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SuperShuttle is going out of business

latimes.com

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Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#81

Post by aiCeivi9 »

jhoechtl wrote: post #27

Another indication of the super-poor state of public transport in the US. This super-nation is so ridiculously behind in this regard in every aspect of development of public transport that you have to consider if the people in force have all their senses together.

Well it is a self-reinforcing loop. Cites are not designed for walking, there are huge areas used for parkings, the own car is really the only choice when there is no huge public transport network. And there won't be one when everyone has a car.

Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#82

Post by bruceb »

sokoloff wrote: post #77
therealmarv wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah but Lyft and Uber * are often forbidden directly at airport gates * you need an US sim phone card for phone apps. As a non US person I usually don't have that before traveling to the USA ;(

Or WiFi, which most airports have.

Wifi doesnt often work outside at airports, where you actually find and get in the car.

Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#83

Post by CalRobert »

sokoloff wrote: post #77
therealmarv wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah but Lyft and Uber * are often forbidden directly at airport gates * you need an US sim phone card for phone apps. As a non US person I usually don't have that before traveling to the USA ;(

Or WiFi, which most airports have.

Having tried this, it's dodgy at best. Wifi at the waiting areas is rare, especially since they're often located pretty far out at the behest of taxi companies.

At McCarran (LAS) I ended up just splitting a taxi cash with another guy from the queue after Defcon. Though considering the taxi driver _insisted_ on taking me to my terminal (for another $7 since he had to leave the airport and re-enter) I was annoyed I couldn't review him.

Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#84

Post by seanmcdirmid »

gwbas1c wrote: post #14

When I used to fly between SFO and Boston, I would always use Knights in Boston. They are a shared van service that often has 2-3 well-planned stops per ride. I did Supershuttle once, and the length of time it took for me to get home was absurd. All the other stops just made, what should be a 30 minute ride home, absurdly long. Good riddance. Supershuttle only made sense if you have a large group and can take up most…

Vans make sense if you have a toddler in a state without an occasional trip exception but with a transit van exception. Try getting a kid to an airport...sheesh. The bus is often the only option.

Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#85

Post by Aeolun »

awalton wrote: post #31

Let's face it, Ridesharing ate their lunch. I was a religious SuperShuttle user until Lyft showed up - it usually cost me roughly the same amount to take a Lyft shared, I didn't have to wait on the right van to show up, and instead of winding through taking a half dozen other people home first, it often takes me straight home, or at most with a couple of stops. It's a hard world for traditional scheduled taxiing to b…

I think the good part about taxis is that I do not have to summon them at all. There’s always a line waiting wherever I want to leave from (except at LAX, because they don’t understand the concept of taxis... seriously, who takes a shuttle to their taxi, that’s insane).

Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#87

Post by greggman2 »

dmix wrote: post #47
asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember one time my wife and I took the Super Shuttle home from SFO to Mountain View. It took about two hours since we were the last stop and in fact the shuttle went north a little first before turning south. That was the first and last time I used their service.

I love Lyft but I took a shared lyft for the first time and the driver did three circles around a busy block trying to find a GPS dot (that never moved) that was obviously on the other side of the street, and after an extra 10min jammed an extra person in the car when we hardly fit, despite our protests. That was the last time I took a shared ride.

I am curious how hard a problem it is for the system to figure out what side of the road the driver should be on. Could they put a little arrow or something in the UX so I could point to which side of the street I'm on? Ideally before I order the car so the dispatch algo can prioritize cars that are more likely to approach from the correct side.

If the street is busy it can be hard as a pedestrian to safely get to the other side of the street. I've also had drivers just go the wrong way like I was standing between Gough and and Octavia on Market maybe 10-15meters from Gough. The driver came down Gough and turned left on Market at which point I knew it would be > 10 minutes before they could make all the correct turns to get back to pick me up. I cancel the ride and was surprised the system didn't direct them better.

Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#88

Post by mackey »

Aeolun wrote: post #85
awalton wrote: post #31

Let's face it, Ridesharing ate their lunch. I was a religious SuperShuttle user until Lyft showed up - it usually cost me roughly the same amount to take a Lyft shared, I didn't have to wait on the right van to show up, and instead of winding through taking a half dozen other people home first, it often takes me straight home, or at most with a couple of stops. It's a hard world for traditional scheduled taxiing to b…

I think the good part about taxis is that I do not have to summon them at all. There’s always a line waiting wherever I want to leave from (except at LAX, because they don’t understand the concept of taxis... seriously, who takes a shuttle to their taxi, that’s insane).

That depends on the Airport and the time you arrive. I have definitely tried to take a taxi before only to be told "Big flight from XXX just arrived at terminal Z, they are routing all taxis there".

Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#89

Post by bpaddock »

Good. They almost killed my late wife and I. While we were on board I watched the Shuttle driver force a car up onto the side walk to avoid a collision. If anyone had been standing at that corner they would have been killed. That was only one incident in a half hour ride!

In LA I found it was cheaper to have a Limo on call than use a taxi and more reliable than the ride sharing services. The Limo driver made it seem more like a tour explaining the things we drove by, unlike they others that had no interest in anything other than our $.

Re: SuperShuttle is going out of business

#90

Post by qrbLPHiKpiux »

gramakri wrote: post #24

I use SuperShuttle pretty much all the time. I understand why the service is widely disliked. Most people expect a predictable shared ride with least surprises. The pick up is predictable but not the ride itself. Sometimes it's like 3-4 stops and the whole thing takes a long time. On the other hand, I have tried uber shared ride from airports and it's way worse (at SFO). The rides keep getting cancelled. Late at nigh…

> The rides keep getting cancelled.

And this should reflect in the driver/operator's reputation on Uber or Lyft.

Just like a physician's office keeping cancelling patients' appointments.

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