7 ms·

Maybe it is "marginally better" where you come from. Uber and their ill have always been always parity priced or more expensive in the markets I have lived in.

by sfifs 4y ago

Maybe it is "marginally better" where you come from. Uber and their ill have always been always parity priced or more expensive in the markets I have lived in. The killer value proposition is the car actually turns up in a timely manner and actually takes passengers to where they want to go. Taxis often simply were eother not available to call, rarely showed up even if called and would often refuse to go where passengers want. Uber and its competitors literally makes it possible to live in the cities i live in without owning a car because even if you regularly commute by public transport, for those occasions where you need a car, you know you will get one reliably. In the past that was not an option and you would have to own a car. Hopefully a good reminder to not extrapolate personal experiences or propaganda of the circle one may be a part of to the whole world.

jackson1442 4y ago
The best part about Uber/Lyft imo is that I know exactly how much I'll be charged before I even request it. Taxis you get to do a bunch of math that depends on factors like traffic but in the rideshare apps you can decide if the ride is worth it. If taxis could replicate this more ethically, I would switch in a heartbeat.
- klabb3 4y ago
  They don't always stick to it. From LAX airport, it was showing an initial price of say $30, and then "looking for drivers" spinner goes on for 2-3 min. Then they "found" one that is more expensive, say $45, which you can accept to get "faster" service. Hint: you will have to wait ages to get that initial price, if at all. Uber has become much more shitty AND much more expensive in the last years. Same with Lyft. I have a tingly feeling Lyft and Uber has struck a deal behind the curtain to not tread on each other, or fix prices.
- thn-gap 4y ago
  I once took an Uber who didn't follow the directions of the app properly, missing some turns, resulting in unnecessary cycles. This resulted in the fare being higher than initially stated. When I reported this to Uber, showing the trace in the map, they said the final price was still within the range stated (it was not), and nothing happened.
charrondev 4y ago
In my market I can now get an taxi in more consistent time than an Uber. It seems drivers don’t get matched in a timely manner. Unfortunately I was using Uber primarily because of how fast it arrived previously, but the driver numbers fell off a lot during Covid, between some drivers churning out, not wanting to wear masks, and or switching to Uber eats. Sometimes I wish I could just “even though there is so surge, I would gladly pay a 2x surge to just get a car to arrive here within the next 30 minutes”.
- bombcar 4y ago
  I've always thought much of the problems with Uber would be resolved by allowing the customer to bid higher for the trip.
  - jeltz 4y ago
    Wouldn't that just encourage Uber drivers to be slow in picking up and wait for people to bid?
    - bombcar 4y ago
      Yep, but it'd make Uber much more of a platform for negotiations between buyer and seller, which is what it kind of holds itself out to be. But it would also encourage the Uber drivers to snipe each other as prices climbed.
alasdair_ 4y ago
> and would often refuse to go where passengers want This happens to me all the time with Uber when I land at LAX and want to go to Anaheim or I’m in SF and want to go to San Jose. And unlike a taxi, half the time Uber charges me $5 claiming that I ghosted the driver rather than them refusing to take me, something I don’t always catch.
- soco 4y ago
  I can see this personally happening more and more in Romania when I go visit relatives, and locals confirmed me the trend. At some point soon there won't be any reason anymore picking Uber over taxis.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
  I thought that Uber drivers could not see your destination until they picked you up. Are drivers taking off and refusing at the moment of pickup in SF? Seems like that would be pretty easy to catch behavior.
  - pclmulqdq 4y ago
    In NYC, I had several drivers refuse to let me into the car until I told them where I was going. I never took those cars and made them cancel it (and then reported it). However, it is common practice.
  - alasdair_ 4y ago
    >Are drivers taking off and refusing at the moment of pickup in SF? Yes. Although usually what they do is call first and ask where you are going to. I've absolutely had times where I've had them refuse either after I got in the car, or they don't unlock the doors until I tell them.
    - Chico75 4y ago
      Does anyone still pick up? After a few calls and cancelled rides, you quickly learn not to answer anymore if you want the car to arrive.
varunprasad 4y ago
Well, iphones have also only existed since little before Uber came around. The reason that was the only way cabs were available because those were the only communication technologies available. Maybe what you should be demanding is that cab services provide apps so you don't have to hail/call, etc. There are several companies that can provide this for your cab jurisdiction area as a third party service and they won't price gouge the cab drivers and/or the customers, and they won't use illegal threats and bribes to change laws to suit their needs.
- dmix 4y ago
  I’ve used non-Uber taxi apps in cities like Austin and they failed to show up multiple times and about 50% of the time the “finding driver” part takes about 15-20 minutes before I gave up and just used Uber (one time my phone died during this process and I was left with no taxi). It’s obviously treated like a 3rd tier part of their companies. People want tech companies providing taxi services, they don’t just want the old local taxi service with a half-assed app bolted on + the usual dirty city taxi cars w/ no review process.
  - alexcnwy 4y ago
    Non-Uber taxi apps in Germany are horrible. The apps are buggy and the service is unreliable. Uber is far better in my experience.
    - SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
      In Sweden, I have had the opposite experience. The Uber app is never used, due to how low paid the drivers are. The taxi apps are actually decently good and pretty reliable. They are not as feature rich as the Uber app, and more expensive, but when you need a ride at three in the morning, don't expect the Uber app to get you one.
    - HWR_14 4y ago
      I don't know why the app would need anything more than "I want to be picked up here". Dispatching worked fine when you had to call a phone number. The app could literally be an interface to texting.
spiantino 4y ago
Did you read the article? You like Uber a lot, congrats, what does that have to do with this?
- elforce002 4y ago
  Exactly. Not see the forest for the trees.
- winternett 4y ago
  I'm pretty convinced that these boilerplate responses are a result of PR brigading, which happens a lot in threads of this kind online. They always seem way too positively scripted, and they bury real comments. The Internet is so overrun by engineered smoke and mirrors now, it's hard to trust even online comments concerning corporations unless they're negative comments concerning those corporations.
  - k12sosse 4y ago
    Even negative comments are just the competition's campaign
synicalx 4y ago
> the car actually turns up in a timely manner Here in Australia this is becoming a real problem with Uber - drivers seem to apparently have unlimited "cancels" and just cancel rides continuously to drive up demand especially at the airport where they know passengers have no other choice. They'll also almost always refuse rides that are too far, or don't finish in or near a high-demand area (like a CBD or airport). Other ride share apps are worse (DiDi really sucks), but Uber is the most expensive by far and the experience is pretty bad. Our taxis on the other hand mostly seem to have uber-like apps and you can reliably get picked up just about anywhere even if you live in the middle of nowhere (within reason, of course). They're about the same price as Uber, with no surge pricing as well.
Spooky23 4y ago
Uber varies dramatically in different locales. In my area, they aren’t very available and don’t like to pick up in many areas, and hate driving to the airport or train station. Previously, the airport and train station authority held cabs to high standards there and they were responsive and clean. In places like Boston I’ve been straight up stranded in the airport when Ubers just won’t show - don’t know why.
heliodor 4y ago
Another important benefit of taking an Uber is that the price is clear.

