at this point nothing shocks me about uber. the question is how much longer can they survive with this guy in the captain’s chair?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/23/technology/travis-kalanick-pushes-uber-and-himself-to-the-precipice.html
Nope.
Lyft may become the company that survives ten years out or at least dominates …not because they are providing better service per say…it is that Goliath is going to self destruct.
Last year in Michigan an Uber driver…while taking fares and driving people around…shot and killed six strangers. Oddly, none of them were his customers. Don’t know about everyone else, but that guy certainly didn’t have any ethics or boundaries…or as the trial seems to indicate…much sanity. Dude cracked. He said the Uber app popped up a picture of a cow-headed devil that took over his mind and body. Hearing accounts from his fares that day…is really chilling.
I deleted the Uber app a while ago, and I’m happy to give my business to Lyft. (In my town the same drivers work through both services, so I don’t feel like I’m hurting any working folks.) My D still uses Uber in NYC because she says it’s cheaper, often a lot cheaper, and she’s on a very tight budget, but I’m working on her…I know my teensy bit of business will make no difference, but at least I feel better not supporting bad guys. (I won’t buy Vanity Fair products either, though the Koch bros. don’t seem to be hurting from my boycott!)
I’ve never used Uber or Lyft yet. So far, have been supporting taxis, car rentals and public transit. At this rate, I’m not attracted to Uber–don’t want to support that CEO.
I don’t use either–I’m not happy to what they’re doing to the idea of jobs that people can support themselves on. It’s such a race to the bottom in regards to job security, benefits, etc.
I don’t like that they don’t have to follow rules like taxis–for instance, that they don’t know where you’re going till you get in, at which point they can be like, nah, don’t feel like making that trip (too long, too short, not where I want to go, I don’t like your looks, etc.) That happens a lot.
momma J
" I’m happy to give my business to Lyft. (In my town the same drivers work through both services, so I don’t feel like I’m hurting any working folks."
even if it was not the same people , you would just be helping other people.
my 2 old bosses used to argue about terminating people.(it happened very rarely but did occur sometimes)
boss 1 would say… we can not fire him he has child support payments and alimony he will be down and out on his luck.
boss 2…he is messing up orders, losing customers for us and even steals toilet paper from us in his brief case.
boss 1 I know we have talked to him lots of times etc etc…
boss 2 probably the next person we hire will be a single mom who needs the money for her kids and herself and she may actually work hard and care. so why can’t we get somebody who will benefit from us and we benefit from them?
boss 1…fine .
In Austin last year, a proposition passed that required background checks using finger prints. It was a contentious election and they (U & L) were so obnoxious with their lobbying against it, lost the vote. They took their ball and went home. Within months, a local tech guru and his peeps developed a new ride share with the background checks, good drivers and let you round up your fare and donate to your favorite not-for-profit. Ride Austin gets my business now. Good riddance to U&L. (update: our wonderful TX legislators are currently deciding whether to ignore our vote and take away local control and allow the state to regulate ride share companies. Part of the current bill takes away the non-discrimination rules that prevent drivers from choosing to not pick up transgender folks, among others. Not surprising, U&L are not saying anything about this clause. Nice…
I love Uber. I haven’t set foot in a taxi for ages as Uber’s massively cheaper and they show up predictably in cars that (usually) mimic a car service at a fraction of the price. Regarding the San Antonio local’s company, why would I do that? I have one app installed right now and I don’t really want more.
Uber appears to be a lot like Amazon–don’t really care about the competitive environment nor do they care about their drivers and employees but they do care about the customer experience. This has worked out remarkably well for Amazon and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t work for them.
My feelings exactly. So far I’ve done fine with walking, public transportation and taxis. (In that order of preference in NYC at least!)
I’m also going to stop using Uber and switch to Lyft.
By the way, did the drawing at the top of that article remind anyone of The Daily Prophet? 
That outcome is because A- they don’t know where you’re going until you get in (that’s deliberate, to keep drivers from cherry picking “good” rides), and B - to be classified as contractors rather than employees they can’t be forced to drive anyone. There are carrots and sticks to encourage them to do so, but that’s it.
Well, I’ve twice had cabs tell me they wouldn’t take me where I wanted to go. One declined to pick me up (after saying they would). Contributed to me missing a flight.
The second time it happened I knew enough to argue and a cop intervened–it was a long taxi line at a festival, so there were lots of officers about.
IME, cabs don’t always follow the rules that they’re supposed to.
I do plan to try Lyft soon, partly due to some of the issues people have mentioned with Uber. I only occasionally use any ride services and my city only recently got Lyft.
^^Right. I know why they do it; just don’t like the result. And yes, a taxi might flaunt the rules, but i think that the ride-rejection is more likely when it’s baked into the system as it is in U (don’t know about L.)
Uber became big because it served areas taxis ignored. When my daughter lived in Brooklyn she often had a hard time getting a cab from Manhattan and that’s when she began using Uber. In the suburban areas of the city I live in, you won’t find a taxi - ever. Now Uber and Lyft are at suburbanites’ beck and call, and my car-less son who lives on the outskirts of the city couldn’t be more pleased.
I do have to hand it to Uber - it filled a need others ignored or didn’t see. Its CEO is a jerk, and a good reason to use Lyft. But it’s hard for me to condemn the company that completely changed people’s commuting options. In the US, where public transportation is often nil, that’s a change bordering on the revolutionary.