Is Uber For Real ?
 

I hear the commercials, "Make money on Uber", (which I dont quiet believe is true for the average driver) ... but what about the passenger ?

It seems like a good idea in concept, but are people really using Uber and happy with it ? Craiglist seemed like a good idea until you run into all the dbags !

I've been riding in them a lot lately. Personally it's hard for me to sit in the back with some questionable drivers, but that's no different from a taxi, limo, bus or any other service. But other than that, it's great - pickup times are quick, no need to worry about parking, and the prices at most times are significanly cheaper than taxis. The main downside seems to be ending up with a driver with bizarre/bad habits, e.g. them wanting to listen to a particular radio station at high volume while I'm on the phone trying to coordinate where I'm going.

As far as the drivers, most of them seem to like it. Drive around, talk to random people, drive around some more... doesn't seem to be a huge money maker for them personally. Apparently good enough though.

There's now a forum on FT for ride services such as Uber, etc. Was created recently.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ride-...uber-lyft-747/

Cheers.

I use it all the time...definitely better than taking a cab especially in areas where cabs are scarce. No messing with payment either which is great when overseas where cab drivers will usually (claim to) not take credit cards.

Is Uber For Real ?
 

Use it every week. It's more of a car service. Fast, efficient, and cheap. Like my women. :D

Used it multiple times. Very happy with both the service and the price (vs. cabs).

Use it (or Lyft) at least a few times a week. While there is definitely the occasional bad/obnoxious driver, in my experience there are fewer than with conventional taxis and there's better accountability.

Plus, it's way cheaper and the cars and drivers are nicer at least 90% of the time.

I like it, however there are a couple of drawbacks. 1) in NYC the drivers don't always know the quickest route to get places. I've had to provide directions a few times to befuddled drivers. 2) beware of "surge pricing". During busy times, especially in bad weather, Uber raises fares. Sometimes it's not too bad. 1.6 times the normal fare. During one snowstorm, I was quoted 6 times higher! Naturally, I declined.
Other than this, I like the service.

Regular user here as well - overwhelmingly positive experience. A few hiccups here and there, involving bad pin drops or confusion over pick up locations on Market St in SF. Always an interesting driver with story to match: some are looking for their dream, others have found it, most just trying to pick up some extra cash and meet new people, some just trying to do something they feel is worthwhile during their downtime. And always a clean new car.

I'm technologically stupid and too scared to use Uber.

Is Uber For Real ?
 

Uber is real, we even use it here in China. What is not real is their valuation...but that's a different topic.

hope to see more things like uber black and uber taxi

i personally am not interested in things like uber x

I get to write a long post about Uber!
 

I've been using Uber since the early days of black car over three years ago. I actually learned about it from another flyer talker in the SFO forum. Cooper got their start here in San Francisco because cabs are absolutely horrible here. I live in a lovely neighborhood, but was never able to get a cab, whether by calling, hailing, or setting up in advance. The only time I was able to get a cab was if they were coming down the hill from the hospital nearby. So I was very willing to pay the premium that black car charges over a regular cab just to get where I was going.

If you know me, you'll know I'm the last person to try something like Uber X. Random stranger, barely vetted, driving a random car that hasn't been checked out? yeah I'm just not that kind of person. But I tried it the minute they started and love it! I would not have been able to have worked as long as I did in Oakland if it wasn't for Uber X.
There are drawbacks. Major drawbacks. As I said, Uber X drivers are random people in random cars. Sometimes they know how to drive; in fact most of you know how to drive – but not all of them drive well. Those who come from other parts of the Bay Area to drive in San Francisco, where the rides are more consistent, don't know the city at all and have to rely on Uber’s marginal GPS system. Those who don't install Waze, a GPS app that also tracks traffic in real time suffer the most.

A few times I've actually had true nut cases where I stop the ride almost immediately, as the person and the car were so sketchy that I didn't feel safe. Those rides are far between – usually it's just a driver who seems hostile, lost, or otherwise unhappy with their situation.
Having taken Uber in many cities throughout the US and elsewhere, drivers differ depending on the city. In San Francisco many drivers work part time, or the most enterprising ones take out car loans and then rent those cars to other drivers , operating as a mini taxicab company within the framework of Uber. in New York and other cities, many of the drivers for Uber black car and Uber X were professional drivers before they joined Huber, and work full time to support their families.

