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

The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 103 posts

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#51

Post by BoorishBears »

abirch wrote: post #11
yupper32 wrote: post #6

It's also important to realize that the reason Uber and Lyft were able to crush the taxi industry is in part because the taxi industry was absolutely horrible to consumers. The simple act of being able to know what I'm going to be charged beforehand, and know that the driver has little ability to scam me out of as much money as they can extract from me at my destination made Uber and Lyft SO much better. That should…

I'm old enough to remember calling a taxi company the day before a flight to arrange a pickup at my place for 5:30. Then calling them again 5:00 the day of the flight and them telling me that the one guy didn't come in so now they couldn't pick me up until 7 -- My flight departure time! Then me frantically calling other taxi companies. I had to skip my shower. They seemed to hate their customers

This is a funny thread because Uber at least has started doing both these things.

Uber will show a message saying you won't see the fare until there's a ride. Their FAQ claims it can happen if you hail faster than they can calculate a price, but it happens awfully often to me.

I've also noticed their scheduled rides are really unreliable. They seem to start searching way too late, and I've almost missed a flight over them not finding an available car in Miami of all cities...

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#52

Post by rr888 »

gernb wrote: post #17
ciguy wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've taken cabs all over the world in the pre Uber days (Literally, like 60+ countries on 5 continents). I can count the number of normal or pleasant experiences I had in a cab on one hand, out of HUNDREDS of rides. Not all cab drivers are/were asshole scammers but I have a decent sample size and can confidently say at least 95% or more were. I have zero sympathy for any of them. The cab industry as it was pre Uber n…

I've had zero trouble with taxis in Japan and Singapore. In Singapore they even had hailing apps long before Uber and they worked just fine. I believe London taxis also have a good rep but haven't use them. On the other hand I've had criminal experiences in Istanbul and Rome and non-pleasent experiences in LA and SF.

> London taxis also have a good rep

Yes black cabs are great, but the cost is so high most people take mini-cabs which aren't.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#53

Post by gryn »

agumonkey wrote: post #34
mulmen wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber did exactly this to a friend of mine just a couple months ago. Except they didn't even offer the 7am pickup. They just cancelled the ride 15 minutes before the pickup.

Uber, once the taxi killer, soon the exact swap-in replacement :)

just like online streaming promised to replace the tv, now more and more a drop-in replace for it in a (not so) different distribution technology.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#54

Post by davidgay »

gernb wrote: post #35
yupper32 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if a person has just gotten done working for a candidate or someone in office, they should be barred from private industry until they are politically irrelevant. Wait why? There's already such little incentive to get into public service. The pay is certainly garbage. Hell, the top position in the US government only pays $400k. Who is going to want to work in government if we get rid of the ability for them to trans…

While it's true that you can make more money elsewhere, lots of people take jobs for reasons other than money. As one example, nearly every game programmer I know could be making a ton more outside games but they don't leave game dev. The reason you're supposedly supposed to get into public service is because you want to serve the public. I know it's being naive on top of being fiction but it reminds me of this ep fr…

> The reason you're supposedly supposed to get into public service is because you want to serve the public.

So we should artificially restrict the supply of talent for one of our society’s most important jobs?

That means you’re likely to get at least some combination of

- less competent people

- independently-wealthy people, who are I’m sure completely unbiased and objective

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#55

Post by dang »

Recent and related:

Emmanuel Macron aided Uber lobbying drive in France, leak reveals - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32054380 - July 2022 (21 comments)

Uber told staff to use ‘kill switch’ during raids to stop police seeing data - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32051364 - July 2022 (35 comments)

‘Hit the kill switch’: Uber used covert tech to thwart government raids - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32046559 - July 2022 (8 comments)

Uber broke laws, duped police and built lobbying operation, leak reveals - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32045906 - July 2022 (500 comments)

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#56

Post by tsian2 »

nostromo wrote: post #14
yupper32 wrote: post #6

It's also important to realize that the reason Uber and Lyft were able to crush the taxi industry is in part because the taxi industry was absolutely horrible to consumers. The simple act of being able to know what I'm going to be charged beforehand, and know that the driver has little ability to scam me out of as much money as they can extract from me at my destination made Uber and Lyft SO much better. That should…

It's funny though: cabs have gotten better and Uber has gotten worse. I've switched back to taking cabs from the airport. Ubers are slower (cabs are sitting there just waiting) and much, much expensive now (like 2x the cost of a cab). The product isn't any better anymore. The cars are rundown and often smelly. It is nice to be able to put in an address and not deal with a credit card payment at the destination -- but…

My local taxi companies will text you a link which allows you to pay online, so you can pay on the way to the destination. I usually just call and say "taxi from A to B please" before putting my shoes on, because in my experience apps are more hassle.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#57

Post by gurchik »

bonzini wrote: post #50
hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #36

Completely unrelated to Uber but I wish I could hear a similar confession from Bill Gates before I die. The amount of greyish and plain bad things in the 90s and early 20s he is responsible for is enormous. Still, no single "I'm sorry, what we did at that time was wrong."

Oh no, please no more COVID crap...

> in the 90s and early 20s

What about COVID?

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#58

Post by DragonStrength »

dahdum wrote: post #48
throwyawayyyy wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't realise this until going through JFK recently. Cabs: no wait, fixed price, professional driver. Uber: long wait, twice as expensive, driver and car a complete crap-shoot. Feels like the economies of scale only work when you own the taxi fleet itself. I.e. you have dedicated mechanics etc etc. As soon as the consumer has to pay the true price of a taxi ride, Uber crumbles. There's another world in which Uber…

If the cabs are half the price of a rideshare and they have typically have to wait in those long taxi lines before a fare, how are those drivers not the ones being more exploited? Lyft/Uber take 20-25% of the fare, so the ride share drivers are making more on the trip. They have variable vehicle upkeep costs, but taxi drivers renting medallions and the vehicles are hardly better off.

Many criticize the state and local officials who profited (or generated tax revenue) from exploiting those in the medallion system. My understanding is we are seeing a reformed taxi system on the other side of a truly horrible bottom, especially for those who bought the grossly inflated medallions. That the taxi system is/was exploitative and that ride share is/was exploitative are not exclusive though.

Ref:

- Overview: https://documentedny.com/2021/11/23/taxi-cab-medallion-expla...

- NY govt role: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/19/nyregion/taxi-medallions....

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#59

Post by agumonkey »

gryn wrote: post #53
agumonkey wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber, once the taxi killer, soon the exact swap-in replacement :)

just like online streaming promised to replace the tv, now more and more a drop-in replace for it in a (not so) different distribution technology.

Yeah, it removed the linear time constraints but it's just a TV.

Re: The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

#60

Post by logicalmonster »

There are some problems in life that cannot be solved by begging for permission, but by going ahead and then asking for forgiveness.

There is no legal way that the taxi cartel could have ever been challenged without some company like Uber just ramming it through regardless of the technical legality of certain actions. Insofar as they didn't steal from customers, them taking down the taxi cartel is arguably a public service that should be forgiven and applauded.

Post reply on HN