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Uber is a great example of how this model ends up awful for both drivers (who get awful working conditions and usually end up making a lot less net than promise

Uber is a great example of how this model ends up awful for both drivers (who get awful working conditions and usually end up making a lot less net than promised) and customers (who get an awful experience, end up paying a lot more than they would otherwise, and still aren't making progress towards getting rid of that extra expense).

sokoloff 5y ago
As a consumer, Uber has been a massive win for me. We own two “daily” drivers, but going downtown or to the airport in an Uber is convenient and cheaper than parking downtown or at the airport. On trips to other cities, Uber is often way cheaper than cabs. I’ve never found Uber worse than cabs and maybe 1 in a 100 Ubers is dirty or smelly, reminding me of how awful cabs used to be about half the time. Many drivers seem about as happy as random workers in other industries but some seem quite a bit happier with their arrangement with Uber than most service workers seem to be.
- iso1210 5y ago
  Uber is certainly a win in almost all cities - I can count on one hand the times I've had an issue with them (once in Singapore, once in Kenya), and I've used uber far more than legacy cabs (where I can think of all manner of issues - probably 1 in 6 or 1 in 7 journeys) Uber relies on the drivers underselling themselves though, which isn't good for society, but is great for the individual rider.
relativ575 5y ago
As a somewhat frequent user, Uber's rides have always been good experience for me. Never awful. One of nicest things is you can use it in many countries, from the same app. Taxi is a scam in a lot of places. The complaint I have is that Uber pickup is sometimes unreliable. They may cancel after being connected, or they didn't wait at pickup points and left without contacting me.
- Nullabillity 5y ago
  To be clear: my criticisms are primarily about taxis vs car ownership. Uber just cranks the taxi problems up to 11.

sokoloff 5y ago

As a consumer, Uber has been a massive win for me. We own two “daily” drivers, but going downtown or to the airport in an Uber is convenient and cheaper than parking downtown or at the airport. On trips to other cities, Uber is often way cheaper than cabs. I’ve never found Uber worse than cabs and maybe 1 in a 100 Ubers is dirty or smelly, reminding me of how awful cabs used to be about half the time. Many drivers seem about as happy as random workers in other industries but some seem quite a bit happier with their arrangement with Uber than most service workers seem to be.

iso1210 5y ago
Uber is certainly a win in almost all cities - I can count on one hand the times I've had an issue with them (once in Singapore, once in Kenya), and I've used uber far more than legacy cabs (where I can think of all manner of issues - probably 1 in 6 or 1 in 7 journeys) Uber relies on the drivers underselling themselves though, which isn't good for society, but is great for the individual rider.

relativ575 5y ago

As a somewhat frequent user, Uber's rides have always been good experience for me. Never awful. One of nicest things is you can use it in many countries, from the same app. Taxi is a scam in a lot of places. The complaint I have is that Uber pickup is sometimes unreliable. They may cancel after being connected, or they didn't wait at pickup points and left without contacting me.

Nullabillity 5y ago
To be clear: my criticisms are primarily about taxis vs car ownership. Uber just cranks the taxi problems up to 11.