Badfinger Posted July 14, 2015 No wonder I didn't know how inexpensive Uber has become. I used Uber in Philly sometime last year, and if we'd taken a cab it probably would have been half the cost. I got $20 in credit for signing up, and I thought the cost it said it was charging me was the whole fare, not the fare ON TOP OF the $20. I know they've been slashing prices aggressively and passing the loss on to the driver, which is one of my earlier objections. I didn't know at what time that slash took place where I am. I want to stress I don't hate the idea of this kind of service, but Uber is a nasty, nasty company and literally not one posted article here has dissuaded my opinion on that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dewar Posted July 14, 2015 Sorry if someone already posted this Philadelphia City Paper article on a reporter who went undercover as an Uber driver: http://citypaper.net/uberdriver/ There is a reason Uber is half the price of a cab ride and it's not a good one. Part time and contracting labor is on the rise in this country, in part because sharing economies like Uber are becoming large forces in the labor market. Contractors are afforded very few protections and can therefore be heavily abused by companies and since contractors far and away are from lower economic classes, we should not be supporting companies that propagate their abuse. Cheap Uber fares also encourage people to not take public transportation, which will prevent cities from being pressured into actually investing in decent transit. I have a strong dislike for Uber and Lyft from a labor view, and also from a customer service view. Very few of the Uber drivers I've had in Seattle know the city well and exclusively rely on their GPS to navigate. That has created more than a few instances where a driver either accidentally took a wrong turn that added more time to the drive, or took a longer route because they were directed to by the GPS, because the GPS does not take into account time of day or construction when calculating the most efficient way to get from point A to point B. Compare that to taxi drivers, who are required to take tests demonstrating that they know how to navigate in a given area. Those tests vary in rigorousness depending on what city you're in, but overall, taxi drivers are required to know how to get around with relying on maps or GPS devices. This makes for a much better riding experience, where I never have to direct taxi drivers, but I often find that I am giving my Uber drivers directions on how to get to really basic landmarks in Seattle. It's interesting to hear a different perspective on the Seattle taxi scene. From my end, living about 10 miles out of the city center in Kirkland, I have had multiple taxi drivers that kicked me out of the car because they didn't want to drive me home. That isn't legal, as I am still within the service area, but they didn't care. I like Lyft because the driver knows where he's taking me before he even picks up the fare so there are no surprises for anyone involved. Also, the fact that I can grab a Lyft for my wife and take care of all the money on my phone so she doesn't have to stress about it. To be fair, I never had a bad experience with Uber either, I just switched after I heard about the 1000's of canceled calls to Lyft. Seattle has recently been taking measures to legalize Lyft and Uber in the area, which is cool because I'd much rather live on the non-shady side of the line. http://www.geekwire.com/2015/statewide-laws-regulating-uber-lyft-set-to-pass-in-washington/ Also, there's this cool article from last year that seems to indicate that Lyft at least somewhat cares about its passagers: http://www.geekwire.com/2014/lyft-safety-heres-happened-got-hit-riding/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dewar Posted July 14, 2015 It's funny to hear people say this and then cheer loudly when Verizon fiber services are close to their area, because Verizon (at least as of about 2010) was twice to three times larger as a company. It's not that Comcast isn't scummy, but cheering for an even bigger fish is hilarious. e: so as not to derail, Uber is completely unregulated, anti-labor, runs roughshod over government concerns until they literally have to be shut down at the federal level. Every article I read and blurb I see, as above, bears that out. I've never seen any sort of article along the lines of "Uber agrees to comply with legal regulations so they aren't literally a lawless corporation in Europe!" At some point it's good even if it's another big company because then there's at least competition. In the last two places I've lived, my options were either Comcast (now xfinity) or Qwest (now century link) and the Qwest speeds weren't anywhere near competitive. At least with Verizon I'd have a choice, though Comcast hasn't really been all that bad for the last few years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Argobot Posted July 14, 2015 It's interesting to hear a different perspective on the Seattle taxi scene. From my end, living about 10 miles out of the city center in Kirkland, I have had multiple taxi drivers that kicked me out of the car because they didn't want to drive me home. That isn't legal, as I am still within the service area, but they didn't care. I like Lyft because the driver knows where he's taking me before he even picks up the fare so there are no surprises for anyone involved. Also, the fact that I can grab a Lyft for