What is Uber?

[vintagesnaps]

Uber was allowed to start operating at the international airport in my area not long ago and problems started right off the bat. I remember something about drivers blocking a woman's car to prevent her phone from getting calls so they could get the fares instead (or some such thing). Apparently some drivers figured out how to decline short trips that won't pay much (even though the drivers are supposed to take whatever call comes in to their phone) because If they decline too many they'll get dropped as a driver. It seems to work out OK for some people for a ride home from the airport.

The drivers are driving their own cars and I think using their own insurance so it seems like they could be taking on some of the responsibility if there are problems. And plenty of drivers seem to be less than responsible enough to be doing this.

I think it seems ridiculous that a company is allowed to operate this way being unregulated; it just seems like too much of a free-for-all and you wouldn't know what you were getting whether you were a driver or a customer.

 

[snowbear]

Uber - the taxi equivalent of MWAC

 

[Dikkie]

It's a 'taxi company' that operates like social media.

Huh?

You don't call a cab company like Yellow. You launch the Uber app and enter in where you are and where you'd like to go.

Some local citizen then drives their own car to your location, picks you up and takes you where you want to go.

Sounds cool... right here in Belgium, the government is against, don't know for what reason...

 

[Dikkie]

Share your journey with BlaBlaCar - Trusted ridesharing

This is an interesting concept too. ^^

 

[Dikkie]

Then some sicko shows up,good luck with that.Then again some of the regular cab drivers are pretty strange to.

Sounds good !
Then finally something less boring will occur in your life
Look on the bright side !

 

[dcbear78]

Here is Australia we also have UberX which I believe are full time drivers.

 

[JoeW]

I mostly use Lyft rather than Uber (philosophical reasons on my part). But I've been in both and always been pleased. Faster and cheaper than a cab (in every case in my experience). It usually takes me $60 to get from National airport to my house. Just took Lyft on the trip I'm on and it took $30 (and that included the tip). My family took Lyft from National to our home a week ago. We were picked up in a BMW (about 2 weeks old) with bottles of water waiting for us and classic rock playing on the CD player (i.e.: not commercial radio).

The similarities between the two: you put the app on your phone along with a credit card, you summon your ride via the app, you get to pick who you want to pick you up, you rate drivers (and can see the ratings of the driver options you have), and there are incentives for drivers to get good ratings.

 

[Overread]

And here I thought it was an alternate World War 2 comic about super-human empowered psychics turning the tide of the Nazi defeat and resulting in a prolonged war and action and stuff.



No idea if we have Uber the cab company in the UK - might do and might not do. Regardless in general the average person is pretty honest and pretty safe (when not drunk/high); which is why most of society functions. Of course there are risky people out there, some work for cab or transport companies; some are passengers, etc... Risks on both sides.