Introducing UberTAXI • Hacker News Board

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#31

Post by untog » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 1:21 PM UTC

pisarzp wrote: post #11

JackWebbHeller wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually it follows the same fare rate as the taxis themselves, plus 5% extra to Uber for the convenience of the service. Fare info: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/taxis-and-minicabs/taxi-fares?ci...

which is much more expensive than UberX. Black cabs in London are just ripoff. I love Uber and I hope it will continue to disrupt it with UberX and low prices, not support Black Cabs.

The training given to London cab drivers makes this especially ironic - UberTAXI should appear above UberX in their service list. It's a more premium service.

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#32

Post by Thasc » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 1:31 PM UTC

QuadDamaged wrote: post #13

Good timing, because in about 1 hour from now, at 14:00 BST / 13:00 UTC (as if there were such a thing as British Summer), the London Black Cabs will stage a protest that will gridlock London. Not that anyone stuck in London traffic will be able to tell the difference. Article from the Beeb: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27783218 edit: DST is hard

Just popped down. Complete gridlock all the way from Trafalgar Square through Parliament Square and beyond. The air is saturated by beeping taxi horns, and it's hot as hell.

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#33

Post by goatforce5 » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 1:40 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #31

pisarzp wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

which is much more expensive than UberX. Black cabs in London are just ripoff. I love Uber and I hope it will continue to disrupt it with UberX and low prices, not support Black Cabs.

The training given to London cab drivers makes this especially ironic - UberTAXI should appear above UberX in their service list. It's a more premium service.

It takes an average London cabbie 34 months of preparation and 12 attempts to pass the test to get their license:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_the_United_Kingdom#...

There was a shortcut on a route that I used to regularly take in London, so i'd tell them "Don't go to the lights, just turn down here". I think I had fare meters stopped out of appreciation on 3 occasions after sharing that tip. Showing a London cabbie a new shortcut totally blows their minds.

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#34

Post by ramongarcia » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 1:48 PM UTC

European techies should favor Hailo over Uber if they ever have hopes of a real startup ecosystem ever blooming in this side of the world. The startup scene can't afford to see it fail.

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#35

Post by Shivetya » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 1:57 PM UTC

QuadDamaged wrote: post #13

Good timing, because in about 1 hour from now, at 14:00 BST / 13:00 UTC (as if there were such a thing as British Summer), the London Black Cabs will stage a protest that will gridlock London. Not that anyone stuck in London traffic will be able to tell the difference. Article from the Beeb: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27783218 edit: DST is hard

and here come calls for a union of all taxi drivers nationwide in the US

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/07/business/pinched-by-ride-s...

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#36

Post by driverdan » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 2:00 PM UTC

izolate wrote: post #10

As a non Uber customer, why would I use this over Hailo? And why would Uber customers opt for a more expensive taxi when the same application has a cheaper option? When I use black cabs here in London, I'd much rather use an established and local product from a company with less questionable ethics. That's Hailo.

> ...from a company with less questionable ethics

Ok, I'll bite. What is questionable about Uber's ethics?

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#37

Post by itstriz » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 2:06 PM UTC

JackWebbHeller wrote: post #2

> "We recognise the unique heritage and value of traditional black cabs when it comes to getting around. UberTAXI is another way of using technology to offer more choice, making life simpler and keeping London moving" If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

In Chicago some licensed cab drivers use Uber to process their payments with the Uber Taxi service. You can call a cab with the app, pay the normal fare plus 20% gratuity and a small service fee. I don't use cabs often, but it's working out way better for me than when I used to call dispatch and maybe the cab would show up and maybe it wouldn't. It's also really nice to be able to just get in and get out without wasting time dealing with payments. The drivers that I've spoken to seem to like it as well as it gets them more fares.

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#38

Post by Irishsteve » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 2:11 PM UTC

Taxis in a lot of big euro cities are on strike at the moment because of what they deem unlicensed taxi services. Uber is being mentioned specifically. So while it's good for uber that they are announcing new services id much rather they sort my problem of spending a few extra hours getting to airport and a few more extra hours getting out of the airport today

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#39

Post by mayneack » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 2:23 PM UTC

eli wrote: post #12

They've been doing this in DC for several years. It seems to work, more or less. I think there are more cabs on Hailo if that's what you want. Some cab drivers are extremely anti-Uber.

I haven't tried Hailo, but in Boston the uber cabs have never felt scarce to me.

Re: Introducing UberTAXI

#40

Post by wyager » Wed, Jun 11, 2014, 2:43 PM UTC

theklub wrote: post #28

I find the rise of Uber fanboys very interesting. Is it real or are they bots?

I'm real. Uber is 100x better than normal taxi services. The cars don't suck or smell bad, the drivers aren't assholes, and the fares are reasonable. That is completely orthogonal to my experiences in any taxi.