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Thoughts on Uber?

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Phoenix86 said:
And all that licensing, which is imposed by us, is getting us what exactly? Uber shows how the model is beyond bloated.

Average price in NY is $1MM for a medalion.
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LOL WTF

how long does it take to pay that back as a cabbie? im assuming you never can
 
Phoenix86 said:
And all that licensing, which is imposed by us, is getting us what exactly? Uber shows how the model is beyond bloated.

Average price in NY is $1MM for a medalion.
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Medallion pricing gets the NYC public nothing. But it sure is a nice plus in the NYC ledger. The medallion is literally a racketeering scheme that happens to be legal. Many drivers don't own their medallion, they operate under someone else who does and kick up to him. And the city gets it's piece, so they're not concerned.

Further, you used to need to break someone's knees to get a medallion, because they were jealously guarded by owners who were raking in the cash on their drivers. Now the prices are plummeting and they are hard to sell. NYC has advised the mayor not to expect medallions to produce revenue in 2016.
 
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purbeast0 said:
was that the promo where you do a certain amount of rides and they give you a bonus credit? i was considering it but didn't read the full details about it.

EDIT:

it was actually lyft that had this bonus. i'm in the DC area too. tempted.

http://slickdeals.net/f/7893891-new-lyft-driver-bonus-100-250-300-500-or-750?v=1&src=SiteSearch
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I got a $50 gift card for signing up at this tent they had set up.

I referred my dad online and will get $500 once he does 20 rides.

He will get $150 in his account after 20 rides.

I will get $100 in my account after 10 rides.

So actually $800 total.
 
It's no mystery to me why Uber started in SF. Most of the cabs here were beyond horrible. Expensive, rude/inexperienced drivers, shoddy equipment, refused to take credit cards, etc. I mean they made NYC taxis look amazing. Since the market was basically closed the drivers didn't have to provide decent service and the medallion owners just raped everyone blind because they could.
 
I'm not sure if I would want to be an Uber driver now that they outlawed carrying weapons while you're on call.

There are some bad neighborhoods around here that I wouldn't want to be caught in without carrying a piece.
 
I've used UberX and Uber Black. If UberX were outlawed I'd still use Uber Black over taxis (price difference isn't that extreme).

Good things about Uber:
- The app:
- Lets me set pickup & dropoff on a map
- Gives me a fare estimate
- Shows me a picture of the driver, name of the driver, license plate number, make/model of car and maps where the car is on its way to pick me up
- It is screwing up the market for medallions (or whatever equivalent scam you have in your neck of the woods)
- It is screwing up Taxis in general and given their years of abusing the general public they deserve to get nailed for not keeping up with the times. It is 2015, I can use my credit card at a food truck and the cabbie stills wants to argue over using a card? Piss off. I think anyone that has used cabs more than a couple times will have stories of being screwed. As a whole they deserve it, I know it affects drivers that are just good people but overall the industry is a mess.
- They are shaking up a massive industry, whether Uber survives or not hopefully their disruptions serves as a wake up to Taxi services.

Bad things about Uber:
- They skirt regulations that are there to protect customers. UberX essentially skips every regulation and hoop a regular cabbie would have to jump through just to pick people up. In terms of medallions this is great, in terms of insurance it is terrible.
- They are getting huge valuations but their drivers aren't really making much money.
- They keep trying to call them contractors but the drivers more closely resemble employees and deserve the protections being an employee would provide.

I expect Uber will eventually implode but hopefully not before bringing about positive change or paving the way for a more middle of the road service to emerge.
 
CountZero said:
Bad things about Uber:
- They skirt regulations that are there to protect customers. UberX essentially skips every regulation and hoop a regular cabbie would have to jump through just to pick people up. In terms of medallions this is great, in terms of insurance it is terrible.
- They are getting huge valuations but their drivers aren't really making much money.
- They keep trying to call them contractors but the drivers more closely resemble employees and deserve the protections being an employee would provide.
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1. You say this like it's a bad thing, what current protection (from medallions and the like) are we getting by these regulations? Taxis are horrible. Is the price society is paying for this "protection" worth it?

Is Uber screwing the customers? Do we need government protection from them?

With regards to insurance, you're probably right. That does need to be corrected.

