Uber/Lyft. What's the verdict?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,515]

8 hours ago, bluto said:

“Sorry, credit card machine isn’t working”

$5 credit card convenience fee.

[ChickenSandwich 9,843]

13 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

$5 credit card convenience fee.

Back in college needed a ride to campus  from 6th.  Cab says they accept credit cards, but driver immediately asks if I’m paying cash. I say sure. A few mins down the road I check my wallet and don’t have enough cash. I stupidly tell him I will have to pay with card, as I don’t have enough cash. He immediately pulls over and tells me to get out at Lavaca and 15th. Fucking asshole. 

[Reagan1k 3,024]

My most recent cab ride was the best I've had in 30+ years.  Clean car, friendly driver, and reasonable fare.  I think cabs are slowly evolving in areas where ride sharing has been allowed to hit them where it hurts.  I prefer Uber/Lyft but am willing to take a cab when necessary.

As I tell my wife every time she starts to bitch about surge pricing or long wait times.  "We can always walk - it's your call.....what's it worth to avoid that, because that's what we're paying for?"

She loves that! I know because she doesn't speak to me for a few hours after I say it.  Obviously she is silently pondering my brilliance and her good fortune in marrying me.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Reagan1k

[phdhorn 6,224]

1 hour ago, Larry T. Spider said:

I drove for uber part time for 4 years. I enjoyed it in the beginning but things went downhill and I quit.

This seems to echo my point (post # 61).  

I won't overly defend cabs either, but I've been in a variety of them, some really good actually.  The point is that the suckiness gap between rideshares and cabs has closed significantly.

Best rideshare service in Austin could have been after they pulled outta here 5 years ago and the smaller services briefly sprang up.

[NoRagrets 1,125]

22 hours ago, TriStone said:

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.

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.

The last cab ride I took was the result of our flight being diverted to austin for bad weather. American gave us a voucher to get back to SAT, and we got in what we would later describe as the death cab at 4am.

It was a 10 year old mini van, the bottom plate of the luggage area had corroded out so it sounded like riding a motorcycle, the driver drove 100mph down i35, the shocks had worn out years ago so it felt like it was going to flip over every time he changed lanes, and it smelt like total shit.

The cab ride was scarier than than the wind shear that almost made our plane crash during our attempted landing at SAT.  #fuckcabs

Edited June 2, 2021 by NoRagrets

[sasquatch69 603]

Just got home from our first plane trip since Covid hit, to New Orleans. Arrived on a late-night flight, and checked both Uber and Lyft apps. Lyft’s fare to our place was $15 cheaper, so we went with that. We ended up doing Lyft the entire trip - 7-8 times in total - and never had a bad experience. Additionally, their “save if you wait a bit” feature was fantastic - we’d be finishing up a meal or drinks and I’d go ahead and choose that option, and once a driver was en route we’d actually settle and leave, and car was usually rolling up as we walked outside. Each time that fare was $4-8 less than the normal option. Drivers were all friendly and cars were generally clean - and if you’ve ever done traditional cabs in NOLA in the past you know that’s far from guaranteed.

We also tried a new service, Turo, on the one day we needed to actually have a car. It was also a great experience but that’s for another thread. 

Edited June 2, 2021 by sasquatch69

[TKthunder2 4,992]

1 hour ago, Larry T. Spider said:

I drove for uber part time for 4 years. I enjoyed it in the beginning but things went downhill and I quit. Rates for the customers stayed the same but the amount I got paid consistently decreased. It eventually wasn’t worth it anymore. Drivers used to make 80%, including on surge pricing. As of 15 months ago, they would give the driver a flat bonus amount such as $5 then destroy the customer on the mile/minute charges and keep the difference.

Not a defense of cab companies at all. Just not sure that drivers are going to jump back in as quickly as people think. Passengers were always shocked at the difference between what they paid and what I made.

Yep, while the technology is good, the industry doesn’t have enough profits for these companies to keep up their massive overhead and continue innovating without digging into the driver’s pocket. These are all luxury/convenience services that don’t absorb higher rates well for long.  It’s not a popular or sexy to tell investors that we’re just going to stick to our core business and not branch out but into any new products or development but having drivers subsidizing self driving car technology is hilariously ironic.

