Uber/Lyft. What's the verdict?

[crash_davis 23096]

Was it worth killing the cab industry to be subjected to "surge" pricing? And now some of the ride sharing cars are no better than the taxis that they replaced.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/why-austinites-may-see-higher-prices-and-longer-wait-times-for-ridesharing/

“They’ve got to make up that difference through the consumer. They have to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t take that ride to go get you on the north side,” Lee said.

UT professor Edward Anderson says wages are also up: Nationwide, Uber drivers’ wages are up from $18 per hour before the pandemic to $25 now. In Austin, it was $16.50 pre-COVID, up to $33 an hour now. 

So with all these incentives, why aren’t more drivers signing up?

“During COVID, initially a lot of people — A lot of drivers actually got out of the business,” said Anderson, Wright Centennial Professor for Management of Innovative Technology at the McCombs School of Business.

Anderson also said many also switched to food delivery, for less contact with customers.

 

Also, Uber is now releasing riders tipping history. People are complaining about rides getting canceled. So now you have to pay surge pricing and tip well. LULZ.

 

Line at the airport this weekend. No taxis. No ridesharing.

[Kennythetiger 9374]

Why wouldn’t they release tipping information?  I would have assumed that that’s already in my information when I request a ride. 

[TornACL 7698]

Was it worth it to kill the cab industry?

Absolutely. Murder the cab industry to death. 

[smokebomb 357]

The cab industry killed the cab industry. Cab companies were so shitty that they had a government enforced monopoly & they still failed. 
 

Uber/Lyft will return to normal over the next few months once people feel more comfortable in enclosed spaces & as people roll off government assistance. 

[TornACL 7698]

Also, I think it's rather silly to debate the "verdict" on ride share during a period of chaos in the labor industry. All the things called out in that article are being experienced throughout every service industry. 

Also, what's the problem. There's limited supply of labor, and demand for that labor. Why is anyone surprised or upset if the cost of labor is rising?

[TriStone 1724]

Surge pricing is absolutely worth having my ride actually show up when I call for it, and for the car not to be a beat-to-hell rattle trap that smells like a dirty ass crack.

Quote

And now some of the ride sharing cars are no better than the taxis that they replaced.

No Uber/Lyft I've ridden in comes anywhere even close to the horror of the last cab ride I ever took.  The cab industry fucked itself all on its own.

Edited June 1, 2021 by TriStone

[Bateshorn 9927]

12 minutes ago, smokebomb said:

The cab industry killed the cab industry. Cab companies were so shitty that they had a government enforced monopoly & they still failed. 
 

This.  DC had the worst cab industry in the country.  They murdered themselves. Ride sharing will work it self out as people get back into the game to take advantage of the current high payouts as a side hustle.

[crash_davis 23096]

I don't get the hate for the cab industry. Nor do I understand the love for Uber. They are opposite sides of the same shitty, public transit service coin.

Prior to Uber, I had no problems using taxis for rides to and from the airport and around downtown. They weren't as clean as my car but I was treating them as a public service transit that they are. When I ride on subways, I don't expect cleanliness. Not in the US anyway. It's the price you pay for public service.

I didn't ever have to pay surge pricing for cabs. If I were staying at a hotel, I just call the concierge and had them book me a cab, no matter the time of night. Now you have to pay $100 for a $30 cab, sorry I mean Uber, ride. If Taxis implemented surge pricing, everyone would mass revolt. But Uber does it and everyone loves them for the free market idea. Fucking Lulz.

The two people who I know drove for Uber stopped a long time ago. The pay sucked and dealing with people was worse. Who'da thunk being a taxi, I mean Uber, driver is a shitty job.

[ZB'Tejas 593]

4 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

I didn't ever have to pay surge pricing for cabs. If I were staying at a hotel, I just call the concierge and had them book me a cab, no matter the time of night. Now you have to pay $100 for a $30 cab, sorry I mean Uber, ride. If Taxis implemented surge pricing, everyone would mass revolt. But Uber does it and everyone loves them for the free market idea. Fucking Lulz.

