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SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

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Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not the person you were asking, but that would really depend. It costs $18 to take the caltrain both ways from San Jose, and I could see uber being cheaper if he both lives and works in Santa Clara, for example.

Why would you compare a Caltrain fare from SJ to SF to an Uber ride within Santa Clara (especially when there's only one Caltrain station within Santa Clara's city limits, so it's unlikely that he'd take Caltrain if he were staying in Santa Clara) It would cost $60 - $80 for a one-way Uber trip from San Jose to SF, Caltrain would be around $16/day with a discounted 8-ride ticket, around $10.50 per day if you use a Ca…

No, my point was that riding Uber to work can be cheaper than public transport depending on where he lived). I think he gave a clearer answer as a reply.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#162
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps this one: http://time.com/3693737/uber-new-delhi-india-rape-case/ > The new screening process will include requiring address verification, a local criminal court search and a national criminal database search makes it sound like their previous background check did not include, "has this driver been convicted of sexual assault before?" This particular driver had indeed been previously found guilty of sexual as…

Sounds like you've got some sort of agenda to push. I've never had a job ask me if I've been convicted of sexual assault, and if anyone was going to be asked, you would think it would be someone with the last name Dildonics.

Does your job involve being alone with strangers in a situation where you control their environment? Cabs, car shares, etc. are a somewhat special situation as they routinely deal with people who aren't familiar with the area, operate at times without many witnesses around, and often get people who are at higher risk (drunk, sick, physically impaired, etc.), and they control the route, ability to leave the vehicle, etc.

It's not quite as bad as, say, child care but requiring stricter background checks really doesn't seem like an unreasonable expectation.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#163
post #98
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The taxis themselves are basically fine. Probably (potentially?) cleaner than uber imo: leather seats are way easier to clean than cloth, and most ubers I've ridden in have cloth seats. Taxis tend to be unhappy if you pay with a card, but telling them they'll accept a card or nothing generally works. The problem is taxis just don't come. There are relatively few areas of sf and times where you can reasonably street h…

I haven't used Uber a lot, but when I have the drivers universally love it. I've had them spend an entire 20 minute trip telling me how much the love Uber and how great it is to work for/with them. Are they really exploitative or is this just perception from outsiders?

Yeah but they lie about how much they like it. I mean, nobody likes a downer, and they need to get rated well so they can keep their ratings high enough to keep driving. You think you'd rate them perfectly if they complained about driving for Uber the whole ride? Plenty of articles online and forums online show how unhappy the drivers really are. don't trust what they tell you when you're paying them and their tip and ranking are tied to what they tell you about how much they like it.

source: Know a few people who drive for Uber AND Lyft, they all like working for lyft a lot more

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never had any of these experiences when riding in cabs. The cars were always ok, the drivers were polite and well spoken, they took direct routes and never demanded cash. I use Uber for one simple reason: It's 30% cheaper than a cab. It isn't the quality of the cars, the personality of the drivers or the nature of the service. All of those things vary from case to case for every transportation service. Uber's on…

Uber is sometimes more convenient and sometimes not. Downtown Chicago, NYC, or DC, it's more convenient hail the cab already driving by you. In the burbs Uber is more convenient. From Union Station in DC I take Uber, even though the cab line is way more convenient. It's about 40% cheaper accounting for no tip. Silicom Valley subsidizes my morning commute!

Agree. In Chicago, cab drivers tend to know the city better simply because uber drivers tend to be part time. But I take uber to and from the suburbs a lot and that just wasn't an option before uber

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#166
post #134
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Who cares about knowledge of city streets? Funny story: for a while in SF, the taxi union (?) was running ads that were thinly veiled attacks on Uber/Lyft. One of them showed a smiling taxi driver with the caption "would you rather have a driver who knows the city by heart or by GPS?" I found it particularly hilarious because the answer, for me at least, is GPS with live traffic information. Just another example of…

In London I actually find the opposite. I like Uber and the convenience, but all the drivers are foreign and don't know their way around. More than 3 times I've been taken a hugely longer way round because the driver blindly followed the terrible Uber GPS, literally adding 15-20 minutes to the journey for no reason. Sure, I can get some of the cash back (and it is super easy to do so) but I would like for them just t…

London taxi drivers are a massive outlier, though. They are world famous for their knowledge and expertise. It's not really relevant to compare them to anything outside London.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#167
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't used Uber a lot, but when I have the drivers universally love it. I've had them spend an entire 20 minute trip telling me how much the love Uber and how great it is to work for/with them. Are they really exploitative or is this just perception from outsiders?

Yeah but they lie about how much they like it. I mean, nobody likes a downer, and they need to get rated well so they can keep their ratings high enough to keep driving. You think you'd rate them perfectly if they complained about driving for Uber the whole ride? Plenty of articles online and forums online show how unhappy the drivers really are. don't trust what they tell you when you're paying them and their tip an…

What tip?

This was genuine. I certainly wouldn't expect them to conplain, but nobody fakes spontaneously talking about how much they love their job for twenty minutes.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#168
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's easier to go with someone who wants my business than to try to force someone who doesn't want it to take me anyway.

I just wouldn't ask in the first place.

That's just another (better) way to force them.

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#169

Too bad, so sad... If they hadn't allowed their service to get so horrible, with nasty old cars, drivers that don't speak English and drive around in circles to increase fares, drivers claiming their card readers are "broken" so you have to pay cash, taking an hour to show up when called, passing by black people, etc., then this wouldn't be happening. From the article: "Cab drivers, on the other hand, maintain that t…

>Who cares about knowledge of city streets? Haven't they heard of Google Maps and Waze and GPS?

I take it you don't actually live in a city

Re: SF Yellow Cab to file for bankruptcy

#170
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Who cares about knowledge of city streets? Funny story: for a while in SF, the taxi union (?) was running ads that were thinly veiled attacks on Uber/Lyft. One of them showed a smiling taxi driver with the caption "would you rather have a driver who knows the city by heart or by GPS?" I found it particularly hilarious because the answer, for me at least, is GPS with live traffic information. Just another example of…

GPS still doesn't beat a good driver 9 out of 10 times for city driving. Uber drives consistently miss exits, head down clearly mistaken paths created by GPS errors, sit there staring at the GPS rather than the road I uber to work everyday and 90% of the time the uber driver blindly follows GPS through an alley that isn't really meant for traffic, ignoring the much simpler and faster route that whatever GPS uber uses…

I absolutely agree. This is compounded if you take UberPOOL because the driver is expected to follow the GPS route (for multiple pick ups to work).

If you give me a clean car, reliability, and a driver who knows the city, I'd gladly get a taxi even if it's maybe 15 to 20% more.

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