5 ms·

Can't get one dispatched, either. Uber had a blog post a few years ago [1] where they highlighted some findings from a SFMTA report on cab availability. The r

by meej 12y ago

Can't get one dispatched, either. Uber had a blog post a few years ago [1] where they highlighted some findings from a SFMTA report on cab availability. The report found that 35% of dispatched cabs never showed up, except on weekends, when 72% never showed. [1] http://blog.uber.com/2011/04/11/uberdata-the-hidden-cost-of-cabs/ http://blog.uber.com/2011/04/11/uberdata-the-hidden-cost-of-...

com2kid 12y ago
Wow those are some horrible numbers. Am I just lucky that cabs in Seattle are reliable? I've never had a no-show, and cabs have always been on time here +/- 5 minutes of the requested pick up time. Then again my sole need for cabs has always been "I need to go to the airport at 4:30am", a need for which I imagine Uber would not be appropriate.
- x0x0 12y ago
  cabs in sf are an utter shitshow. Uber's original innovation was -- and this is only remarkable in sf -- they where a taxi that came. I was on crutches for 9 months and took cabs daily to work from near mission and 23rd. All these cab companies are utter assholes: I booked cabs 3-5 days a week, from a population hub, and tipped well, but none of them could provide decent service. Each one would say "10-15 minutes" when I would ask how long the cab would take to arrive. I collected stats for a couple months: the median time was over 30 minutes and the 90th percentile was 1.5 hours. I even had a cabbie come more than 50 minutes after promised; I'd already begged a friend to drive me to work. Dude had the big old brass balls to call my cell and bitch that I hadn't cancelled, after I'd waited over three times their maximum arrival estimate. One dispatcher even admitted on the phone that they just tell everyone near where I live 10-15 minutes. Uber in other cities may have a harder row to hoe, but in sf, merely being a cab that comes (or -- and this is amazing -- treating your customers with a tiny bit of respect and telling them you won't come if you can't) gets you really far. Fuck sf taxes -- yellow, desoto, luxor -- I hope all those assholes get unemployed. I'm not sure Uber is a good thing in a city with working transport systems, but that doesn't describe sf. They made my life even harder than it already was; there's no good reason I should have had to call cabs more than an hour and a half before I wanted to be to work (an 18 minute drive) just to have a greater than 90% chance of making it. And when you have doctors appointments or surgeries or something else with a hard start time, I have no idea what you're supposed to do in sf besides use Uber. Hire a black car maybe?
  - com2kid 12y ago
    Wow that is terrible. In Seattle, I use an online reservation system for Orange Cab, and they just show up on time the next day! For Yellow Cab, well, they have a phone dispatch still, I actually switched over to Orange Cab just because Yellow's dispatchers are rather rude.
    - jonknee 12y ago
      You may still want to check out Uber... I just checked my last receipt from downtown to SeaTac and it was $23. Orange Cab is $40 without a tip. In town is quite a bit cheaper as well.
      - com2kid 12y ago
        I pay about ~60 from Kirkland to SeaTac. Insane rate, but it isn't fixed rate since I am in Kirkland. Costs me 50% more for about 15% more milage, and since it is 405 south bound it is likely a quicker commute anyway. But again, I doubt Uber runs at 4:30 am in Kirkland!
        jonknee 12y ago
        The per mile rate on UberX is lower, but yes that is a tough time for anything that's not booked ahead of time. The way home could work though, it's easy to get picked up at the airport. I bet Uber gets there though, I could see advanced booking being added before long.
- meej 12y ago
  I think it's better in Seattle. I lived there for seven years and I can't recall a cab ever no-showing like I experienced when I lived in SF.

by meej 12y ago

com2kid 12y ago

Wow those are some horrible numbers. Am I just lucky that cabs in Seattle are reliable? I've never had a no-show, and cabs have always been on time here +/- 5 minutes of the requested pick up time. Then again my sole need for cabs has always been "I need to go to the airport at 4:30am", a need for which I imagine Uber would not be appropriate.

x0x0 12y ago
cabs in sf are an utter shitshow. Uber's original innovation was -- and this is only remarkable in sf -- they where a taxi that came. I was on crutches for 9 months and took cabs daily to work from near mission and 23rd. All these cab companies are utter assholes: I booked cabs 3-5 days a week, from a population hub, and tipped well, but none of them could provide decent service. Each one would say "10-15 minutes" when I would ask how long the cab would take to arrive. I collected stats for a couple months: the median time was over 30 minutes and the 90th percentile was 1.5 hours. I even had a cabbie come more than 50 minutes after promised; I'd already begged a friend to drive me to work. Dude had the big old brass balls to call my cell and bitch that I hadn't cancelled, after I'd waited over three times their maximum arrival estimate. One dispatcher even admitted on the phone that they just tell everyone near where I live 10-15 minutes. Uber in other cities may have a harder row to hoe, but in sf, merely being a cab that comes (or -- and this is amazing -- treating your customers with a tiny bit of respect and telling them you won't come if you can't) gets you really far. Fuck sf taxes -- yellow, desoto, luxor -- I hope all those assholes get unemployed. I'm not sure Uber is a good thing in a city with working transport systems, but that doesn't describe sf. They made my life even harder than it already was; there's no good reason I should have had to call cabs more than an hour and a half before I wanted to be to work (an 18 minute drive) just to have a greater than 90% chance of making it. And when you have doctors appointments or surgeries or something else with a hard start time, I have no idea what you're supposed to do in sf besides use Uber. Hire a black car maybe?
- com2kid 12y ago
  Wow that is terrible. In Seattle, I use an online reservation system for Orange Cab, and they just show up on time the next day! For Yellow Cab, well, they have a phone dispatch still, I actually switched over to Orange Cab just because Yellow's dispatchers are rather rude.
  - jonknee 12y ago
    You may still want to check out Uber... I just checked my last receipt from downtown to SeaTac and it was $23. Orange Cab is $40 without a tip. In town is quite a bit cheaper as well.
    - com2kid 12y ago
      I pay about ~60 from Kirkland to SeaTac. Insane rate, but it isn't fixed rate since I am in Kirkland. Costs me 50% more for about 15% more milage, and since it is 405 south bound it is likely a quicker commute anyway. But again, I doubt Uber runs at 4:30 am in Kirkland!
      - jonknee 12y ago
        The per mile rate on UberX is lower, but yes that is a tough time for anything that's not booked ahead of time. The way home could work though, it's easy to get picked up at the airport. I bet Uber gets there though, I could see advanced booking being added before long.
meej 12y ago
I think it's better in Seattle. I lived there for seven years and I can't recall a cab ever no-showing like I experienced when I lived in SF.