Maybe it wasn't called surge pricing but you never knew what price you were paying until the trip was over. Even in NY I felt there was inconsistency in pricing and overall it was really high compared to when Uber came out. Other than standard pricing from JFK to midtown I felt I was being taken advantage of a little bit.

[Deej 76752]

Surge pricing...price gouging...potato, potahto

[crash_davis 23096]

1 minute ago, Deej said:

Surge pricing...price gouging...potato, potahto

No no, price gouging is the pricing increase due to the imbalance of supply vs demand. 

Surge pricing is pricing increase due to the the imbalance of supply vs demand for Uber. 

HUGE difference.

 

[ztejas 43411]

The gouging at peak hours is silly but it really is just supply and demand. If it isn't busy I promise you are paying less for an Uber or Lyft than you would have for a cab. And getting there much quicker. Uber/Lyft drivers are also held to a much higher standard. If the driver sucks then rate them 1 star and complain about it. 

If people still can't get over it after acknowledging all the above then I have a solution - drive yourself or take the bus. Or quit partying/boozing so much at 2 in the morning. It's a free market with pretty balanced price competition. It will sort itself out. 

[DonkeyCigars 144]

I just got a new Yukon XL and I'm seriously, honestly no joke, thinking about signing up to drive Uber XL black car if I'm going to get $200 fares and what not for 30 minutes worth of driving (though it cost $90 to fill up the tank). It's almost getting economically viable for people like me who would have never dreamed of driving uber 18 months ago, and we all know there are people in most cities who won't get into anything less than a black car and those people need to get to airports and skyscrapers. 

Edited June 1, 2021 by DonkeyCigars

[crash_davis 23096]

9 minutes ago, ZB'Tejas said:

Maybe it wasn't called surge pricing but you never knew what price you were paying until the trip was over. Even in NY I felt there was inconsistency in pricing and overall it was really high compared to when Uber came out. Other than standard pricing from JFK to midtown I felt I was being taken advantage of a little bit.

Except the rates are approved by cities. Prices are stated in the cabs. 

Mileage, time during traffic (usually by the minute), pick up. They are published rates. 

[Bateshorn 9927]

Either you are a cabbie, or on an incredibly lonely crusade to defend taxis. 

[TornACL 7698]

8 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

 

I didn't ever have to pay surge pricing for cabs. If I were staying at a hotel, I just call the concierge and had them book me a cab, no matter the time of night. Now you have to pay $100 for a $30 cab, sorry I mean Uber, ride. If Taxis implemented surge pricing, everyone would mass revolt. But Uber does it and everyone loves them for the free market idea. Fucking Lulz.

You seem really bent out of shape about surge pricing. In fact that seems to be your primary beef, with a whole bunch of other nonsense surrounding it. 

Taxi rides from hotel concierge desks to airports are probably the best experience you're going to have in a cab. Because there's steady supply, steady demand and usually a regulated flat fee for airport trips that you know in advance. 

I would suggest that the user experience of calling a cab to your house, or picking one up on the street, is far different and much less enjoyable. 

That was my experience, at least. 

Taxi drivers have their own ways of surge pricing, the problem is they do it once you're already locked in the car and en route. Especially leaving bars late at night, you better make damn sure that meter is turned on, or else you're in for quite the surprise when you get to your destination. 

[Sbbruin 21829]

41 minutes ago, smokebomb said:

The cab industry killed the cab industry. Cab companies were so shitty that they had a government enforced monopoly & they still failed. 
 

 

Yeah, the next cabbie that actually had change would be the first one.  $21 cab ride but you only have twenties?  Sorry, I don't have change, I'll just take the $40.  Fuck you.

[DonkeyCigars 144]

26 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

I don't get the hate for the cab industry. Nor do I understand the love for Uber. They are opposite sides of the same shitty, public transit service coin.