by sfifs 4y ago

jackson1442 4y ago

The best part about Uber/Lyft imo is that I know exactly how much I'll be charged before I even request it. Taxis you get to do a bunch of math that depends on factors like traffic but in the rideshare apps you can decide if the ride is worth it. If taxis could replicate this more ethically, I would switch in a heartbeat.

klabb3 4y ago
They don't always stick to it. From LAX airport, it was showing an initial price of say $30, and then "looking for drivers" spinner goes on for 2-3 min. Then they "found" one that is more expensive, say $45, which you can accept to get "faster" service. Hint: you will have to wait ages to get that initial price, if at all. Uber has become much more shitty AND much more expensive in the last years. Same with Lyft. I have a tingly feeling Lyft and Uber has struck a deal behind the curtain to not tread on each other, or fix prices.
thn-gap 4y ago
I once took an Uber who didn't follow the directions of the app properly, missing some turns, resulting in unnecessary cycles. This resulted in the fare being higher than initially stated. When I reported this to Uber, showing the trace in the map, they said the final price was still within the range stated (it was not), and nothing happened.

charrondev 4y ago

In my market I can now get an taxi in more consistent time than an Uber. It seems drivers don’t get matched in a timely manner. Unfortunately I was using Uber primarily because of how fast it arrived previously, but the driver numbers fell off a lot during Covid, between some drivers churning out, not wanting to wear masks, and or switching to Uber eats. Sometimes I wish I could just “even though there is so surge, I would gladly pay a 2x surge to just get a car to arrive here within the next 30 minutes”.

bombcar 4y ago
I've always thought much of the problems with Uber would be resolved by allowing the customer to bid higher for the trip.
- jeltz 4y ago
  Wouldn't that just encourage Uber drivers to be slow in picking up and wait for people to bid?
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Yep, but it'd make Uber much more of a platform for negotiations between buyer and seller, which is what it kind of holds itself out to be. But it would also encourage the Uber drivers to snipe each other as prices climbed.

