4 ms·

Waiting longer for a ride... So... A bus?

by stephencoyner 8y ago

njovin 8y ago
Not having to stop a dozen times between pickup and destination makes it quite a bit better than a bus IMO.
- stephencoyner 8y ago
  Less stops yes, but in Uber pools the stops can be incredibly inconvenient and made worse with poor drivers or riders, resulting in long rides. At least with a bus I get a well trained professional who is prepared for almost all scenarios. I also can estimate how long s bus will take, pools can be unpredictability long.
  - so33 8y ago
    The idea of Uber Express Pool is set up so that you walk to a designated pickup point, wait, and walk from a designated drop-off point. So, essentially, it's a tiny bus that makes stops along a route. But with less capacity than a bus and less consistent scheduling and routing. (To be clear - I am pretty skeptical of the idea of demand-responsive "microtransit" such as Uber Express Pool).
    - sokoloff 8y ago
      In this case, semi-customized routing and scheduling soundly beats consisting routing and scheduling. Even when my ride is paid by someone else (business travel), I will often use Pool and now Express Pool as I find it efficient.
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    > At least with a bus I get a well trained professional who is prepared for almost all scenarios Your city clearly has different bus drivers to every city I've ever lived in. The best moment I've ever had on a bus was when the bus driver stopped on a level crossing while a train was coming. I've also had bus drivers clip signs and parked cars, crash into other cars and busses, brake and accelerate like they were trying to dodge a heat seeking missile, and just generally bad drivers. And in my current city, the bus drivers (and tram drivers) won't do anything about bad passengers, they sit in their little perspex box and ignore the passengers. I was on a tram the other day while an ex con was screaming obscenities at old Asian lady. The lady complained to the tram driver, who did literally nothing. She had to get off the tram because he was getting so abusive I swear he was about to hit her.
- slowmotiony 8y ago
  Also no homeless people or crackheads inside
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    I've stopped taking buses and trams at night for this exact reason. Trains seem to be mostly OK, maybe because they're bigger I can just avoid them. But I've felt seriously unsafe on trams and buses before at night, and I don't scare easily. There's nothing quite so unsettling as a junkie having a psychotic episode in the back of the bus. You don't want to look at them in case they engage you, but you want to keep your eyes on them in case they feel like jabbing you.

Waiting longer for a ride... So... A bus?

njovin 8y ago

Not having to stop a dozen times between pickup and destination makes it quite a bit better than a bus IMO.

stephencoyner 8y ago
Less stops yes, but in Uber pools the stops can be incredibly inconvenient and made worse with poor drivers or riders, resulting in long rides. At least with a bus I get a well trained professional who is prepared for almost all scenarios. I also can estimate how long s bus will take, pools can be unpredictability long.
- so33 8y ago
  The idea of Uber Express Pool is set up so that you walk to a designated pickup point, wait, and walk from a designated drop-off point. So, essentially, it's a tiny bus that makes stops along a route. But with less capacity than a bus and less consistent scheduling and routing. (To be clear - I am pretty skeptical of the idea of demand-responsive "microtransit" such as Uber Express Pool).
  - sokoloff 8y ago
    In this case, semi-customized routing and scheduling soundly beats consisting routing and scheduling. Even when my ride is paid by someone else (business travel), I will often use Pool and now Express Pool as I find it efficient.
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  > At least with a bus I get a well trained professional who is prepared for almost all scenarios Your city clearly has different bus drivers to every city I've ever lived in. The best moment I've ever had on a bus was when the bus driver stopped on a level crossing while a train was coming. I've also had bus drivers clip signs and parked cars, crash into other cars and busses, brake and accelerate like they were trying to dodge a heat seeking missile, and just generally bad drivers. And in my current city, the bus drivers (and tram drivers) won't do anything about bad passengers, they sit in their little perspex box and ignore the passengers. I was on a tram the other day while an ex con was screaming obscenities at old Asian lady. The lady complained to the tram driver, who did literally nothing. She had to get off the tram because he was getting so abusive I swear he was about to hit her.
slowmotiony 8y ago
Also no homeless people or crackheads inside
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  I've stopped taking buses and trams at night for this exact reason. Trains seem to be mostly OK, maybe because they're bigger I can just avoid them. But I've felt seriously unsafe on trams and buses before at night, and I don't scare easily. There's nothing quite so unsettling as a junkie having a psychotic episode in the back of the bus. You don't want to look at them in case they engage you, but you want to keep your eyes on them in case they feel like jabbing you.