Prior to Uber, I had no problems using taxis for rides to and from the airport and around downtown. They weren't as clean as my car but I was treating them as a public service transit that they are. When I ride on subways, I don't expect cleanliness. Not in the US anyway. It's the price you pay for public service.

I didn't ever have to pay surge pricing for cabs. If I were staying at a hotel, I just call the concierge and had them book me a cab, no matter the time of night. Now you have to pay $100 for a $30 cab, sorry I mean Uber, ride. If Taxis implemented surge pricing, everyone would mass revolt. But Uber does it and everyone loves them for the free market idea. Fucking Lulz.

The two people who I know drove for Uber stopped a long time ago. The pay sucked and dealing with people was worse. Who'da thunk being a taxi, I mean Uber, driver is a shitty job.

I get where you are coming from here, and I think the issue is that Uber in 2015 is a lot different than Uber in 2021.

Uber when it started was super convenient with the app/phone and moments later a car appeared like magic, while the cabs were hopelessly antiquated with a telephone dispatch system and wait times, etc. To this day I'm not sure the yellowcab app actually works. It didn't last I tried it in like 2018.

Further, Uber's whole value proposition was "Flat rate, no tipping!". They didn't even use to accept or have the ability to take tips.

But now that Uber needs to run a business and isn't just growing off of billions of VC money, you will see it regress to the taxi cab mean, which is what I think we've seen down to the now emphasis on a rider's tip history.

 

Edited June 1, 2021 by DonkeyCigars

[Sbbruin 21829]

10 minutes ago, ztejas said:

 Or quit partying/boozing so much at 2 in the morning. 

Well, let's not get carried away.

[crash_davis 23096]

3 minutes ago, TornACL said:

You seem really bent out of shape about surge pricing. In fact that seems to be your primary beef, with a whole bunch of other nonsense surrounding it. 

Taxi rides from hotel concierge desks to airports are probably the best experience you're going to have in a cab. Because there's steady supply, steady demand and usually a regulated flat fee for airport trips that you know in advance. 

I would suggest that the user experience of calling a cab to your house, or picking one up on the street, is far different and much less enjoyable. 

That was my experience, at least. 

Taxi drivers have their own ways of surge pricing, the problem is they do it once you're already locked in the car and en route. Especially leaving bars late at night, you better make damn sure that meter is turned on, or else you're in for quite the surprise when you get to your destination. 

So when is it OK for companies to price gouge and when isn't it? Gas stations price gouging during shortages, no problem. Run on toilet papers, price gauge no problem. 

I called cabs for airport pickups and never had any issue. I had scheduled an uber airport pick up in Paris and the fucker didn't show. So my small sample case is in favor of the taxis. 

Again I don't care for Uber anymore than I cared for Taxis. Uber has good things and bad things. Taxis had good things and bad things. They are both public transport service, no more no less. But yes, I find the whole price gouging in the guise of surge pricing funny and ironic as shit. And that some of you defending it is funny as shit.

[UTPhil2006 3802]

9 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Yeah, the next cabbie that actually had change would be the first one.  $21 cab ride but you only have twenties?  Sorry, I don't have change, I'll just take the $40.  Fuck you.

This. There is a lot of transparency with Uber. And no money exchanging hands. I’ve had relatively few problems with Uber ever whereas there was always something sketch with Cabs. Add in car tracking, safety measures, etc and even with higher pricing it’s infinitely better than a cab 

[ztejas 43411]

3 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Well, let's not get carried away.

Oh by all means continue - just don't complain about how much your Uber costs to get home at 3 in the morning from West 6th. 

I also see we are conveniently dodging the actual issue here: the absolute insanity that is the amount of people moving to and vacationing in Austin. The driver supply needs some time to catch up as even as recently as February it was a completely different value proposition. 

