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You're obviously being sarcastic. But Uber really is an improvement on pre-Uber traditional taxi services, where you can call and not really be sure if or when

You're obviously being sarcastic. But Uber really is an improvement on pre-Uber traditional taxi services, where you can call and not really be sure if or when a taxi will show up. Uber was really two innovations: (1) using an app to reserve a taxi and (2) making the process and the product reliable, customer-friendly and consistent.

hef19898 3y ago
There were Taxi-apps in use in Germany before Uber became a thing here. What Uber had was infinite pockets and the willingness to simply ignore the general existence of regulations their competitors complied to.
- craftkiller 3y ago
  Do those apps pre-date 2009? Otherwise what the parent said still stands: Uber really is an improvement on pre-Uber traditional taxi services.
  - blitzar 3y ago
    I first started booking my taxis via website (apps were not really a thing yet) in 2002.
- karim 3y ago
  So, just like taxis who for some strange reason never seemed to accept credit cards, or would hold your luggage hostage if you didn't add a tip?
  - wongarsu 3y ago
    Not taking credit cards was just a thing for most German businesses before the pandemic. Not really specific to taxis.
    - karim 3y ago
      Not all of HN is German :)
- kgeist 3y ago
  On the other hand, Uber Russia was acquired by Yandex Taxi
blitzar 3y ago
I am not being sarcastic - I am genuinely, truly in awe that people actually stand up and say these things with a straight face.
crossroadsguy 3y ago
Only word missing from this is “scale”. I was expecting that. But everything else would do.
bpicolo 3y ago
There’s nobody I and friends have been more consistently scammed by than taxi drivers in foreign countries. Uber and ilk have dramatically improved trust and safety of vacation travel. That’s big
sshine 3y ago
> Uber really is an improvement on pre-Uber traditional taxi Not in Denmark. It was only ever cheaper for a while, while the investors sank money into choking out competition, which they failed at. > using an app to reserve a taxi Unlike in Germany, Uber actually brought apps to taxi companies in Denmark, before Uber got banned. > making the process and the product reliable, customer-friendly and consistent Uber was never more reliable or consistent than traditional taxis in Denmark. More friendly, sure, full-time career taxi drivers are more socially distant. I once waited for an Uber that was “just around the corner”, except the blip on the screen with a name and a picture was just a visualisation, there was no car. The street it was supposedly stuck in traffic on was empty. The app was simply lying to me, hoping a car would become available before I tried another taxi service. Hardly an improvement. Just cheaper for reasons that were not possible long-term or fair to the drivers (not sufficiently factoring in the cost and risk of the car).
- hdjjhhvvhga 3y ago
  > I once waited for an Uber that was “just around the corner”, except the blip on the screen with a name and a picture was just a visualisation, there was no car. The street it was supposedly stuck in traffic on was empty. Or maybe they identified you as a threat.[0] [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-authorities.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-...
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    Yeah, a threat to their business model.
  - sshine 3y ago
    Alternative link: https://archive.vn/Q3EXM https://archive.vn/Q3EXM > At the time, Uber had just started its ride-hailing service in Portland without seeking permission from the city, which later declared the service illegal. To build a case against the company, officers like Mr. England posed as riders, opening the Uber app to hail a car and watching as miniature vehicles on the screen made their way toward the potential fares. > But unknown to Mr. England and other authorities, some of the digital cars they saw in the app did not represent actual vehicles. And the Uber drivers they were able to hail also quickly canceled. That was because Uber had tagged Mr. England and his colleagues — essentially Greyballing them as city officials — based on data collected from the app and in other ways. The company then served up a fake version of the app, populated with ghost cars, to evade capture. It does sound like I was "greyballed". Imagine a real taxi company doing that. Doesn't seem like a strategy that will keep you popular in town.
hdjjhhvvhga 3y ago
> But Uber really is an improvement on pre-Uber traditional taxi services, where you can call and not really be sure if or when a taxi will show up. Not where I live. With a taxi, it was the usual confirmation "The taxi will be at your address in 15 minutes" or so, and it always was there. Once or twice I couldn't find it so I called them back and it turned out the driver was waiting at the other side of the building etc. With Uber, Bolt, FreeNow and so on... First I wait for anybody to agree to accept the ride, and sometimes nobody does it. Then, a car arrives, with a person from Pakistan or Bangladesh, who sometimes doesn't even speak English. They use Google maps to navigate and if something is broken they are completely lost. I once asked the driver: "I'm waiting for my wife and kids, they will be here in half a minute, OK?" He said, "OK" and drove away. Also, there were multiple reports of drivers running away after the accident and leaving the car and the victims as they are. The drivers are hired by middlemen owning the cars and exchanging multiple drivers in a car so you can never be sure who is driving. Most often they are not insured, and so on and so forth. Plus a few cases of rape in the last years. So I've been using taxis exclusively recently and only pick up Uber etc. when there is no alternative.

