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    Uber something less than Alles

    Senior Executives of Uber France arrested in Paris.

    We don't seem to have a thread on Uber or the globalisation aspects of the "sharing economy" in general, and I think it poses quite a number of interesting questions.

    Given the ubiquity of taxis in Manhattan, I have always found the attachment of many of my colleagues to Uber to be perplexing, though there is definitely a new class of individuals who are more comfortable with conducting as many human interactions as possible via apps.

    #2
    Uber something less than Alles

    Most (if not all) of the cars bearing "Uber" branding in Sheffield and Leeds have also got PHV plates on the back.

    Am I missing something here?

    (i.e. they've registered as PHVs, and signed up to UBER to allow them to pick up fares who have contacted them for a journey, and not hailed them in the street?)

    PS. I'd've been tempted to use something like "Wheels fall off Uber's business model"

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      #3
      Uber something less than Alles

      Correct Guy. Uber is basically a very effective private hire network as it works as a broader network than any single switchboard firm and deals with the matching problem of customers to local vehicles very efficiently.

      Unfortunately this efficiency typically really upsets drunk people who get a cab at 12.30am on New Years Day within 10 minutes and don't understand that to get that match they are going to pay $200.

      Ursus - are the same people who prefer Uber at your work those that typically traveled by livery car? Outside of big cities with solid taxi cab systems, Uber works brilliantly.

      Uber's greatest weakness is that it currently wants all drivers to be contractors. If that fails they are going to be in a significantly worse position.

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        #4
        Uber something less than Alles

        I'm unfamiliar with the PHV rules, but it is not uncommon here for drivers to be registered with Uber and Lyft (their primary competition) simultaneously, or to be working at the same time for a "car service" (roughly our equivalent to minicabs).

        There have even been cases of licensed NYC hacks in yellow cabs moonlighting for Uber.

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          #5
          Uber something less than Alles

          i think dublin might be the most taxi-oversaturated city in the world, but the taxis here all like uber. the way uber works here - and i don't know how this deal was arranged - is that only licensed taxis can be on their network. most of them are on uber, hailo and a thing called lynk which is similar. the people it's putting out of business are the radio taxi services because uber and hailo are faster and more efficient.

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            #6
            Uber something less than Alles

            ursus arctos wrote: I'm unfamiliar with the PHV rules, but it is not uncommon here for drivers to be registered with Uber and Lyft (their primary competition) simultaneously, or to be working at the same time for a "car service" (roughly our equivalent to minicabs).

            There have even been cases of licensed NYC hacks in yellow cabs moonlighting for Uber.
            Yeah. For "PHVs" and "minicabs" are largely synonymous.*

            As noted upthread - we've got minicabs under the "Uber" brand, and that of their "owning" hire company which can be called directly.

            * In my World, at least.

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              #7
              Uber something less than Alles

              I don't really understand any of this. My city is Uber-less. It's also almost taxi-less (one taxi per 4,000 residents.)

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                #8
                Uber something less than Alles

                garcia, that's a remarkable state of affairs given the guerilla warfare between Uber and the licenced cabs in the rest of the world.

                I'm certain that the French, Italians or Germans (all of which have had mass protests) would sign up for that in a nano-second.

                The Irish aptitude for stich-ups is impressive.

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                  #9
                  Uber something less than Alles

                  There are so many taxi licences that it's a pretty weak restriction ursus.

                  There were 12000 cabs in dublin in 2008. It gives the number of Yellow cabs in new york as 12,000. (covering 8 million people) so I don't know what is the exact comparison there.

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                    #10
                    Uber something less than Alles

                    I do use Uber, as it's usually quick, it's cheap, and because the drivers are looking for your star rating (or maybe because they are all lovely human beings) they are generally very pleasant and helpful. The "no-cash" thing is really handy; so many times I've had to get cabs to stop at a cashpoint. Also the option to split fares.

                    There's a glitch that it never recognises my home pick-up address so I have to text them instructions, but that's a minor niggle.
                    Can also be hard to get them in town, but I got one literally in seconds, as I was walking past his cab when I sent a request. Also - no good if your phone battery is flat or you don't have a connection.

                    Black cab drivers, I'm afraid, have hit all the negative stereotypes with me too many times, and their cabs are uncomfortable over speed bumps.

                    NY yellow cabs - I took 5 last week, all helpful, polite and cheap.

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                      #11
                      Uber something less than Alles

                      I generally find Uber to be excellent, and superior to licensed cabs in a number of ways: no cash; you know when your car is arriving; you can put your destination in the app in advance so none of the usual "where are you going" chaos; particularly when there's a language barrier (true in New York or Lisbon); and the cars are often much nicer; and fares tend to be lower. The only problem is that the app only lets you have one phone number which can be tricky if you use multiple sim-cards in different parts of the world,

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                        #12
                        Uber something less than Alles

                        I am a huge fan of proper black cabs. Best ride of any cab anywhere, I'd say.

                        I use Gett meself, to avoid cash and stuff.

