Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

pando.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 143 posts

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#81

Post by brianwawok »

ardit33 wrote: post #19
discardorama wrote: post #15

If my recent experience is anything, Uber needs some serious regulation. I live in SF, and was flying out of OAK. I had used Uber only once before, a long time ago; but this time, I suggested to the wife that we use Uber again. We had to leave SF at 7:15AM - 7:30AM or so. Around 7:15 I pulled up the app, and saw that there were several cars around (as they usually are). I requested an UberX; punched in the destinatio…

If you live in NYC, cabs always refuse people to go to Brooklyn/Queens/Unwanted destination, eve though it is illegal to do so. The usual excuse: I am going out of my shift, and can't go that way. (this can be legit, but often it is not). Next time don't enter your destination address, so the driver doesn't know where you go, and once you are in the car it is much harder for them to refuse you.

Had this happen a lot in Chicago too with normal cabs.

if the market was really busy and I wanted to go 3 miles away from the crowds, sorry the cabbie had to end his shift and couldn't take me. If it was a nice and quiet night, I would get the same ride no problem.

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#82

Post by tedunangst »

smokeyj wrote: post #71
DanBC wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Luckily food supply is heavily regulated and regulators take cross contamination seriously. Contact your regulators. If you're going to snark you should at least pick a good example.

I meant on my burger. It really left a bad taste in my mouth.

Your mouth is defective. Pickles and mustard are great.

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#83

Post by Swizec »

dylz wrote: post #59
discardorama wrote: post #15

If my recent experience is anything, Uber needs some serious regulation. I live in SF, and was flying out of OAK. I had used Uber only once before, a long time ago; but this time, I suggested to the wife that we use Uber again. We had to leave SF at 7:15AM - 7:30AM or so. Around 7:15 I pulled up the app, and saw that there were several cars around (as they usually are). I requested an UberX; punched in the destinatio…

I'm more concerned with why uber/lyft/etc are so popular. They wouldn't be as big as it was if the existing system wasn't literally awful, as someone in SF -- if I wanted a '''real''' taxi, it has a chance to not bother coming several hours later more than anything. And then intentionally taking roundabout routes just to fuck me out of even more fare. And at Santa Ana Metrolink, I had 'taxi' drivers effectively try s…

Personally the main reason I hate cabs, especially in SF, is that most of them feel dirty, old, and not well maintenanced. When you sit inside everything is kind of rattly and broken, things are sometimes duct taped together, the whole car gives you a grimey feeling.

I've never once had that with Uber. All cars are fairly new and super shiny. When I sit in an Uber I always feel the car is well maintained and clean etc. There's no grimeyness.

And when I call an Uber, I know when it's coming. After the ride is done, I get a receipt that shows the exact route and so on. It's really neat.

Cabs on the other hand are a black hole. I call a cab and it's theoretically on the way, but I have no way of knowing and there's no indication on how far it is and when it's coming. After I pay for it, the money goes into a black hole and other than a small piece of paper that I lose after two minutes, there is no indication of it happening or how much I paid.

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#84

Post by Dylan16807 »

edent wrote: post #70
moey wrote: post #46

I've got mixed feelings. At one end, I think it's perfectly reasonable for the state to require more insurance coverage for Uber drivers since there will be more risk involved than a regular driver. Background checks required by state? That's Uber's job to decide, and they do it anyway. If Uber doesn't do background checks, and there are incidents (even a small number) it will hurt their business at the end of the da…

> If Uber doesn't do background checks, and there are incidents (even a small number) it will hurt their business at the end of the day. I really hate this mode of thinking. What's wrong with preventing incidents? A background check isn't going to weed out 100% of muggers, rapists, or Enron Executives - but it will likely reduce the number of muggings, rapings, and fraud. Your argument is basically "There's no need t…

>What's wrong with preventing incidents?

Privacy issues and companies making hiring decisions on non-work-relevant personal life choices.

Do you support background checks for all jobs? Nothing you said is specific to Uber. But there's a reason companies can't ask if you have children, etc.

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#85

Post by 51Cards »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #66
mahouse wrote: post #6

How despotic! Lawmakers demanding background checks and insurance from taxi drivers! This is outrageous. Where is muh freedom? I want to be able to hire a taxi with a rapist driver! http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/...

Background checks aren't demanded for a thousand other jobs. An evil person could be hiding almost anywhere. What makes cabs special?

Seems fairly straight forward... you're alone (generally), in a moving vehicle, under the control of a stranger.

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#86

Post by vtlynch »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #66
mahouse wrote: post #6

How despotic! Lawmakers demanding background checks and insurance from taxi drivers! This is outrageous. Where is muh freedom? I want to be able to hire a taxi with a rapist driver! http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/...

Background checks aren't demanded for a thousand other jobs. An evil person could be hiding almost anywhere. What makes cabs special?

They are often required for jobs that may directly put other people in danger. If you are getting into the backseat of a Uber you don't want the driver to be someone who has had DUIs or a history of dangerous driving.