BTW - most people don't tip and I don't expect them to. If the cost of your ride seems exorbitant then I assure you your driver is being compensated accordingly - don't feel like you need to tip them. And I would never cancel a trip based on something as retarded as a rider's tip history. Anyone doing that is a moron and assuredly in the minority. 

[DonkeyCigars 144]

1 minute ago, ztejas said:

Oh by all means continue - just don't complain about how much your Uber costs to get home at 3 in the morning from West 6th. 

I also see we are conveniently dodging the actual issue here: the absolute insanity that is the amount of people moving to and vacationing in Austin. The driver supply needs some time to catch up as even as recently as February it was a completely different value proposition. 

BTW - most people don't tip and I don't expect them to. If the cost of your ride seems exorbitant then I assure you your driver is being compensated accordingly - don't feel like you need to tip them. And I would never cancel a trip based on something as retarded as a rider's tip history. Anyone doing that is a moron and assuredly in the minority. 

It's not just Austin-- it's everywhere. The cities I've been to in the last 6 weeks that have had shortages/waits/trouble with Uber from airports and downtown districts: Omaha, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Cincinnati. Population isn't the actual issue; the actual issue is a shortage in people who want or are incentivized to drive, for whatever reason. The driver population for ride shares fell off a cliff and hasn't rebounded.

[ztejas 43411]

3 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

So when is it OK for companies to price gouge and when isn't it? Gas stations price gouging during shortages, no problem. Run on toilet papers, price gauge no problem. 

Uber and Lyft are not essential services. You don't have an inalienable right to have someone come pick you up and be your personal driver whenever you want. I'm fine with calling it gouging because it has gotten to be unreasonable but we aren't talking about food or water or electricity here. It's a service (and I'd argue a luxury service) that no one is making you pay for.

[ztejas 43411]

1 minute ago, DonkeyCigars said:

It's not just Austin-- it's everywhere. The cities I've been to in the last 6 weeks that have had shortages/waits/trouble with Uber from airports and downtown districts: Omaha, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Cincinnati. Population isn't the actual issue; the actual issue is a shortage in people who want or are incentivized to drive, for whatever reason. The driver population for ride shares fell off a cliff and hasn't rebounded.

Good to know. I'd still find it hard to believe it isn't more pronounced in Austin, though. 

[DonkeyCigars 144]

2 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Good to know. I'd still find it hard to believe it isn't more pronounced in Austin, though. 

Ride-hail giants Uber and Lyft are weathering a driver shortage — and the launch of a new challenger — as demand for their services return. Business Insider spoke to Uber and Lyft drivers who say they're waiting for more people to get vaccinated before getting behind the wheel again, or they've been able to get by with stimulus checks or unemployment. Uber has even launched its own $250 million "driver stimulus" to incentivize their return.

In April, The Verge reported both Lyft and Uber were experiencing a U.S. driver shortage of about 40%. In May, as demand for the ride hailing services increased, the continued shortage contributed to a sharp rise in prices for passengers and longer wait times for the arrival of drivers, both subjects of recent local news reports.

[ztejas 43411]

3 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

Ride-hail giants Uber and Lyft are weathering a driver shortage — and the launch of a new challenger — as demand for their services return. Business Insider spoke to Uber and Lyft drivers who say they're waiting for more people to get vaccinated before getting behind the wheel again, or they've been able to get by with stimulus checks or unemployment. Uber has even launched its own $250 million "driver stimulus" to incentivize their return.

In April, The Verge reported both Lyft and Uber were experiencing a U.S. driver shortage of about 40%. In May, as demand for the ride hailing services increased, the continued shortage contributed to a sharp rise in prices for passengers and longer wait times for the arrival of drivers, both subjects of recent local news reports.

Yes... well... really I was just trying to bitch about the overflow of transplants here. 

[formermav43 4606]

 

12 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Uber and Lyft are not essential services. You don't have an inalienable right to have someone come pick you up and be your personal driver whenever you want. I'm fine with calling it gouging because it has gotten to be unreasonable but we aren't talking about food or water or electricity here. It's a service (and I'd argue a luxury service) that no one is making you pay for.

