Dont use uber

Uber is what I call a feel good company.
The business model is terrible but the idea makes people feel good.
Tesla fits that category too.

www.cbsnews.com...


If I recall correctly "I might be wrong" uber was started as a ride sharing app. You are heading out to the mall and you pick up a rider on the way and make a couple bucks for the effort.
Its actually very green in that capacity by carpooling.

Unfortunately the company now has people buying a car just for the purpose of being a non licensed taxi service.
Apparently they also treat their drivers terribly.

Well duh...
A good idea that was bastardized.

They are going public soon so some rich people will be making some money from the stock market.

www.theguardian.com...

“Once Uber got [control of] the market, they changed in the worst ways,” Razak said. “The only thing drivers are asking for is fair pay. Uber is doing everything except fair pay.”

I won't support uber with my money.

nvm

I tried to once- was at a wedding planning full well not to drive home.
Nobody out in my neck of the woods is willing to put up with them. Found a local kid with a fresh license and gave him twenty bucks for the favor.

a reply to: Bluntone22

I have to agree, it feels like employmeny law has gone back 100years, there is no contract in place or gaurentee of earnings, i also feel Amazon drivers are suffering in a similar vein all while both UBER and Amazon make gazillions for their owners

originally posted by: mekhanics
nvm

I never mind...lol

I use them all the time. I think I have about 8 rides in the last 2 weeks. Its awesome if you live in a place that has a lot of drivers. I think something like Uber, with autonomous vehicles available 24-7 is the way of the future. I doubt my 3 year old son will ever have a drivers license or drive a car. Eventually there will just be millions of self driving Ubers roaming the streets, waiting to come pick you up with a click on a smartphone.

a reply to: UpIsNowDown

Nobody is forcing anyone to drive for Uber or work at Amazon. Also, every Uber driver I actually have a conversation with tells me they make pretty decent money. The average is about 500-700 a week from people I have personally spoken to.

Uber's valued at FIFTY BILLION dollars. When companies get worth that much one has to worry, because when there is so much money floating around the actual model becomes extinction of the competition. It's Amazon's business model, and Goodle's, and a host of internet based, global concerns.

People want cheap rides. They think it's great. They don't stop to consider the fact that the person driving them around is poorly paid and with little security of employment, unlike the conventional taxi firm. Just like the whole gig economy, riding off the back of the customers expectation for cheap service. In ten years when there are no taxi firms left, the profit potential for investors is exceptional.

originally posted by: PokeyJoe
I think something like Uber, with autonomous vehicles available 24-7 is the way of the future.

100% it is because driverless cars don't have wage discussions with you.

a reply to: PokeyJoe

You are correct no one is forcing them, but does that mean they should be allowed to influence employment law changes which suit them and not the employee, they are bringing business practices which we have worked hard to eradicate, I myself drive and have no need to use them but I do not wish their employees to be zero hour contracts, its 2019 after all, not 1859

a reply to: Bluntone22

I take it home a few times a week....use the app, wait 5-10-15 mins....have the driver's name, car, color, lic. plate....

$10.23.....no issues, and I support them and Lyft about earning more...

ps I have 2 newer cars, just easier some days

a reply to: mysterioustranger

It's great for the customers.

I'm a bit biased here. I have owned several businesses and I dont like it when another business doesnt follow the same rules as I have.

I was part owner of a diner that paid property tax and utility Bill's and the city council allows food trucks to park out front for a $50 permit.

As someone who has lived in big cities for almost all of my life, Uber/Lyft is a welcome change.

1. Drunk driving way down
2. Parking issues way down
3. In times of hard-to-find jobs that the average person can do without a bunch of schooling, this is a welcome opportunity
4. Agreed, any driver I've ever talked to is happy about the money and the opportunity
5. Cabs sucked, it isn't like they were better and they certainly didn't adhere to the regulations they were supposed to follow nor to they ever drive carefully. But they were the only option so they didn't care. Capitalist monopolies and all.

originally posted by: PokeyJoe
I use them all the time. I think I have about 8 rides in the last 2 weeks. Its awesome if you live in a place that has a lot of drivers. I think something like Uber, with autonomous vehicles available 24-7 is the way of the future. I doubt my 3 year old son will ever have a drivers license or drive a car. Eventually there will just be millions of self driving Ubers roaming the streets, waiting to come pick you up with a click on a smartphone.

Everything about that sounds horrible.

a reply to: PokeyJoe

I've used it a few times and it worked out great. Like you say nobody is forcing these people to drive. That said we've got this happening now in L.A.-
Rideshare drivers hoping to unionize, force companies to improve pay
If it happens they'd cost the same as a traditional cab, so what's the point?

a reply to: okrian

All good points.

Especially #5. The yellow cabs buried themselves. At least in NYC. Many of the drivers were surly, vehicles unkempt and poorly maintained. Not to mention that you had no way of tracking your ride. You could call for a cab that claimed they'd be there in 5 minutes only to be met with an attitude when you call the company after 45 minutes of waiting for said cab.

The pay issue though is something else. I'll admit, when I see a fare that's under $5 I wonder how these guys make any money.

a reply to: underpass61

Driving part time it's okay. Especially if it's trips that are 20 or 30 miles mostly on the highway. Becoming part of the Union would not be a good idea for part-timers. It will come with additional demands.

a reply to: AgarthaSeed

New York was an obvious example here. I lived there for a decade. I can't even tell you how many times the dude driving the cab was not the person who's picture was hanging (on the license) inside the car. Or how many times they would get out of the cab to yell at someone, or just yell loudly on the phone the whole ride (once cell phones became a thing), or drive psychotically, or fall asleep while driving (this actually happened to me twice).

You sometimes did better with Gypsy cabs (basically the less-than-legit Uber of yesteryear), but it was all dicey.

a reply to: Bluntone22

couple of years ago I used another company called Careem which was better than Uber in my country
now Uber bought Careem and I dont know whats going to happen in terms of service

Yeah, they just put Yellow Cab, in Lansing out of business.

I have never used one, but I can see how the concept would be good, out here in small town USA.