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I get (and like) Uber. On the other hand, I do not really get UberX. What is the difference to any other taxi I order by using an app (and there are many such

by chmars 12y ago

I get (and like) Uber. On the other hand, I do not really get UberX. What is the difference to any other taxi I order by using an app (and there are many such apps now in most cities, at least in Western Europe)? I have used UberX too and most drivers told me that we were not accepted for Uber, so they were driving for UberX in the hope of making it to Uber later. That would also explain part of your experience, i.e., the speeding. For a professional driver, speeding, especially when driving a customer, should be an absolute no-go. In any case, I am very sorry for your experience with the American police. I have never had any encounter with the American police but I am also afraid of having an experience like you had. And as a guest in the US, there is not much I could do but to be as obedient as possible … :(

watwut 12y ago
"For a professional driver, speeding, especially when driving a customer, should be an absolute no-go." That does not describe my experience with taxi drivers at all. They speed a lot and customers expect them to speed when they hurry somewhere. (I do not live in USA)
- daeken 12y ago
  Agreed. I've spent a ridiculous portion of the last 4 years in taxis and liveries in the NYC metro area and a few other major cities in the US and several in western Europe. Speeding has been an absolute constant; no exceptions whatsoever. Is there actually a place where taxis do not default to pushing speeds to the highest extent possible?
  - DeusExMachina 12y ago
    Here in Amsterdam taxis speed all the time, to the extent that they are the most dangerous cars to keep an eye on while biking. This might be due to the economical aspect of a taxi ride. The base fee starts at 7.00 euros sometimes, just for walking into the taxi. I don't have the exact fares data, but although they are earning additional money during the whole ride, for short rides it's clearly more remunerative for them to get to destination as soon as possible to be able to take another one.
  - mtmail 12y ago
    In Abu Dhabi there is fleet of taxis which are "GPS controlled". The driver stayed exactly at the speed limit on an empty 4 lane highway at night for half an hour. Somebody in their operating center probably has a job to watch the drivers.
    - rahimnathwani 12y ago
      Or they might log the speed every n seconds and store it in a file for a program to analyse later.
      - breckenedge 12y ago
        This is the more typical use case. Managers/safety officers will want a report of "who sped the most in the last X days" both in terms of highest speed and average over-the-limit driving. In extreme circumstances, such as when onboard sensors detect an impact or impending rollover, the logging can ramp up to multiple times per second. Great for insurance purposes.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  Beijing taxis most often don't speed, but that has more to do with the traffic and speed cameras than anything else. I've seen cars implode at night on the ring road going 2x the limit, it is quite an experience to watch their wheels just pop off.
product50 12y ago
You definitely haven't taken a cab in big cities in US. Cab drivers always speed. It is what they do - I don't know why - but driving below 75mph is not within their realm of possibilities. You also haven't taken a UberX ride from looks of it. If you did, you would realize that they never ever speed and are very courteous in their manners! I know it sounds strange - that professional drivers speed like mad dogs and are at many time disrespectful while random people like you and me are better/sane drivers - but it is what it is. Uber does a great job weeding out bad drivers through their rating system - unfortunately cabs can't do that..
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  Cab drivers in Seattle don't seem to speed, at least never from seatac to Bellevue.
peteretep 12y ago
I use UberX when I wasn't able to book far enough in advance for Ubicab, AddisonLee thinks it'll be > 15 minutes until they can send someone, or if I need one in a hurry and there's one near by. Reliably cheaper than Hailo.

by chmars 12y ago

watwut 12y ago

"For a professional driver, speeding, especially when driving a customer, should be an absolute no-go." That does not describe my experience with taxi drivers at all. They speed a lot and customers expect them to speed when they hurry somewhere. (I do not live in USA)

daeken 12y ago
Agreed. I've spent a ridiculous portion of the last 4 years in taxis and liveries in the NYC metro area and a few other major cities in the US and several in western Europe. Speeding has been an absolute constant; no exceptions whatsoever. Is there actually a place where taxis do not default to pushing speeds to the highest extent possible?
- DeusExMachina 12y ago
  Here in Amsterdam taxis speed all the time, to the extent that they are the most dangerous cars to keep an eye on while biking. This might be due to the economical aspect of a taxi ride. The base fee starts at 7.00 euros sometimes, just for walking into the taxi. I don't have the exact fares data, but although they are earning additional money during the whole ride, for short rides it's clearly more remunerative for them to get to destination as soon as possible to be able to take another one.
- mtmail 12y ago
  In Abu Dhabi there is fleet of taxis which are "GPS controlled". The driver stayed exactly at the speed limit on an empty 4 lane highway at night for half an hour. Somebody in their operating center probably has a job to watch the drivers.
  - rahimnathwani 12y ago
    Or they might log the speed every n seconds and store it in a file for a program to analyse later.
    - breckenedge 12y ago
      This is the more typical use case. Managers/safety officers will want a report of "who sped the most in the last X days" both in terms of highest speed and average over-the-limit driving. In extreme circumstances, such as when onboard sensors detect an impact or impending rollover, the logging can ramp up to multiple times per second. Great for insurance purposes.
seanmcdirmid 12y ago
Beijing taxis most often don't speed, but that has more to do with the traffic and speed cameras than anything else. I've seen cars implode at night on the ring road going 2x the limit, it is quite an experience to watch their wheels just pop off.

product50 12y ago

You definitely haven't taken a cab in big cities in US. Cab drivers always speed. It is what they do - I don't know why - but driving below 75mph is not within their realm of possibilities. You also haven't taken a UberX ride from looks of it. If you did, you would realize that they never ever speed and are very courteous in their manners! I know it sounds strange - that professional drivers speed like mad dogs and are at many time disrespectful while random people like you and me are better/sane drivers - but it is what it is. Uber does a great job weeding out bad drivers through their rating system - unfortunately cabs can't do that..

seanmcdirmid 12y ago
Cab drivers in Seattle don't seem to speed, at least never from seatac to Bellevue.

peteretep 12y ago

I use UberX when I wasn't able to book far enough in advance for Ubicab, AddisonLee thinks it'll be > 15 minutes until they can send someone, or if I need one in a hurry and there's one near by. Reliably cheaper than Hailo.