mia

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of British min-cabs companies. These are independent local businesses. Uber and Lyft are international companies with standard policies, procedures and prices. (I do not mean the prices are the same everywhere, but rather that the prices are established by the international company.)

There is no topic of consequence which is discussed in one, and only one, forum on FlyerTalk. Establishing a ride sharing forum will function as a beacon to draw new members to FlyerTalk, because they will see that we host discussions of the topic, and it will become the safe haven to start new threads, but there will still be Riding sharing vs local optionsthreads in destination forums. Creating a forum does not restrict discussion, it improves the quality by establishing a repository of expertise which can enlighten related discussions sitewide.

tcook052

Such was the argument for creating a blog forum but 2014 traffic statistics showed External Miles and Points Resources barely drew more than Travel Health & Fitness forum and is more a smaller circle of veteran members than a draw to new ones. I would prefer TB create forums on proven current demand than future promises of such.

SkiAdcock

Agree with this. It's something that I think would be of benefit to FTers.

Cheers.

JDiver

I have no horse in this race, particularly as Moderator to this forum.

I have to say I am impressed by the points of view, information and opinions shared by FlyerTalk and TalkBoard members on these various issues. Every day, I learn something, see from a different perspective or look through another lens or facet.

captiveguru

To demonstrate the need for an Uber forum I posted 3 new threads in the Location forums a few days ago, one for each place I am traveling to in the next few weeks. All asking the same question, "What is your experience with Uber in (name of city).

Unfortunately the location forums are very broad, geographically, covering multiple states. That probably explains why I have had no replies as yet.

ldsant

I think having a forum for hired drivers, etc. could be very helpful especially for those of us who don't drive an don't know how to get around. Example: There are codes for certain share cars that would be helpful to share as well. In Seattle there are Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and Flywheel. Having a forum that talks about each of these, pros and cons, and perhaps who the "good" drivers are could be exceptionally useful imo.

captiveguru

"Codes?" What are those?

BTW - Nice to know who the "good" drivers are, but Uber assigns your ride request to the nearest driver, not the driver of your choice. Not sure about Lyft, etc...

captiveguru

So my trip to DSM has come and gone. No replies to my pre-trip post over in the Midwest forum, so I posted my own Uber review for the next Uber user going to DSM. The problem is that regular Uber users don't necessarily browse the Locations forums.

Here is my post in Midwest:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24577806-post2.html

SkiAdcock

The more I think about it, the more I think this is a good idea. As noted above, car services such as Uber, etc, are becoming more ubiquitous, destination forums may not receive responses as noted above, it allows FT to provide an additional mode of information to FTers via such a forum, and would give FT more visibility as it would probably crop up in google searches.

Cheers.

tcook052

Could also be that Uber has only been legally running in Des Moines for a few weeks as noted here so there may not be local FTers or others who've visited and had a chance to use the service yet and having a dedicated Uber forum wouldn't change that.

captiveguru

Uber has been operating in Des Moines since September 2014 as noted here:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto...ides/15564131/

The article you cited was about the simplification of the local livery ordinance. Essentially adopting new rules that will allow the taxis to operate more like Uber.

Having a dedicated Uber forum would provide a central place for those who use Uber to more easily find out what is happening. This is especially useful in the newer locations and in locals where regulations are making life difficult for Uber driver and riders (like LAX and MCO).

captiveguru

Thanks. There are forums for airlines. Forums for hotel chains. Forums for car rental companies.

Ride sharing services (Uber, Lfyt, etc...), have become dominate players in many cities. Not having a forum for an emerging travel service seems odd...

The only way to find out if how many FTers are using ride sharing and want to about it is to open a forum.

Canarsie

Should travel by taxi be included in this forum?

captiveguru

It is not the same.

I think taxi discussions belong in the Location forums. A taxi in one town is not trying to provide service in another town 5 states away.

Uber, et al, are trying to provide the same level of service under their name in every town in every state, just like Marriott, Hilton, etc...

tcook052

Yes but not operating legally which is why I chose the wording I did as that was the way the linked newspaper article phrased it. I am familiar with how Uber enters a market as they started operating here in Edmonton last year without obtaining city approval and while embroiled in a legal battle resorted to offering free rides.

That all is beside my point which was that even if there were a dedicated shared ride forum you might still have received as many replies to a Des Moines query as you did in the destination forum, none, as there isn't locals or others who've used it yet. Simply posting an Uber query in several destination forums about small markets and pointing to a lack of response is not evidence to me enough a dedicated forum is really needed. The bigger cities will generate more inquiries but those can be handled in the busier destination forums as is now the case with the Los Angeles and New York forums, for example, and should shared ride use continue to grow beyond these major markets then having a dedicated forum in the future would make more sense. That is merely MHO and YMMV.