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> Sunday night, I flew into LAX from San Francisco and boarded a shuttle to the airport’s newish pickup spot for ground transportation just east of Terminal 1.

• ClumsyPilot 5y ago
  People use single-use unrecycleable plastic, unhealthy food and capsule coffee machines, all are unnessesary, net negative to society but enable lazyness and are a great business.
  • echopurity 5y ago
    The fact that destroying the planet and ruining people's lives is "good business" is a major part of the problem.
  • lexapro 5y ago
    Unnecessary maybe, but those things undoubtedly offer value.
    • ClumsyPilot 5y ago
      Slaves offer value too, what conclusion should I draw from this?
      • Nasrudith 5y ago
        What should you conclude about the fact all serial killers in recent memory used soap at some point in your life?
        • ClumsyPilot 5y ago
          That's the point, that's why I don't go around commenting "he used soap too!", but somehow "But they offer value!" is a valid contribution to debate? Not just valid, but prevalent throughout HN?
• funcDropShadow 5y ago
  > Isn't the fact that people use Uber proof that they provide some value? Yes, but that value might be, that some people feel better because they think they are doing something for the climate.
  • carlosdp 5y ago
    I highly doubt any noticeable percentage of Uber/Lyft's user base factors in climate change in the purchase decision. It's about convenience.
    • funcDropShadow 5y ago
      What is more convenient about Uber/Lyft than a traditional taxi? I use my smartphone to get a taxi, even without having to install a specific app or to create more accounts. It is an honest question; for context, I live in Europe in a place where the courts ruled Uber and Lyft are yet another taxi service and therefore should abide the same laws.
• AlwaysRock 5y ago
  Yeah the experience in each airport varies. Some have a lot near by where drivers can sit and wait in a queue for passengers and some just say good luck but dont you dare sit in the loading zone. If you are traveling to a new city/airport you never really know what you are going to get. Regardless waiting is normally better than getting into a taxi that will change you an unknown amount.
• naasking 5y ago
  Exactly, the taxis monopolies are the only reason Uber/Lyft are less convenient than they could be. There are legitimate concerns with Uber/Lyft putting more cars on the road, but I think that would flip once autonomous driving becomes viable. Then network capacity planning rules can be used to reduce total number of cars.
• a2tech 5y ago
  Also (at least locally) there is a big shortage of people actually driving for Uber/Lyft. The few recent times I've been able to get a driver they've all told me the same story--they'd rather be delivering for Uber Eats than driving for Uber. Apparently the money/work equation is better PLUS they get tips.
• i_am_proteus 5y ago
  Most airports I have been to in United States have a "cell phone waiting lot" where you're allowed to remain with your vehicle (if you leave a vehicle unattended, you'll get ticketed or towed). This originally cut down on people picking up their friends from arrivals just circling the airport while waiting, but they're pretty commonly used by taxi services nowadays. Certainly Uber and Lyft provide value, but I personally have seen that value plummet in markets where the rides aren't subsidized by VC money.
  • gsibble 5y ago
    I've been riding Uber since it was black only and done over text messages (pre-app). The prices now are insane comparatively. I got a car instead and it's cheaper to make my payment, garage it, and insure it than take even UberX everywhere I need to go.
    • ghaff 5y ago
      In many cases, Uber is in the same ballpark as taxis these days. It still tends to be cheaper but I have definitely seen cases where it's about the same. Which was fairly obviously where things were going to end up as VC subsidies petered out. And, yes, for most people--especially outside of city centers--owning a car is going to be cheaper than hiring a ride to go everywhere.
• spywaregorilla 5y ago
  Just to be clear, it's not pandering to taxis to do this. It's basically required. Taxis are first in, first out. Someone leaves the airport and gets in the first available car. Uber is like the bubble sort of queuing theory. It's random in, random out. A driver and a passenger are matched with no regard to the queue, then, if not specially managed, the driver occupies a spot until that passenger gets there. If anyone calls a car too early or is at the wrong place, they've just congested the system pretty badly. Total waiting time slows down.
  • thebean11 5y ago
    I don't think that's true; Uber has a queue system for airports also where drivers are assigned a rider in the order they arrived at the airport. The issue is that the drivers in the queue are forced to wait somewhere far away, and can only drive to the pickup spot after they are assigned a ride.
    • spywaregorilla 5y ago
      That is the solution to the problem, which is why they can't just wait outside directly.
      • thebean11 5y ago
        Why can't the x drivers at the front of the line wait directly outside? Not sure I understand.
        • aeturnum 5y ago
          So there are a few issues if you think about it. First, airports are large and people will order rides from all different parts of the terminal. Putting drivers at various points inside the terminal(s) complicates assignment. Second, you can't...go up to a rideshare driver and hire them (as a ride share driver). You have to use the app. So having them physically available, though potentially decreasing some wait times, doesn't help most people who hire them. Taxis, on the other hand, you can just walk up to and hire. So having fixed locations for taxis scattered around the terminal makes more sense with the model. Third, you have a priority ordering problem. Rideshare drivers are given rides in the order they arrived at the airport, but the location of their passengers varies. It's possible someone orders while they are walking through the terminal or when they already have their bags. This also relates to the large size of airports (as mentioned above). Taxis, on the other hand, are hired at the physical taxi and can leave immediately. I think ridesharing companies could fix all of these problems by creating a 'taxi' mode in their apps where people could walk up to a set of waiting drivers and grab one, but they haven't done so.
• ordinaryradical 5y ago
  In LA it’s the worst of all worlds, taxis can’t come to the terminal anymore either. Unless you’re getting picked up by friends, you will be taking a bus to that parking lot and waiting.
  • nradov 5y ago
    If you can it's better to avoid LAX and fly into one of the smaller nearby airports like SNA.
    • simfree 5y ago
      John Wayne Airport sucks. Terrible transit access, and Lyft has been flakier in that area than hiking through the parkag garage then over a few blocks to get to a bus stop. Flying into San Diego is a much better experience in comparison.
• quartesixte 5y ago
  LAX also has the unfortunate problem of being terribly designed. The one way U-ring that goes around the terminals is to narrow for the volume of traffic with plenty of bottlenecks all around. Even with the rideshares removed, getting to the international terminal (at the apex of the U) from the start takes a good 15 - 20 minutes on a busy day just from people dropping off friends and family. It’s a complete boondoggle.
• wbsss4412 5y ago
  LAX is just terrible in general. The fact that they chose not to build their rail line to actually stop at the airport is just mind boggling.
• wdr1 5y ago
  LAX changed how ride sharing services worked in the late 2019, with a new program called LAXit. It was HORRIBLE. A total shitshow. As someone who travelled a few times a months, it added 30-60 minutes to the time it took me to get home. There's several articles written about how terrible it was. The only thing that saved them, ironically, was COIVD & the collapse of travel. When it comes back it's going to be a disaster all over again.