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>why is it that apps for the alternatives still suck Agreed, here in SF Uber and Lyft have both become considerably slower, more expensive, and less reliable o
by mustacheemperor 5y ago
>why is it that apps for the alternatives still suck
Agreed, here in SF Uber and Lyft have both become considerably slower, more expensive, and less reliable over the last weeks/months.
A friend suggested the YoTaxi SF app, which is an app for ordering local licensed taxis. You can pick your start and endpoint and order a car just like Uber. Great! Except you can't tip the driver via the app, so the reviews are mostly negative where reviewers explain they arrived at their destination only to be shaken down for cash or venmo by the driver, potentially for the full cost of the trip because "that app doesn't work, I won't get paid."
I would love to stop using rideshare. I urgently want to, because several times recently I've nearly been late because of issues - for example on a recent trip after I waited 10 minutes, my driver flew past my exit on the highway and canceled my ride before reporting me for "health and safety violations" so they would not be penalized for the missed trip. But my alternatives are either to utilize multiple intermodal transfers across the bay area public transit system, typically more than doubling the length of the trip, or to deal with the taxi system. I'll use public transit when I can but for example, the trip I took yesterday was 22 minutes by car and 1 hour 5 minutes by public transit - assuming my bus transferred on time. I just don't have 45 +/- 15 extra minutes each way every time.
- disgruntledphd2 5y agoHonestly, I'm pretty anti-Uber for a variety of reasons, but having experienced the cab services in SF a bunch of times, I completely understand why so many people there like it.
- dbt00 5y agoThe real problem in SF is that it is just a fairly small city, so a lot of the big city things you'd expect from NYC/LA/Chicago just aren't there.
- jiert 5y agoAdditionally, the public transportation infrastructure designed to deal with the topography of the city has become nothing more than a tourist attraction, rather than a way to traverse the city.
- bink 5y agoI've taken cabs all over the world and I have to say one of the most terrifying experiences I've had was in SF in the 90s. We were absolutely flying up and down those hills with just some measly brake pads to save us (and the pedestrians).
- sabarn01 5y agoIts so much better than taxis in even smaller cities. In Louisville to get a taxi took at least an hour uber made it minutes. I agree uber was investor subsidized but it was a good thing for a lot of people in smaller cities.
- wraptile 5y agoAs someone who did a fair amount of traveling Uber/Lyft/Grab (or whatever local app) is by far the best thing that has happened to tourism/travel in the last century and I'm not over exaggerating. The ability to go anywhere you point on the map at any time of the day without the fear of being ripped off _or worse_ changed everything. Maybe that's where Uber should focus? Become an Airbnb of transportation.
- caseyf7 5y agoAgreed. Last time I used Uber at SFO there were no cars within 30 minutes except Uber black. The Uber black driver gave me his card and said to call him directly for less than Uber charges.