hef19898 3y ago

There were Taxi-apps in use in Germany before Uber became a thing here. What Uber had was infinite pockets and the willingness to simply ignore the general existence of regulations their competitors complied to.

craftkiller 3y ago
Do those apps pre-date 2009? Otherwise what the parent said still stands: Uber really is an improvement on pre-Uber traditional taxi services.
- blitzar 3y ago
  I first started booking my taxis via website (apps were not really a thing yet) in 2002.
karim 3y ago
So, just like taxis who for some strange reason never seemed to accept credit cards, or would hold your luggage hostage if you didn't add a tip?
- wongarsu 3y ago
  Not taking credit cards was just a thing for most German businesses before the pandemic. Not really specific to taxis.
  - karim 3y ago
    Not all of HN is German :)
kgeist 3y ago
On the other hand, Uber Russia was acquired by Yandex Taxi

blitzar 3y ago

I am not being sarcastic - I am genuinely, truly in awe that people actually stand up and say these things with a straight face.

crossroadsguy 3y ago

Only word missing from this is “scale”. I was expecting that. But everything else would do.

bpicolo 3y ago

There’s nobody I and friends have been more consistently scammed by than taxi drivers in foreign countries. Uber and ilk have dramatically improved trust and safety of vacation travel. That’s big

sshine 3y ago

> Uber really is an improvement on pre-Uber traditional taxi Not in Denmark. It was only ever cheaper for a while, while the investors sank money into choking out competition, which they failed at. > using an app to reserve a taxi Unlike in Germany, Uber actually brought apps to taxi companies in Denmark, before Uber got banned. > making the process and the product reliable, customer-friendly and consistent Uber was never more reliable or consistent than traditional taxis in Denmark. More friendly, sure, full-time career taxi drivers are more socially distant. I once waited for an Uber that was “just around the corner”, except the blip on the screen with a name and a picture was just a visualisation, there was no car. The street it was supposedly stuck in traffic on was empty. The app was simply lying to me, hoping a car would become available before I tried another taxi service. Hardly an improvement. Just cheaper for reasons that were not possible long-term or fair to the drivers (not sufficiently factoring in the cost and risk of the car).

hdjjhhvvhga 3y ago
> I once waited for an Uber that was “just around the corner”, except the blip on the screen with a name and a picture was just a visualisation, there was no car. The street it was supposedly stuck in traffic on was empty. Or maybe they identified you as a threat.[0] [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-authorities.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-...
- actionfromafar 3y ago
  Yeah, a threat to their business model.
- sshine 3y ago
  Alternative link: https://archive.vn/Q3EXM https://archive.vn/Q3EXM > At the time, Uber had just started its ride-hailing service in Portland without seeking permission from the city, which later declared the service illegal. To build a case against the company, officers like Mr. England posed as riders, opening the Uber app to hail a car and watching as miniature vehicles on the screen made their way toward the potential fares. > But unknown to Mr. England and other authorities, some of the digital cars they saw in the app did not represent actual vehicles. And the Uber drivers they were able to hail also quickly canceled. That was because Uber had tagged Mr. England and his colleagues — essentially Greyballing them as city officials — based on data collected from the app and in other ways. The company then served up a fake version of the app, populated with ghost cars, to evade capture. It does sound like I was "greyballed". Imagine a real taxi company doing that. Doesn't seem like a strategy that will keep you popular in town.

hdjjhhvvhga 3y ago

> But Uber really is an improvement on pre-Uber traditional taxi services, where you can call and not really be sure if or when a taxi will show up. Not where I live. With a taxi, it was the usual confirmation "The taxi will be at your address in 15 minutes" or so, and it always was there. Once or twice I couldn't find it so I called them back and it turned out the driver was waiting at the other side of the building etc. With Uber, Bolt, FreeNow and so on... First I wait for anybody to agree to accept the ride, and sometimes nobody does it. Then, a car arrives, with a person from Pakistan or Bangladesh, who sometimes doesn't even speak English. They use Google maps to navigate and if something is broken they are completely lost. I once asked the driver: "I'm waiting for my wife and kids, they will be here in half a minute, OK?" He said, "OK" and drove away. Also, there were multiple reports of drivers running away after the accident and leaving the car and the victims as they are. The drivers are hired by middlemen owning the cars and exchanging multiple drivers in a car so you can never be sure who is driving. Most often they are not insured, and so on and so forth. Plus a few cases of rape in the last years. So I've been using taxis exclusively recently and only pick up Uber etc. when there is no alternative.