6 ms·

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 operato

by 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
carbocation 7y ago
In 3 cities where I have lived, calling cabs only works stochastically. Nothing to be relied upon. Uber/Lyft were a huge upgrade over that.
scarejunba 7y ago
Oh you could order the cab. That you could do. Whether you'd get a cab, now that's a different thing.
colinmhayes 7y ago
That system was incredibly awful.I don't believe there is a single person who used that system and was happy with it.
- Areading314 7y ago
  Right. Typical experience would be, call number, if you're lucky, someone picks up. If you're lucky, they can understand enough for you to order a cab. And then, if you're lucky the cab will actually wait for you rather than pick up some other random fare instead
- CJefferson 7y ago
  I just I want to say, I was super happy with that system, much happier than with Uber. I used a small family taxi company. I had to book in advance, or be prepared for a short wait, but they understood my father in law needed some extra time and understood his requirements. Ubers on the other hand are awful with disabled people in my experience.
diminoten 7y ago
That's not better. An app is a superior interface to a phone call. Cab companies refusal to acknowledge this means they deserve to die. The economics are there, an app is undeniably cheaper, at some point, than a call center, and fundamentally whatever prices Americans pay to cab companies is clearly enough to sustain them, so it should in theory be enough to sustain an Uber-like company. And let's not even get into the conversation about servicing more rural areas, where ZERO cab companies exist, but Uber drivers do. That is a net value add to those communities, no denying.
B-Con 7y ago
Calling is also archaic. Manually tell them my location and wait to hear a price? I'm on the go, I don't want to deal with that crap.

by xyzzyz 7y ago

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

carbocation 7y ago

In 3 cities where I have lived, calling cabs only works stochastically. Nothing to be relied upon. Uber/Lyft were a huge upgrade over that.

scarejunba 7y ago

Oh you could order the cab. That you could do. Whether you'd get a cab, now that's a different thing.

colinmhayes 7y ago

That system was incredibly awful.I don't believe there is a single person who used that system and was happy with it.

Areading314 7y ago
Right. Typical experience would be, call number, if you're lucky, someone picks up. If you're lucky, they can understand enough for you to order a cab. And then, if you're lucky the cab will actually wait for you rather than pick up some other random fare instead
CJefferson 7y ago
I just I want to say, I was super happy with that system, much happier than with Uber. I used a small family taxi company. I had to book in advance, or be prepared for a short wait, but they understood my father in law needed some extra time and understood his requirements. Ubers on the other hand are awful with disabled people in my experience.

diminoten 7y ago

That's not better. An app is a superior interface to a phone call. Cab companies refusal to acknowledge this means they deserve to die. The economics are there, an app is undeniably cheaper, at some point, than a call center, and fundamentally whatever prices Americans pay to cab companies is clearly enough to sustain them, so it should in theory be enough to sustain an Uber-like company. And let's not even get into the conversation about servicing more rural areas, where ZERO cab companies exist, but Uber drivers do. That is a net value add to those communities, no denying.

B-Con 7y ago

Calling is also archaic. Manually tell them my location and wait to hear a price? I'm on the go, I don't want to deal with that crap.