5 ms·

You are missing the part where Uber let you get a cab through an app rather than hoping a taxi was driving by and waving your hands at them. It really is a far,

by lacker 7y ago

You are missing the part where Uber let you get a cab through an app rather than hoping a taxi was driving by and waving your hands at them. It really is a far, far better product when you can get a cab wherever you want, instead of just in a few areas.

mpweiher 7y ago
Is that really the case in the US? At least in Germany, my standard way of getting a cab (wherever I want) was calling one of the dispatch centres. Taxi-hailing apps made this slightly more convenient, and displaying the cab's route to you removed some stress, but it didn't fundamentally alter the service. And Uber really doesn't add any value except for undercutting prices by subsidising the rides via investors and shovelling risk etc. onto the drivers.
- davinic 7y ago
  In my area of the US, calling dispatch would get you a ride only when things are not busy whatsoever. Once there is any level of demand, the service will send the call to the fleet but no one is required to fulfill it.
  - mpweiher 7y ago
    Wow! That makes Taxis largely useless, IMHO. I think about 99.9% of my taxi use has been call-ahead, often a day before ("I need a cab to the airport at 9am tomorrow").
xyzzyz 7y ago
Did you know that in most places where cab are operating, you could order a cab to pick you up at your house by calling a cab company and talking to the operator? Flagging down a cab as it drives by is a New York City thing.
- VintageLight 7y ago
  I recently spent a weekend in a major city without Uber/Lyft. Trying to call a cab company was terrible, relative to the user experience of Uber or Lyft. After making my request, a few cab companies simply answered "Ok" before hanging up. I called them back to get an ETA, and their dispatchers would give me answers like "30 to 40 minutes" or "I don't know". I wasn't out in the boonies or anything. I was downtown.
  - nrb 7y ago
    Many major cities have a universal dispatch number you can call and you get the next available cab from any available company. Chicago did not have this, and when Uber offered UberTaxi it really was the best of both worlds, for a small surcharge on the normal cab fare.
- ohazi 7y ago
  You've clearly never missed a flight due to said cab not showing up. Never again.
- cal5k 7y ago
  Sure, and it might arrive in 10 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, or never. It's an awful experience.
  - spike021 7y ago
    Eh there have been plenty of times where requesting an Uber took one of those amounts of times too.
    - cal5k 7y ago
      I live in downtown Toronto so it's rarely more than 2 minutes. But even when travelling it's a rare day when it hits 10 minutes.
- dhruvrrp 7y ago
  That absolutely did not work. I recall having to calling cab companies at night and the operator would estimate 30-40 minutes for a 20 minute ride. Spoilers: they would never show up
TrackerFF 7y ago
Must be a US thing - in Scandinavia you always call the taxi company, and they'll send you a taxi - with time and price estimate. It's been like that since forever.
- Zach_the_Lizard 7y ago
  This is possible in the US as well, but depending on where you live this might take a long time, be expensive, or both. Plus, you get no sense of where the cab is. And sometimes cab drivers refuse to go to your neighborhood. Uber solves that.
  - phreeza 7y ago
    Does Uber really solve the bad neighborhood problem?
    - Zach_the_Lizard 7y ago
      Maybe not fully, but cabs refused to go to good neighborhoods, let alone bad ones. I live in Queens in a great neighborhood and cabs have "forgot" how to get here more than once. They don't like it because they have a lower chance of a return fare.
- sdinsn 7y ago
  From my experience, US taxi companies are terrible with responding to calls. Their time estimates are so inaccurate that they are useless.
- pembrook 7y ago
  In Scandinavia though (at least in the big cities), you'll be picked up in an unnecessarily top-of-the-line Mercedes Sedan and expected to pay $75 for a 20 minute ride. Also be sure to call the night before if you're trying to catch a flight in the morning! Otherwise you might find yourself on hold. Luckily the excellent public transport makes up for it. But there are still many scenarios where Uber is a welcome addition.
hyperbovine 7y ago
The app is a good idea. But not a $UBER_MKT_CAP idea.

by lacker 7y ago

mpweiher 7y ago

Is that really the case in the US? At least in Germany, my standard way of getting a cab (wherever I want) was calling one of the dispatch centres. Taxi-hailing apps made this slightly more convenient, and displaying the cab's route to you removed some stress, but it didn't fundamentally alter the service. And Uber really doesn't add any value except for undercutting prices by subsidising the rides via investors and shovelling risk etc. onto the drivers.

davinic 7y ago
In my area of the US, calling dispatch would get you a ride only when things are not busy whatsoever. Once there is any level of demand, the service will send the call to the fleet but no one is required to fulfill it.
- mpweiher 7y ago
  Wow! That makes Taxis largely useless, IMHO. I think about 99.9% of my taxi use has been call-ahead, often a day before ("I need a cab to the airport at 9am tomorrow").

xyzzyz 7y ago

Did you know that in most places where cab are operating, you could order a cab to pick you up at your house by calling a cab company and talking to the operator? Flagging down a cab as it drives by is a New York City thing.

VintageLight 7y ago
I recently spent a weekend in a major city without Uber/Lyft. Trying to call a cab company was terrible, relative to the user experience of Uber or Lyft. After making my request, a few cab companies simply answered "Ok" before hanging up. I called them back to get an ETA, and their dispatchers would give me answers like "30 to 40 minutes" or "I don't know". I wasn't out in the boonies or anything. I was downtown.
- nrb 7y ago
  Many major cities have a universal dispatch number you can call and you get the next available cab from any available company. Chicago did not have this, and when Uber offered UberTaxi it really was the best of both worlds, for a small surcharge on the normal cab fare.
ohazi 7y ago
You've clearly never missed a flight due to said cab not showing up. Never again.
cal5k 7y ago
Sure, and it might arrive in 10 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, or never. It's an awful experience.
- spike021 7y ago
  Eh there have been plenty of times where requesting an Uber took one of those amounts of times too.
  - cal5k 7y ago
    I live in downtown Toronto so it's rarely more than 2 minutes. But even when travelling it's a rare day when it hits 10 minutes.
dhruvrrp 7y ago
That absolutely did not work. I recall having to calling cab companies at night and the operator would estimate 30-40 minutes for a 20 minute ride. Spoilers: they would never show up

TrackerFF 7y ago

Must be a US thing - in Scandinavia you always call the taxi company, and they'll send you a taxi - with time and price estimate. It's been like that since forever.

Zach_the_Lizard 7y ago
This is possible in the US as well, but depending on where you live this might take a long time, be expensive, or both. Plus, you get no sense of where the cab is. And sometimes cab drivers refuse to go to your neighborhood. Uber solves that.
- phreeza 7y ago
  Does Uber really solve the bad neighborhood problem?
  - Zach_the_Lizard 7y ago
    Maybe not fully, but cabs refused to go to good neighborhoods, let alone bad ones. I live in Queens in a great neighborhood and cabs have "forgot" how to get here more than once. They don't like it because they have a lower chance of a return fare.
sdinsn 7y ago
From my experience, US taxi companies are terrible with responding to calls. Their time estimates are so inaccurate that they are useless.
pembrook 7y ago
In Scandinavia though (at least in the big cities), you'll be picked up in an unnecessarily top-of-the-line Mercedes Sedan and expected to pay $75 for a 20 minute ride. Also be sure to call the night before if you're trying to catch a flight in the morning! Otherwise you might find yourself on hold. Luckily the excellent public transport makes up for it. But there are still many scenarios where Uber is a welcome addition.

hyperbovine 7y ago

The app is a good idea. But not a $UBER_MKT_CAP idea.