5 ms·

Related: last week was the first time in years that I actually drove to the airport and parked because it was significantly cheaper than Uber or Lyft. What was

Related: last week was the first time in years that I actually drove to the airport and parked because it was significantly cheaper than Uber or Lyft. What was a pretty standard $30-35 trip has now grown to close to $60, before tip. I'm really curious to see if ridership demand will actually meet these new prices.

sneak 5y ago
Uber started out as Ubercab, a black limo-only service in SFBA, with the price of a generous tip already included in their all-in price. It was an extremely convenient, high-end service designed for the wealthy, and it wasn't for several years until they went downmarket with uberX and cannibalized their own high-margin thing. I hope Uber Black (what the original Ubercab limo service got rebranded into) survives all this relatively unscathed. The high end service, nice cars, and surge pricing (meaning that you could always get a ride if you were willing to pay current top-of-market rates) was awesome for those of us not price sensitive. uberX is cool too, but the high volume race to scale/race to the bottom made a pretty crap service for riders and a not great situation for drivers (although one that was better than not being able to be driving for Uber, otherwise drivers wouldn't have done it). It only continued to exist, in my view, because taxis and every other option sucked way, way, way more, and had for decades.
- xyzzy_plugh 5y ago
  Of the last dozen times I took Uber Black or so, I had: Drivers who didn't know where we were going and had to ask me directions (the airport -- seriously?), who got lost, missed turns, had trunks full of stuff so barely fit my not-especially-large luggage, drove very badly, didn't understand basic English... Sure it's better than nothing, but... Not much better? Quality has gone down hill so much compared to a few years ago.
- dbish 5y ago
  Used to love the original Uber. It reduced the complexity of having a car service or to call a proper towncar and still kept good quality and good drivers. UberX is almost as bad quality as normal taxis, just slightly better etiquette in most cases because you’ll be rating them after
- sundaeofshock 5y ago
  I have no idea why you are getting down voted; you words couldn’t be more true. I loved it when Uber was a high-end service. I was more than happy to pay extra for the knowledge that I was guaranteed a ride. I remember using Uber to take my girlfriend to dinner, then straight to a club and then home again while it was raining on a Saturday night. An impossibility with a cab. It’s a pity they traded quality for volume.
  - sneak 5y ago
    When you have that much VC money, you have to eventually go the volume route. I think their hope/plan was to not trade (Uber Black still exists, last I checked, 18 months ago when I still used Uber) but to expand and do both. Time will tell if that actually worked, in practice.

sneak 5y ago

Uber started out as Ubercab, a black limo-only service in SFBA, with the price of a generous tip already included in their all-in price. It was an extremely convenient, high-end service designed for the wealthy, and it wasn't for several years until they went downmarket with uberX and cannibalized their own high-margin thing. I hope Uber Black (what the original Ubercab limo service got rebranded into) survives all this relatively unscathed. The high end service, nice cars, and surge pricing (meaning that you could always get a ride if you were willing to pay current top-of-market rates) was awesome for those of us not price sensitive. uberX is cool too, but the high volume race to scale/race to the bottom made a pretty crap service for riders and a not great situation for drivers (although one that was better than not being able to be driving for Uber, otherwise drivers wouldn't have done it). It only continued to exist, in my view, because taxis and every other option sucked way, way, way more, and had for decades.

xyzzy_plugh 5y ago
Of the last dozen times I took Uber Black or so, I had: Drivers who didn't know where we were going and had to ask me directions (the airport -- seriously?), who got lost, missed turns, had trunks full of stuff so barely fit my not-especially-large luggage, drove very badly, didn't understand basic English... Sure it's better than nothing, but... Not much better? Quality has gone down hill so much compared to a few years ago.
dbish 5y ago
Used to love the original Uber. It reduced the complexity of having a car service or to call a proper towncar and still kept good quality and good drivers. UberX is almost as bad quality as normal taxis, just slightly better etiquette in most cases because you’ll be rating them after
sundaeofshock 5y ago
I have no idea why you are getting down voted; you words couldn’t be more true. I loved it when Uber was a high-end service. I was more than happy to pay extra for the knowledge that I was guaranteed a ride. I remember using Uber to take my girlfriend to dinner, then straight to a club and then home again while it was raining on a Saturday night. An impossibility with a cab. It’s a pity they traded quality for volume.
- sneak 5y ago
  When you have that much VC money, you have to eventually go the volume route. I think their hope/plan was to not trade (Uber Black still exists, last I checked, 18 months ago when I still used Uber) but to expand and do both. Time will tell if that actually worked, in practice.