I reported a guy last week who wouldn’t pick us up unless we told him where we were going.
The NYC taxi system is one of the big things I’m jealous of. There are taxis in boston, but unless you’re near a major transit hub (South/North Station, Back Bay, Logan, or an inside-128 commuter rail station) you’re not finding one without calling a number or using an app.
One of the two times I’ve ever used an Uber was in Boston. I hated that I had to do it, but I had no other options. I felt dirty the whole ride.
The T’s got a huge amount of expansion going on within the next few years, but it’s almost all on the periphery (Cambridge, Sommerville, etc.). Getting the rights to run track through the core city is a fucking nightmare.
Fun fact: Uber at large is completely illegal in Italy.
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I’m not going to go searching through the forums since I’m not sure if it’s on this forum or the old forum, but I remember calling out Uber’s garbo background checks a while ago and on more than one occasion, because it was going to be a huge problem with passenger saftey.
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TBF, I don’t think anyone was particularly rushing to disagree with you.
I don’t recall specifically, but I’m pretty sure you’re right. But I don’t really get that much opportunity to gloat, so I’m taking it.
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I remember you doing this.
Turns out there are fake Uber and Lyft drivers kidnapping people and buying fake accounts to spoof the app. Be safe.
I wonder what happens if a serial killer makes use of this. How many murders would it take to make people not want to use Uber and Lyft anymore.
Sort of like how hitchhiking had a downturn in the late 70s/80s.
Also, this would make a great horror film premise.
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Honestly it’s only a matter of time until that film gets made.
A location scout asked us about renting our apartment, which is on the ground floor and has a terrace in the garden, for a TV movie about a stalker who uses AirBnB (or similar) and then appears on the terrace. It’s just the same story as all these creepy thrillers but just “plus an app”.
The other night I was using Lyft to get back home after a concert and it turned out that my Lyft driver was an off-duty taxi driver. I didn’t think that was possible and briefly considered cancelling my ride because I thought it was super sketchy, but he didn’t kill me.
EDIT: Oh boy…
I’m not even sure how Uber expects to make money replacing mass public transit…
As the article states, first of all, mass public transit often doesn’t make any money at all without the help of government subsidies.
Second of all, one of the reasons why someone may use mass public transit is that they can’t afford any other sort of transit, whether owning their own vehicles or using a taxi service or something. Yes, there are other reasons for people who hypothetically could afford to use private transit, ranging from choosing not to own a car if one lives in a major city to not wanting to deal with traffic even if you do own a car, to simply being thrifty and not wanting to shell out for a taxi if mass public transit suits your needs just fine. However, cutting out those who can’t afford more expensive transit methods would lower the ability to make money even more.
If Uber were to fully replace public transit without relying on subsidies, it can only be a money losing venture for them. I can’t at all see how this would work out.
Now, if somehow Uber was given a contract to run a city’s public transit system, that may not be so bad provided:
- It doesn’t cost the city any more than what they were doing prior to letting Uber manage transit for them
- Rates remain the same as they would without Uber’s involvement
- Uber’s employees are given comparable pay and benefits to those who worked for the prior public transit service.
However, something tells me Uber isn’t interested in any of those 3 requirements…