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!

Lots of ignorance on this thread. Typical generational lapse being seen here more and more...not calling anyone dumb, just old or living in the sticks.

I particularly like how these new outfits are dynamically pricing rides based on real time conditions. Driver shortages lead to higher rates, luring drivers to work. Contrast this to the status quo, that artificially restricts supply through a taxi medallion system, making it impossible to get a ride during peak hours!

Now that you mention it... I feel like it's given taxis the competition they have needed to get better. I'll take a über over a cab any day. Just for ease of use and a better overall experience.

There may also be some confusion between überx and the black car service.

I've wondered about relayrides. What will your carrier say about you renting out your ride to any tom dick or Harry?

Regarding uber.... I've downloaded the app. Haven't had occasion to use it yet. But plan to.

Do you know what a "common carrier" is? More to the point, in relation to the standard of prudence that they are held to with regard to tortious negligence? Just because something is new, it does not follow that it is better. Nor does it follow that people who don't share your view are less urbane nor worldly. That is, unless you're really damn worldly.

Why yes, yes I do. I used to drive a cab and got really pissed-off when the city I was working in decided to issue hundreds of new taxi licenses to "improve service to underserved areas", effectively killing the livelihood of the people already doing the job. That would have been me, had I not found another occupation about that time.

As for the legalese, I'm not a lawyer but my dad was the judge who tossed out the taxi union's suit against the city that tried to stop them from issuing the new licenses. He sympathized with the working stiffs but what the city was doing was perfectly legal and within their rights. I sympathize with working stiffs myself but the people driving Ubers have as much right to make a living as the taxi companies, IMO.

I could have phrased my last post better, it was merely a reaction to some of the previous ones about unvetted ghost-people driving Ubers. That's a bunch of BS. They're vetted and lose the job quickly if they do anything against policy or just generally do not please the clientele. I've used an Uber and I have friends that use the app constantly, it works really well. And it's definitely cheaper than a taxi, plus the cars and drivers are a lot nicer in general. As for insurance, the minute they pick up a passenger, Uber's coverage is in effect. Not the driver's insurance. That's the way it was explained to me, anyways.

There are changes coming and taxi companies are fighting the ride-sharing apps with varying success in some cities. A friend was in Vegas last weekend and told me that they have succeeded in keeping Uber out so far. It's ubiquitous on Los Angeles, San Francisco and other big cities and has been for at least a couple years. So now when I hear someone say, "what is this new-fangled Uber thing? It sounds dangerous!", It reminds me of my old man marveling at what young whippersnappers can do with a smart phone like it just came about last month. That's all. :)

I have not tried this service, I think it might be a good thing that the "old" taxi-companies have to think about getting better at what they do.

But ...

All of you ignoring that it is a profession to be a taxi driver: should we now let anybody (without knowledge) build scyscrapers, or should we now let anybody (without knowledge) perform surgery? Imagine those apps! Emergency surgery and you can watch the "doc" (your neighbour, normally working as a clerk at Walmart) closing in on the map on your phone! ;) Cool!
If you like all those new possibilites then you will LOVE this!

What I want to say is: there is a reason some things are regulated and you need some experience and sometimes education. Some developments are not needed! We dont need everything "just because we can".

Uber rocks.

I will never use anything else especially in metro ATL, where the "licensed" cab companies utilize worn-out, rickety former police vehicles painted with a brush, every idiot light on the dash is flashing, no a/c and surly drivers that barely speak English or any other discernible language for that matter.

Then most of them refuse to take credit cards when in fact there is a city ordinance that they are required to do just that. I've never had worse cab service anywhere in the world than I have had right here in my own city and it is very embarrassing.

The local companies are of course up in arms over Uber, Lyft and other companies like them trying to muscle in on their business, but until these companies wake up and repair their fleets and hire professional drivers they'll never have a chance.

The app works. You choose your service, get the cost estimate, request the vehicle, get a call confirming the ride along with a picture of your driver in under 5 minutes, and there are always several drivers minutes away. Win.

I get into a cab at least 8 times a week. Without a way to hail the cab from my apartment/ from the bar, I would go insane.

No can company has built an app to hail their own cabs. When you're having a party and need to leave at a specific time, the only option is to call a cab company and wait for 30 mins for the cab they dispatched (which only comes 50% of the time). With uber, it's arranged seamlessly at your fingertips.

I end up hailing standard taxis through uber at least 50% of the time either because of surge pricing on uberx or longer wait times. In Chicago, I can't see how uber is hurting things. When demand is low, there are no uberx cars available and taxis are abundant. When demand spikes (like when it's raining on a Friday night), uberx surge pricing takes affect. Those willing to pay will take it, and those who want a fixed cost are pushed toward taxis, which increases demand for them.

I was in Chicago a few weeks ago - used UberX a couple of times - love it!!!!!! Nicer cars, cleaner cars, nicer drivers, and they didn't take me the longest route possible, like the cab drivers sometimes do. Everything from hailing to paying done on the phone, perfect for my expense reports.

Agreed that there should be some minimum standard of insurance and training... However if you've ridden in any big-city cab you will know that many of the drivers are not professional, good drivers, clean, etc... so by comparison I doubt I'd know any difference.

I stopped using cabs and went to a sedan service here in Chicago to get to the airport. THe cabs were late 30-40% of the time and never called to tell me. When I called they were always "almost there". Often smelled and dirty. I don't want to get on a plane to a customer meeting in an expensive suit and show up smelling like fake coconut.

I'll explain. Uber is to Cab companies that Word Perfect is to typewriters and secretaries...
It's MP3 to CD's. An Ebay to yellow pages. A PC to a mainframe.

Chris, you'd definitely notice the difference. Here in L.A., taxis from the reputable companies are generally pretty clean compared to other cities but the UberX cars I've seen and been in have all been pristine, late model Prius or similar. They often give you a free bottled water when you jump in. The drivers are American, speak well and are clean. Tipping is not only not necessary, it's not allowed. It's all built into the pricing and it all happens on your smart phone, ie. charged automatically.

Oh, and they are generally about 40% cheaper than a cab ride and they show up in less than 5 minutes anywhere in the parts of L.A. I'm in. You can watch the car drive to you on your screen and pick which car you want based on location to you when you book it. They beat traditional cabs 8 ways from Sunday. I know people who do not drive here and they simply don't give a second thought to how they are getting from one place to the next, there is always an Uber around the corner and it's cheap. :cool:

There is also the benefit of "rolling below the radar", no one even notices someone jumping out of a Prius here but taxis are a little more visible. That is sometimes attractive to people.

WOW! That's a revolutionary change in service. Pretty impressive. I've paid for many long and unnecessary YellowCab "tours".

It's just a ride. In a car. It's not surgery. It's not engineering. Geez. It's a ride. In a car.

And the barrier to entry for the cab driving profession is a weak pulse and bad breath.

I don't understand why anyone would take an uber ride. Why would you want to wait forever, sit on a sticky vinyl seat, smell the driver, fear for your safety, listen to the driver chat on his cell/radio in some code talk, and stare at the meter ticking up. Oh wait...

The last time I took a cab the driver stopped for gas and asked me to spot him $20 or he couldn't get me to my destination.

LOL, cab companies have dug their own grave.

The only bad thing I've heard about Uber is that their drivers can be too eager to please - pushing you to take a free bottle of water, use their phone chargers, etc.

I use Car2Go. It's pretty cool also.