5 ms·

> I periodically check my phone for the next 5-10 minutes. The driver arrives right on time. I would have had no issue just waiting there. You had no issue thi

by cube00 5y ago

> I periodically check my phone for the next 5-10 minutes. The driver arrives right on time. I would have had no issue just waiting there. You had no issue this time. If the driver cancelled you'd still be standing outside and you'd miss your flight. Unlike public transportation, there isn't another arriving in 30 minutes.

asdff 5y ago
I cannot fly early flights anymore. Public transit takes 90 minutes at this time and uber trips are liable to cancel on me if its too early after pretending like they will be picking me up for 15 mins.
- eru 5y ago
  Why did those drivers take the fare in the first place? (Don't they usually like going to the airport for a return likely trip?)
  - asdff 5y ago
    They will grab my uber ride while they are looking for a more favorable trip with the lyft app or vis versa probably.
    - eru 5y ago
      Ok, that might be happening. Though I guess they can't do that kind of thing too often, because Uber (and Lyft etc) cut you off pretty quickly, if you keep cancelling as a driver?
basisword 5y ago
This happened much less frequently in the past as it would ruin the taxi company’s reputation. With Uber we can get mad at the driver rather than the company and immediately order another car. So I feel that the convenience has also brought with it inconvenience.
- throwaway48375 5y ago
  Maybe it depends on the area? I definitely had taxis not show up before.
- superhuzza 5y ago
  >This happened much less frequently in the past as it would ruin the taxi company’s reputation. Are you sure about that? I remember taxis being notoriously unreliable before Uber was around. It seems like that's a major reason Uber took off - passengers could actually see the car was coming, rather than placing a call and just praying the driver didn't pull a no-show. Anyways, I don't think either of us have anything beyond anecdotal evidence so it's hard to say.
  - rtb 5y ago
    I think basisword is British (as am I). I think Uber came about because taxis in the US sucked. Over here we never had the same problems with no-shows or overcharging (I'm speaking in general, of course this varied a lot). Uber hasn't done nearly so well in the UK as in the US. Outside of London, you can't find an Uber anywhere and the same local taxi firms from before Uber are still competing, largely based on their local reputation. (Plus now they all have whitelabel apps which have all Uber's features)
- marssaxman 5y ago
  > This happened much less frequently in the past as it would ruin the taxi company’s reputation. Where do you live? Where I live, this kind of thing happened so frequently that the reputation of the entire taxi industry was ruined; people simply had no alternative. Now that they do - I have not witnessed or heard anyone talking about calling a traditional cab at all in the years since Uber came along. I wonder what the actual market figures look like.
  - sneeze-slayer 5y ago
    When I need to get a ride someplace, I find myself calling a cab more than uber/lyft these days. The taxis are significantly cheaper than the alternative and are required to take credit cards. A side benefit is that the airport has a fixed price to the city, while rideshare services will often cost double or even triple with demand pricing.

by cube00 5y ago

asdff 5y ago

I cannot fly early flights anymore. Public transit takes 90 minutes at this time and uber trips are liable to cancel on me if its too early after pretending like they will be picking me up for 15 mins.

eru 5y ago
Why did those drivers take the fare in the first place? (Don't they usually like going to the airport for a return likely trip?)
- asdff 5y ago
  They will grab my uber ride while they are looking for a more favorable trip with the lyft app or vis versa probably.
  - eru 5y ago
    Ok, that might be happening. Though I guess they can't do that kind of thing too often, because Uber (and Lyft etc) cut you off pretty quickly, if you keep cancelling as a driver?

basisword 5y ago

This happened much less frequently in the past as it would ruin the taxi company’s reputation. With Uber we can get mad at the driver rather than the company and immediately order another car. So I feel that the convenience has also brought with it inconvenience.

throwaway48375 5y ago
Maybe it depends on the area? I definitely had taxis not show up before.
superhuzza 5y ago
>This happened much less frequently in the past as it would ruin the taxi company’s reputation. Are you sure about that? I remember taxis being notoriously unreliable before Uber was around. It seems like that's a major reason Uber took off - passengers could actually see the car was coming, rather than placing a call and just praying the driver didn't pull a no-show. Anyways, I don't think either of us have anything beyond anecdotal evidence so it's hard to say.
- rtb 5y ago
  I think basisword is British (as am I). I think Uber came about because taxis in the US sucked. Over here we never had the same problems with no-shows or overcharging (I'm speaking in general, of course this varied a lot). Uber hasn't done nearly so well in the UK as in the US. Outside of London, you can't find an Uber anywhere and the same local taxi firms from before Uber are still competing, largely based on their local reputation. (Plus now they all have whitelabel apps which have all Uber's features)
marssaxman 5y ago
> This happened much less frequently in the past as it would ruin the taxi company’s reputation. Where do you live? Where I live, this kind of thing happened so frequently that the reputation of the entire taxi industry was ruined; people simply had no alternative. Now that they do - I have not witnessed or heard anyone talking about calling a traditional cab at all in the years since Uber came along. I wonder what the actual market figures look like.
- sneeze-slayer 5y ago
  When I need to get a ride someplace, I find myself calling a cab more than uber/lyft these days. The taxis are significantly cheaper than the alternative and are required to take credit cards. A side benefit is that the airport has a fixed price to the city, while rideshare services will often cost double or even triple with demand pricing.