kokonutz

This question rose out of the Great Rental Car Forum Reformation Act of 2015.

Should there be a forum on FT dedicated to lyft, uber, limo services, airport cars, etc?

tcook052

No, there shouldn't.

Ocn Vw 1K

As the one who brought this up, I'd support TB recommending that FlyerTalk carve out a space for this growing channel of hired driver transportation. Might even justify TB recommending separate forums for each major method of hired transportation.

When FlyerTalk was started, the main focus was on those travel providers which had loyalty programs. Hence the original labels and site organization focused on the loyalty program, rather than on the method or brand of transportation. With the proliferation of different types and brands of hired-driver transportation, it might be time to decide whether FT should carve out space for this growing industry. Some of the "ride-share" providers even have loyalty tie-ins with hotels and airlines. One day, they might even have their own loyalty programs?

kokonutz

Uber recently (just this week?) teamed up with SPG so you earn points when you uber.

Not to mention the cash referral program.

They quack more and more like ducks.

lo2e

How much non-location-specific discussion exists about such services and where is such discussion currently taking place?

tcook052

TB seems very willing to create forums but far, far less willing to examine lightly trafficked ones after their creation to ensure they are finding an audience. The 'build it and they will come' approach works only some of the time and would hope TB sets the bar higher and hold out for actual evidence that creating a new forum is warranted instead of just wishful thinking.

dchristiva

I'd like to see some data on how many such posts are out there. Anecdotal info is fine at this point. I know the NYC forum has a thread on black car services. I generally haven't found that kind of service exceptionally prevalent in other cities, but I know Uber and Lyft and like are developing a bigger and bigger presence.

MSPeconomist

There are some Uber threads in the China destination forum.

Ocn Vw 1K

There are also a number of app-based car hire threads in TravelBuzz.

CMK10

This isn't a bad idea, though I feel that there really isn't much to say. I could see talking about the points and general app questions but what else? How much is there you can really say or ask about an Uber ride?

I'm not saying this in a negative way, if there are answers to this I'd love to hear them. If I could think where it could fit under I might think about a subforum.

Ocn Vw 1K

I've seen increasing threads in TravelBuzz about these app-based car services and they cover a wide variety of interests: e.g., how to take advantage of promotions for new customers, reaching customer service to resolve a billing problem, new cities in which one or more of these companies is starting or dropping, quality of driver screening and driver conduct issues. We've moved some of these to apt regional forums so they aren't all apparent in the main TBuzz forum.

tom911

I've participated in threads in both the San Francisco forum and OMNI on ride sharing services, and those dealt with accidents/assaults involving ride sharing employees and the impact on local cab companies. Insurance coverage was also a topic. There seems to be a wide range of issues without a specific forum to compare one service versus the other. I'm not sure OMNI should be the home for these discussions being that they involve ground travel.

Would I have more insurance on Uber vs Lyft? Do different subbrands (i.e. Uber X or black car) have more insurance? What kind of background checks are conducted on employees and how far back do they go? I can think of a dozen more topics for new threads. Long overdue for a forum of its own.

I think a forum covering these services would be very popular.

Tom in New York City

CMK10

Hmm well the two of you certainly know what you're talking about so consider my interest peaked. I'll keep an eye on this and we'll see what develops.

rwoman

I used uber for the first time this past Friday and was very pleased. Some facebook friends provided essential info that affected my decision to do so.

Some of the Uber discussions - they seem to be housed in various locations:
Users: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ber-users.html
Conga for referral codes: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/s-p-m...r-service.html
SPG Points Offer: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...ber-rides.html
Uber vs rental car: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...r-instead.html
Singapore: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/singa...8138-uber.html

I did not do a search for lyft and other services, but I know it would've been useful to have a one-stop FT resource last Friday; I typically use public transportation but it was not feasible for my last trip. It could also be useful to other FTers, be it the uber (and similar service) veterans or newbs like me!

dchristiva

This indicates to me that the need exists, even if we're somewhat on the leading edge of utility. I would be in favor of such a forum.