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As someone who really relies on Uber for transportation in all the countries I travel to (no need to speak the local language) - I'm finally starting to appreci

As someone who really relies on Uber for transportation in all the countries I travel to (no need to speak the local language) - I'm finally starting to appreciated the conflict associated with trying to be supportive of morally upstanding leaders versus desiring to deserve your fundamental needs. Ironically, the Uber fiasco has now made me substantially more empathic to the single issue voters (Evangelicals, Right to Lifers, NRA Members, etc...) who voted for Trump regardless of his perceived faults.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
jeromegv 10y ago
I've had good success with Grab in Vietnam and Philippines
- philliphaydon 10y ago
  I don't even bother with Uber in Singapore because Grab is such a better service. And cheaper.
  - phlo 10y ago
    Thirded. On a recent trip to Bangkok, we'd usually have an easier time finding a Grab car than an Uber. In both cases, the experience was positive, while Uber drivers seemed to have slightly newer cars, at a slightly higher price.
  - ghshephard 10y ago
    ... And of course they speak English in Singapore. And the Taxis are awesome unless you are trying to find one during rush hour/shift change.
- passiveincomelg 10y ago
  Same here; Grab worked fine in Kuala Lumpur (back then MyTeksi), with the added benefit of requiring the driver to use the meter. It worked ok in a very touristic part of Thailand (Patong & Phuket City), with a lot of scammers (asking 700 THB for a ride that should be around 300).
Xylakant 10y ago
> I'm finally starting to appreciated the conflict associated with trying to be supportive of morally upstanding leaders versus desiring to deserve your fundamental needs. Using an app that removes the friction of having to communicate with people whose language you do not speak is certainly nice, but it's not a fundamental need. It's a choice and like all choices you trade one thing for another: convenience vs. supporting a stance that you can align morally with.
- JumpCrisscross 10y ago
  > it's not a fundamental need Reducing an argument to "needs" or "rights" is circular. Even across well-accepted cultures and moral systems, the lines between "needs" and non-"needs" is diverse (e.g. duty to god(s), duty to family honour, securing one's life, securing one's happiness through artistic expression, et cetera).
  - Xylakant 10y ago
    Oh, I'm not debating whether it's a need or a right - I take objection to the qualifier "fundamental".
    - maxpupmax 10y ago
      "Fundamental" was not an important qualifier in either of your posts. OP did not define what that meant in their context, and therefore it's not fair to nitpick based on that alone. They might as well have said "ticklish" for all the difference it made to their overall point. If that's really what your whole post is about, why take the take to argue definitions? What does fundamental mean to you exactly?
- ghshephard 10y ago
  It's either Uber, a local driver, or a translator. Without one of those three, I literally am unable to go anywhere in locales that don't commonly see english speakers. I'm not sure how much more fundamental than "I'm unable to travel".
raverbashing 10y ago
And this is how people become ever trapped in their safety and comfort bubbles. Also learning how to say please and thank you in the local language never hurt anyone.
- avaer 10y ago
  I'm a Polish expat. Last time I was in Poland I made an effort to speak friendly Polish to my taxi driver. He could immediately tell I wasn't fully Polish and launched into a bigoted tirade about Americans and refused to drop me off unless I paid him a large tip, because as an "American pretending to be Polish", "I can afford it". He was not a licensed taxi driver, of course. But sometimes keeping your mouth shut and staying in your comfort bubble is exactly what you want. Thinking that learning please and thank you never hurt anyone is itself something you can only do from inside of a bubble.
  - k-mcgrady 10y ago
    >> "He was not a licensed taxi driver, of course." So it wasn't speaking Polish or being American that hurt you - it was getting in a strangers car instead of an actual taxi. This may be of use: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_danger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_danger
    - avaer 10y ago
      I found out only afterwards when I tried to file a police report. I don't think it's reasonable to expect travelers to know how to vet the legitimacy of taxis they are getting into in a foreign country. This is one of Uber's value propositions.
      - k-mcgrady 10y ago
        I understand but in many countries licensed cabs are pretty obvious with huge plates showing their license number and/or other markings and in my experience that's true for Poland too. I agree though Uber does remove the need to pay attention so therefore removes the risk of mistakes.