However, I don't think Uber’s model can last. Not talking about the valuation – that's an area I know very little about. but while over calls its drivers "partners" drivers are more of a hybrid between a contractor and an employee. For example, Buber drivers are paid through direct deposit – that's one of the absolute tests used to determine if someone is an employee. The thinking is if someone's a contractor, their paid by the project or a certain milestone, not on a weekly regular basis through a direct deposit to their bank. And while Uber drivers can turn the app on and off as they like, a driver who refuses rides too often or who doesn't work prime time will quickly find themselves deactivated regardless of their rating. Again, this speaks to more than a part-time employee in a true contractor. while I don't know the ins and outs of what the Uber insurance covers, the fact that they do cover their drivers there were general liability policy point somewhat to the fact that they may be employees.


However the drivers are not exactly employees either. They can generally work when they want, accept or refuse rides as they see fit, and are responsible for the maintenance of their equipment. my best guess is that at least in California, the state will have to come up with a new definition of a hybrid employee/contractor that covers not only ride services but delivery services like Instacart and Postmates. without some kind of new definition, Uber will have difficulty keeping a steady supply of new drivers who are competent and serve the public. I can already see a time commenting where Uber will become just like taxicabs, where drivers will blacklist certain areas of towns or neighborhoods as being unsafe or not worth their time to pick someone up and only the very desperate drivers will take those calls.

Or, as I fear most commonly, someone who is blacklisted from over as a passenger for having their rating be too low will sue Uber for the right to be able to use the service. It's not operating as a public benefit but it wants all the benefits of doing so.
I just don't see the current situation, where Uber rakes in the millions and drivers are responsible for costs that are usually handled on an employee basis, being tenable in the long term. My prediction is that it will wind up looking more like a standard taxi that you call using your phone with the ups and downs that that entails. I

Some coworkers have used Uber with generally good results. However there were some instances where they felt really ripped off. It isn't as easy to schedule as a regular cab.

Of course some cabs are very scary. They often do 95 on the way to the airport. "Excuse me sir? If you kill me it would adversely effect your tip."

Another coworker was in a cab that rear ended another cab. He was belted in but his face hit the divider between the front and rear seats. He looked like he went 10 rounds with Joe Lewis and was a bloody mess when he got to the airport.

YMMV.

I use it even locally the cars are already nice, drivers polite, and app based hailing and tracking already exist.

Reasons is the cashless payment, automatic email receipt, and its slightly cheaper. 1 fewer receipt to lose during expense report.

In foreign countries its great because many are fraught with scams, haggling, etc. for example Lisbon at the airport. Uber bypasses all this nonsense with the transparency of map and routing. And cuts through language barrier too.

Tonight we attended a wedding and we did not want to be concerned with drinking alcohol and driving. Uber was perfect. We requested the Uber+ as we were ready to leave the wedding and we were picked up 4 minutes later and delivered safely home. I think it is a great service. Big fan of Uber+.

I like it for what I call niche rides. Example: a couple weeks ago I was at the BWI Hilton Garden Inn and I needed to get to the BWI Amtrak Station. The hotel shuttle ran on the half hour and only to the airport so I'd have had to leave earlier than I wanted to, ride to BWI wait on the BWI Bus to the Amtrak station and ride that. Instead, I took Uber.

I'll be in New York next month. I'll take a train to White Plains then I have to get to HPN for my flight. Uber will be great for that too. I like being able to track the car and I like the feedback system. Plus, earning SPG and Amex MR points is great too. It's definitely growing on me.

I use Uber X in lieu of taxis whenever possible. It is cheaper and the drivers are better than Chicago cabs in my experience. Usually end up using it a few times a week (to Ohare, weekend nights when I wouldn't want to drive). The only issue is that you can't get one at Ohare on the way back into the city (although you can get a Lyft). But you can change your pickup to somewhere where you obviously aren't like the middle of an interstate, and the driver will call you. YMMV if they actually will pick you up.

In DTLA, uber is for real. I've gone ahead and sold my car (as uber is by far the cheaper option) and for longer drives I can rent a car for the day.

I also use it regularly for work so that I don't have to drive a rental in an unfamiliar city... Couldn't be happier with the competition to cabs - which I've found to be dreadful on almost every experience I've ever had to take them.

Here's a random use of Uber that I did today. My car was parked .6 miles from my workplace and when I went to the lobby I realized it was pouring rain. I had no umbrella and didn't want to get my suit soaked, especially as I was going to be working at my second job tonight. So I pulled up the Uber app, a car was in front of my building in less than one minute and it dropped me right in front of my car. Total cost: $4.

I've only tried Uber Black once. Have not yet tried any other variants. See my other thread where I got some good info on tipping.