[RollLeft 5,045]

9 hours ago, Murfdogg21 said:

Can’t wait for the sequel threads complaining about internet shopping and how cell phones killed land line service. 
 

Video killed the radio star, man!!

[BabaYaga 15,301]

13 hours ago, CycleTex87 said:

I enjoyed cab rides in Singapore.  Especially from the Pan Pacific Hotel they were newish Mercedes sedans many times. 

Vietnam.....not so much....especially when I got stuck behind a bus, sucking in fumes.

 

[BabaYaga 15,301]

43 minutes ago, capnamerca said:

This entire thread boils down to ... wages. In fact, a SHOCKING number of topics, not just rideshring, boil down to wages, specifically paying more of them for all types of labor-driven work. I'm no socialist, but the uber-rich (SWIDT?) have made their fortunes off the back of the working poor, and it has completely and utterly destroyed the middle and lower economic classes in this country. 

It does.  I think a lot also includes a significant number of people sitting on the sidelines making the equivalent of $20-$25/hr from UE and COVID relief payments.  Compound this with side hustle cash gigs, and many are making decent money doing nothing.  It's virtually impossible for small businesses to compete at this price point for many entry-level positions.  

As for corporations, you'd need to dig into the 10-ks and see what their margins are on labor.  Not every business model is predicated on such large margins that they can double of triple their fixed labor costs.  

[TriStone 1,724]

1 hour ago, NoRagrets said:

The last cab ride I took was the result of our flight being diverted to austin for bad weather. American gave us a voucher to get back to SAT, and we got in what we would later describe as the death cab at 4am.

[b]It was a 10 year old mini van, the bottom plate of the luggage area had corroded out so it sounded like riding a motorcycle[/b], the driver drove 100mph down i35, the shocks had worn out years ago so it felt like it was going to flip over every time he changed lanes, and it smelt like total shit.

The cab ride was scarier than than the wind shear that almost made our plane crash during our attempted landing at SAT.  #fuckcabs

Nearly the exact same experience.  Ancient mini van from far North Dallas down to the convention center for a concert.  The smell was the least of the issues.  This one actually had exposed metal U bar (or whatever you call it) bolted onto the inside of the roof for what I can only assume was added structural integrity.  Saw that shit and reached for the seat belts, which were either not present or stuffed so far down into the seat that I couldn't get to them.  Ended up just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.  I actually remember thinking to myself that this thing was basically an Uber commercial in real time.

Aside from a couple of weeks in Hong Kong where the cab-to-person ratio appeared to be 1 to 1, I've never taken another one.

[StruggleBus 3,922]

On 6/1/2021 at 9:31 AM, crash_davis said:

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.

Yes. Fuck taxi cabs now and forever. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,515]

2 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

Yep, while the technology is good, the industry doesn’t have enough profits for these companies to keep up their massive overhead and continue innovating without digging into the driver’s pocket. These are all luxury/convenience services that don’t absorb higher rates well for long.  It’s not a popular or sexy to tell investors that we’re just going to stick to our core business and not branch out but into any new products or development but having drivers subsidizing self driving car technology is hilariously ironic.

yes, self-driving cars are the next innovation that will drastically lower prices for Uber. I envision them leaving prices the same for driver cars but drastically cutting driverless car prices to get more people to switch. Then over time, driverless will slowly raise prices as the majority of drivers are pushed out.  And there may be a middle-ground for a while. Self-driving cars with a driver in the front seat, ready to take over at a moment's notice. That person would earn minimum wage as an employee of the vehicle owner. which isn't bad pay for napping.

[BabaYaga 15,301]

18 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

yes, self-driving cars are the next innovation that will drastically lower prices for Uber. I envision them leaving prices the same for driver cars but drastically cutting driverless car prices to get more people to switch. Then over time, driverless will slowly raise prices as the majority of drivers are pushed out.  And there may be a middle-ground for a while. Self-driving cars with a driver in the front seat, ready to take over at a moment's notice. That person would earn minimum wage as an employee of the vehicle owner. which isn't bad pay for napping.

[RDCanecutter 26,447]

This is why I always live walking distance from a bar.

[StruggleBus 3,922]

20 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

This is why I always live walking distance from a bar.