deleted 10y ago

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jeromegv 10y ago

I've had good success with Grab in Vietnam and Philippines

philliphaydon 10y ago
I don't even bother with Uber in Singapore because Grab is such a better service. And cheaper.
- phlo 10y ago
  Thirded. On a recent trip to Bangkok, we'd usually have an easier time finding a Grab car than an Uber. In both cases, the experience was positive, while Uber drivers seemed to have slightly newer cars, at a slightly higher price.
- ghshephard 10y ago
  ... And of course they speak English in Singapore. And the Taxis are awesome unless you are trying to find one during rush hour/shift change.
passiveincomelg 10y ago
Same here; Grab worked fine in Kuala Lumpur (back then MyTeksi), with the added benefit of requiring the driver to use the meter. It worked ok in a very touristic part of Thailand (Patong & Phuket City), with a lot of scammers (asking 700 THB for a ride that should be around 300).

Xylakant 10y ago

> I'm finally starting to appreciated the conflict associated with trying to be supportive of morally upstanding leaders versus desiring to deserve your fundamental needs. Using an app that removes the friction of having to communicate with people whose language you do not speak is certainly nice, but it's not a fundamental need. It's a choice and like all choices you trade one thing for another: convenience vs. supporting a stance that you can align morally with.

JumpCrisscross 10y ago
> it's not a fundamental need Reducing an argument to "needs" or "rights" is circular. Even across well-accepted cultures and moral systems, the lines between "needs" and non-"needs" is diverse (e.g. duty to god(s), duty to family honour, securing one's life, securing one's happiness through artistic expression, et cetera).
- Xylakant 10y ago
  Oh, I'm not debating whether it's a need or a right - I take objection to the qualifier "fundamental".
  - maxpupmax 10y ago
    "Fundamental" was not an important qualifier in either of your posts. OP did not define what that meant in their context, and therefore it's not fair to nitpick based on that alone. They might as well have said "ticklish" for all the difference it made to their overall point. If that's really what your whole post is about, why take the take to argue definitions? What does fundamental mean to you exactly?
ghshephard 10y ago
It's either Uber, a local driver, or a translator. Without one of those three, I literally am unable to go anywhere in locales that don't commonly see english speakers. I'm not sure how much more fundamental than "I'm unable to travel".

raverbashing 10y ago

And this is how people become ever trapped in their safety and comfort bubbles. Also learning how to say please and thank you in the local language never hurt anyone.

avaer 10y ago
I'm a Polish expat. Last time I was in Poland I made an effort to speak friendly Polish to my taxi driver. He could immediately tell I wasn't fully Polish and launched into a bigoted tirade about Americans and refused to drop me off unless I paid him a large tip, because as an "American pretending to be Polish", "I can afford it". He was not a licensed taxi driver, of course. But sometimes keeping your mouth shut and staying in your comfort bubble is exactly what you want. Thinking that learning please and thank you never hurt anyone is itself something you can only do from inside of a bubble.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  >> "He was not a licensed taxi driver, of course." So it wasn't speaking Polish or being American that hurt you - it was getting in a strangers car instead of an actual taxi. This may be of use: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_danger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_danger
  - avaer 10y ago
    I found out only afterwards when I tried to file a police report. I don't think it's reasonable to expect travelers to know how to vet the legitimacy of taxis they are getting into in a foreign country. This is one of Uber's value propositions.
    - k-mcgrady 10y ago
      I understand but in many countries licensed cabs are pretty obvious with huge plates showing their license number and/or other markings and in my experience that's true for Poland too. I agree though Uber does remove the need to pay attention so therefore removes the risk of mistakes.