You ain't kidding... For car people like us net pay of 10-20 / hour ain't really cake. I just made that much valeting cars last night without touching my car.

While I understand the ways in which Uber is better than taxis, etc, what I don't understand is how the company is worth north of $40B (billion with a 'B')

Data and infrastructure.

The long play on Uber isn't taxis.

Yellow cabs now outnumbered by Uber cars on NYC streets

The yellow cabs still tally more rides as their cabs are often used 24 hours a day by multiple drivers. But, this shows that Uber has made some significant inroads.

That's part of their model though. Any idiot with a newer car can drive, so the barrier of entry to become an Uber driver is next to zero, giving them a huge base, even if they cut the pay. All people I know on this board have more than one skill that's marketable and paying significantly more than shuttling people around.

I mentioned pizza delivery before. I think that's the level of "income" you can expect from running an Uber car.

I am convinced that it is a great deal for the passengers though. I did read up on insurance and I think it is good for the passengers.

G

An uber driver killed a kid in SF some time back. The family is suing Uber as he only had his personal car insurance. Plenty of this already going on, but I doubt it is going to stop the company. Uber is sleazy IMHO, the PayPal of ride sharing ...

G

I can't believe that there is anyone with Internet access who is just now learning of the existence of Uber and other ride-sharing apps. :confused:

I am not on the net all the time, plus, I drive myself around so there is no need to look them up. I really don't care about things that don't affect me.

The one and last time I used "Uber" the car reeked of MJ. Thanks but I'll call a licensed car service.

They don't seem to have a high profile. I only heard of them when Seinfeld used them on his show after a Delorean died on him.

I've taken 50 uberx rides, some are great, some aren't as great.

But you can still use Uber to arrange a conventional taxi or a black car. Why not use the app to hail the car and pay vs standing on the corner with your arm in the air?

Michael Jackson??

Guess you haven't been in a cab lately, so much for those "government regulations":rolleyes:

I had to take a cab from the airport the other night. It smelled, nasty stains all over the place, took telling the guy directions 5-6x before he understood (i.e. "go left at the light") Not to mention the <5 mile trip was more than $25 thanks to the upcharge of picking up at the airport.

If all that is government regulated, I'll take Uber any day of the week.

I get it but in the case of Uber, it's probably in the top 5 most successful web apps out of millions. Not quite Facebook, but multi-billion and growing fast.

It's the only way I get to the airport in any city.

About 3 months ago, I was at JFK and needed to get to Queens to a T-Mobile store. I had a 4 hour layover. I walked out to the arrival area, and there was a taxi queue, with I'm not kidding you, 500 people standing in it. The line snaked for a couple hundred yards. I whipped out my phone and had a black Town Car in 3 minutes. $15 later, I was at the T-Mobile store and he waited for 20 minutes while I did my business and took me back to the airport. So, evidently, there are people, even in NYC, who don't know about this great thing. Really boggles the mind.

I used it in Mumbai a few months ago. I showed the valet guys at my Intercontintal hotel the app, which showed my car coming towards the hotel on the Google map. It seemed like they had seen some sort of religious symbol. They could hardly keep themselves vertical. Good times! My Uber Black car had roll up windows, but what can you do.

So if anybody is new to Uber please use this promo code ---->> march154 <<--- when you sign up and you get a free $20.00 voucher for your first ride!

or better yet, even if you're never going to use it, sign up anyway and use the promo as then I get a voucher also!! :)

Uber is only welcome in a few places up here. It goes against the old boy network. Here if you want a cab licence you apply to the taxi board for a licence. The problem is they control the number of licences and to get one you have to buy it from a current licence owner. I have heard they are worth $100,000 now. The problem I can see is you need commercial insurance on the vehicle to transport people for pay and that might be hard to get without a taxi licence.

Yeah... Of course the taxi companies are protesting. Take NY for example. A "medallion" that allows you to operate a cab can cost a cool mil. Now you've paid a mil for that medallion and someone comes along with the family car giving rides for the same price? You see your retirement going out the window.

Every Uber trip I've taken has been better than every taxi trip. I don't do taxi's anymore.

It's 2015 and the biggest taxi service in the world does not own a single car, the biggest lodging business does not own a single building or room, (Airbnb), the biggest website does not create any content, (Facebook), and the biggest retailer in the world has no inventory, (Alibaba).

Times are not changing, it's already happened. :cool:

Opposition to Uber is always about protection of turf and medallion value. It's never about quality of service or protection of the consumer.

Vancouver has something like 20% of the number of cabs required for a city of our size maybe less. The guys complaining about Uber have a vested interest in the status quo and don't give a rats azz about riders.

I call it the taxi mafia. Trying to get a cab when you really need one is a joke in my city.