6 ms·

So Lyft and Uber recently threw a tantrum and fled Austin TX when a vote on legislature regarding TNCs didn't go their way. A few new local companies have popp

by ajford 10y ago

So Lyft and Uber recently threw a tantrum and fled Austin TX when a vote on legislature regarding TNCs didn't go their way. A few new local companies have popped up to fill the hole in the market, and many have attracted drivers who were formerly with Lyft and Uber. I've talked to a few of them about the new companies versus Lyft/Uber, and every single one of them has voiced the same thing; Lyft and Uber treat their drivers like shit, pull questionable stunts like this (one even mentioned something similar, except his app kept crashing or signing him out for 48 hours before the deadline for his 100 ride bonus, preventing him from getting the last few rides), and generally being dicks towards their "independent drivers". Every single driver I asked said they wouldn't go back to Uber/Lyft. Most even indicated they wouldn't go back even if Uber/Lyft returned and drove the new companies out of business. I've had great experiences with many drivers, and I hate think that they've been getting such a rotten deal from these companies.

caseysoftware 10y ago
Tried to use Fasten twice. The first time, I waited 15 minutes when the driver was 3 minutes away, I gave up. The second time, I got in the car and the driver said he didn't know where I was going and demanded directions. I had put it into the app but not sure why it wasn't passed along. If Fasten's mission is to "be good to drivers," that's fine. But I thought their mission was to "get passengers to their destinations." I started using cabs again. So Kitchens+Adler appear to have won that one.
- fokinsean 10y ago
  Your second experience just sounds like you got a bad driver, which has happened to me with uber/lyft before they left. I mostly use Ride Austin which has been reliable, but I've also used Fasten numerous times without an issue. It is the wild west of TNCs right now in Austin, I'm curious to see who comes out on top. I'm just glad they popped up quickly after Uber/Lyft left.
  - caseysoftware 10y ago
    It's easy to move quickly when City Council ignores the law and invests in you: https://medium.com/@CaseySoftware/mayor-steve-adler-is-scamming-the-austin-tech-community-399d12b976e9#.e0a3ct48l https://medium.com/@CaseySoftware/mayor-steve-adler-is-scamm...
    - theli0nheart 10y ago
      So much scare-mongering went into this vote and it's a big reason why Prop 1 failed. No one was scammed by anybody. Uber and Lyft chose to leave Austin. You can argue endlessly why they were forced out, but somehow other services managed to pop up and make the business work.
      - caseysoftware 10y ago
        Adler and crew said they expected Uber+Lyft to continue operating in spite of the law. Weird. Most of the things I cite were done after the Prop 1 vote. U+L screwed that up.. the City's behavior since has been ridiculous.
        sfrailsdev 10y ago
        Didn't the law just require fingerprinting?
        fokinsean 10y ago
        There were a few other regulations. One of them included that TNCs can't stop in the middle of a busy road when picking up a rider. This is one thing I'm really glad got implemented because people have been seriously injured and killed[0] because TNCs stop in the middle of busy roads. 0: http://kxan.com/2016/04/28/woman-claims-lyft-driver-was-at-fault-for-husbands-deadly-crash/ http://kxan.com/2016/04/28/woman-claims-lyft-driver-was-at-f...
        caseysoftware 10y ago
- vvu 10y ago
  I've definitely had issues with both apps during peak hours, but they work just as well as Uber or Lyft most of the time.
- colmvp 10y ago
  Your experience in your first example is not dissimilar to my various experiences with Lyft and Uber. A Lyft driver was incapable of following my directions at SFO (I followed the Lyft instructions). And I've had Uber drivers basically accept my request, only to remain in one place for 15 mins despite being 3 mins away (happened once in South America, another time in Canada). I've also had Uber drivers who enter in the destination only to get flummoxed by the map and basically go rogue.
Analemma_ 10y ago
Wait, you've had local competitors come in and fill the gap when Uber and Lyft left? But I thought Austin's new law was job-killing regulation that would make it impossible to have modern ride-hailing services there. Surely Uber and Lyft didn't lie to us?
- simonbw 10y ago
  The competitors that came to fill in the gaps aren't following any of the newly passed regulations from what I've heard.
  - paulryanrogers 10y ago
    Perhaps David gets more grace than Goliath? Or Austin's government is oblivious.
  - jhayward 10y ago
    That's not true at all. Please cite reliable sources when slandering.
    - jsprogrammer 10y ago
      If the sources were reliable, it wouldn't be slander.
- blahfuk 10y ago
  To be fair, the tech to support a single city is radically less impressive than a global operation, which means it's very easy for startups to fill the void when the big companies have already done all the work to create the market and then all vanish at the same time. Still, they're doing a great job, and most are on track to meet the city's regulations.
  - ethanbond 10y ago
    Which is one reason that so many people feel Uber's valuation is a joke. Austin is hard evidence that Uber hasn't purchased anything with their "growth spending."
bosdev 10y ago
Not just that, but RideAustin is a non-profit and mimics virtually every feature of Uber. I seriously wonder if non-profit versions of the business will expand into other cities and challenge Uber and Lyfts margins.
- notyourwork 10y ago
  Is it possible that this becomes a city supported public transit system?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - vkou 10y ago
    Subsidizing cab rides is one of the least cost-effective ways to get people from point A to point B.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
- mikefivedeuce 10y ago
  I was in Austin two weeks ago and was worried about the lack of Uber/Lyft. I had great experiences using RideAustin. A driver even mentioned that they pay him 2x fares to drive out to areas like the F1 track because it's outside of the city.
- chimeracoder 10y ago
  > I seriously wonder if non-profit versions of the business will expand into other cities and challenge Uber and Lyfts margins. Why would non-profits inherently be able to beat Lyft or Uber's margins? Non-profits, despite the name, are not prohibited from making a profit. Conversely, the "profit" referred to in "for-profit companies" doesn't come out of their margins. And even if you're talking about their bottom line rather than their margins, it's not like venture-backed companies are required to run at an operating profit anyway. To my knowledge, Uber has never actually issued GAAP accounting demonstrating that they're turning a profit[0]. Which makes sense - the whole point of raising outside capital is to spend money faster than you'd otherwise have access to it. Both non-profits and for-profit companies do this. Non-profits are functionally equivalent to for-profit companies. The only distinction in this case is that a non-profit would have a harder time raising money, because they can't provide equity in exchange for the outside funding they obtain, whereas a for-profit company can. [0] They've made plenty of non-GAAP claims, but that doesn't mean anything.
overcast 10y ago
Sadly, you don't become an empire by being kind, and fair to everyone. They are ruthless, like any other big business.
ohyoutravel 10y ago
I was in Austin recently for a conference and was surprised to find no Uber or Lyft cars available. I asked around and found out that they had left, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Lyft also left Houston, apparently. I tried one of the new ones, Fasten. It worked really well and had several features I preferred over Uber/Lyft. I think the whole thing kind of worked out for the better.

