docbert

Rumor has it that Uber drivers are manipulating surge pricing to up rates.

Surge pricing kicks in when there's more passengers available than drivers. So drivers are marking themselves as being unavailable, waiting until surge kicks in, and then suddenly becoming available and taking the rides at surge prices.

davie355

This would require quite a concerted effort among drivers, and from what I gather, a slim minority of drivers ever communicate with each other.

As it stands, going offline = missing out on fares that go to other drivers.

Not to mention Uber's algorithm is more than low supply -> higher price; I sometimes see 3x surge, sometimes just "no drivers available."

nnn

It seems believable that individual drivers who think surge pricing might be imminent may wait until surge kicks in, then take a ride. However, anything beyond that (e.g., collusion among drivers to create a surge) sounds rather difficult to pull off, IMHO.

Boraxo

Having lived for years in SF I can confirm all of the taxi horror stories above are true. It is impossible to get a taxi quickly (if at all) in the outer neighborhoods, pretty much anywhere outside of major tourist and entertainment areas. That being said I've had generally good experiences with SF taxis, and for shorter trips they are cheaper than Uber (to be fair I've never taken Uber but I am familiar with the pricing).

As noted above, the taxi medallion system does not make sense for anyone but the taxi monopolies. Every single economist agrees that consumers are better off when competition increases. Also better for drivers who make far more with Uber and Lyft. These companies only exist because taxis are failing to meet consumer needs.

I am sure there is still a place for taxis, not everyone has a credit card, smartphone or the patience to wait for a car when taxis are lined up on the street. But taxis will have to clean up their act if they want to feed on the cream rather than the dregs.

MDtR-Chicago

My last twinge of empathy for taxi drivers is gone now.

Today I was in the Financial District with a friend from a place that apparently doesn't have Uber yet, who had an important presentation to give this evening near Pac Heights.

Three consecutive in-service taxi drivers (lights on, no passengers) refused to pick her up.

One drove right past without "noticing" us. The next refused to go to Pac Heights because he had "an appointment". The third had his doors locked and wouldn't open them... (and no, neither of us looked sketchy)

That's five consecutive unsatisfactory taxi drivers. With my encouragement, she ended up taking an Uber and getting to the presentation late (but at least she got there).

As has been mentioned on FT, I do have a family member who works at Uber, so I'm not entirely unbiased. However, at this point, I think I would take a Lyft over a taxi, it's so bad.

Every bit of ridership trouble they have brought upon themselves and the service level is only getting worse.

nnn

Uber is available in all of S.F. (and beyond), so not sure what you mean by this.

No surprise. It's especially bad this week, with the DreamForce conference and baseball both going on.

Seems like you are selling Lyft short. The only thing that I would imagine taxis as having better than Lyft is insurance, but even this is just speculation and nebulous. With respect to service and experience, Lyft is fairly similar to UberX, IME.

Yep.

MDtR-Chicago

Friend from a different city with no service yet - so no reason to have the app already installed.

But I still don't understand it. If you're in-service, empty car, and there is a non-sketchy fare _right in front of you_, while you're stopped at a light, why wouldn't you take it?

Purely from a selfish perspective of not wanting to support "the competition" when Uber is in the family.

Eastbay1K

Lyft requires subscription through Facebook, so it is a no-go for me.

cblaisd

I was with you, but was pleased to see that the FB tie-in is no longer needed. You can set up an account simply via your cell phone #.

squeakr

I installed it once you could use your cell # like uber.

davie355

Lyft drivers can see their passengers' Facebook profile photos, just FYI.

In theory this is a convenience for the driver (if the pickup location is crowded) but in practice many FB photos are group shots or otherwise useless to the driver other than for voyeurism.

I still use Lyft whenever it is cheaper than UberX (as it is in the Detroit area; I have Uber and Lyft receipts for the same route, $61 and $48). I have never had serious problems with any Lyft or Uber drivers in 200 rides.