UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
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UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
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Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#2The taxi medalion is a little more than a price fix in some cities, such as London.
Buying from somebody wih a zero rep on ebay means you might lose out on your beanie baby. Putting your daughter in a random strangers car with no information other than them owning (or having stolen) an iphone is a little different.
Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#3It'll be really interesting to how much disintermediation takes place as a result of UberCab. I expect they'd need to expand beyond iOS to get scale but that should be possible.
In the UK there are lots of regulations surrounding Private Hire vehicles and Taxis, some of those rules are regional too. I doubt I'd see something, like this here but the firms should definitely be aware.
Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#4This may work in SFO. But does anyone know if the town car companies in NYC (Dial 7, Carmel etc etc etc) have overcapacity issues?
In the everyone is a taxi model- do you really want to get into a car without knowing how that person drives? There are people in my own family I won't drive with, let alone pay them to drive me somewhere.
Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#5I worry about them getting AirBnB'ed. I'm a big fan of AirBnB and CS, and I've often thought I'd be happy to do a fare when I've got a hour or so between meetings.
Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#6a friend of a good friend of mine was brutally raped by an independent Lincoln Town Car licensed driver (in NYC). I would advise (my personal opinion) women to avoid such services and deal with the hassle of getting a cab. Getting into a stranger's car and closing the door behind you is an action that should not be taken lightly. That is why I always take a taxi or use a well-established car service (as in substantial with a fleet of cars) instead of trusting someone who is able to drive you around because he/she filled out an application and leased a fancy black car. At least there is some accountability with taxi and fleet drivers. And unless UberCab does serious due dilligence on their drivers (perhaps they do?), I would stay away from this service (again, if I were a woman).
Edit: Please note that I do not mean to imply that all car drivers are bad people. I am confident that the majority of them are good, honest people trying to make a living the best way they can.
Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#7The taxi medalion is a little more than a price fix in some cities, such as London. Buying from somebody wih a zero rep on ebay means you might lose out on your beanie baby. Putting your daughter in a random strangers car with no information other than them owning (or having stolen) an iphone is a little different.
Very good point about (potential) stolen iPhones but your argument still applies to the current system. It's still a stranger in a car, they just happen to be sent under the banner of a company.
If the taxi firm itself implemented (or used a version) of this kind of service then that could be a great win for the firm.
Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#8Sound like a nice idea, but unfortunately taxis are a regulated industry in most major cities (e.g. NYC, Boston, Chicago). The difference between a taxi and non-taxi are usually that a taxi license or medallion is required in order to legally stop for somebody hailing down a cab on a street.
If this service became at all popular, it is very likely that cities would immediately include "mobile hailing" as also requiring a license. The entrenched interests of the taxi companies are simply too big (and they have the political clout) to let this one slide under the radar.
Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#9The taxi medalion is a little more than a price fix in some cities, such as London. Buying from somebody wih a zero rep on ebay means you might lose out on your beanie baby. Putting your daughter in a random strangers car with no information other than them owning (or having stolen) an iphone is a little different.
Everything about anyone being able to join the network and become a taxi driver (from about the sixth paragraph onwards) is pure speculation; technically, there's nothing preventing it (well, aside from modifying the app to require more than hitting a button), but they haven't done so yet, and might not. Currently, they're contracted with black car services, so professional drivers who are probably at least as safe as a taxi driver (unless I'm horribly misreading this).
However, if they are considering moving in that direction (again, no proof of that), your criticism is really important to consider, and might be a pretty big limitation. I'm sure that there are ways around it, but only if the network of drivers is heavily moderated, with lots and lots of safe-guards built in. Also, not allowing children/teens to ride unless accompanied by an adult, and adding some sort of panic button to the app.
Re: UberCab to disrupt the Taxi/Limo business
#10a friend of a good friend of mine was brutally raped by an independent Lincoln Town Car licensed driver (in NYC). I would advise (my personal opinion) women to avoid such services and deal with the hassle of getting a cab. Getting into a stranger's car and closing the door behind you is an action that should not be taken lightly. That is why I always take a taxi or use a well-established car service (as in substantia…
It seems that the rating system might have prevented this... maybe others thought the driver was "creepy", etc. and might have given him/her a bad rating, which might have dissuaded your friend from choosing his/her car.