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in sf, pre uber, taxis just didn't come. They were extremely unreliable -- call, and they'd come if they felt like it. maybe. and on their own schedule. Als
by x0x0 6y ago
in sf, pre uber, taxis just didn't come. They were extremely unreliable -- call, and they'd come if they felt like it. maybe. and on their own schedule. Also, they were run by utter assholes who knew you had 3-4 companies to choose from, and they all sucked.
uber and lyft later turned it into a service that was highly reliable (came, or at least told you if they weren't coming). It seriously enabled the use of taxis as a reliable part of a transportation solution, or eg to cover the 1-2 days a week you needed a car without having to own a car.
- aerovistae 6y agoReally interesting! Didn't know. In the northeast taxis are generally reliable, although I've never used them with the regularity of someone who uses them to get to work.
- x0x0 6y agoYeah, I think if your baseline is NY or somewhere like that were taxis weren't allowed to screw over the entire city for a couple decades, people don't understand why uber and lyft are loved in california. I'm not a fan of their labor practices, but the situation before was indefensible.
- aksss 6y agoThis describes the taxi experience I've had in every city the world over. Not that I've been everywhere, but places in Europe, Asia, North/Central America, that's been my experience. Small towns are generally better because the taxi driver isn't anonymous.
- astrange 6y agoThey're fairly polite in Japan and don't try to rip you off, but many taxi drivers are 900 years old and have incomprehensible accents (Japanese ones, not foreign) so it can be a little hard to explain where to go. I think they're fine in the UK too. But they absolutely aren't in California, Uber was a godsend and far less criminal even considering all the stuff they have done.