by ajford 10y ago

caseysoftware 10y ago

Tried to use Fasten twice. The first time, I waited 15 minutes when the driver was 3 minutes away, I gave up. The second time, I got in the car and the driver said he didn't know where I was going and demanded directions. I had put it into the app but not sure why it wasn't passed along. If Fasten's mission is to "be good to drivers," that's fine. But I thought their mission was to "get passengers to their destinations." I started using cabs again. So Kitchens+Adler appear to have won that one.

fokinsean 10y ago
Your second experience just sounds like you got a bad driver, which has happened to me with uber/lyft before they left. I mostly use Ride Austin which has been reliable, but I've also used Fasten numerous times without an issue. It is the wild west of TNCs right now in Austin, I'm curious to see who comes out on top. I'm just glad they popped up quickly after Uber/Lyft left.
- caseysoftware 10y ago
  It's easy to move quickly when City Council ignores the law and invests in you: https://medium.com/@CaseySoftware/mayor-steve-adler-is-scamming-the-austin-tech-community-399d12b976e9#.e0a3ct48l https://medium.com/@CaseySoftware/mayor-steve-adler-is-scamm...
  - theli0nheart 10y ago
    So much scare-mongering went into this vote and it's a big reason why Prop 1 failed. No one was scammed by anybody. Uber and Lyft chose to leave Austin. You can argue endlessly why they were forced out, but somehow other services managed to pop up and make the business work.
    - caseysoftware 10y ago
      Adler and crew said they expected Uber+Lyft to continue operating in spite of the law. Weird. Most of the things I cite were done after the Prop 1 vote. U+L screwed that up.. the City's behavior since has been ridiculous.
      - sfrailsdev 10y ago
        Didn't the law just require fingerprinting?
        fokinsean 10y ago
        There were a few other regulations. One of them included that TNCs can't stop in the middle of a busy road when picking up a rider. This is one thing I'm really glad got implemented because people have been seriously injured and killed[0] because TNCs stop in the middle of busy roads. 0: http://kxan.com/2016/04/28/woman-claims-lyft-driver-was-at-fault-for-husbands-deadly-crash/ http://kxan.com/2016/04/28/woman-claims-lyft-driver-was-at-f...
        caseysoftware 10y ago
vvu 10y ago
I've definitely had issues with both apps during peak hours, but they work just as well as Uber or Lyft most of the time.
colmvp 10y ago
Your experience in your first example is not dissimilar to my various experiences with Lyft and Uber. A Lyft driver was incapable of following my directions at SFO (I followed the Lyft instructions). And I've had Uber drivers basically accept my request, only to remain in one place for 15 mins despite being 3 mins away (happened once in South America, another time in Canada). I've also had Uber drivers who enter in the destination only to get flummoxed by the map and basically go rogue.

