Rideshare services - Uber, Lyft, Hailo, etc.

Yeah I would imagine you want some kind of balance between density and sprawl, plus not very good public transit options. It's notable that LA was an early adopter of Uber, for example -- my brother who lives there was telling me that like everyone was using it back when I barely even knew what it was.

Plus LA of course has a huge pool of ideal candidates to be Uber drivers -- the same hopefuls who wait tables and such.

I can tell you that it's essential in Miami.

Passengers try to game the Uber Pool concept, which has unpredictable results. Ask a driver about it sometime.

Uber initially solved a huge aggravation point that consumers had with taxis, granting accountability, reliability and supply to an industry that was in dire need of those three things.

lol there is not accountability with uber!

like the most that is going to happen is someone gets a bad score or reported and they're not an uber driver anymore, but if a driver does anything to a passenger or vice versa then uber washes their hands of the whole thing

self-driving car Uber would not replace public transit

xpost hell I just had a friend get a bogus $80 charge for 'water damage' to a vehicle that the driver apparently staged

accountability

re: Juno - on cue, my best friend just posted this: A New Ride-Hail App Is Disrupting The Industry By Treating Drivers Like People

There's significantly more accountability with Uber than with a taxi. It's not perfect by any means, but it's way better. Taxi companies wash their hands of bad incidents all the time and until Uber came along, it was commonplace for taxi drivers to treat their customers poorly.

I've had several bad/subpar experiences with Uber drivers and my money has always been refunded immediately when I complained. I've found their customer service is way more responsive.

The self driving car fantasy/let's eliminate pesky drivers/machines can drive better is among the worst thing tech people have ever foisted upon us.

was kidnapping passengers a regular thing pre-Uber?

Is it a regular thing with Uber?

I don't think Uber can replace effective public transit either, but they have expressly put out statements that they intend to try. I don't see how it happens without them lobbying to damage public transit though, a la the auto and oil industries conspiring against streetcars.

I suspect the main problem with 'customer service' with taxi companies has to do with the fact that cabs from differing companies all look alike, and whenever you hail one, whether you use *TAXI on your phone, or just the old-fashioned method, you could get any one of a billion companies, you probably aren't paying attention to the name on the side of the cab, and then if/when an incident happens, you've already forgotten the name of your driver, the company, where you were picked up, etc. when I lost my cell phone (while drunk) in a cab in Maryland, it was pretty much a lost cause getting it back, mostly because I couldn't tell them the name of the driver as by the time I'd noticed it was gone, I had forgotten it, so I just wrote it off and got a new one. That and a lot of cab companies have very low-fi websites - I have yet to be on one that looked like it was created beyond 1998.

but, if you go straight through a cab company to book, it often goes better. I use Mears in Orlando and I've had a few incidents to report (nothing ever serious, just like "hey driver is late" or "guy left without me"), and their customer service has been decent. Uber's is better, yeah, but there have also been recent reportings of manufactured damage claims, where the driver makes it appear someone puked in/damaged their car, submits the photos, and the money is deducted from the victim's account before they know what happened (and then it's difficult to get back). Also less regulation w/ Uber too.

I've also a few times had Uber drivers do weird things with pickup where I almost feel like they want me to cancel, like just refusing to be in a logical, visible place and then not communicating clearly about where they are.

I was reading about the factors that led to Uber's ultimate retreat from China. Two things that stood out: they relied on Google Maps for a long time (which is apparently garbage wrt navigating China) and they relied on credit card payments in a country that largely uses a very popular app for most of their cash- and plastic-free payments. Way to research your market, dudes. But kind of in keeping with their 'fly by the seat of your pants' business model. More like Guber if you ask me!

I've had that happen before. Where the guy literally said he was down the street and I was like "where I can't see you" for about 5 minutes and then a guy driving a cab said "hey I'll take you home". they tried to charge me cos I cancelled within 5 miles and I complained "I tried to find the guy for over five minutes and it was getting ridiculous, I even told him what cross-streets I was on".

