Uber/Lyft Destroyed The Taxi Industry.

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I live in Chicago and refuse to take Uber. The Uber industry destroyed the "old school", traditional, taxi industry. I think 10 years a ago a taxi medallion was valued at $150,000 down and it has plummeted to less than $30,000. I drove a taxi for a few years and was required to go through a 2 week course plus pass a written exam. It was not as easy as people think. Plus, I went through an extensive city background check. I see Uber drivers on the news getting into all sorts of criminal mischief. It's because they don't go through as an extensive of a background check. It may be a bit cheaper (except surge pricing) but you are not getting a professional driver. A GPS or driving app can only help you so much in major cities like Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, ect...
 
The thing is that real taxis are often quite cheap and their rates are regulated, unlike those charged by a ride sharing service.
Another point being that anyone with a driver's license and a newish car can drive for one of these ride sharing services. There is no real background check nor any check for proper insurance cover. That one can't actually make minimum wage after car expenses pretty well ensures a lack of proper insurance.
Ube and Lyft are no more than an example of our collective willingness to save a dime while ignoring the associated social and potential personal costs.
If you're badly injured in an accident while riding in a properly licensed taxi, you're assured that the driver has insurance to indemnify you.
With Uber or Lyft, probably not.
 
In Toronto, ride sharing debuted during a rash of phone thefts and sexual assaults by cab drivers. They dug their own grave with lawlessness and high prices and then were outside city hall protesting as soon as their monopoly was threatened. They are all recent immigrants with bad english, so they drive cabs.

You don't need knowledge of the city when your GPS can tell you what routes are the least congested. Low skill jobs in monopolized industries eventually share the same fate as low skill jobs in other industries. The same thing is happening to the real estate industry.
 
Uber and Lyft didn't destroy the taxi industry, the taxi industry was complacent and failed to compete.

Sears was once the undisputed king of mail order. If anyone could have become what Amazon is today, it was Sears. They were complacent and didn't address the competition from Amazon until it was far too late. Amazon didn't ruin Sears, they failed to compete.
 
Originally Posted by KD0AXS
Uber and Lyft didn't destroy the taxi industry, the taxi industry was complacent and failed to compete.

Sears was once the undisputed king of mail order. If anyone could have become what Amazon is today, it was Sears. They were complacent and didn't address the competition from Amazon until it was far too late. Amazon didn't ruin Sears, they failed to compete.

This!
 
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WRONG!!!!

Uber and Lyft didn't destroy the industry. Poor service destroyed the taxi industry
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With a regular taxi, sometimes you have to call 4 cab companies hoping one will show up 3 hours later, then they take three people at the same time and charge you individually
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Uber and Lyft arrive in minutes
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And why did they charge $150k for a medallion anyway?
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Fun fact: Uber originally wanted to provide software to the taxi companies, but they told them to get lost. So they started the Uber as it is known today. Also, I'm no fan of Uber at all, they do some horrible things, and not just to their drivers, but the legacy cab companies are no better. Taxis are poorly maintained and often in poor shape as well.

Uber/Lyft is not a sustainable business model, either! Travis Kalanick wasn't the first to think of the idea, just the first one stupid enough to think it would be profitable!
 
I'm a big uber fan. A big thing missing with taxis is accountability. Get overcharged in uber and it's easy to complain and get refund. And you know what it's going to cost before you get in the car.
 
Uber and Lyft didn't destroy the industry. Poor service destroyed the taxi industry smirk2

See that's what hurts. I gave advice about things ranging from where to eat, what strip club,. which bar/club, hotel tips, ect.....I showered every day and spoke English. I also made pretty good money and wasn't driving my own car. I leased a car from the taxi company and was considered an "independent contractor". The Chicago Police also were very lenient with any traffic infractions I had. I think Uber/Lyft drivers would be better off delivering pizzas.
 
Originally Posted by pair of Blazers
just b/c you have a license and a GPS doesn't mean you can drive car service/taxi. you need to have an extensive knowledge of the city.


Umm, isn't the whole point of a GPS that you don't need ANY knowledge if the city?
 
With a regular taxi, sometimes you have to call 4 cab companies hoping one will show up 3 hours later, then they take three people at the same time and charge you individually mad

See, I'm talking about New York City or Chicago. Those are the only 2 cities in America that still have the traditional raise your arm for a pick up. How much money does a car depreciate with 30,000 miles a year on it?? I use to drive a decent but not fancy Crown Victoria. Now days, my city uses Ford Escapes, Toyota Camry's and Prius.
 
