I'm in Southern California - Lyft is the preferred ride-share service here.

Anonymous wrote:Yet, it’s all solved in Europe and ex USSR.
Called public transit.

except this is not Europe. The US is vast, and vastly spread out. This cute little solution doesn't work in many areas of the US.

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Anonymous wrote:I still use taxis. I live in the city, book in advance with Yellow Cab. The cars are new, the drivers polite, and they have never failed me.

Only reason you're having such positive experiences with yellow cab is because Uber/Lyft are taking ridership away from them. when they were the only option on the block, they treated passengers like shit. Competition is good.

Yes. Uber made them do so much - stop charging per luggage piece, lower their rates, have a clean cab ride, allow consistent use of credit/debit cards, pay by app, traffic the ride by GPS, follow the rules about no smoking in the car.

Taxis/Cabs lost so much market share so fast for one reason - they were the worst of the worst.

Flashback to the heinous ride fares of D.C. taxicab. 2x the cost in snow, if you got a block over into a another zone that's another $7, and they charge per a mile AND per a passenger.

They deserved to fail.

I split my time between DC and NYC and probably spend about 500 dollars a week on car services. My personal take:

- In DC, I take Uber or Lyft, with the exception of departing from Union station or DCA when it is faster to just run to a cab line. The cabs are...fine. There is a far higher than Uber/Lyft probability that the cab will be in a state of disrepair/ reek of BO or cigs/ not have any AC even if 105 degrees, etc.
- In DC, probably 80% of my Uber or Lyft drivers drive for both; no significant difference. Uber has better price estimates and coverage, so I go with them more frequently.
- In NYC Uber and Lyft are terrible. Expensive, the arrival estimates are WAY off, and people don't know where they are going. I vastly prefer cabs.

Where DC cabs screwed themselves, and where DC cab comisision screwed them, was by not adapting. Uber took off originally in CA and then here. DC cabs were not prepared. They STILL give me shit once a week about using my corporate card and ask for cash. I asked NYC drivers about this and they look at you like you're nuts. "We had a few weeks like that, then the taxi commission gave us all the card units and comped the fees."

Cool. Like an actual city. I have sympathy for DC drivers to an extent, but they're half living in the days of the zoning system and can't adapt. I've threatened to walk without paying after 15+ minutes outside my door as a driver struggles with his little personal payment system. DC gov- set them up. Cabs-until they do this, prepare to be phased out.

Yet, it’s all solved in Europe and ex USSR.
Called public transit.

Anonymous wrote:All of these Uber murders and other unsavory stories have me wondering, will this mode of transportation be around for the long haul?

I have a cousin who never learned to drive, and now she’s terrified to try. She lives in an area without mass transit, so she relies 100% on Uber or Lyft. She’s 25 now and it’s fine, but what happens when she’s 55? Will Uber stand the test of time?

As someone with a disability that prevents driving, I can say that Uber has been a huge improvement, but there are also other things on the horizon that will work for non-drivers. So, whether it's exactly Uber or not, I predict that it will be easier to be a non-driver in 30 years than it is now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still use taxis. I live in the city, book in advance with Yellow Cab. The cars are new, the drivers polite, and they have never failed me.

Only reason you're having such positive experiences with yellow cab is because Uber/Lyft are taking ridership away from them. when they were the only option on the block, they treated passengers like shit. Competition is good.

Yes. Uber made them do so much - stop charging per luggage piece, lower their rates, have a clean cab ride, allow consistent use of credit/debit cards, pay by app, traffic the ride by GPS, follow the rules about no smoking in the car.

Taxis/Cabs lost so much market share so fast for one reason - they were the worst of the worst.

Flashback to the heinous ride fares of D.C. taxicab. 2x the cost in snow, if you got a block over into a another zone that's another $7, and they charge per a mile AND per a passenger.

They deserved to fail.

Anonymous wrote:All of these Uber murders and other unsavory stories have me wondering, will this mode of transportation be around for the long haul?