Beat me to it. Comparing a minor inconvenience to jacking up the price of fuel during a disaster is the epitome of a first world problem.

Edited June 1, 2021 by formermav43

[TornACL 7698]

12 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

So when is it OK for companies to price gouge and when isn't it? Gas stations price gouging during shortages, no problem. Run on toilet papers, price gauge no problem. 

Do you rail on gas stations increasing the price of gas by 50 cents per gallon as their costs increase to resupply the tanks? Is that the same as charging an extra 4 bucks a gallon after a natural disaster?

I think all of this basically just comes down to you and others' inability to understand the actual concept of price gouging. 

Are movie theaters price gouging because it costs me more to see the 7pm showing than the 11am matinee? Are airlines price gouging if I want to fly to Vegas tonight at 7 and pay a higher fare for the last seat on the plane? The guy next to me paid $199. Is that fair?

[conVINCEd 21469]

A lot of people have given up owning a car in lieu of just Ubering everywhere.  I know several parents who did the math on their teenage kids driving, and decided letting them share Ubers with their friends was cheaper, along with the fact that a significant number of teenagers have no desire to drive a car, which is strange to me, but it’s a thing with teens these days.  So I think it’s more essential than most of us, whose primary use of ride sharing is vacation transportation and avoidance of DWIs, consider it to be.

[TornACL 7698]

10 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Good to know. I'd still find it hard to believe it isn't more pronounced in Austin, though. 

Imagine that, someone from Austin not being able to understand that there's a world outside of Austin. Lol

[crash_davis 23096]

9 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Uber and Lyft are not essential services. You don't have an inalienable right to have someone come pick you up and be your personal driver whenever you want. I'm fine with calling it gouging because it has gotten to be unreasonable but we aren't talking about food or water or electricity here. It's a service (and I'd argue a luxury service) that no one is making you pay for.

Except that Taxis were/are treated as public service and as such, their rates are regulated and approved by the Cities that they have contracts with. Yall complain about  Taxi variable prices but the rates are clearly stated. The variable is the distance and the time in the cab. But the rates are listed and approved. During high demand times, cab companies are not allowed to increase their rates. Your fair increases because you spend more time in traffic.

Uber's surge pricing has no transparency. It's all based on an "algorithm" at the whims of the company. You complain about Taxis which there is transparency but not about Uber where there is no transparency on rates. 

[lmao 178]

1 hour ago, smokebomb said:

The cab industry killed the cab industry. Cab companies were so shitty that they had a government enforced monopoly & they still failed. 
 

Uber/Lyft will return to normal over the next few months once people feel more comfortable in enclosed spaces & as people roll off government assistance. 

People that have never had to deal with cabs regularly do not know how fucking crooked and terrible they were. My blood pressure is rising just thinking about it.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

41 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

Either you are a cabbie, or on an incredibly lonely crusade to defend taxis. 

He's banging Ann Kitchen, who is actually South Austin's mom.

 

**note - this post is in jest, I can't afford SAM's child support.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Judge Roybeanbag

[ztejas 43411]

9 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Except that Taxis were/are treated as public service and as such, their rates are regulated and approved by the Cities that they have contracts with. Yall complain about  Taxi variable prices but the rates are clearly stated. The variable is the distance and the time in the cab. But the rates are listed and approved. During high demand times, cab companies are not allowed to increase their rates. Your fair increases because you spend more time in traffic.

Uber's surge pricing has no transparency. It's all based on an "algorithm" at the whims of the company. You complain about Taxis which there is transparency but not about Uber where there is no transparency on rates. 

Okay so the rates were approved. But were they actually enforced? 

[Bateshorn 9927]

2 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Okay so the rates were approved. But were they actually enforced? 

In DC they were notoriously not. The Taxi commission was completely corrupted by the big taxi companies and never followed up on any complaints. Even physical violence that resulted in arrests.