RE Agent: "Okay, RDCanecutter, we're excited to work with you. Tell us what you're looking for in your dream home"

RDCanecutter: "10 bars in a one mile radius"

[RDCanecutter 26,447]

13 minutes ago, StruggleBus said:

RE Agent: "Okay, RDCanecutter, we're excited to work with you. Tell us what you're looking for in your dream home"

RDCanecutter: "10 bars in a one mile radius"

Heh, just looked at the map, and if you include restaurants with functioning bars where I have hung out, we've got 10 within a half mile.

[blacklab 11,940]

deleted some posts about wages/trickle down economics/other CR shit.

feel free to start a thread in CR if you'd like to discuss those topics.

[capnamerca 571]

8 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Sounds more like talking points to me.  But you do you.  

Don't try and handwave this shit away. We aren't a free-market economy, and haven't been since the first tax law was passed.

 

Here's the output vs wages data. You don't have to look hard, it's everywhere - https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/.

 

Forbes.com sucks, but this article sources a lot of data showing that corporations benefitting from tax cuts didn't grow jobs or wages - they just bought back stocks - https://www.forbes.com/sites/annemarieknott/2019/02/21/why-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-tcja-led-to-buybacks-rather-than-investment/?sh=1515343a37fb. 

[capnamerca 571]

 

2 minutes ago, blacklab said:

deleted some posts about wages/trickle down economics/other CR shit.

feel free to start a thread in CR if you'd like to discuss those topics.

That's my bad. I think it's relevant, because Uber blows, but I'll delete if you want me to.

[BabaYaga 15,301]

6 minutes ago, capnamerca said:

We aren't a free-market economy, and haven't been since the first tax law was passed.

Nobody said we are

[texanbychoice 354]

 
That's my bad. I think it's relevant, because Uber blows, but I'll delete if you want me to.

I’d love to hear a bit of your thinking around wages and trickle down economics.

[davidg 4,038]

 

When I read of this $25-30/hr people are making driving uber/lyft, is that a net or gross figure? Is there a mileage allowance given or anything like that?  I'm pretty much a rideshare luddite so I don't really know how that side of the business works.

[DDD Dad 14,339]

1 hour ago, texanbychoice said:

I’d love to hear a bit of your thinking around wages and trickle down economics.

PM Arthur Laffer

[elfenix 34,277]

4 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

yes, self-driving cars are the next innovation that will drastically lower prices for Uber. I envision them leaving prices the same for driver cars but drastically cutting driverless car prices to get more people to switch. Then over time, driverless will slowly raise prices as the majority of drivers are pushed out.  And there may be a middle-ground for a while. Self-driving cars with a driver in the front seat, ready to take over at a moment's notice. That person would earn minimum wage as an employee of the vehicle owner. which isn't bad pay for napping.

uber waived the white flag on self driving cars. 

turns out vision is hard.

[StruggleBus 3,922]

35 minutes ago, elfenix said:

uber waived the white flag on self driving cars. 

turns out vision is hard.

Even when you steal it from google

[Cajun 11,714]

Quit driving for Lyft about a year ago.  No desire to go back either.  They (and Uber) are fucksticks who are going to Jedi Mindtrick themselves into thinking that the constant moving of pricing/wage goalposts will have no consequences on their end.

May they die the slow death they deserve.

[Hate 20,109]

I used Uber this weekend to get to the bars downtown in The Woodlands. $40 round trip with tip and never waited more than 20 minutes for the ride to show up. It seems to work pretty well here.

[Cajun 11,714]

Get outta here with your level-headed facts and experience!

[Larry T. Spider 1,746]

2 hours ago, Cajun said:

Quit driving for Lyft about a year ago.  No desire to go back either.  They (and Uber) are fucksticks who are going to Jedi Mindtrick themselves into thinking that the constant moving of pricing/wage goalposts will have no consequences on their end.

May they die the slow death they deserve.

Same. Two worst companies I’ve ever dealt with as an employee/contractor. Uber didn’t even have a phone number drivers could call for support until the new CEO. It is still very limited in terms of function and almost everything has to be done through the app… Which they rarely respond to.

Have never met a driver that has been doing it for more than a year that doesn’t think they are shady as fuck.

