Uber?

September 12th, 2015 at 6:24:32 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18556
Quote: petroglyph
There are places cops don't go without backup


Boy band concerts.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
September 12th, 2015 at 6:35:28 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: petroglyph
There are places cops don't go without backup


I guarantee there are fares Uber drivers
will refuse. A woman driver and an abusive
drunk from a bar. A young guy picking up
3 big black teens. It's just not worth it, they
might beat the crap out of you, who knows
what. Sure Uber has their CC number while
you're in the hospital for 2 weeks. Some
consolation.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
September 14th, 2015 at 11:48:48 AM permalink
SOOPOO
Member since: Feb 19, 2014
Threads: 22
Posts: 4138
This entire thread is similar to the gay marriage thread. Uber is here to stay. There will be adjustments, and evolution. I think that the ridiculously low prices and great service will change as time goes on. My experience... In DC, 11 of us needed 'cab' from the Capital back to our hotel... I just figure we will start hailing cabs... my friend says she will get us a 7 person vehicle and a 4 person one with her Uber ap.... I am not in a mood to wait.... within 2 minutes the big van and car are there... The trip including tip was less than $10 per vehicle.... Our driver was super nice and I can actually use the word 'appreciative'!
We Ubered back to Reagan for less than half of what a regular cab costs....
The one point I agree with Bob on is that the drivers must be making very little when you include vehicle depreciation. But as the consumer, it's not up to me to tell the store they need to charge more....
By the way... no Uber in Buffalo yet....
September 14th, 2015 at 1:20:16 PM permalink
Dalex64
Member since: Mar 8, 2014
Threads: 3
Posts: 3687
It is essentially an unregulated taxi service.
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan
September 14th, 2015 at 1:37:29 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: SOOPOO
within 2 minutes the big van and car are there.. Our driver was super nice and I can actually use the word 'appreciative'!
.


You point out what's wrong with Uber and
don't even know it. You know WHY they
responded so quickly and why they were
so appreciative? Because they had been
sitting for god knows how long waiting
for a fare.

Like every business on earth, demand
drives production. To make driving
worthwhile, you need X amount of fares.
If drivers greatly outnumber fares, like
they do now, drivers will drop out because
it's not worth their time. It's inevitable.
Commerce seeks it's own level, putting
4 dry cleaners in a strip mall will mean
3 of them will be gone in six months.

Like I said, I had 30 cabs on the road. I
could have put 50 out there and in a
month I would have 30 drivers again
because there wasn't enough business
for 50. Uber will be no different.

How many ride share companies are
there now, half a dozen? It will take awhile
because everybody who wants to drive
and has done it, realizes that it's mostly
sitting and waiting. They will quit and
be replaced by another eager beaver
until the driver pool has been exhausted.
And you will end up waiting just as long
for an Uber as a cab..

But there is a fly in the ointment. It's
insurance. Most, like 95% of Uber
drivers don't have the proper insurance,
they don't have commercial insurance
because it's 6 time more expensive.
This will kill ride sharing dead in it's
tracks eventually. You cannot ferry
people around town for money on
a regular basis with only personal
insurance, it makes your personal
insurance null and void. And it's
illegal in a lot of places. You cannot
get personal insurance and not tell
them you work for Uber. That's fraud.
So you're screwed if you do and screwed
if you don't.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
September 14th, 2015 at 3:50:44 PM permalink
Wizard
Administrator
Member since: Oct 23, 2012
Threads: 239
Posts: 6095
I think EB and I could agree that Uber should operate on a level playing field with the cabs, including taxes and insurance requirements. A fair way to do the taxes might be that both pay the government x cents per mile driven. Both should carry some minimum insurance protecting the passengers.
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
September 14th, 2015 at 4:12:47 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: Wizard
Both should carry some minimum insurance protecting the passengers.


Uber has the ride covered. When they have
a customer in the car, they are covered by
Uber. When the customer leaves the car,
the coverage ends and the drivers insurance
kicks in.

The problem is, the drivers insurance co doesn't
know he's putting big mileage on his car hauling
people around. The more miles you drive, the
greater chance for an accident. That's why they
always ask you what your car will be used for.
If you lie and say private use only, that's fraud
and your insurance co will deny your claim.

Worse than that, you will be blacklisted for
10 years as a high risk driver and you'll
pay huge premiums for any kind of car
insurance. The insurance companies all
talk to each other.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
September 14th, 2015 at 4:13:00 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Wizard
I think EB and I could agree that Uber should operate on a level playing field with the cabs, including taxes and insurance requirements. A fair way to do the taxes might be that both pay the government x cents per mile driven. Both should carry some minimum insurance protecting the passengers.


I still do not get why there should be a tax per mile driven. Cab, Uber, or my car all pay at the pump as do heavy trucks. In this regard it is a level playing field already.

As to insurance, Uber is probably a gray area that an insurance underwriter needs to comment on.

EB is not going to agree with us on anything here as he is coming from the standpoint of a cab owner and the rest of us as customers. When the drivers he is talking about here make more, the rest of us wait longer and pay more. This is common behavior. In the USA we pay a multiple of price for sugar and anything with it in it to protect a small number of sugar growers. I still remember in HS Economics reading "The Parable of the Parking Lots" were a college town had people parking cars on their lawns for a few bucks. Lot owners made a stink, saying "Parking cars is a professional profession!" They got these gypsy lots banned, and some people did not get their cars back until the next day!

The bottom line is cabbies can talk about "professional trained drivers" and all the rest alll they like. The consumer is saying they place more importance on convenience of Uber and their rating system is just fine. They like the flat rate price with no meter in traffic. If Uber starts getting bad drivers and bad drives and bad service they will try Lyft. Or some other thing will come up.

The days of your only choice being a cab are over. The Sharing Economy is here to stay. Adapt or die.
The President is a fink.
September 14th, 2015 at 4:48:54 PM permalink
Wizard
Administrator
Member since: Oct 23, 2012
Threads: 239
Posts: 6095
Quote: AZDuffman
I still do not get why there should be a tax per mile driven. Cab, Uber, or my car all pay at the pump as do heavy trucks. In this regard it is a level playing field already.


"As Congress struggles to renew the federal transportation law, a new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund [U.S. PIRG Education Fund] and Frontier Group finds that drivers currently pay less than half the total cost of roads, ... " -- http://www.uspirg.org/reports/usp/who-pays-roads)

So, nobody is paying their fair share to maintain the roads at the pumps. Personally, I would be in favor of increasing the gas tax by enough to completely cover the road maintenance expense.

In my opinion, any business that uses the countries roads should pay their fair share for their maintenance.
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
September 14th, 2015 at 5:22:22 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Wizard


So, nobody is paying their fair share to maintain the roads at the pumps. Personally, I would be in favor of increasing the gas tax by enough to completely cover the road maintenance expense.

In my opinion, any business that uses the countries roads should pay their fair share for their maintenance.


I think our disagreement is that if nobody is paying their fair share then why should cabs and Uber still pay more? They are still paying their proportionate amount. A mile driven is a mile driven.

As to if the "costs are being funded" I always take claims of underfunded with a grain of salt. All my life I have never heard anything but the idea that roads are underfunded. Claiming such is as natural for politicians and bureaucrat as breathing.
The President is a fink.