[crash_davis 23096]

4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Okay so the rates were approved. But were they actually enforced? 

there's a meter by which you can audit the fees. the meter goes up by x for every mile and then y for every min. if you wanted to audit, i'm sure you could. 

[BabaYaga 15286]

1 hour ago, smokebomb said:

The cab industry killed the cab industry. Cab companies were so shitty that they had a government enforced monopoly & they still failed. 

This can not be said enough!

[TornACL 7698]

10 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

there's a meter by which you can audit the fees. the meter goes up by x for every mile and then y for every min. if you wanted to audit, i'm sure you could. 

You live in a fantasy world my dude. 

Imagine believing that Taxis operated on transparency. L O Fucking L.

 

 

[hayden_horn 11362]

on lyft, my surge price (estimated, naturally, but still very visible) is made clear to me when i say "take me home from here." it says something like $40 to get me home to manchaca from downtown. in the cab days of yore, that would have cost me close to $60. and i would have no idea how much it would be when i hailed a cab downtown, if i was lucky enough to even find one. i'm also aware of where my driver is, and how long it will take that driver to get to my location. i once had the bartender of the broken spoke drive me home, because the cab she called for me was stolen on the street by a group of girls. 

cabs are truly terrible. i can understand being frustrated with uber/lyft as the world reopens, but that's like being frustrated with any service industry right now as things are starting to get back to normal. my son on sunday night was saying things like "well, favor needs to get their act together" because nobody was doing a p terry's run for him and his brother. i had to explain the market dynamics of supply and demand, and how service industry jobs are sorting themselves out as things returned to order. and that having p terry's delivered was a luxury and not a right. it's the same thing here. 

the last cab i took home from the airport (because the cab line was a bit easier than the hoops you have to jump through for rideshare), the driver was drunk off his ass, which i only realized in the last block to my house, or i would've had him drop me off so i could call a rideshare. it was probably 5 years ago. 

the cab industry needed killing. it was already very insufficient for austin. ann kitchen going to war with uber and lyft was a nightmare. cabs refused to innovate, and so some parties evolved to fill the gap they left. calling a cab was no guarantee one would arrive. you had no idea, no time estimate, nothing. it really was the stone ages for car transit in the city. you'd get the old "my credit card machine is broken, but i can take you by an atm" runaround. there were never any cabs when you needed them, like after football games or near closing times. there was far more demand than supply. 

and, they killed themselves, man, by refusing to innovate. we live in a city full of fucking software developers. you're telling me yellow cab couldn't figure out some kind of ride hailing app that wasn't shit? even when uber and lyft left, we had multiple competing entities in place within months, because, guess what? cabs still sucked. they got everything they wanted, and still couldn't get the job done for consumers. that's a fucking failed business model. cabs are the sears of the car transit world.

[conVINCEd 21469]

Also, I’ve never felt like my Uber driver might stab me.  Advantage Uber.

[lmao 178]

22 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

there's a meter by which you can audit the fees. the meter goes up by x for every mile and then y for every min. if you wanted to audit, i'm sure you could. 

Edited June 1, 2021 by lmao

[LABEVO 928]

5 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Also, I’ve never felt like my Uber driver might stab me.  Advantage Uber.

But maybe rape?

[crash_davis 23096]

6 minutes ago, LABEVO said:

But maybe rape?

That's the 6 inch surge price. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

Quote

my son on sunday night was saying things like "well, favor needs to get their act together" because nobody was doing a p terry's run for him and his brother. i had to explain the market dynamics of supply and demand, and how service industry jobs are sorting themselves out as things returned to order. and that having p terry's delivered was a luxury and not a right.

This is so true, and I have been guilty of it too - get a man used to having what he wants delivered to his doorstep when he wants it, at a pretty cheap cost.  When that dynamic changes either by cost or time, it feels "outrageous".   Nevermind the fact that it wasn't the norm before Covid, and probably won't be after.  

