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Wow, $36 for 3.45 km? I assume that's Australia, right? so that's roughly 2.1 miles for $33 USD. That ride would be $9.00 (US) in San Francisco. [0] Perhaps

Wow, $36 for 3.45 km? I assume that's Australia, right? so that's roughly 2.1 miles for $33 USD. That ride would be $9.00 (US) in San Francisco. [0] Perhaps Uber is, like Apple, quite simply providing a higher class of service and getting compensated proportionally for it. Maybe they won't ever eliminate traditional taxis b/c not enough people can afford a 266% markup. [0]http://yellowcabsf.com/service/cab-fares/ http://yellowcabsf.com/service/cab-fares/

eru 12y ago
Even normal taxis in Australia are crazy expensive.
CHY872 12y ago
The ride took 18 minutes, and most of the money is for time. Say a car would take that route at an average of 10 miles an hour + stoppage time. It seems a conservative estimate. Then the cost of the ride would be $0.559 + $3.5 + 6 $0.55 = $11.75. Even so, had he got an UberX it would have cost him $12.40, or $11.50, so it's really quite comparable. I spent $15 last week going from Union Square SF to the Caltrain station (accidentally picked Uber Black not UberX) - about a mile. It's really quite a lot nicer than a taxi. So it's really quite close, dollar for dollar But here's the thing - SF taxis have (presumably because of past abuses) very rigidly pegged milage to total cost in order to properly compensate drivers. The problem is that this works terribly for further distances. So SFO to Palo Alto will set you back at an absolute minimum about $100, but Millbrae (2 miles fewer) to Palo Alto cost me $30 on UberX. Where I live in the UK, I'll spend £20 ($45) on travelling 6 miles after a night out (no traffic) - because the taxis go off meter outside the city limits. Travelling 3 miles to catch a bus to London in a minicab, prebooked costs £8.
vacri 12y ago
Taxis also charge for time if they're idling in traffic; maybe the traffic was hellish? I'm from the next major city in Aus (which also has overpriced taxis) and I was suprised at the cost of that taxi ride.
madeofpalk 12y ago
That was Uber Black (you can see the car type) in a Lexus, Uber's original (and more premium) service. Not fare to compare this to a $9 taxi fare in SF. In taxi, that would have cost me maybe $15 or $20? Check out the fares for your city. They offer taxi cabs as well https://www.uber.com/cities/san-francisco https://www.uber.com/cities/san-francisco

eru 12y ago

Even normal taxis in Australia are crazy expensive.

CHY872 12y ago

The ride took 18 minutes, and most of the money is for time. Say a car would take that route at an average of 10 miles an hour + stoppage time. It seems a conservative estimate. Then the cost of the ride would be $0.559 + $3.5 + 6 $0.55 = $11.75. Even so, had he got an UberX it would have cost him $12.40, or $11.50, so it's really quite comparable. I spent $15 last week going from Union Square SF to the Caltrain station (accidentally picked Uber Black not UberX) - about a mile. It's really quite a lot nicer than a taxi. So it's really quite close, dollar for dollar But here's the thing - SF taxis have (presumably because of past abuses) very rigidly pegged milage to total cost in order to properly compensate drivers. The problem is that this works terribly for further distances. So SFO to Palo Alto will set you back at an absolute minimum about $100, but Millbrae (2 miles fewer) to Palo Alto cost me $30 on UberX. Where I live in the UK, I'll spend £20 ($45) on travelling 6 miles after a night out (no traffic) - because the taxis go off meter outside the city limits. Travelling 3 miles to catch a bus to London in a minicab, prebooked costs £8.

vacri 12y ago

Taxis also charge for time if they're idling in traffic; maybe the traffic was hellish? I'm from the next major city in Aus (which also has overpriced taxis) and I was suprised at the cost of that taxi ride.

madeofpalk 12y ago

That was Uber Black (you can see the car type) in a Lexus, Uber's original (and more premium) service. Not fare to compare this to a $9 taxi fare in SF. In taxi, that would have cost me maybe $15 or $20? Check out the fares for your city. They offer taxi cabs as well https://www.uber.com/cities/san-francisco https://www.uber.com/cities/san-francisco