my wife and take care of all the money on my phone so she doesn't have to stress about it. To be fair, I never had a bad experience with Uber either, I just switched after I heard about the 1000's of canceled calls to Lyft. Seattle has recently been taking measures to legalize Lyft and Uber in the area, which is cool because I'd much rather live on the non-shady side of the line. http://www.geekwire.com/2015/statewide-laws-regulating-uber-lyft-set-to-pass-in-washington/ Also, there's this cool article from last year that seems to indicate that Lyft at least somewhat cares about its passagers: http://www.geekwire.com/2014/lyft-safety-heres-happened-got-hit-riding/ To trade even more anecdotal stories: I live in Ballard and have had Lyft/Uber drivers cancel coming from downtown to my apartment claiming that the distance is too great! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pkirkner Posted July 15, 2015 No wonder I didn't know how inexpensive Uber has become. I used Uber in Philly sometime last year, and if we'd taken a cab it probably would have been half the cost. I got $20 in credit for signing up, and I thought the cost it said it was charging me was the whole fare, not the fare ON TOP OF the $20. I know they've been slashing prices aggressively and passing the loss on to the driver, which is one of my earlier objections. I didn't know at what time that slash took place where I am. I want to stress I don't hate the idea of this kind of service, but Uber is a nasty, nasty company and literally not one posted article here has dissuaded my opinion on that. Before last October, Uber only operated its licensed limo service Uber Black in the city, which remains more expensive than a cab. They (illegally, though with the support of the mayor and city council) introduced their UberX ridesharing service last year, and were quickly followed by Lyft in January. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Griddlelol Posted July 15, 2015 As someone who doesn't earn a lot of money, 50% difference between a regular taxi and an uber makes the choice pretty easy. I'm uncomfortable with choosing a company based on their ethics, rather than the quality of their service/product. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperBiasedMan Posted July 15, 2015 I'm uncomfortable with choosing a company based on their ethics, rather than the quality of their service/product. It's like you believe in a meritocracy or something? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mangela Lansbury Posted July 15, 2015 I'm uncomfortable with choosing a company based on their ethics, rather than the quality of their service/product. It's generally meaningless since completely ethical consumption is an impossibility. I mean, we're all posting on the internet with technology that uses rare earth metals and mining those is basically destroying parts of China. But I like to try anyway! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperBiasedMan Posted July 15, 2015 It's generally meaningless since completely ethical consumption is an impossibility. I mean, we're all posting on the internet with technology that uses rare earth metals and mining those is basically destroying parts of China. But I like to try anyway! But it's meaningless in the way that self preservation is meaningless. We don't get to live forever but that doesn't mean there's no difference between falling over dead today and years from now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twig Posted July 15, 2015 We don't get to live forever but that doesn't mean there's no difference between falling over dead today and years from now. Maybe for some people, but that's definitely true for me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badfinger Posted July 15, 2015 As someone who doesn't earn a lot of money, 50% difference between a regular taxi and an uber makes the choice pretty easy. I'm uncomfortable with choosing a company based on their ethics, rather than the quality of their service/product. I sure as hell don't earn enough money to pay for Fancy Uber. This is a situation where I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is in support of labor, and not just acknowledge a scummy business practice but then use it anyway. In terms of human capital I am willing to factor in ethics as a part of my judgement on the quality of a product. I also realize that I have been and likely will be ignorant, hypocritical or both when making those decisions. I own a phone, for example. Using a licensed taxi cab vs uber means I'm not knowingly using a service which puts all the burden of risk on the driver and that matters to me. I don't shop at walmart either, because they're the leading brand in roundly fucking their workforce. This is also something about which I feel strongly, evidenced by my first response in this thread bein' Uber Mad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted July 15, 2015 Hm, when I was desperate for money, I tried Uber, but they wanted a newer phone than I had and a car that was 2005 and up. Seemed like you already have to be made of some money to get started and then going by what you guys are saying, the pay seems very unreliable. Also they fucking spam Craigslist with 10 ads a day saying you'll make $1500 a week. Besides that that is obnoxious and spammy and they should be banned, there's no way that is real. So just because of that, Uber can get fucked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
