I have no sympathy for the SF taxi industry. I can't count the number of times I was left stranded at 2 AM on a friday or saturday night, having to walk home in the rain. It's about time.
Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
31–40 of 49 posts
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#32The agency...required electronic information systems in all cabs and encouraged the use of dispatching apps. Most cabs now use electronic hailing apps similar to what the ride services offer. So it took some healthy competition from startups to get the Taxi industry to actually improve their product? Next, I'd like startups to tackle banks, insurance, hospitals, airlines, and nearly every other established industry.
Meanwhile, outside the Valley, across the ocean, five years ago, some regular taxi companies where I lived launched hailing apps, all on their own. No startups required. Maybe the competition was stronger?
Where is that? Would be interesting to know how Uber is doing in that market.
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#33"decimate", so they reduced it by 10%?
Interestingly, asking Google to define "decimate" returns a modern definition, "kill, destroy, or remove a large percentage or part of", and a historical one, "kill one in every ten of (a group of soldiers or others) as a punishment for the whole group". The English language has apparently moved on.
Certain uneducated users of the language may have 'moved on'.
Doesn't mean the rest of us should encourage this misuse.
The word devastate much better suits the intent here, which would leave decimate to continue meaning something quite specific (and useful).
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#34Here is the best I can find on the clean air standards. I think pushing taxi companies to use hybrids, all electric, natural gas vehicles, etc.
http://www.sfmta.com/about-sfmta/blog/sf%E2%80%99s-taxis-can...
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#35"decimate", so they reduced it by 10%?
Don't be fatuous; you knew exactly what he meant. Pretending to be an idiot makes you look like one.
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#36The agency...required electronic information systems in all cabs and encouraged the use of dispatching apps. Most cabs now use electronic hailing apps similar to what the ride services offer. So it took some healthy competition from startups to get the Taxi industry to actually improve their product? Next, I'd like startups to tackle banks, insurance, hospitals, airlines, and nearly every other established industry.
The only industries that won't be demolished and rebuilt, are those in which it's nearly impossible to compete by design / by law, or for which there isn't a great business opportunity.
Nobody will be disrupting JP Morgan this century. That's by dictate of the US Government that will never let go of its direct control over the financial industry. Try and you won't be tangling with some annoying city board.
Airlines won't get disrupted until new technology comes on line to make it drastically less expensive, or something like Hyperloop is built. The problem there is not lack of competition. Not to mention, software is already sucking the best profits out of that industry: Priceline & Co. The airlines are the commodity box makers to Priceline's Windows.
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Amen to that. Living here in SF, the customer service aspect of cabs is appalling. I'm tired of getting dirty looks for paying with a credit card, having cabs with their light on and nobody in them drive right by me, playing the "where are you going" game, drivers talking on phones, and general surliness. The day the industry unionized, that pushed me over the edge. I'm now 100% using Uber to get around and my only r…
Don't forget: Uber and Uber's drivers have been responsible for children's deaths, interfering with the normal course of competitor's business, stuffing blind persons' service dogs in the trunk, price gouging during states of emergencies. All on top of a proprietary, unpublished 'surge pricing' algorithm. I know you think taxis are the devil, but Uber's behavior as a parent company has been downright heinous. Persona…
Not sure why you're being downvoted a bunch for this post (seems like you're just stating facts that have happened, as well as your opinions, albeit in a somewhat negatively biased tone, but nothing out of reason).
So here's an upvote. I'd forgotten and/or downplayed these issues and your post made me reconsider and start using Lyft for the first time (been lazy thus far), so thanks for your post. :)
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#38Usually I feel bad for traditional businesses quickly displaced by emerging startups. However, I've been in too many cabs where the driver is constantly on the phone while driving, abusing the speed limit, slamming on the breaks every 8 seconds, foul odors, dirty vehicles, roundabout routes, the list goes on. Good riddance.
Agreed on all the above behaviors. The sf taxi system is abysmal. I was on crutches for 9 months and they made getting to work hell [1]. Between their unwillingness to tell you if they're actually going to come get you and their inability to keep to anything like their estimates, they treat customers terribly. Hell, people jumped to uber when you used to pay significantly more, just to avoid sf taxis.
Some cab drivers were nice, but they simply aren't part of a functioning transport system in sf.
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Amen to that. Living here in SF, the customer service aspect of cabs is appalling. I'm tired of getting dirty looks for paying with a credit card, having cabs with their light on and nobody in them drive right by me, playing the "where are you going" game, drivers talking on phones, and general surliness. The day the industry unionized, that pushed me over the edge. I'm now 100% using Uber to get around and my only r…
Don't forget: Uber and Uber's drivers have been responsible for children's deaths, interfering with the normal course of competitor's business, stuffing blind persons' service dogs in the trunk, price gouging during states of emergencies. All on top of a proprietary, unpublished 'surge pricing' algorithm. I know you think taxis are the devil, but Uber's behavior as a parent company has been downright heinous. Persona…
Uber's recently disclosed behavior has been incredibly disappointing. I still have fond feelings about them for their original innovation (a taxi that came! How fucking remarkable exactly nowhere but in san francisco.) But the way they comport themselves to their competitors and drivers makes it tough to continue using them. I just installed lyft.
Re: Ride services decimate S.F. taxi industry's business
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't forget: Uber and Uber's drivers have been responsible for children's deaths, interfering with the normal course of competitor's business, stuffing blind persons' service dogs in the trunk, price gouging during states of emergencies. All on top of a proprietary, unpublished 'surge pricing' algorithm. I know you think taxis are the devil, but Uber's behavior as a parent company has been downright heinous. Persona…
Not sure why you're being downvoted a bunch for this post (seems like you're just stating facts that have happened, as well as your opinions, albeit in a somewhat negatively biased tone, but nothing out of reason). So here's an upvote. I'd forgotten and/or downplayed these issues and your post made me reconsider and start using Lyft for the first time (been lazy thus far), so thanks for your post. :)
Thank you! I've been watching the downvotes, too, and wondering the same thing! Cynical lolwutf wants to think it's tied to yet-another-overly-aggressive Uber suborg, but who knows.
Glad to provide the perspective! Thanks for the upvote.