[Wulaw Horn 19064]

Look- the average person on unemployment benefits nationwide is making something like $17.25 an hour. That works out to $35k or some such for a full time 2080 hour job. Nobody with any sense is going to bus tables, wait tables, Uber or any other service industry if that’s what they are competing against. 

This won’t last forever. I think Texas has already rolled back the enhanced benefits. I think other states are likely to do so after the summer happens if we don’t end up with variants that are deadly and beat the vaccine. Life will return to normal. 

hopefully, part of people getting back in the workforce will be a respect for service industry employees and higher market wages. I was always against the chamber of commerce via a vis immigration in that sense, in that the more border is enforced the higher the wages are for jobs in that sector, and it isn’t done by government fiat. The idea that your Uber guy can make $20 or $30 an hour does a hell of a lot to solve the problem we have in America of what do we do with workers that got left behind. If you can show up and do an uncomplicated job and make a living (not comfortable but living) wage for doing  service that people need, are willing to pay for, and is borne by the relatively wealthy that sounds like a total and complete win to me. 

Edited June 1, 2021 by Wulaw Horn

[fattyflattie 4639]

Been feeling this a lot lately on early AM flights between DC and Houston.  Prices are way up, and my most recent experience (Saturday) the driver probably drifted between lanes 50+ times.  It was 0300 and he didn’t smell like alcohol, so I am assuming he was tired af. His lane change thing on the dash just kept dinging, over and over and over. I say all that to say this.  About a month ago there was no rideshare at the airport at that hour, so I took a cab. A normally 35-60$ Uber ride was 175$ with the cab. And his little SUV was beat to shit. Fuck cabs. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

1 minute ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Look- the average person on unemployment Jennie’s nationwide is making something like $17.25 an hour. That works out to $35k or some such for a full time 2080 hour job. Nobody with any sense is going to bus tables, wait tables, Uber or any other service industry if that’s what they are competing against. 
This won’t last forever. I think Texas has already rolled back the enhanced benefits. I think other states are likely to do so after the summer happens if we don’t end up with variants that are deadly and beat the vaccine. Life will return to normal. 
hopefully, part of people getting back in the workforce will be a respect for service industry employees and higher market wages. I was always against the chamber of commerce via a vis immigration in that sense, in that the more border is enforced the higher the wages are for jobs in that sector, and it isn’t done by government fiat. The idea that your Uber guy can make $20 or $30 an hour does a hell of a lot to solve the problem we have in America of what do we do with workers that got left behind. If you can show up and do an uncomplicated job and make a living (not comfortable but living) wage for doing  service that people need, are willing to pay for, and is borne by the relatively wealthy that sounds like a total and complete win to me. 

The poverty line in Texas, and mind you this is for the state, not "Austin":

Total Texas Households Total Texas Households in Poverty VS. ACS Table C17003, 1-Year Estimates (2013). Note: 200% federal poverty line is $24,238 for one person; $32,114 for family of two; $37,502 for family of three.

Quote

Nobody with any sense is going to bus tables, wait tables, Uber or any other service industry if that’s what they are competing against. 

$11.65/hr gets you to the "poverty" line.  If you have a dependent that's $15.44/hr.  Who in their right mind is going to bust their ass to live in poverty?  We need higher wages.  Nobody wants to work their ass off to be poor.

[Enchubben 5510]

You aren’t about that cab life until you’ve had the Somalian pitate cabbies from Atlanta take you to the airport. I had one asshole purposefully drop me off at the wrong terminal because I told him I was paying cc.

The electronic payment processing alone is worth the move to ride share. And if/when autonomous vehicles take off, it’s gonna be real cool.

[VolenteHawk 495]

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

Good to know. I'd still find it hard to believe it isn't more pronounced in Austin, though. 

Everywhere has slowed down on drivers and wait times have gone up.  Orlando and Milwaukee in the last couple of months have been far worse than Austin or DFW for me.