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Anectodal evidence from my trip to Chicago last week. The same trip cost me twice as much when I took a taxi vs Lyft. So guess what I'm going to take the next t
by TY 9y ago
Anectodal evidence from my trip to Chicago last week. The same trip cost me twice as much when I took a taxi vs Lyft. So guess what I'm going to take the next time...
- bitJericho 9y agoIn a taxi your ride was insured if the driver got in an accident. Your cabbie is certified, and less likely to be crazy. Also half your lyft/uber ride is paid by a VC.
- jseliger 9y agoless likely to be crazy. Having taken many cabs and many rides via Uber, Lyft, and Juno, I'm not sure why you'd claim this. The drivers for ride-sharing services are far safer, saner, and more careful than cab drivers. The reason is not hard to ascertain: at the end of almost every trip drivers and riders rate each other.
- weberc2 9y agoThis seems to match my experience.
- bdalgaard 9y agoI think there are similar related downsides that could be said about ride-sharing too. If we are giving anecdotal experience then I will say that ride-sharing drivers in Chicago are much more likely to blow through yellow/red lights or park in a cross-walk. The reason is not hard to ascertain: I can easily call 311 on a taxi as a pedestrian with the taxi number. Personally, I see a lot of people happy killing all of the problems with taxis (particularly in Chicago) but I fear that we are "throwing the baby out with the bathwater". Taxis in Chicago have a ton of problems, but I still have concerns about ride-sharing too.
- techsupporter 9y agoSame problem in Seattle, especially with the complete disregard for lane use. Uber and Lyft drivers seem to think that "bus only" is secret code for "all TNC drivers stop here for passengers, especially at peak times." My personal favorite is how hazard lights have morphed into "I can do whatever I want, just go around me by veering a car / this 60' bus into oncoming traffic." One of these days I'm going to start spending one of my days off just standing at a random major intersection and emailing SDOT/SPD and posting on Twitter the license plate numbers of every Uber/Lyft driver behaving badly.
- brianwawok 9y agoNot really. Fairly common for cabbies to share their cab with their twin brother who kinda looks the same, but has no insurance and no license.
- linkregister 9y agoThe Uber/Lyft ride is ensured by the company; your driver might be screwed if they crashed on the way to pick you up, however.
- bitJericho 9y agoYou should probably read some news stories about that...
- linkregister 9y agoCould you hyperlink one?
- bitJericho 9y agohttps://www.law360.com/articles/807776/uber-insurer-reach-settlement-in-fatal-crash-coverage-row https://www.law360.com/articles/807776/uber-insurer-reach-se...
- linkregister 9y agoThe paywalled article doesn't carry any information about the circumstances of the settlement.
- xigency 9y agoI think the VC money and lack of regulations is a huge issue. What people don't realize is that once the taxi companies are dead, the ride sharing apps will be able to raise prices and lower quality. Not to mention the issues already seen with Uber and Lyft, whether at a corporate level or on a driver/passenger level.
- incongruity 9y agoAnd cities are free to regulate the ride sharing operators or reduce taxi medallion and tax costs to let them come back. The government fees/licensing restrictions are the only significant barrier to entry in the industry. Fix those and Uber/Lyft have competition in days.
- bitJericho 9y agoThey do regulate. Uber/Lyft flout the regulations...
- incongruity 9y agoMinimally in comparison to taxis - and some regulations are obeyed. A good example is the airport agreements in Chicago.
- xigency 9y agoWell, Chicago is the city that works. But Uber is a bigger gang than the mob. Should that scare us? Really, things seem less corrupt now than they did with Daley so maybe there aren't big payoffs by taxis, just laziness from them and the police.
- xigency 9y agoFunny you should say that. Austin attempted to do this but the Uber and Lyft lobbyists were able to prop up legislation at the state level. Hard to see that happening with a local taxi co.
- 9y ago
- weberc2 9y agoI keep hearing this, but I also keep hearing that Lyft and Uber drivers have to go through a background check. Why should I believe that taxi drivers are less likely to be crazy?
- ClassyJacket 9y agoI feel much more secure in an Uber where I can rate and report the driver versus a taxi where they can basically do whatever they want.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- brightball 9y agoLast time I was in Chicago my hotel got me a taxi to the airport. I remember it being absurdly expensive...but on top of it that driver decided it was a good time to tell me about all of his sexual exploits and drug use in his down time. I don't often leave negative reviews...but that ride warranted a negative review.
- monksy 9y agoAt least it didn't stink of BO, the driver was aggressive in traffic, didn't stay on the phone the whole time, and/or blast the radio the whole time. It's literally he small things with cabs.
- justaman 9y agoBar time in Madison. Lyft was about $60, a cab was $20. If you find yourself around people in their twenties all looking for rides at 3am, call a cab.
- noveltyaccount 9y agoThis happened to me in Seattle recently. I ordered an Uber and there was a long wait, so I went to the taxi queue and got one immediately. The fare in the end was DOUBLE what the quoted Uber fare was. Before that I had assumed fares were the same and the only reason to order an Uber was the convenience of using an App. I haven't hailed a taxi since.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]