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I have absolutely zero interest in my Uber passenger rating. If they decide to start being ridiculous, I'll decide to start taking cabs again -- at least the c

I have absolutely zero interest in my Uber passenger rating. If they decide to start being ridiculous, I'll decide to start taking cabs again -- at least the cabbies generally have a clue about how to get to places, and don't bother with questions about "what route would you like me to take you on". The fastest route, thanks.

DINKDINK 12y ago
Uber policy dictated, at least at one point, to ask customers if they "had a prefered route"
- pimlottc 12y ago
  Really!? I always find it very annoying to be asked that.
  - jrockway 12y ago
    "Nope, up to you." Not really worth being annoyed about.
    - politician 12y ago
      Well, remember that you're paying by the mile or minute. Unless you want to rack up additional charges, I'd suggest asking for either the shortest or fastest route. That's why I don't like the preferred route question. Do I want to pay more for a longer trip? No.
      - aetherson 12y ago
        From my experience with cab drivers (not Uber drivers), the idea is supposed to be that if you do not have a preferred route, the driver takes the most efficient route based on some kind of gestalt between lowest cost and fastest service. The deal is, some passengers are convinced they know the best route from point A to point B, and will accuse drivers of trying to con them if they don't take that route. So if the passenger has a route they want to take, even if the route is stupid, you just shut up and do that. Otherwise, you take the best route. In theory, of course. I have no doubt that there exist cab drivers and Uber drivers who run up the meter. Hopefully, Uber does some monitoring of routes and catches at least egregious cases.
        politician 12y ago
        I'm willing to agree with you about cabbies, but doesn't it seem absurd that Uber drivers ask for route information when they are already using a GPS-enabled smartphone with access to Google Maps' best routes for any time of day anyway? It seems like a flaw in the Uber app that the customer can't just provide an intersection or an address, and the driver gets immediate turn-by-turn navigation. Yes, Uber still needs to blind the driver to destination until pickup, but it's not a huge obstacle.
        aetherson 12y ago
        Well, there will always exist people who believe that their route is better than the Google Maps route. Some of them will even be correct! The other thing is that users just HATE typing in addresses on smartphones. It's like the worst-case scenario for smartphone data entry -- lots of different fields, and words that are not in the dictionary/don't autocorrect well. So Uber (and Lyft, and (ahem) Flywheel (which I work for)) do not require that a user input a destination.
        wnissen 12y ago
        The other thing is if you realize you get long-hauled, Uber support will respond to a query from you and adjust the fare if appropriate. Try that with a cab.
        matmann2001 12y ago
        I had a situation with Uber where the driver missed an exit, even though he had a GPS and it was telling him to take it. I think it was an honest mistake, and not him trying to run up the meter. But it bugged me that he didn't bother to do anything about it. That missed turn made the trip nearly 10 minutes longer and I had to pay for it. There should be some way for the driver adjust the fare to compensate for when stuff like this happens.
        dnautics 12y ago
        there is - the driver can end the ride early based on an informal estimate of the ride length. There used to be an insurance issue with this (not covered after the passenger leaves), but no longer.
smeyer 12y ago
What city are you in? Here in Boston, my experience has been that the uber drivers are more likely than the taxi drivers to know how to get where I'd like to go.
- ceras 12y ago
  In NYC there are strict requirements[1] that cab drivers know how to get practically anywhere in Manhattan, and to major parts of the outer boroughs. You can report them if they don't. [1]: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#7 http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#7
Vik1ng 12y ago
I'll decide to start taking cabs again If there are any cabs left...
rsefer 12y ago
Here in Chicago, regular cab drivers ask the route question all the time. I've read that this is asked in hopes you tell them a non-optimal route that takes longer. My response is almost always "the fastest way is fine."

DINKDINK 12y ago

Uber policy dictated, at least at one point, to ask customers if they "had a prefered route"

pimlottc 12y ago
Really!? I always find it very annoying to be asked that.
- jrockway 12y ago
  "Nope, up to you." Not really worth being annoyed about.
  - politician 12y ago
    Well, remember that you're paying by the mile or minute. Unless you want to rack up additional charges, I'd suggest asking for either the shortest or fastest route. That's why I don't like the preferred route question. Do I want to pay more for a longer trip? No.
    - aetherson 12y ago
      From my experience with cab drivers (not Uber drivers), the idea is supposed to be that if you do not have a preferred route, the driver takes the most efficient route based on some kind of gestalt between lowest cost and fastest service. The deal is, some passengers are convinced they know the best route from point A to point B, and will accuse drivers of trying to con them if they don't take that route. So if the passenger has a route they want to take, even if the route is stupid, you just shut up and do that. Otherwise, you take the best route. In theory, of course. I have no doubt that there exist cab drivers and Uber drivers who run up the meter. Hopefully, Uber does some monitoring of routes and catches at least egregious cases.
      - politician 12y ago
        I'm willing to agree with you about cabbies, but doesn't it seem absurd that Uber drivers ask for route information when they are already using a GPS-enabled smartphone with access to Google Maps' best routes for any time of day anyway? It seems like a flaw in the Uber app that the customer can't just provide an intersection or an address, and the driver gets immediate turn-by-turn navigation. Yes, Uber still needs to blind the driver to destination until pickup, but it's not a huge obstacle.
        aetherson 12y ago
        Well, there will always exist people who believe that their route is better than the Google Maps route. Some of them will even be correct! The other thing is that users just HATE typing in addresses on smartphones. It's like the worst-case scenario for smartphone data entry -- lots of different fields, and words that are not in the dictionary/don't autocorrect well. So Uber (and Lyft, and (ahem) Flywheel (which I work for)) do not require that a user input a destination.
      - wnissen 12y ago
        The other thing is if you realize you get long-hauled, Uber support will respond to a query from you and adjust the fare if appropriate. Try that with a cab.
      - matmann2001 12y ago
        I had a situation with Uber where the driver missed an exit, even though he had a GPS and it was telling him to take it. I think it was an honest mistake, and not him trying to run up the meter. But it bugged me that he didn't bother to do anything about it. That missed turn made the trip nearly 10 minutes longer and I had to pay for it. There should be some way for the driver adjust the fare to compensate for when stuff like this happens.
        dnautics 12y ago
        there is - the driver can end the ride early based on an informal estimate of the ride length. There used to be an insurance issue with this (not covered after the passenger leaves), but no longer.

smeyer 12y ago

What city are you in? Here in Boston, my experience has been that the uber drivers are more likely than the taxi drivers to know how to get where I'd like to go.

ceras 12y ago
In NYC there are strict requirements[1] that cab drivers know how to get practically anywhere in Manhattan, and to major parts of the outer boroughs. You can report them if they don't. [1]: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#7 http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#7

Vik1ng 12y ago

I'll decide to start taking cabs again If there are any cabs left...

rsefer 12y ago

Here in Chicago, regular cab drivers ask the route question all the time. I've read that this is asked in hopes you tell them a non-optimal route that takes longer. My response is almost always "the fastest way is fine."