 

[Cajun 11,714]

Yep.  They virtue signal all over the place, but when you distill them down they are as greedy/shady of fucks as they come in the corporate world.

Fuck 'em.

I enjoy every second of their slow demise.

[MadBurgerMaker 404]

On 6/1/2021 at 8:03 PM, CycleTex87 said:

I enjoyed cab rides in Singapore.  Especially from the Pan Pacific Hotel they were newish Mercedes sedans many times. 

I liked how some of them had the door that would open for you.

[MadBurgerMaker 404]

Double post.

Edited June 3, 2021 by MadBurgerMaker

[billfromlaketravis 11,510]

Is it me or is Lyft significantly cheaper and faster than Uber? The cars are usually older, but I don't care. 

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,103]

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 

Taxis in Houston, = shit.

Taxis in NYC, better than Uber/Lyft.. and they have an app.

[FartingMonk 3,608]

So I quit my job at Lyondell in April.  Not really looking for anything at the moment but instead of day drinking all day I decided to pick up Uber.  I will say it's been a really interesting experience so far.  I've only been doing it for 3 weeks.  The quests are easy.  Just know you'll be making 2-3 dollars per pickup.  But the quests pay really well.  The surge pricing is complete horseshit as they will move the goal posts on you.  So go straight murder on their Quests and you can make money.  Another thing is they have people who need rides every damn day at the same time.  Give uber the finger and go pick them up.  And lastly if you think it's racist to turn off the app when you are in the hood.  Then leave your app on and pick up some 20 year old off of MLK and Guadalcanal.  

[Cajun 11,714]

8 hours ago, FartingMonk said:

  Another thing is they have people who need rides every damn day at the same time.  Give uber the finger and go pick them up. 

Did this for about a half dozen people in ATX.  They would initiate the deal, give me a basic schedule, and pay me straight cash homey.  Had 4 Indian girls who I drove to and from their gig at Yeti every day.  Picked up in the morning to go to work and then back home again at 4pmish.  $5 each one each way, so $40 for roughly 6 miles all told.

Best part was all the free Yeti gear they'd throw my way.

/csb

 

[VolenteHawk 495]

4 hours ago, Cajun said:

Did this for about a half dozen people in ATX.  They would initiate the deal, give me a basic schedule, and pay me straight cash homey.  Had 4 Indian girls who I drove to and from their gig at Yeti every day.  Picked up in the morning to go to work and then back home again at 4pmish.  $5 each one each way, so $40 for roughly 6 miles all told.

Best part was all the free Yeti gear they'd throw my way.

/csb

You might be the highest paid Uber driver in Austin.

[VolenteHawk 495]

I can’t imagine anybody that thinks ride share is a worse experience in Austin than cabs were. If your cab experience (for any price) was positive here, I’ve gotta assume you did only the airport and back and stopped in about 98.

[KaiserSoze 998]

Cab service was terrible in Austin, they dug their own grave. Unless you were at a hotel or the airport, good luck back then.

[RDCanecutter 26,447]

1 hour ago, VolenteHawk said:

I can’t imagine anybody that thinks ride share is a worse experience in Austin than cabs were. If your cab experience (for any price) was positive here, I’ve gotta assume you did only the airport and back and stopped in about 98.

In the late 90s a taxi driver tried to run me down while I was crossing Dean Keeton. He was cussing and readjusting his aim to keep me in front of his car. But the experience was free. How much would I have to pay an Uber driver to do that?

[Larry T. Spider 1,746]

17 hours ago, FartingMonk said:

So I quit my job at Lyondell in April.  Not really looking for anything at the moment but instead of day drinking all day I decided to pick up Uber.  I will say it's been a really interesting experience so far.  I've only been doing it for 3 weeks.  The quests are easy.  Just know you'll be making 2-3 dollars per pickup.  But the quests pay really well.  The surge pricing is complete horseshit as they will move the goal posts on you.  So go straight murder on their Quests and you can make money.  Another thing is they have people who need rides every damn day at the same time.  Give uber the finger and go pick them up.  And lastly if you think it's racist to turn off the app when you are in the hood.  Then leave your app on and pick up some 20 year old off of MLK and Guadalcanal.  

They will consistently make your quests worse over time. Especially if they are able to recruit more drivers. I lived on them in the beginning but they quickly became worthless.