Hairdressers and other similar jobs are indeed regulated in this way - you dont want your ear getting cut off do you?

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#87

Post by jlmorton »

discardorama wrote: post #60
fernandotakai wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's strange -- as far as i know, the uber driver will only know your destination after they pick you up (so they cannot do this kind of thing). uber's feature page also say that https://www.uber.com/features -- "After pickup, we show the driver where you’re going..." I also spoke with the drivers I used here in são paulo and they said the same thing: they only get the destination after the pickup and they only get…

I spoke to the driver, as he was loading the suitcase. He clearly knew the destination, even before the ride had started.

Sorry, that's not possible. Drivers are not shown the destination until they begin the ride - the point where it begins billing you, and begins showing your pickup location in the map they email you immediately concluding your ride.

This is not an automatic process that can go wrong. And indeed, for anyone who has used Uber any number of times, this is immediately obvious.

Perhaps your driver surmised from your suitcase where you were going?

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#88

Post by Meiscooldude »

I can't really say anything about this situation. But I can definitely attest to my current relationship with Uber, and my previous relationship with Kansas.

I grew up in Kansas. Many times, the government attempted to teach me Intelligent Design and I was always given the option of opting out of being taught Evolution.

Sodomy is still illegal for any non-strait married couple. While not enforced, it is still a Class C Misdemeanor. Just the to let everyone know the governments feelings on homosexual couples.

Only 17 counties are allowed to have liquor stores, and there are 28 counties that are completely dry. (Dry counties have on average more drunk driving crashes compared to wet due to people driving further for a drink)

Thanks to the DARE program there, I grew up thinking Marijuana was more dangerous and addictive than Meth or Cocaine. (Meth is a much bigger problem in Kansas)

The legal system there is very much Guilty till proven innocent, they bully people into signing plea bargains.

I can attest... Kansas is backwards. So, I left too.. to Colorado.

Uber on the other hand, has been nothing but a blessing. Its fantastic. My girlfriend and I love it. Its cheaper than a cab here in Denver. Cheaper than driving (due to parking costs). My girlfriend and I have always felt safe.

If you disagree with Uber. Go live in Kansas for 22 years and tell me the state isn't backwards.

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#89

Post by chimeracoder »

mirashii wrote: post #77
chimeracoder wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Surge pricing" is no more a scam than any other market-based pricing mechanism. Surge pricing on an unknown fare (metered) is actually quite ridiculous. For contrast, when I order a Lyft line in Manhattan, it gives me an exact price quote ( not an estimate, but the exact quote) before I order the ride, taking all surges into account. This means I have perfect knowledge of what the price is going to be before I dec…

> but it's clear to me that this is at least where Lyft is headed The opposite is actually clear to me. Lyft in SF previously had the functionality you describe Uber in Manhattan having. You put your destination in, it gives you an exact price, you decide whether to call it. When Lyft Line (the carpooling variant) was introduced, that feature was actually removed, and now with a standard Lyft ride there is no way to…

> Point of all of this being, it's not clear to me that either company is committed to providing or not providing price quotes.

Point taken. I'm willing to believe that Lyft may not be committed to providing price quotes. But there's at least ambiguity there, whereas it's very clear that Uber does not want to provide exact quotes. If they did, they would have in London and avoided the expensive, multi-year legal and PR battle that they're engaged in there.

How much do you think this protracted battle has cost them over the years, both explicitly (PR firms and lawyers) and implicitly (opportunity cost of lost revenues from additional rides)? Whatever it is, it's a high number, and Uber has decided that not providing price quotes is worth even more[0].

> Uber also does do fare estimates on UberX and other rides.

An estimate is simply lead-generation for them, not a quote. They are not committing to charge me the price they estimate. As the consumer, I still do not know what the ride will actually cost until I am already on the hook to pay for it.

[0] It's not even a tough actuarial problem to solve at Uber's scale, which is why it's such a glaring omission, in addition to the example from London.

Re: Uber leaves Kansas after lawmakers demand background checks and more insurance

#90

Post by amyjess »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #84
edent wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Uber doesn't do background checks, and there are incidents (even a small number) it will hurt their business at the end of the day. I really hate this mode of thinking. What's wrong with preventing incidents? A background check isn't going to weed out 100% of muggers, rapists, or Enron Executives - but it will likely reduce the number of muggings, rapings, and fraud. Your argument is basically "There's no need t…

>What's wrong with preventing incidents? Privacy issues and companies making hiring decisions on non-work-relevant personal life choices. Do you support background checks for all jobs? Nothing you said is specific to Uber. But there's a reason companies can't ask if you have children, etc.

> Do you support background checks for all jobs?

Yes. Yes, I do.

I'm female, and on top of that, I'm part of a group that is exceptionally vulnerable to hate crimes. I'm glad I work at an company where I don't have to worry about a co-worker being a known rapist.

Post reply on HN