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I knew drivers in New Zealand who switched from Wellington Combined to Uber and earned a ton more. But I have a feeling that's not true in most American cities.

I knew drivers in New Zealand who switched from Wellington Combined to Uber and earned a ton more. But I have a feeling that's not true in most American cities. I've met very few Uber/Lyft drivers here who switched from cabs. Drivers in Seattle earn less and less every year; driving several times more. It would be nice to see some numbers in this article to see comparable rates from all the other app services like Uber/Lyft/Via etc. I mean if it's a $10k/year pay cut .. well then just do it and take night courses to do something else more worthwhile. If it's way more than that; non-sustainable, then you're just going to have to wait for Uber to tank and prices to go back up (you might need to wait a few years).

veb 9y ago
I'm still waiting for one of these companies to show up in Dunedin. Dunedin Taxis charges me nearly $20 for a 6 minute trip home - and their app never works. Sometimes I'm waiting 25 minutes. Also, impossible for me to ring them as I'm deaf so... I have to text my wife to ring one! :( I seriously do not understand why no NZ taxi companies have banded together, raised some investment and created a good app then strengthened the market in the places that Uber etc don't exist in yet. It's almost like they don't want to be taxis anymore.
- djsumdog 9y ago
  Because building a basic app is actually pretty complex and there are only 4 million people who live there. It's why all the IT powerhouses (Frondi, Datacom, Catalyst, Sol-sucking-net, etc.) are all based in Wellington and contract out to everyone else. I'm kinda surprised Uber isn't in Dunedin yet though. I know they're in Welly/Auckland .. and I suspect Chch as well.
  - disordinary 9y ago
    There's plenty of taxi apps as well as other ride sharing apps like Zoomy. Often Uber drivers in NZ work for a smaller taxi company and have multiple ride sharing apps on their phone. Building apps is actually simple. I work with one of those large powerhouses and they're actually really bad at it. Smaller teams can usually do a better job. Has nothing to do with population size. Also, I think Uber is in CHCH and the Tron. No doubt Dunedin is in their expansion plans.

veb 9y ago

I'm still waiting for one of these companies to show up in Dunedin. Dunedin Taxis charges me nearly $20 for a 6 minute trip home - and their app never works. Sometimes I'm waiting 25 minutes. Also, impossible for me to ring them as I'm deaf so... I have to text my wife to ring one! :( I seriously do not understand why no NZ taxi companies have banded together, raised some investment and created a good app then strengthened the market in the places that Uber etc don't exist in yet. It's almost like they don't want to be taxis anymore.

djsumdog 9y ago
Because building a basic app is actually pretty complex and there are only 4 million people who live there. It's why all the IT powerhouses (Frondi, Datacom, Catalyst, Sol-sucking-net, etc.) are all based in Wellington and contract out to everyone else. I'm kinda surprised Uber isn't in Dunedin yet though. I know they're in Welly/Auckland .. and I suspect Chch as well.
- disordinary 9y ago
  There's plenty of taxi apps as well as other ride sharing apps like Zoomy. Often Uber drivers in NZ work for a smaller taxi company and have multiple ride sharing apps on their phone. Building apps is actually simple. I work with one of those large powerhouses and they're actually really bad at it. Smaller teams can usually do a better job. Has nothing to do with population size. Also, I think Uber is in CHCH and the Tron. No doubt Dunedin is in their expansion plans.