4 ms·

> Only time I've ever had "bad" drivers are when they call me before pickup and ask me where I'm going and demand I cancel since my destination would take them

> Only time I've ever had "bad" drivers are when they call me before pickup and ask me where I'm going and demand I cancel since my destination would take them too long which I somewhat understand. You understand this!? What? I haven't experienced this (thankfully), but this is ridiculous. This is the kind of behavior I experienced from cabs the led me to be an Uber evangelist to begin with. -20C, downtown Toronto, 2AM, cabs (illegally) outright refusing to drive you because they want to go a different direction. Uber was a godsend in comparison, at the time. If that behavior is making its way onto these platforms, I have to wonder whether the initial innovations in safety and value for the consumer are just getting absorbed and destroyed by the scale at which these companies have to operate (lack of ability to regulate and vet their drivers).

megaman22 9y ago
You can either have being driven somewhere as a public utility, or as a private venture. You want to be driven somewhere very inconvenient? Fine, but you may have to pay extra for it. Uber is still a godsend in the relatively rural area I'm in, where there are effectively no taxis, and the only alternatives are A.) calling a friend, B.) hitchhiking, C.) driving anyway when you really oughtn't, for whatever reason.
- keithwhor 9y ago
  I don't think you understand: cab drivers in Toronto (and other cities) frequently turn down freezing cold passengers that just want a ride back home (still in the city) because the cab driver wants a route that brings them close to their home. They will not accept your fare. This is illegal in most major cities (or at least Toronto), but impossible to track and enforce. It has nothing to do with wanting a ride to somewhere "very inconvenient" - convenience is priced into the fact you pay by mile. Enabling this sort of behavior is outright regressive to Uber's value prop in some of their largest markets - not to mention a public safety concern. FWIW: I think both Uber and Lyft now have features designed to help drivers pick up fares towards their own homes at the end of a "shift" in order to make their drivers happier, I'm just saying that the behavior of cancelling fares shouldn't be considered "understandable" and undermines the value prop of these companies in major city centers.
  - megaman22 9y ago
    I do understand. My belief would be that if you are running a for-profit, private business, and not a public service, you have the right to refuse service if it's against your best interests. I don't go making websites for everybody that asks me to, when I have more productive things to do, and I would bridle a bit if anybody suggested that I had some kind of moral obligation to do so. I always thought it was a little idiotic that Uber doesn't just tell the drivers where you want to go before they come pick you up.

megaman22 9y ago

You can either have being driven somewhere as a public utility, or as a private venture. You want to be driven somewhere very inconvenient? Fine, but you may have to pay extra for it. Uber is still a godsend in the relatively rural area I'm in, where there are effectively no taxis, and the only alternatives are A.) calling a friend, B.) hitchhiking, C.) driving anyway when you really oughtn't, for whatever reason.

keithwhor 9y ago
I don't think you understand: cab drivers in Toronto (and other cities) frequently turn down freezing cold passengers that just want a ride back home (still in the city) because the cab driver wants a route that brings them close to their home. They will not accept your fare. This is illegal in most major cities (or at least Toronto), but impossible to track and enforce. It has nothing to do with wanting a ride to somewhere "very inconvenient" - convenience is priced into the fact you pay by mile. Enabling this sort of behavior is outright regressive to Uber's value prop in some of their largest markets - not to mention a public safety concern. FWIW: I think both Uber and Lyft now have features designed to help drivers pick up fares towards their own homes at the end of a "shift" in order to make their drivers happier, I'm just saying that the behavior of cancelling fares shouldn't be considered "understandable" and undermines the value prop of these companies in major city centers.
- megaman22 9y ago
  I do understand. My belief would be that if you are running a for-profit, private business, and not a public service, you have the right to refuse service if it's against your best interests. I don't go making websites for everybody that asks me to, when I have more productive things to do, and I would bridle a bit if anybody suggested that I had some kind of moral obligation to do so. I always thought it was a little idiotic that Uber doesn't just tell the drivers where you want to go before they come pick you up.