I really don't like that Uber has access to your paypal/bank info though, for the reason I stated above. when I put that on file, it's so I can pay for the current ride, not so you can arbitrarily decide that I damaged someone's ride based on grainy pics they sent you and deduct $200 from my account without warning or giving me a chance to rebut the claims. Yeah, you can get it back, but it's a pain in the ass (my friend in question couldn't make her car insurance payment due to the debit until they finally reversed it).

but I use Uber a lot cos I travel a lot for pleasure and when you're in a strange area of town at 2 am, it's easy to get a quick ride and usually affordable. I outright relied on it in Maryland a few months ago.

xpost

And the thing is Uber merely creates the incentive for bad behavior but avoids responsibility for it by not being an "employer" according to itself.

I thought uber lets you put in a credit card? I mean, that's a prob in itself in that someone without means might have cash for one ride but not a credit card, but the main benefit of credit cards is that you can dispute charges

i'm not personally bothered by Kalanuk's libertarian asshole rhetoric; whatever his ideology he's just another exec. it's the converse of not believing firms when they talk about corporate social responsibility

Lately it seems like my Uber drivers--and this is in a half dozen large cities over the past few months--seem like they talk CONSTANTLY. And not that they are entirely uninteresting, but it's reminiscent of that person on the plane sitting next to you who won't shut up.

I'm totally bothered by Kalanuk because he strikes me as a consummate asshole and the world needs less of those.

oh yeah – seven out of 10 times I bring a book or mag the drive wants to chat, which I suppose is cool cuz I practice my Spanish.

I once asked a driver what kind of training uber gives them for dealing with crazy ass passengers. he said they dont give them any training whatsoever.

I kind of feel sorry for Uber drivers in some ways because unlike a plastic/vinyl taxi, they can't just hose out the backseat after someone pukes on it. And I always ask Uber drivers if someone has puked in their car, because the number of affirmative responses is shocking.

I would guess over half of the uber traffic in my small city is drunk ppl or people who were drunk getting a ride to their car the next day

I don't see how it happens without them lobbying to damage public transit though

Why would you harbor the slightest doubt they will do exactly this

I have zero doubt! Question is rather whether they will succeed.

Someone should do a study to see how many previously libertarian-leaning Uber drivers are still inclined to lean in that direction after firsthand experience with an unregulated industry.

cognitive dissonance is a thing

Some parent friend of mine is convinced that services like Uber is keeping more high school kids from driving drunk.

That seems reasonable to me and what's more I think it's the single best argument for rideshare services

but hey i'm just some parent

there was some article I didn't bother to read that had a headline about Uber not affecting the number of drunk driver arrests, buuuuut... I would be tempted to say that doesn't mean there are fewer drunk drivers on the road when you consider the number arrested was always a small percentage of the people who were driving intoxicated

lol I have a sixteen year old Eephus, it does seem reasonable so it's kind of a constant discussion. Many parents I know put the Uber/Lyft apps on their kids' phones.

I thought uber lets you put in a credit card?

they do, mine is a debit though. I guess they probably run it as a credit charge though? that would make it a 'credit card' charge dispute, yes, though in my friend's case, she needed the money back ASAP.

On balance I think the general phenomenon of car-hailing apps (I refuse to call them "ridesharing" bc that's fucking stupid and ridiculous and inaccurate) is a good thing, like an example of technology closing a huge gap in a long available service. I just really dislike Uber, and I do think it's a case where the philosophy and personality of the CEO is still reflected in the company in a way beyond just being your average faceless capitalist exec. My hope is just to see at least a few good options thrive in the market and for Uber to lose its dominance before it completely conquers the space.

