5 ms·

For getting to/from the airport in my own city, I still use the old limo driver that I was using before Uber took off. Literally the same guy, not just the same

by nilkn 10y ago

For getting to/from the airport in my own city, I still use the old limo driver that I was using before Uber took off. Literally the same guy, not just the same service/company. When friends or family members fly down to visit I sometimes book him for them as well. It's about the same price as Uber (I voluntarily pay more because I tip him generously), but it's a 100% guaranteed fantastic experience. With Uber, you never know who your driver is going to be. I've had some pretty bad ones and some pretty unfriendly ones who made me or someone with me feel uncomfortable.

morgante 10y ago
Normal people don't take limos to the airport.
- _acme 10y ago
  "limo" may be a reference to what is sometimes called a black car -- a scheduled livery service -- and not what we generally think of as a large limousine. Still, though, most people don't use those either.
- paulcole 10y ago
  Limo can just mean black Town Car.
- nilkn 10y ago
  They do. A "limo" is just a towncar. It's no different from something like UberBlack. Go to any major airport and you'll see a bunch of them lined up waiting for passengers nearby the taxis. I started using this service before Uber because taxis were extraordinarily unreliable and this service was always spot on. And as time has went on I see no reason to switch to Uber for this particular well-defined and scheduled-in-advance ride.
  - morgante 10y ago
    I think you view of the world is rather skewed if you think "normal" people take a town car to the airport. Even as a well-paid software engineer, I never use UberBlack—only UberX.
    - nilkn 10y ago
      I just looked up a fare estimate and UberBlack is about twice as expensive as what I pay. So I suspect you're just as abnormal as me if you pay anyone at all to drive you to the airport instead of driving yourself. That actually drives home my point of not using Uber in this case. Why bother when I'm getting the same service for 50% of the cost with someone I know, trust, and have actually become friends with?
      - morgante 10y ago
        If UberBlack is 2x the price you pay, what you pay is close to 2x what UberX costs (depending on the market). It's fairly normal to take a taxi to the airport (particularly at your destination), but paying 2x the cost of a taxi for a private car service is definitely "luxury."
        nilkn 10y ago
        4x is not the ratio of the prices that I'm seeing from the fare estimator. Regardless, if you want to believe that I'm not normal, that's your prerogative, though I'm not sure what benefit you derive from insisting on this. Additionally I am highly suspect of your implicit claim that you're more "normal" than me if you regularly take Uber to and from the airport. I rarely even fly. If you fly more than twice a year and take Uber each time, you are spending more than me on rides to and from the airport. Your choice of words is curious to me as well. For instance, you distinguish the limo service I use as being "private". What does that mean in this context, and how is Uber not private? You've misunderstood me if you think I have a personal chauffeur who exclusively works for me. That's not how towncar services work. It's basically just a guy and a few friends who have a tiny company where they drive people to and from the airport. By the way, I want to point out that Uber's surge pricing could easily make UberX cost more than what I pay. And surge pricing is fairly likely to be in effect any time I'm trying to get to the airport.
    - dgacmu 10y ago
      It's very location-dependent. In Pittsburgh, a taxi to the airport can be $55, and a towncar service $75. More importantly, you can make a reservation for the towncar in advance, and know that they'll be there, instead of playing 6am taxi roulette, which often does not work well. A lot of the faculty at CMU use towncar services for that reason. Pittsburgh's monopoly taxi service from yellow cab is remarkably terrible, though, so this may not generalize. They're famous for simply not bothering to show up after you call them.
Myrmornis 10y ago
No normal ( :) ) person cares about getting a fantastic experience when taking a taxi. They just want to get from A to B reliably and safely and without messing about with tipping.
- nilkn 10y ago
  Geez, yes, they absolutely do care. That's the entire reason why Uber took off to begin with. Taxis suck and entirely normal people hated them because of that. "Normal" people are going to get upset when they need to be at the airport and their taxi that they called 30 minutes ago is still not there, so they call again and are informed that there are no taxis available in the area, then call again and suddenly one is right around the corner, but the driver's in a bad mood, demands a big tip, and berates you if you don't want to use cash. That was my typical experience with taxis before Uber, and that's why almost everyone I knew avoided them at all costs. It's also why I started taking a towncar to the airport instead -- because they were actually capable of being on-time and were only barely more expensive. Now almost everyone I know uses Uber at least occasionally and many use it quite a lot.
  - Myrmornis 10y ago
    We're mis-communicating, sorry. I agree with you. I really like Uber, hate old taxis for the reasons you say, and don't like Lyft because they force me to think about tipping and I think tipping is a nasty way to give everyone people a little moment of power where they can judge someone else's monetary worth. By fantastic experience I meant bottled water and stuff. It seems that we agree that the main things are: reliable, easy to book, no messing about with money or tips.

by nilkn 10y ago

morgante 10y ago

Normal people don't take limos to the airport.