2. Possibly, but I hear people saying they make decent money. Not much different than any corporation really.

3. No, just no. The whole "work whenever and how much you want" is one of the big check boxes on contractor vs. employee. If they had a schedule to work, you'd probably be right.
 
Mai72 said:
Yea, I remember taking cabs in South Korea. A 20m trip would cost be $2-3 USD.

Back home in NJ the same fare would have cost me $25 easily.
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Anubis said:
I was in Taiwan last year and I took cabs to and from where I was working and it was 30-45 min depending on traffic, it cost under 5$ once converted.
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I seriously doubt those numbers. In SK with gas costing >US$1.50/L; a taxi driving for 20 miles would spend more than $3 on gas alone.

And Taiwan, $5 for a half an hour of driving is not going to remotely cover the costs of driving.

Taxi cab fares aren't high because they're gouging you; it's high because the cost of driving is high. Most Uber drivers, especially those with newer vehicles, are losing money on every passenger they take. The only ones who are successful are those that can game the system by cherry picking the passengers, work time, guarantees from Uber and drive a older depreciated and fuel-efficient vehicle.
 
Accord99 said:
I seriously doubt those numbers. In SK with gas costing >US$1.50/L; a taxi driving for 20 miles would spend more than $3 on gas alone.

And Taiwan, $5 for a half an hour of driving is not going to remotely cover the costs of driving.

Taxi cab fares aren't high because they're gouging you; it's high because the cost of driving is high. Most Uber drivers, especially those with newer vehicles, are losing money on every passenger they take. The only ones who are successful are those that can game the system by cherry picking the passengers, work time, guarantees from Uber and drive a older depreciated and fuel-efficient vehicle.
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No, that was for 20 minutes. Not 20 miles. Sorry for the confusion. I'd take a cab to Home Plus to buy my food for the week. That was a 10-15 minute ride which cost me between 2-3 Won. That same trip in NJ would have cost me 20 won before tip. In SK, tips aren't expected. I tipped anyway because I felt sorry for the taxi drivers.

When I was in Thailand I took a 2 hour ride from Bangkok to a place called uthai thani. That ride cost me 2,000 baht one way, which is the equivalent of $60 USD. No way could I get a 2 hour ride in NJ for $60 And the Taxi was clean. It's nearly impossible to find a clean taxi where I live.
 
Accord99 said:
I seriously doubt those numbers. In SK with gas costing >US$1.50/L; a taxi driving for 20 miles would spend more than $3 on gas alone.

And Taiwan, $5 for a half an hour of driving is not going to remotely cover the costs of driving.

Taxi cab fares aren't high because they're gouging you; it's high because the cost of driving is high. Most Uber drivers, especially those with newer vehicles, are losing money on every passenger they take. The only ones who are successful are those that can game the system by cherry picking the passengers, work time, guarantees from Uber and drive a older depreciated and fuel-efficient vehicle.
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I didn't say miles I said mins - trip was well under 20 miles actually it was prob like 10, but during rush hour in Taipei you go nowhere slowly. price was always 120-150 (NTD) which is like 5$

hell the 40 or so min drive from Taipei city to the airport which is like 30 miles (i think) was only like 1000 NTD - $30 or so US

it cost me almost 50$ to get from Logan to Boston 2 weeks ago and that's like a 4 mile /10 min drive with no traffic
 
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yeah i just park at the airport now a days when i go on trips. it's like $8/day or something so the $56 for a week is usually way cheaper than getting rides back/forth for 2 people, and more convenient.
 
sourceninja said:
I like the idea of Uber, I like the service of Uber, I even liked the convenience of uber. What I don't like is how they feel they do not need to follow laws.

You are driving professionally? You should have to have the same insurance, licensing, etc that everyone else does. Don't like it? Lobby to change the state laws.
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I think the big thing uber is exposing is the taxi licensing racket the government has going on. You really think lobbying to the state will work when they are the beneficiaries of the racket? That's a huge uphill battle.

Also, you said state, but I think you mean city. I'm pretty sure taxi "licenses" are managed at the city/county/borough level not the state. The state is probably only marginally involved under DOT type rules. Good luck fighting the same battle 5000 times in every big city.

So again I'll ask these questions:

Medallions/licenses:
What current protection (from medallions and the like) are we getting by these regulations? Taxis are horrible.

Is the price society is paying for this "protection" worth it?

Is Uber screwing the customers? Do we need government protection from them?
 
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