I'm thinking that Uber might be a great alternative every time I am tempted to ask someone I know (co-worker, SO, etc) for a ride. For me, that frequently involves my car being in the shop. The dealership has a shuttle, but it is a pain to schedule pick-ups from my office when I don't even know exactly when my car will be ready.

I look forward to trying out Uber X in particular for these situations.

I use UberX constantly. I have had fewer bad experienecs than with taxis and the bad experiences are minor and chalked up to lack of knowledge rather than ripoff.

I use UberX when traveling when I am familiar with the city. Many drivers are newer and depending on GPS alone can be a mistake in some large cities. In cities where I am not familiar with the layout, I use Uber Black.

I've probably had over 1000 Uber rides over the years, even in Taipei and Warsaw (yes, Warsaw). Not only is it cheaper than taxis (holds true in cheap cab cities too surprisingly like Taipei and Warsaw) but no haggling by the driver of trying to make you pay in cash and tip them. Yes, of course there are the occasional bad apples but taxi drivers are just unpleasant way more often than the ocassional Uber hiccup. In most cases if feels like cab drivers are out there to simply rip you off. I hope Uber destroys the taxi industry.

98 degrees in Downtown Raleigh today and I wanted to go to lunch at one of my favorite spots, just over 1 mile away. Uber was $4 each way and I got the sandwich I was craving ^

Uber is the greatest thing in the world, especially here in Cape Town. Taxis cost way less, AND you know who is picking you up (license plate+mug shot), so if you forget something (like your iphone) you immediately know who you can call, both parties have a clear understanding of the route and destination, drivers take exponentially more ownership for their actions, cars are comfortable clean and reliable. oh and fares are cheap cheap cheap and you don't have to worry about getting ripped off on short trips. uber's for real. get used to it. cartels gotta go.

Used them a few times abroad. Here in Vancouver they are totally illegal. Decent experience each time I used them but people should not be confused. They offer some nice features and sometimes good pricing but imho the company is totally evil. Surge pricing for instance is not in the consumers best interest. So many ways that can be abused if it becomes the standard.

What I'd like to see is taxi co's step up their game in response and Uber treating their employees like employees, stop lying about what the company really is and for them to work with regulators to manage this industry without killing the best features Uber has to offer.

I use them a lot in London or Paris, every single time the trip is better than taking a cab: nicer and more polite drivers, cleaner cars, and no strange detours done to gain more money

i do not get why canadians have such issues with surge pricing. apparently charging higher when there's elevated demand and scarce supply is "evil". did you know what's worse than surge pricing? no taxis, like in calgary when it's colder than -10...or taxis locking their doors and asking you where you're going (to get a good fare) before they let you in.

then you're just back at square one, taxi cartels (who, by the way, treat their drivers as independent contractors)

i seriously do not work for uber btw...i'm just so sick and tired of the cartels in places like calgary and vancouver, and a media and political establishment too terrified to take these chumps on.

My first Über experience was in San Francisco a year and a half ago, my second was two weeks ago in Copenhagen, and last week 5 or so rides in NYC.

I love setting my destination and being able to follow along online, knowing and seeing I'm not being "taken for a ride".

I love being able to estimate time and fare. No haggling, and no awkward tip calculation.

I love having a photo of my driver and the license plate of the car.

All that, on top of polite drivers and clean cars. If average taxis provided that kind of stress-free experience, I wouldn't avoid them like the plague.

Funny how places like Warsaw and Cape Town are pioneering ahead of such "forward" "progressive" places in canada

Please don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say evil and I do believe they have some good things to offer. I said surge pricing is not in the consumers best interest. And it's not. It can very easily cross a fine line between matching price to supply and demand over to opportunistic gouging. For people who are dependent on taxis like some seniors or the disabled it's very bad.

Here in BC if a driver refuses to pick you up or otherwise fails to follow regulation you get the company name and unit or plate number, call Min Tran and they get in trouble. That system works. I have complained about two drivers before and been quite satisfied with the results.

If people in an area agree that current prices or availability are not where they should be then that can be addressed. We don't live in a dictatorship and the taxi companies are not omnipotent. The media is not 'too terrified to take them on.' The media would hang them every day if it got ratings or sold papers but they know that most people just don't care. Like I said, I'd like to see some progress but like selling black market cigarettes at the train station or untaxed liquor from the back of a van I don't think Uber's doing it the right way.