But I think there's a good chance that they do lose their dominance, because ultimately it's just a fucking app, and it should be getting easier by the day for others to build equally good apps. Plus Uber's insistence on a non-employee model means its drivers can drive for other services at the same time, making it harder for them to hold on to dominance.

i find it odd how yall seem to use ride-hailing sites near-exclusively yet seem to be cheering their demise. it would suck for me if they ceased to exist, i take cabs semi-frequently but usually at off-peak hours and have saved so much dough since getting the apps. also the peace of mind of just seeing the car and knowing it's coming. i took a cab to the airport a few weeks ago and i was shitting bricks waiting for it to show up, which took like 15 mins

Plus Uber's insistence on a non-employee model means its drivers can drive for other services at the same time, making it harder for them to hold on to dominance.

― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Thursday, August 25, 2016 2:32 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ya this is a good thing imo that ppl advocating Full Employee status overlook

i find it odd how yall seem to use ride-hailing sites near-exclusively yet seem to be cheering their demise. it would suck for me if they ceased to exist, i take cabs semi-frequently but usually at off-peak hours and have saved so much dough since getting the apps. also the peace of mind of just seeing the car and knowing it's coming. i took a cab to the airport a few weeks ago and i was shitting bricks waiting for it to show up, which took like 15 mins

― flopson, Thursday, August 25, 2016 1:34 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I neither use them exclusively nor cheer in general for their demise. If I'm coming home from the office late and cab it, a yellow cab is pretty much always a better option since they just stream down my avenue at all hours -- I get a cab instantly instead of waiting a few mins, and the price is usually about the same.

From an airport it's kind of a toss-up and depends on the cab stand line. Sometimes on work travel I use an app just so I have a saved receipt and don't have to worry about losing the little stubby cab receipt. With kids I pretty exclusively use Uber because of the carseat option, although it's an extra $10 per ride which kind of sucks. 95% of my travel is by subway or my own car anyway.

afaik lyft is pretty much floating their business as the alt-uber right now

read this as "alt-right uber" at first

I don't use ride-hailing apps exclusively at all but I definitely use them. I use them when I'm traveling in a city where you can't hail on the street -- that's a lot of cities, so I definitely find the apps useful.

I would never use one at home: the only reason I wouldn't be using my own car or bike is for airport trips. Coming home from the airport, there's cabs sitting right there, so why wait for the app to call one? Going to the airport, I know when I'm going and want to arrange it in advance, and the apps won't let me do that. Yes I know there are cities / cab companies where you book a cab the night before and it doesn't show up; not mine.

My hope is just to see at least a few good options thrive in the market and for Uber to lose its dominance before it completely conquers the space.

When I say "I use them" I mean I use Lyft. In my experience it works exactly as well as Uber -- actually, I would say I have had rare bad experiences with Uber and zero bad experiences with Lyft, and I haven't used Uber in more than a year. There's definitely no good reason to use Uber if you don't like the company.

I've uh never driven buzzed but if I ever had I certainly haven't since learning about uber. Anecdotal totally theoretical example.

fwiw my boss, who is extremely liberal for an ex-vc, likes juno's service, business model and politics. i used it once and the guy was very obsequiously chatty, kind of like uber in its early days. coverage is spotty though, and they won't pick up from the airport which is almost the only time i use cabs.

but i'm sorry to be confused about this but why use a hailing service from the airport? at the airport there are cabs RIGHT THERE.

if you're in a rush then it's usually quicker to take a city bus and two subways before rather than join the friday evening taxi line at la guardia. jfk sometimes not much better.

also there's no fixed fare to brooklyn from jfk, so a yellow cab to my house can cost ~$40 more than a lyft

yeah I have heard of hour-long taxi lines at a few airports, it makes any other option appealing
although when I read a complaint about the taxi line in montreal my first thought was "wtf, the airport bus goes straight to the major bus/subway transit hub" but for people going away from the city core or carrying a ton of luggage that probably doesn't help

it's hard to convince people that public transport with a couple transfers will be faster than a single car sometimes, though