_acme 10y ago
"limo" may be a reference to what is sometimes called a black car -- a scheduled livery service -- and not what we generally think of as a large limousine. Still, though, most people don't use those either.
paulcole 10y ago
Limo can just mean black Town Car.
nilkn 10y ago
They do. A "limo" is just a towncar. It's no different from something like UberBlack. Go to any major airport and you'll see a bunch of them lined up waiting for passengers nearby the taxis. I started using this service before Uber because taxis were extraordinarily unreliable and this service was always spot on. And as time has went on I see no reason to switch to Uber for this particular well-defined and scheduled-in-advance ride.
- morgante 10y ago
  I think you view of the world is rather skewed if you think "normal" people take a town car to the airport. Even as a well-paid software engineer, I never use UberBlack—only UberX.
  - nilkn 10y ago
    I just looked up a fare estimate and UberBlack is about twice as expensive as what I pay. So I suspect you're just as abnormal as me if you pay anyone at all to drive you to the airport instead of driving yourself. That actually drives home my point of not using Uber in this case. Why bother when I'm getting the same service for 50% of the cost with someone I know, trust, and have actually become friends with?
    - morgante 10y ago
      If UberBlack is 2x the price you pay, what you pay is close to 2x what UberX costs (depending on the market). It's fairly normal to take a taxi to the airport (particularly at your destination), but paying 2x the cost of a taxi for a private car service is definitely "luxury."
      - nilkn 10y ago
        4x is not the ratio of the prices that I'm seeing from the fare estimator. Regardless, if you want to believe that I'm not normal, that's your prerogative, though I'm not sure what benefit you derive from insisting on this. Additionally I am highly suspect of your implicit claim that you're more "normal" than me if you regularly take Uber to and from the airport. I rarely even fly. If you fly more than twice a year and take Uber each time, you are spending more than me on rides to and from the airport. Your choice of words is curious to me as well. For instance, you distinguish the limo service I use as being "private". What does that mean in this context, and how is Uber not private? You've misunderstood me if you think I have a personal chauffeur who exclusively works for me. That's not how towncar services work. It's basically just a guy and a few friends who have a tiny company where they drive people to and from the airport. By the way, I want to point out that Uber's surge pricing could easily make UberX cost more than what I pay. And surge pricing is fairly likely to be in effect any time I'm trying to get to the airport.
  - dgacmu 10y ago
    It's very location-dependent. In Pittsburgh, a taxi to the airport can be $55, and a towncar service $75. More importantly, you can make a reservation for the towncar in advance, and know that they'll be there, instead of playing 6am taxi roulette, which often does not work well. A lot of the faculty at CMU use towncar services for that reason. Pittsburgh's monopoly taxi service from yellow cab is remarkably terrible, though, so this may not generalize. They're famous for simply not bothering to show up after you call them.

Myrmornis 10y ago

No normal ( :) ) person cares about getting a fantastic experience when taking a taxi. They just want to get from A to B reliably and safely and without messing about with tipping.

nilkn 10y ago
Geez, yes, they absolutely do care. That's the entire reason why Uber took off to begin with. Taxis suck and entirely normal people hated them because of that. "Normal" people are going to get upset when they need to be at the airport and their taxi that they called 30 minutes ago is still not there, so they call again and are informed that there are no taxis available in the area, then call again and suddenly one is right around the corner, but the driver's in a bad mood, demands a big tip, and berates you if you don't want to use cash. That was my typical experience with taxis before Uber, and that's why almost everyone I knew avoided them at all costs. It's also why I started taking a towncar to the airport instead -- because they were actually capable of being on-time and were only barely more expensive. Now almost everyone I know uses Uber at least occasionally and many use it quite a lot.
- Myrmornis 10y ago
  We're mis-communicating, sorry. I agree with you. I really like Uber, hate old taxis for the reasons you say, and don't like Lyft because they force me to think about tipping and I think tipping is a nasty way to give everyone people a little moment of power where they can judge someone else's monetary worth. By fantastic experience I meant bottled water and stuff. It seems that we agree that the main things are: reliable, easy to book, no messing about with money or tips.