Umm, isn't the whole point of a GPS that you don't need ANY knowledge if the city?[/quote]

Try using a GPS in New York City or Chicago. It is just not going to give you the most accurate instructions. There are so many factors involved in big cities.
 
Originally Posted by KD0AXS
Uber and Lyft didn't destroy the taxi industry, the taxi industry was complacent and failed to compete.

Sears was once the undisputed king of mail order. If anyone could have become what Amazon is today, it was Sears. They were complacent and didn't address the competition from Amazon until it was far too late. Amazon didn't ruin Sears, they failed to compete.
I agree about the failure to innovate, but it's more complex than that. Taxis essentially had a monopoly guaranteed by the government until it could no longer be guaranteed due to technological advancement. Sears failed because of lack of foresight, whereas taxis were basically made obsolete during the latter half of this decade. It would have taken a fortune teller for them to survive the 2010s.

No one mentions the people who drove a Taxi for someone else who made all the money. Live by the sword, die by the sword as far as I am concerned.
 
Originally Posted by Willclark
I drove a taxi for a few years and was required to go through a 2 week course plus pass a written exam. It was not as easy as people think.
Its not London at least! Hippocampus grows there it's so brutal......."The examination to become a London cabby is possibly the most difficult test in the world — demanding years of study to memorize the labyrinthine city's 25,000 streets and any business or landmark on them. As GPS and Uber imperil this tradition, is there an argument for learning as an end in itself? ... The posterior hippocampus, the area of the brain known to be important for memory, is bigger in London taxi drivers than in most people." -- https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/t-magazine/london-taxi-test-knowledge.html

Originally Posted by Willclark
Plus, I went through an extensive city background check. I see Uber drivers on the news getting into all sorts of criminal mischief.
Some of that has been young drivers who are just finding their "groove" as a criminal sleazy-type. Older drivers with records are banned at least. .. Example: Young Uber driver picks up someone at their house/apt., takes them to the airport, and the developing criminal gets the idea they are going to go back and clean out the empty house/apt. That's happened several times.

Also, foreigners from 3rd world countries where records are not kept don't have a record even though they might have been bad-arses in their civil wars back home. ....
Originally Posted by Willclark
A GPS or driving app can only help you so much in major cities like Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, ect...
This is true. Special road rules, drop-off & pick-up spots in crowded city areas can be tricky unless you experience it over and over. Experience & willingness to apply yourself and learn are the keys. Uber-Lyft drivers can get this experience, though it not always happens.

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Everybody I've ever talked to over the last 40 years about taxis has had bad experiences to share. Smelly taxis, unsafe driving, rudeness, cab companies themselves are obnoxious jerks with very little incentive to provide good customer service or smartphone app dispatch.
 
Not sure about Chicago, but the Albany area was due for a change.

Cabbies used to charge $ 10 per person to drive literally 1 mile down the road in a rusted out, disgusting, and poorly maintained minivan. No thank you.
 
A couple of people I know that tried the full time Uber route really regret it. They put UBER miles on their nice vehicles and never made as much as they thought. I treat my vehicle like it's it's my home and would never allow strange people in it.
 
Originally Posted by Willclark
Uber and Lyft didn't destroy the industry. Poor service destroyed the taxi industry smirk2

See that's what hurts. I gave advice about things ranging from where to eat, what strip club,. which bar/club, hotel tips, ect.....I showered every day and spoke English. I also made pretty good money and wasn't driving my own car. I leased a car from the taxi company and was considered an "independent contractor". The Chicago Police also were very lenient with any traffic infractions I had.


At the same time, you must realize that is a small subset of taxi drivers. Most of them do have issues, especially since you have to specify that you shower every day and speak English. Of course, NYC and Chicago may be different.

NYC taxis like to rush back to Manhattan where it's the most profitable and the credit card machines are perpetually "broken". They even had to create special green taxis for the outer boros. At least New York has usable public transit

And poor service doesn't always mean the drivers, although it is common. The companies themselves are quite slimy. At least the TLC in NY keeps them at bay somewhat, since they have a special prosecutor team to deal with fraud at the taxi level.

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I think Uber/Lyft drivers would be better off delivering pizzas.


probably true, I agree
 
Originally Posted by Willclark
A couple of people I know that tried the full time Uber route really regret it. They put UBER miles on their nice vehicles and never made as much as they thought. I treat my vehicle like it's it's my home and would never allow strange people in it.


This is true, but it is a separate issue from the Taxi vs Uber debate
 
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