CMK10

All due respect but, based on five threads? The last two have a combined total of about 15 points and of the other three, two probably wouldn't be moved to a new forum as they're actually in the correct forum right now.

Hell, I could probably find 5 threads about limos, that doesn't mean we need a limousine forum.

dchristiva

I would lump them in. I see nothing wrong with getting ahead of the curve a bit here, but that's just my opinion.

Eastbay1K

I'm all for it. I've had some excellent and some horrible UBER and Sidecar experiences. I want to know if in City X, they will be able to pick me up at the airport. I want to know in City Y if I'm going to be hit with Surge pricing most of the time. I want to know if drivers are generally reliable in CHS (yes, you, idiot who I canceled after 20 minutes, who couldn't find his way to the most famous hotel in the city) or if I should hail a taxi. I want to see easily in City Z that there is political unrest on the UBERfront and they have just been banned or just been permitted to drive again.

As far as Tom's worthwhile points go, as a victim of a licensed taxi that ran a red light and sent me to the ER for a night, with a much faded but still remaining scar on my face about 15 years later, I'm not convinced that taxis are any safer. They may (or may not) however, have the same amount of insurance. This actually would be of greater concern for me outside of the USA, where I don't have a clue about how things operate.

tom911

One point that came up on one of the threads I participated in was the "quality" of the background checks. I know, before I retired, that my local government employer fingerprinted and submitted print cards to the state and FBI for cab drivers. I read that one of the ride sharing services does some type of background check, maybe through some private entity, but only goes back 10 years, so if you're a convicted sex offender or paroled murdered from over 10 years ago and have stayed under the radar, no one will ever know. Even if you're convicted of a crime against persons this year that goes into the felony area, does that exclude you from driving, and how would your employer find out? I don't have the answer. What are the policies on drivers with criminal records?

No idea how these rideshare services operate outside the U.S. and what insurance coverage is in place. I can see the potential for a lot of threads on those types of topics if a new forum does get up and running. There's really a lot that I don't know about these services and there isn't a consolidated forum on FT where you can read all about them.

I don't know if one service is any safer than another as they probably draw from the same labor pool.

Eastbay1K

They do, as some drive for 1, 2 or 3 of the services!

MSPeconomist

Some limo services, such as Carey, are national. IMO they seem to also use local contractors.

Credit card concierge services can arrange limo and car service reservations.

Canarsie

Despite the fact that I have never used their services, this is not about me.

I am certainly willing to give consideration to this idea — especially as they are a part of travel...

MSPeconomist

I've never used Uber and don't plan to do so in the near future, despite their tie with Starwood. I sometimes use car services as I generally find them to be much better than taxis, often for about the same price. This isn't about me either.

Some of the interest here might be due to some bloggers promoting Uber as almost the greatest thing since sliced bread.

tom911

Here's an Uber story this morning. Does it go to OMNI, Travel Buzz, Los Angeles, somewhere else? I know it can't go in Newsstand even though it's a news item. Right now couldn't it go in any of the three I highlighted?

Grandmother Driving For Uber Says She Was Attacked By Door-Slamming Passengers

How about this licensing story, also today?

Eugene sues Uber to stop unlicensed operation

Or this one:
Woman protests Uber's $100 'bodily fluids' fee

mia

About 519 threads mention Uber or Lyft or both, and over 100 of those have one of these terms in the Title.

CMK10

Honestly, I don't blame them. All my experiences with them have been great, especially as I can point to numerous bad experiences with taxis on the other end.

Now that is an interesting statistic, consider me learning more towards a yes then.

Eastbay1K

It might be, but that never stopped the shills from posting under the guise of impartial analysis.

nsx

From eyeballing the titles do you think the majority of these would be at home in a dedicated Ride Service forum? Or would they be more properly grouped geographically?

CMK10

Or under SPAM, Starwood or perhaps somewhere else.

captiveguru

I think Uber (as well as their competition; Lyft, etc...), need separate forums.

In my mind Uber is no different than Delta Airlines. I use the Delta Forum to ask questions about Delta's operations worldwide. Have learned many tips and tricks that made using Delta better. I would do the same with Uber.

Search my posts and you will see that I have gone to the Destination forums to ask my questions. It would be nice to be able to surf one forum on all things Uber...