Analemma_ 10y ago

Wait, you've had local competitors come in and fill the gap when Uber and Lyft left? But I thought Austin's new law was job-killing regulation that would make it impossible to have modern ride-hailing services there. Surely Uber and Lyft didn't lie to us?

simonbw 10y ago
The competitors that came to fill in the gaps aren't following any of the newly passed regulations from what I've heard.
- paulryanrogers 10y ago
  Perhaps David gets more grace than Goliath? Or Austin's government is oblivious.
- jhayward 10y ago
  That's not true at all. Please cite reliable sources when slandering.
  - jsprogrammer 10y ago
    If the sources were reliable, it wouldn't be slander.
blahfuk 10y ago
To be fair, the tech to support a single city is radically less impressive than a global operation, which means it's very easy for startups to fill the void when the big companies have already done all the work to create the market and then all vanish at the same time. Still, they're doing a great job, and most are on track to meet the city's regulations.
- ethanbond 10y ago
  Which is one reason that so many people feel Uber's valuation is a joke. Austin is hard evidence that Uber hasn't purchased anything with their "growth spending."

bosdev 10y ago

Not just that, but RideAustin is a non-profit and mimics virtually every feature of Uber. I seriously wonder if non-profit versions of the business will expand into other cities and challenge Uber and Lyfts margins.

notyourwork 10y ago
Is it possible that this becomes a city supported public transit system?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- vkou 10y ago
  Subsidizing cab rides is one of the least cost-effective ways to get people from point A to point B.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
mikefivedeuce 10y ago
I was in Austin two weeks ago and was worried about the lack of Uber/Lyft. I had great experiences using RideAustin. A driver even mentioned that they pay him 2x fares to drive out to areas like the F1 track because it's outside of the city.
chimeracoder 10y ago
> I seriously wonder if non-profit versions of the business will expand into other cities and challenge Uber and Lyfts margins. Why would non-profits inherently be able to beat Lyft or Uber's margins? Non-profits, despite the name, are not prohibited from making a profit. Conversely, the "profit" referred to in "for-profit companies" doesn't come out of their margins. And even if you're talking about their bottom line rather than their margins, it's not like venture-backed companies are required to run at an operating profit anyway. To my knowledge, Uber has never actually issued GAAP accounting demonstrating that they're turning a profit[0]. Which makes sense - the whole point of raising outside capital is to spend money faster than you'd otherwise have access to it. Both non-profits and for-profit companies do this. Non-profits are functionally equivalent to for-profit companies. The only distinction in this case is that a non-profit would have a harder time raising money, because they can't provide equity in exchange for the outside funding they obtain, whereas a for-profit company can. [0] They've made plenty of non-GAAP claims, but that doesn't mean anything.

overcast 10y ago

Sadly, you don't become an empire by being kind, and fair to everyone. They are ruthless, like any other big business.

ohyoutravel 10y ago

I was in Austin recently for a conference and was surprised to find no Uber or Lyft cars available. I asked around and found out that they had left, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Lyft also left Houston, apparently. I tried one of the new ones, Fasten. It worked really well and had several features I preferred over Uber/Lyft. I think the whole thing kind of worked out for the better.