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On the other hand, in India canceling of rides by drivers is creating huge pain to riders. Commuters are up in arms over the increasing number of cancellations

by achow 5y ago

On the other hand, in India canceling of rides by drivers is creating huge pain to riders. Commuters are up in arms over the increasing number of cancellations on app-based services such as Ola and Uber. More often than not drivers, after accepting a ride, call up the passenger to ask about his or her destination before cancelling. They are unwilling to come to certain destinations and are not ready to pick up passengers in residential areas located away from main roads, said one regular user of Ola and Uber. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/bengaluru-commuters-get-tired-of-being-taken-for-a-ride/article65062548.ece https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/bengaluru-com...

okareaman 5y ago
If they showed the driver the ride details beforehand, drivers could not accept the ride and passengers would never know. That's what would happen if drivers were truely independent. But by forcing the driver to cancel and irritating customers, Uber and Lyft are able to use this as a stick to discipline "independent" drivers. Note that drivers wouldn't cancel profitable rides, only rides that don't make them or cause them to lose money. I'm not sure why anyone has a problem with this.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago
  > If they showed the driver the ride details beforehand, drivers could not accept the ride and passengers would never know Then you go back to the taxi problem of there being no rides from or to predominantly black neighbourhoods.
- achow 5y ago
  Not necessary. In India there is law that if you are running cabs on govt license then you cannot refuse passengers. If you as a cab driver do refuse (for whatever reason) then traffic police can take action (article mentions this). There must be reason that this condition has been put into place.
  - zdragnar 5y ago
    My gut instinct is that it is a protection from caste discrimination, that is really just a wild guess on my part.
    - achow 5y ago
      Absurd. It is about passenger safety. The article itself mentions that people are stranded late night and one driver after another refusing to pickup the rider. Think women, emergency,.. etc.
      - Ekaros 5y ago
        Then offer to pay more. There is always a price point where someone is ready to provide the service. This should be in the system, maybe provide all details up front and then include extra payment which the rider can agree to pay to get their service, free market.
        kelseyfrog 5y ago
        None of that is false, but the higher-order effects are socially unacceptable.
    - cscurmudgeon 5y ago
      Please stop making everything about caste without any evidence.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - JumpCrisscross 5y ago
      > My gut instinct is that it is a protection from caste discrimination You’re probably right. Not even a decade ago in New York I had to call cabs for my Ivy-league educated, well-dressed black roommate because they would curiously blow past him.
  - koolba 5y ago
- ddoran 5y ago
  A driver won't just chose profitable over unprofitable, but also more profitable over less profitable, and this ends up hurting some passengers on less profitable / less desirable routes. If you wanted a cab to Brooklyn from Manhattan 20+ years ago, you had to get in the back of the car before telling the driver where you wanted to go. Otherwise the driver would just drive off without you. The ride was definitely profitable, but they knew they'd pick up another Manhattan ride on the next block and so on - a more profitable option that to risk not having a fare back from Brooklyn. Many drivers wised up and wouldn't let you into the cab until you told them where you were going. It was a major PitA.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

by achow 5y ago

okareaman 5y ago

If they showed the driver the ride details beforehand, drivers could not accept the ride and passengers would never know. That's what would happen if drivers were truely independent. But by forcing the driver to cancel and irritating customers, Uber and Lyft are able to use this as a stick to discipline "independent" drivers. Note that drivers wouldn't cancel profitable rides, only rides that don't make them or cause them to lose money. I'm not sure why anyone has a problem with this.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago
> If they showed the driver the ride details beforehand, drivers could not accept the ride and passengers would never know Then you go back to the taxi problem of there being no rides from or to predominantly black neighbourhoods.
achow 5y ago
Not necessary. In India there is law that if you are running cabs on govt license then you cannot refuse passengers. If you as a cab driver do refuse (for whatever reason) then traffic police can take action (article mentions this). There must be reason that this condition has been put into place.
- zdragnar 5y ago
  My gut instinct is that it is a protection from caste discrimination, that is really just a wild guess on my part.
  - achow 5y ago
    Absurd. It is about passenger safety. The article itself mentions that people are stranded late night and one driver after another refusing to pickup the rider. Think women, emergency,.. etc.
    - Ekaros 5y ago
      Then offer to pay more. There is always a price point where someone is ready to provide the service. This should be in the system, maybe provide all details up front and then include extra payment which the rider can agree to pay to get their service, free market.
      - kelseyfrog 5y ago
        None of that is false, but the higher-order effects are socially unacceptable.
  - cscurmudgeon 5y ago
    Please stop making everything about caste without any evidence.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - JumpCrisscross 5y ago
    > My gut instinct is that it is a protection from caste discrimination You’re probably right. Not even a decade ago in New York I had to call cabs for my Ivy-league educated, well-dressed black roommate because they would curiously blow past him.
- koolba 5y ago
ddoran 5y ago
A driver won't just chose profitable over unprofitable, but also more profitable over less profitable, and this ends up hurting some passengers on less profitable / less desirable routes. If you wanted a cab to Brooklyn from Manhattan 20+ years ago, you had to get in the back of the car before telling the driver where you wanted to go. Otherwise the driver would just drive off without you. The ride was definitely profitable, but they knew they'd pick up another Manhattan ride on the next block and so on - a more profitable option that to risk not having a fare back from Brooklyn. Many drivers wised up and wouldn't let you into the cab until you told them where you were going. It was a major PitA.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]