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                          #13
                          Uber something less than Alles

                          I am a huge fan of proper black cabs. Best ride of any cab anywhere, I'd say.
                          I agree with this. Even better if you don't get a right wing Chelsea supporter.

                          Ursus - are the same people who prefer Uber at your work those that typically traveled by livery car?
                          There are different classes of people. The thing that they all have in common is that (unlike me) they didn't grow up in a place where reliable taxis can be hailed on the street.

                          Some people find NY cabs to be intimidating and the system confusing. Personally, I think that they are much easier to get than the subway system, but I of course realise that I'm not the one to judge this.

                          Other people (those who would normally use livery cabs / car services) find it more convenient, which I can understand, as NY livery services are notoriously non-transparent.

                          A third group of people, who overlap with the others to some extent, but not completely are the people who would prefer to run their entire life through their phone. The same people who have Nest systems, primarily consume media on their phone, never order food by phone and prefer buying stuff from Amazon than a bodega or book store.

                          I completely understand the point about it being great for cities that don't have a functioning cab system (hello, Pittsburgh), but that just isn't the case in Manhattan (Uber can also be very useful if you live in Brooklyn or another "exotic" location).

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                            #14
                            Uber something less than Alles

                            I've never tried Uber. I'm not sure where I stand in the debate on them versus black cabs. Friend of mine wrote this article which helped unpick some of the history for me, but I can see things not to like on both sides.

                            http://www.londonreconnections.com/2015/fare-trade-breaking-down-londons-taxi-debate/

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                              #15
                              Uber something less than Alles

                              I hate talking on the phone and the cashless aspect is great, so I do use Uber a decent amount.

                              I don't find them that cheap, they're probably very slightly more expensive than a minicab. I never use black cabs as I'm not a tourist.

                              It's a decent service, but the people in my life who orgasm over it being the greatest thing ever are mainly techie brosephs who think that we'll all be in driverless cars by Thursday and think disruption is a real thing rather than marketing gobbledy-gook.

                              Plus the people who run Uber are absolute cunts, can't forget that.

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                                #16
                                Uber something less than Alles

                                I like black cabs. If I have need of that sort of transport, I'll hail one or use Hailo to hail one.

                                Addison Lee is the fall back position, if I need to guarantee a big car at a certain time in the future.

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                                  #17
                                  Uber something less than Alles

                                  Addison Lee are utter union-bashing Tory-funding cunts, mind

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                                    #18
                                    Uber something less than Alles

                                    E10 Rifle wrote: Addison Lee are utter union-bashing Tory-funding cunts, mind
                                    Ignore the union-bashing Tory-funding.

                                    This is all you need to know.

                                    Callous and unfeeling.

                                    Believe themselves above the law.

                                    http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/apr/20/addison-lee-minicab-boss-cyclists

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                                      #19
                                      Uber something less than Alles

                                      There are different classes of people. The thing that they all have in common is that (unlike me) they didn't grow up in a place where reliable taxis can be hailed on the street.

                                      Some people find NY cabs to be intimidating and the system confusing. Personally, I think that they are much easier to get than the subway system, but I of course realise that I'm not the one to judge this.


                                      how can the uber driver tell in advance if you're black or not?

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                                        #20
                                        Uber something less than Alles

                                        ? don't get it.

                                        Uber drivers rate their customers just as we rate them, and do add comments, I believe, but they would get into trouble for writing anything discriminatory.

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                                          #21
                                          Uber something less than Alles

                                          Berba is referring to the chronic issue with licensed NYC yellow hacks, who have a nasty tendency to treat black customers as invisible men and women, particularly during rush hour.

                                          Somewhat interestingly, I haven't had a colleague of colour suggest the avoidance of this (which is manifestly illegal) as a reason for using the service.

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                                            #22
                                            Uber something less than Alles

                                            I saw the ads telling customers that discrimination is illegal and I know it was a thing - I guess if it wasn't anymore, they wouldn't need the ads!

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                                              #23
                                              Uber something less than Alles

                                              Isn't Uber a horrific neo-liberal exercise in sidestepping existing regulations in order to compel the hard up to vigorously involve themselves in a miserable race to the bottom?

                                              I don't get cabs ever.

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                                                #24
                                                Uber something less than Alles

                                                That pretty much nails it, beak. Thing is, it was born largely out of necessity. In Toronto, cabs are generally filthy wrecks owned by a 'cab mafia' of three or four enormous companies. There's simply nothing pleasant about the experience, and there's no political or economic motivation to change anything because it's all neatly regulated (for your safety, of course).

                                                Uber is disruptive, which tends to shake industries out of their complacency. So, it either succeeds because it was a good idea or it inspires change elsewhere because it was a good idea. See also Airbnb.

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                                                  #25
                                                  Uber something less than Alles

                                                  Cheers.

                                                  "Disruption" is one of my least favourite buzzwords of our time, and is nearly always spewed by grotty libertarian types who believe that anything goes up to and until the moment is legislated against.

                                                  I think I posted this already, but I saw "disruption" defined as "thinking you're above the law because your storefront is online", which covers most of the instances I have come across lately.

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