811–820 of 916 posts
Why are they assuming the higher price results from supply rather than demand? Seems like a no brainer that waymo will trounce drivers on price once adequately scaled
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> Why would you want to continue using a service that is ripping you off? For the same reason that I'm going to continue using Uber despite them ripping other people off, as described in this very thread. People systematically overweight their own negative experiences and underweight those of others; I believe that every single negative story about Lyft and Uber I've read in this thread is likely to be true. In other…
I have many times walked home when I didn’t trust the bus timetable or the taxi equivalent. Always expected to get mugged but it hasn’t happened yet. I guess people often think someone walking is someone to not be messed with. Very place dependent obviously
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Why do you assume the surveillance will go away as they become cheaper? The taxi company know who is in their car and they have access to interior cameras if something happens. In many respects, it is going to be even more difficult to take a dump in one and get away with it than if a human was driving it. They have your credit card number and visual evidence of what you did, they will just charge your card automatic…
Because if they ever become super popular, it will be prohibitively expensive to actually police all the surveillance. Likely to store / process it all. AI does an alright job summarizing videos today (Gemini Flash) but it has to get a lot better if they're going to actually police at scale.
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I paid extra and scheduled an Uber with a child seat. After waiting 30 minutes, when the car showed up, there was no car seat so the driver canceled right away and drove off. Lesson learned.
I'm pretty sure by now the various "classes" of service offered by Lyft and Uber are instead just ways for the customer to donate money to Lyft and Uber. There's no difference in what kind of yahoo shows up in what kind of beater.
In my experience in west europe, booking a uber XL you usually get a full size van (vw caravelle/multivan, Mercedes v-class or a bigger Renault Trafic) with usually 7 to available seats.
Booking a uberXL in Mexico City gets you a miniSUV with only 4 available seats and if you get too much checked luggage it goes on a roof rack.
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The original story was that your friend gave Uber the wrong address, and the Uber refused to take them onward after that, even for more money. Now the story is that the Uber intentionally took them to the wrong address, and then offered to take them onward in an attempt to extort more money. Those are completely different stories! Which is it?
it’s also just so premised on a ridiculous fantasy of how urban america functions
I can tell you that urban (and suburban) areas in the US can be quite ... interesting. Where I live (NY suburbs), it's not difficult to be in gang areas, about fifteen minutes in any direction. They usually keep their predations to themselves, though. The city neighborhoods that are run by the mob, on the other hand, are some of the safest in the nation (unless you're a crook). I have a friend that lives in Howard Beach, and he says that he sometimes forgets to lock his front door, and doesn't worry about it. Burglars end up in ICU, after "falling down the stairs."
Anyway, as I mentioned in another unread comment, the driver that picked them up, was probably not the driver associated with the account. Basic common sense. The person that explained it to me, mentioned the ways that the gypsy cab people have probably adapted to the new paradigm. Crooks are a lot smarter and more creative, than folks give them credit for.
The gun is unlikely to be used, unless the driver feels the need. They don't want trouble, they just want money, but even legit cabbies often go armed. They are ripe targets, and cab robbers are quite dangerous.
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Charges for goods not delivered as agreed falls under the protection of the Fair Credit Billing Act. If you made a good faith attempt to resolve with the merchant (which you did) you should use your credit card to charge back the amount (some let you request a partial charge back, but if not you can request a full one and explain in the extra info that you want a partial one). This might not seem worth it for $3, but…
And then you're forever barred from using the service.
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Why is anyone surprised that a smaller segment of the market will pay more for a safer ride in a luxury vehicle compared to a base model Lyft (which can be a barely drivable car with rank cloth interior where you can't even fit two people in the back seat)? Next up, some one will post, "First class tickets cost more than coach." Waymo will eventually have Waymo Comfort and Waymo Black.
I'm in LA, so I'm still skeptical about "safer". Granted, that's not a high bar, but I know who's accountable if an Uber/Lyft crashes.
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And soon enough you don't have any apps to use. Sometimes you gotta pick your fights. Chargebacks to gatekeepers are the worst because life is long and you will always lose.
it's why you take them to small claims court. Unfortunately, the terms and conditions have made sure they are clear of small claims by forcing you to do arbitration, which is more expensive for you than them (in relative terms, unless they also put into the T&C to pay for your arbitration costs - which some companies have done iirc, such as epic games). Chargebacks are the last resort - only really worth doing if it…
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We're far from them doing it, but I have to imagine at some point Waymo, assuming they survive, will operate similar to Uber and Lyft in terms of pricing vs vehicle type. They have to realize how critical consistency-of-ride is so I'm not suggesting they'll have tons of options, but they will "have to" tier their offering lest someone else comes along (assuming the tech becomes more widespread) and offers a tier they…
There's a larger Ioniq 9. But the real future is probably a 2-seater with no steering wheel. That handles most usage.