Funny thing is a service like Uber's will probably be licensed soon here but it won't be Uber because of their strategies.

uh
Do you have any evidence that there has been gouging? Charging 3x at 1am on new years day sucks but that's not gouging. I remember there being a bunch of drivers gaming the system (by deliberately accepting then cancelling trips in repetition) but I haven't seen nor heard of any cases of actual systemic gouging of the system.

You know what works? Ordering a ride and being picked up. And if you get jerked around you need not make any phonecalls.


You have clearly never dealt with the taxi industry in Calgary. The cartels control everything in the city, and especially YYC, to their liking. I don't think the city has issued a medallion (worth tens of thousands of dollars) in years despite explosive growth. I know Canadians hold regulation and government control dear to their heart but something seriously needs to change. Sadly Edmonton of all places is pioneering things.

Brain fart on my part. I did say evil. Too many conversations going on at once. Apologies. And I am truthfully conflicted about this company. I will correct that and say imho their senior management is totally evil. I think there is a lot out there to support that from them wanting to dig up personal dirt on journos who 'cross' them them to lying about their business to serially breaking the law in many countries to not wanting to offer any benefits to their drivers. But they do offer some good features and employ a lot of decent drivers who offer good service under some difficult conditions. And a cheap ride from a good driver is very attractive. No doubt.

Do I have any evidence there has been gouging? You seem to think gouging can only happen outside of or by abusing their current model. Interesting. Some people think their current model is gouging. Gouging is a matter of perspective and they have charged much more than 3 x on New Years.

And now I'm checking what I did say and I said ' It can very easily cross a fine line between matching price to supply and demand over to opportunistic gouging' and 'So many ways that can be abused if it becomes the standard.'
Right now I think Uber is showing some serious restraint (although 5x and higher pricing happens)and much of what they do looks good when compared to conventional taxi services. But if their model became the standard I have zero faith that gouging would not become rampant.

You know what also works? Phoning a taxi company and having them pick you up. It has worked for me fine. I've yet to be stood up. Maybe I'm lucky.

Re 'cartels\ controlling everything in Calgary; yeah, I don't live in Calgary but that sounds like conspiracy theory bs. It's hard to get a taxi license or even impossible? Ok, I believe that. It's hard here too. Is the solution to just break the law? That's a personal decision but people always come up with all kinds of justifications for breaking the law when it's convenient and saves them money.

Your blanket statement about Canadians holding 'regulation and government control dear to their heart' is a gross exaggeration (and probably an insult to a majority at least in your province) and does not help your argument. But otherwise despite my arguments I actually share some of your support for the company.

If you want more background on Uber and the industry this guy has driven for Uber, Lyft and a regular cab co and has written some good articles about it:
http://disinfo.com/2014/12/gouge-awa...s-perspective/
https://idrivesf.wordpress.com/

Oh yeah their senior management is absolutely evil, there is no dispute over that. But what it is consumers get in the end is....yeah. It's shady. And kinda funny how consumers will act towards an evil corporation that actually does something (arguably) good. I'm on the side of Uber because the taxi cartels in places like Calgary are 100x more evil.

And come on, Canadians love laws....I mean there's a law in Calgary against having a fire in your back yard after 10pm!

Doesn't work for me and judging by Uber's momentum, it doesn't work for many people. Every taxi company I've ever phoned says the taxi is five minutes away. Sometimes that true, often not. I think it's a standard line

What I love about Uber:

• App based. No searching for a local phone number
• Selecting the type of car that I want
• The transparency of having the driver's cell number
• The transparency of knowing where the driver really is and a true estimate of the arrival time
• The ability to pay via credit card (Many cab driver hate credit cards)
• The ability to leave a rating/comment

And Uber drivers have never scared me like some Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston taxi drivers have when the trip I wanted was too short for their tastes.

I wonder if Curb (formerly Taxi Magic)
http://gocurb.com/
cures some of the most common taxi ills?

Uber is pulling out of Broward County, Florida at the end of this month. This slightly complicates the trip I have planned to FLL in October unless I rely on taxis. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/br...ry.html#page=1

FLL often has some of the cheapest car rentals I've seen. If you haven't considered this option, it may be far more cost effective than taxis (and more convenient given how sparse taxi service can be there).

Thanks, I wish I could consider car rentals, but I don't drive (anymore) due to medical issues. So I will need to rely on buses and taxis unless I cancel/alter my trip.

It depends on where you are planning on going, but IMO, FLL has some of the worst public transportation in the US. :td:

You may want to consider staying closer to Dade County so that you can use Uber. Uber is allowed to drop off in Broward County.