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I have never taken an Uber. What am I missing? It's just that they are cheaper than conventional taxis? I never had a bad experience with conventional taxis ei

by danwee 3y ago

I have never taken an Uber. What am I missing? It's just that they are cheaper than conventional taxis? I never had a bad experience with conventional taxis either: I just get in, say address, pay, and get out.

reportgunner 3y ago
From my experience it's the same like conventional taxi except you don't have to talk to anyone. Your phone can handle your payment details and the payment itself as well. The GPS can help you find out where you actually are and feed that to the app if you have a hard time keeping track of that.
thrkwajajbd 3y ago
[dead]
bhickey 3y ago
Uber isn't replacing street hails. When you call a taxi company there's no certainty if or when they'll actually turn up.
- danwee 3y ago
  > When you call a taxi company there's no certainty if or when they'll actually turn up. Ah, that's a good one actually. So, with Uber is there any certainty? Do they give you money back or something if the Uber doesn't appear on the specified time? It has happened to me that I have waited a bit over the usual time for my taxi, but not very often.
  - medvezhenok 3y ago
    No, but Uber adds a market signal - if there is a shortage of drivers, rates will go up to entice more to get on the road.
  - soco 3y ago
    It happens with Uber sometimes that your designated driver just dallies some other place until you have to cancel the ride and hail a normal cab - then the canceling charge will be on you. Pretty neat trick, I'd say.
  - ses1984 3y ago
    You can trust the price and not get shaken down, I had to take a local small town taxi the other day and they charged me $20 for a very short ride with no meter. I needed a ride from queens to NJ and many cab companies simply hung up on me. I dislike uber the company but cabs were worse, for me.
- eesmith 3y ago
  What does "certainty" mean to you? https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=uber+did+not+show+up&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=uber+did+not+show+up&ia=web would suggest there are people who ordered an Uber ride that never showed up. Uber says it's possible for a ride to not show up: https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-would-like-to-get-a-refund-on-the-trip-i-didnt-take?nodeId=d0db4242-53ea-4852-832c-c65ff04dd92d https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-would-like-to-get-a-r... Uber even says it's possible for someone else to take the trip you requested, without your knowledge. https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-was-charged-for-a-ride-i-didnt-take-?nodeId=ab34c450-d3f3-4642-8ad8-d026751ee7ec https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-was-charged-for-a-rid...
paganel 3y ago
For one reason or another a lot of people have become allergic to the "say address" part, i.e. talking with a total stranger and having a financial transaction with said stranger via physical contact (like handing in cash).
CJefferson 3y ago
To me, Uber is like Starbucks and McDonald’s. Everyone you go there is a better local option, but on the other hand, in a city or country you aren’t familiar with, you can get service at an acceptable standard level.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
sotix 3y ago
In some big cities, I find taxis vastly superior. Notably so across Europe. However, I was at an airport in the US the other day, and the Uber pickup area was packed. There was a 30 minute wait. So I went to get a taxi. They called for one, and it came after about 10 minutes since the taxis don’t wait in the taxi area anymore. I had to instruct the driver everything down to which highway to use (something obvious for anyone that drives semi-regularly in my town). When I arrived, I paid the fare, which was more than double what Uber quoted me. It all felt so easy for the taxi to be competitive. But it’s far too expensive, and the driver was less knowledgeable than an average Uber driver using maps. The ride quality itself was a lot smoother however. For me, they have to get the cost lower than the cost of an Uber with an added surge to be competitive for my choice. I really like the FreeNow app in Europe. I’d be happy to see something like that in the US.

by danwee 3y ago

reportgunner 3y ago

From my experience it's the same like conventional taxi except you don't have to talk to anyone. Your phone can handle your payment details and the payment itself as well. The GPS can help you find out where you actually are and feed that to the app if you have a hard time keeping track of that.

thrkwajajbd 3y ago

[dead]

bhickey 3y ago

Uber isn't replacing street hails. When you call a taxi company there's no certainty if or when they'll actually turn up.

danwee 3y ago
> When you call a taxi company there's no certainty if or when they'll actually turn up. Ah, that's a good one actually. So, with Uber is there any certainty? Do they give you money back or something if the Uber doesn't appear on the specified time? It has happened to me that I have waited a bit over the usual time for my taxi, but not very often.
- medvezhenok 3y ago
  No, but Uber adds a market signal - if there is a shortage of drivers, rates will go up to entice more to get on the road.
- soco 3y ago
  It happens with Uber sometimes that your designated driver just dallies some other place until you have to cancel the ride and hail a normal cab - then the canceling charge will be on you. Pretty neat trick, I'd say.
- ses1984 3y ago
  You can trust the price and not get shaken down, I had to take a local small town taxi the other day and they charged me $20 for a very short ride with no meter. I needed a ride from queens to NJ and many cab companies simply hung up on me. I dislike uber the company but cabs were worse, for me.
eesmith 3y ago
What does "certainty" mean to you? https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=uber+did+not+show+up&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=uber+did+not+show+up&ia=web would suggest there are people who ordered an Uber ride that never showed up. Uber says it's possible for a ride to not show up: https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-would-like-to-get-a-refund-on-the-trip-i-didnt-take?nodeId=d0db4242-53ea-4852-832c-c65ff04dd92d https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-would-like-to-get-a-r... Uber even says it's possible for someone else to take the trip you requested, without your knowledge. https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-was-charged-for-a-ride-i-didnt-take-?nodeId=ab34c450-d3f3-4642-8ad8-d026751ee7ec https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-was-charged-for-a-rid...

paganel 3y ago

For one reason or another a lot of people have become allergic to the "say address" part, i.e. talking with a total stranger and having a financial transaction with said stranger via physical contact (like handing in cash).

CJefferson 3y ago

To me, Uber is like Starbucks and McDonald’s. Everyone you go there is a better local option, but on the other hand, in a city or country you aren’t familiar with, you can get service at an acceptable standard level.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

sotix 3y ago

In some big cities, I find taxis vastly superior. Notably so across Europe. However, I was at an airport in the US the other day, and the Uber pickup area was packed. There was a 30 minute wait. So I went to get a taxi. They called for one, and it came after about 10 minutes since the taxis don’t wait in the taxi area anymore. I had to instruct the driver everything down to which highway to use (something obvious for anyone that drives semi-regularly in my town). When I arrived, I paid the fare, which was more than double what Uber quoted me. It all felt so easy for the taxi to be competitive. But it’s far too expensive, and the driver was less knowledgeable than an average Uber driver using maps. The ride quality itself was a lot smoother however. For me, they have to get the cost lower than the cost of an Uber with an added surge to be competitive for my choice. I really like the FreeNow app in Europe. I’d be happy to see something like that in the US.