Explain Uber To Me
 

Dang kids, always coming up with new things we didn't know we needed and now just feel stupid not knowing what they are.

Bewildering innovation of the day is Uber.

Can someone explain to me, what is Uber and what is so good about it?

You can use your smartphone to hail a cab (essentially), and no money physically changes hands--it's billed to your account.

It's the convenience of taking a cab, without actually having to call/hail one or having money on you. And your phone will tell you--in minutes--how far away the "cab" is.

They're unlicensed and underinsured taxis. I love the idea of sticking it to the man, but they're one bad car accident away from a huge lawsuit.

It makes being a gypsy cab driver or hiring one easier.

Good if you need to earn some extra coin or need a ride in a pinch.

Not so good if you are a legit taxi driver / company and abide by all the regulations and pay all the associated fees.

As I explained to my wife: "you could get a nice guy wanting to make a buck but drives like crap, or the guy from silence of the lambs. No vetting, probably not insured to carry you. Call a real cab, please." Not that a real cab can necessarily drive either, but that's a step up...
I wonder how long it'll take for insurance companies to have an addendum about "uber" on the policy.

Interesting...from their homepage:

"Licensed & Insured

From insurance to background checks, every driver meets all local regulations."

Where exactly do you get your information?

And they send you a photo of the driver and car. My kids use Uber and they love it. Any other cab companies do that?

I use it all the time. Great service a bit more than $$ than a cab but you aren't riding in an old police car and the driver doesn't moan about using a modern form of payment such as a debit card.

Don't most auto insurance policies already have some wording about not covering the vehicle in the event that it is "for hire" or something like that?

Normally, as a private citizen, I would read that and just laugh. When am I ever going to be carrying people for money? But here's an instance in which privately-owned vehicles (not by a cab company) are being used for livery services. That's going to be fine and dandy until some bad accident.

I find the dynamic pricing an interesting business model.

They've had thousands of cars operating in cities all over the world for several months. I'm pretty sure that there have already been many, many accidents.

Legislators deal Uber, Lyft big defeat by expanding insurance requirements - Silicon Valley Business Journal

About insurance and Uber

But Uber says their drivers already have it

https://blog.uber.com/uberXridesharinginsurance

Confusing.

Riiiiigghhht. I'm licensed and insured and have had background checks too.....just not to provide a taxi service. See how easy it is to claim that? Tell your own insurer you're signing up to become an Uber driver and see how fast they drop you or hike your rates. Uber just recently started adding secondary insurance in case a driver's primary insurance doesn't pay. Gee, what could wrong there? I totally like the idea and will probably end up using them. Just sayin'. It's grossly unfair to the regular taxi drivers, who have to play by a different set of rules.

Uh yeah. I want to have the kids exchange phone #s and pics with a cabbie....

I don't see how? License? In California, taxi drivers do not need any special license, at most they sometimes have to take a special "taxi driving class" but that depends on local jurisdiction. Insurance? Taxi companies pay for insurance on the vehicles.

The way I see it, it comes down to the taxi companies *****ing there is competition now and they don't want to give up their stronghold. Maybe years of longhauling, meter scams and *****ing about non-cash forms of payments finally caught up to them.

Sure different rules all over the place.

Taxi rates are generally set in stone by local government.

They are subject to additional inspection.

In NYC they are required to replace their cars every 3 years.

The last 2 medallions, required for legal cab operation, sold in NYC were corporate medallions. Went for $1,000,000 each.

Operators of cab companies have to deal with employer law. Übers drivers are employees when it's beneficial to the company but independent contractors when it does not benefit über

Can't have your cake and all that..... As they say

I use Uber ALL the time.

Only once was the car -less than great.


I use the app, call a car, and I get a message with

The ETA to the minute,
Driver's name
type of car
license plate of the car.

And sometimes for fun I open the app and watch the driver drive towards me on the map.

I have no problems trusting an Uber driver as much as an angry, overworked, under showered cabbie.

Ditto. I still think they're on borrowed time. They may help improve the taxi industry by forcing them to get more competitive. But Uber, as it exists today, is just not gonna survive the legal, political and regulatory wave that's building against it. I doubt Uber has the cash and political clout to win the fight in every city where the taxi drivers are screaming bloody murder.

Finally, someone who actually uses the app chimes in.

Uber exists in many forms. It started in San Francisco over 3 years ago. Originally, it hailed only black cars that were between fares, utilizing existing unused capacity.

Eventually, it morphed into uberX and uber taxi. Uber taxi simply hails a normal cab for you. The driver pays a small percentage of their tip to uber and the rider pays a small booking fee for the convenience of being able to hail the cab from your apartment and have it waiting curbside, rather than walking around outside like an idiot. It charges a normal fare with fixed tip to your credit card. That's the best part, simply being able to get out of the cab once the ride is over. No haggling with he cabbie over paying with cash even though he is legally required to take a card.

UberX are personal cars that act as taxis. The drivers are background checked, but they are amateurs. It's be cheapest way to get around by far at 60-70% of a cab fare (they have dynamic surge pricing based on demand) but you need to know where you are going and how to get there as most UberX drivers are clueless.

UberX is my preferred method of transport around Chicago. Using uber taxi is next. Anything to avoid waiting for a cab. I get ready to leave, check uber, flag my ride, get in the elevator and by the time I'm downstairs, my car is waiting. It's perfect.

You guys made me sign into PP solely to comment on this thread...

Huge +1 to the above! I had heard of Uber but had never used the service in Houston. I traveled to Chicago a few weeks ago, and now I am absolutely hooked. I used Uberx and had great experiences with 99% of the drivers. It was easy to use. Very easy to use.

The one thing I actually enjoy about Uber is that once you step out of the car you are asked to submit a review. Now, this may seem like a pain if you are in a rush, but it's actually really works!

My friend and I were traveling to a specific destination which I knew roughly where it was located. The guy really could have made a few better turns (it geniunely looked like he thought he knew where he was going) but after getting out of the car knew he could have done better. After getting out of the car I was prompted to rate the driver. Car was on-time, spotless, and professional. He just managed to get lost with the help of a GPS. I knocked it down to 3 stars because I really thought he should have known where to go. ISYN, within ten minutes I had an email from Uber saying that they had reviewed the route and agreed that his route wasn't really optimal and refunded me the money! Now I am not being judgemental... but try and do that with archaic Yellowcab!