alasdair_ 4y ago

> and would often refuse to go where passengers want This happens to me all the time with Uber when I land at LAX and want to go to Anaheim or I’m in SF and want to go to San Jose. And unlike a taxi, half the time Uber charges me $5 claiming that I ghosted the driver rather than them refusing to take me, something I don’t always catch.

soco 4y ago
I can see this personally happening more and more in Romania when I go visit relatives, and locals confirmed me the trend. At some point soon there won't be any reason anymore picking Uber over taxis.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
I thought that Uber drivers could not see your destination until they picked you up. Are drivers taking off and refusing at the moment of pickup in SF? Seems like that would be pretty easy to catch behavior.
- pclmulqdq 4y ago
  In NYC, I had several drivers refuse to let me into the car until I told them where I was going. I never took those cars and made them cancel it (and then reported it). However, it is common practice.
- alasdair_ 4y ago
  >Are drivers taking off and refusing at the moment of pickup in SF? Yes. Although usually what they do is call first and ask where you are going to. I've absolutely had times where I've had them refuse either after I got in the car, or they don't unlock the doors until I tell them.
  - Chico75 4y ago
    Does anyone still pick up? After a few calls and cancelled rides, you quickly learn not to answer anymore if you want the car to arrive.

varunprasad 4y ago

Well, iphones have also only existed since little before Uber came around. The reason that was the only way cabs were available because those were the only communication technologies available. Maybe what you should be demanding is that cab services provide apps so you don't have to hail/call, etc. There are several companies that can provide this for your cab jurisdiction area as a third party service and they won't price gouge the cab drivers and/or the customers, and they won't use illegal threats and bribes to change laws to suit their needs.

dmix 4y ago
I’ve used non-Uber taxi apps in cities like Austin and they failed to show up multiple times and about 50% of the time the “finding driver” part takes about 15-20 minutes before I gave up and just used Uber (one time my phone died during this process and I was left with no taxi). It’s obviously treated like a 3rd tier part of their companies. People want tech companies providing taxi services, they don’t just want the old local taxi service with a half-assed app bolted on + the usual dirty city taxi cars w/ no review process.
- alexcnwy 4y ago
  Non-Uber taxi apps in Germany are horrible. The apps are buggy and the service is unreliable. Uber is far better in my experience.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
    In Sweden, I have had the opposite experience. The Uber app is never used, due to how low paid the drivers are. The taxi apps are actually decently good and pretty reliable. They are not as feature rich as the Uber app, and more expensive, but when you need a ride at three in the morning, don't expect the Uber app to get you one.
  - HWR_14 4y ago
    I don't know why the app would need anything more than "I want to be picked up here". Dispatching worked fine when you had to call a phone number. The app could literally be an interface to texting.

spiantino 4y ago

Did you read the article? You like Uber a lot, congrats, what does that have to do with this?

elforce002 4y ago
Exactly. Not see the forest for the trees.
winternett 4y ago
I'm pretty convinced that these boilerplate responses are a result of PR brigading, which happens a lot in threads of this kind online. They always seem way too positively scripted, and they bury real comments. The Internet is so overrun by engineered smoke and mirrors now, it's hard to trust even online comments concerning corporations unless they're negative comments concerning those corporations.
- k12sosse 4y ago
  Even negative comments are just the competition's campaign

synicalx 4y ago

> the car actually turns up in a timely manner Here in Australia this is becoming a real problem with Uber - drivers seem to apparently have unlimited "cancels" and just cancel rides continuously to drive up demand especially at the airport where they know passengers have no other choice. They'll also almost always refuse rides that are too far, or don't finish in or near a high-demand area (like a CBD or airport). Other ride share apps are worse (DiDi really sucks), but Uber is the most expensive by far and the experience is pretty bad. Our taxis on the other hand mostly seem to have uber-like apps and you can reliably get picked up just about anywhere even if you live in the middle of nowhere (within reason, of course). They're about the same price as Uber, with no surge pricing as well.

Spooky23 4y ago

Uber varies dramatically in different locales. In my area, they aren’t very available and don’t like to pick up in many areas, and hate driving to the airport or train station. Previously, the airport and train station authority held cabs to high standards there and they were responsive and clean. In places like Boston I’ve been straight up stranded in the airport when Ubers just won’t show - don’t know why.

heliodor 4y ago

Another important benefit of taking an Uber is that the price is clear.