#153

Post by RomanPushkin »

My friend drives Red Cab in San Francisco. A couple of weeks ago he charged ~$500 from SFO airport to San Jose (taxi meter price). He informed the passenger, since he thought it's going to be too much for her, and gotten the response he shouldn't count her own money, and should just drive there, lol.

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

#154

Post by NoPicklez »

theshackleford wrote: post #78
mvdtnz wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone agrees with you that the situation was "unjust". And Uber is not the plucky underdog you're portraying them as. They built an empire on capital from the likes of Blackrock, JPMorgan, Softbank and other heavy hitters.

> Not everyone agrees with you that the situation was "unjust". More do, than don’t. You won’t find many shedding tears for the bullshit grift that was most of the Australian taxi industry. Good riddance to it and the completely terrible laws that allowed their nonsense to continue unabated for as long as it did.

Exactly.

Even if Uber had "Uber" funding, using Uber is a far better experience than using our Taxi services. Paying for and knowing how much your ride is going to cost before hand, using an app to be able to hail an Uber and see in real time as they're coming.

Just the basics they never had

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

#155

Post by aleku »

someuser2345 wrote: post #123
askl wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you even use a taxi for that? There seems to be a decent public transit connection. It costs $2.90 for that trip.

If it's your first time in a new city, you probably just want to get to your hotel as fast as possible instead of learning the transit system.

+1 to this. I did Heathrow to Bermondsey for £110 (first time in London). Then next morning, found myself wondering why I didn't just use the train. On the way out, I did use the train, and lets just say, I still think about that £110.

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

#156

Post by [deleted] »

rchaud wrote: post #109
jncfhnb wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they’re threatening

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.

[deleted]

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

#157

Post by somishere »

Atotalnoob wrote: post #147
somishere wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You are 100% right. Though this problem isn't unique to India by any means. In fact you often hear of sexual assault cases re. taxis and ride share going through the courts in Australia.

That said I've personally witnessed things "nearly" happen, and heard some harrowing tales besides, to / from lone women travelers in a number of countries throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The world is not a safe place for women.

As an aside, Singapore seems to be one of the outliers here. We saw a woman exercising at about midnight one night coming from the airport. Taxi driver told us it wasn't unusual, ostensibly thanks to capital punishment. No way you'd feel comfortable doing that in Australia.

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

#158

Post by Nursie »

dahdum wrote: post #93
Nursie wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The taxi firms lost income because it wasn't a level playing field. They played by the rules where Uber's well-known modus operandi in many countries was to skirt the rules or downright ignore them, while using billions of dollars of investor money to undercut the market. I'm glad they exist to shake up the taxi market, and the rules changes were probably overdue. But I'm also glad uber got fined, because they behave…

Did you take many taxis before Uber/Lyft? It was an adversarial relationship - your taxi driver would try their very best (they practice every day!) to rip you off any which way they can. Their lobby stopped any competition or reform, and they exploited the most vulnerable. I have no sympathy at all for the taxi cartels - only their victims.

I did - this doesn't match my experience at all.

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

#159

Post by mrgoldenbrown »

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…

In Boston they peaked at selling for well over 500k. Your math assume drivers purchase them, but most drivers here would lease them.

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

#160

Post by mrgoldenbrown »

dahdum wrote: post #93
Nursie wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The taxi firms lost income because it wasn't a level playing field. They played by the rules where Uber's well-known modus operandi in many countries was to skirt the rules or downright ignore them, while using billions of dollars of investor money to undercut the market. I'm glad they exist to shake up the taxi market, and the rules changes were probably overdue. But I'm also glad uber got fined, because they behave…

Did you take many taxis before Uber/Lyft? It was an adversarial relationship - your taxi driver would try their very best (they practice every day!) to rip you off any which way they can. Their lobby stopped any competition or reform, and they exploited the most vulnerable. I have no sympathy at all for the taxi cartels - only their victims.

IME, Uber is universally sketchy, whereas cab company/cartel sketchiness varies by city.

"Their lobby stopped any competition or reform, and they exploited the most vulnerable." applies to both Uber and cab cartels.

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