I have a cousin who never learned to drive, and now she’s terrified to try. She lives in an area without mass transit, so she relies 100% on Uber or Lyft. She’s 25 now and it’s fine, but what happens when she’s 55? Will Uber stand the test of time?

If you're talking about the story in the Post yesterday, OP, that wasn't an Uber murder - it was a drunk girl that cot into a random car that *wasn't* her Uber.

Drunk girls who get into random cars with people they don't know at 2 am will continue to be murdered with greater frequency than the population as a whole. This is not exactly man bites dog news.

The larger issues are that Uber loses massive amounts of money each quarter. Its business model, as currently constituted, has some significant flaws. Also, Lyft dropped to 4.5 % below its IPO price on its second day of trading, which is not a great sign.

Uber and Lyft Lise massive amounts of money every year

Driverless cars are at least a decade away, and may never come if they are hacked by Russians or N Korea.

Uber and Lyft will be gone in 5 years (look at Lyfts stock yesterday).

I suspect ride sharing will decline as Millennials move to suburbs and have kids — Uber is a lot more of a pain for families for a number of reasons.

I use Lyft instead of Uber but I don't have a crystal ball to figure out if those two companies will remain in business. I appreciate ride sharing companies because, as a WOC, cabs often didn't stop for me. I feel nothing about them going under. Lyft shows up.

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Anonymous wrote:Use Lyft, not Uber.

zero difference unless you are douche

Lyft definitely has better quality drivers and cars.

there is a very big difference between Lyft and Uber. Lyft is superior - and no I don't own any stock.

Lyft and Uber have differences in how they pay the driver. And other organizational differences. But almost all Uber drivers around here also drive Lyft and vice versa.

So, the idea that one has better cars and drivers is absurd. They are literally the same.

+1000

And both have seen rising prices and declining driver quality.

I hope automatic driving cars take over...soon.

Lyft is great. But they take forever compared to Uber. In regards to safety, I live near a college campus, all Lyft drivers have a light on their dashboard that designates them as Lyft drivers.gosh it’s even pink and lit.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Well, I’m sure your cousin will find the time to drive in about 30 years.
That are driverless cars will be standard.


But can we circle back around To ALL the Uber murders?

Umm... has there been one?

There were more. There was a serial in Michigan, I believe. One in Denver, another in Atlanta, one in NYC, and multiple driver murders. This is only two pages of Google searches.

Why don’t you google taxi murders from 1920 - 2010. I assure you there’s far more.

What’s your point? I’m talking about two companies. Perhaps the individual taxi companies that had multiple murders within that time frame also went under? We are talking about two specific companies: Uber and Lyft.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still use taxis. I live in the city, book in advance with Yellow Cab. The cars are new, the drivers polite, and they have never failed me.

Only reason you're having such positive experiences with yellow cab is because Uber/Lyft are taking ridership away from them. when they were the only option on the block, they treated passengers like shit. Competition is good.

Yes. Uber made them do so much - stop charging per luggage piece, lower their rates, have a clean cab ride, allow consistent use of credit/debit cards, pay by app, traffic the ride by GPS, follow the rules about no smoking in the car.

Taxis/Cabs lost so much market share so fast for one reason - they were the worst of the worst.

Poster here who uses cabs. Well, great. I do remember when they were shitty but that didn't make me switch to Uber when it became an option. So ultimately that's a win-win for me and Yellow Taxi. I still don't have to use Uber and that works for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still use taxis. I live in the city, book in advance with Yellow Cab. The cars are new, the drivers polite, and they have never failed me.

Only reason you're having such positive experiences with yellow cab is because Uber/Lyft are taking ridership away from them. when they were the only option on the block, they treated passengers like shit. Competition is good.

Yes. Uber made them do so much - stop charging per luggage piece, lower their rates, have a clean cab ride, allow consistent use of credit/debit cards, pay by app, traffic the ride by GPS, follow the rules about no smoking in the car.

Taxis/Cabs lost so much market share so fast for one reason - they were the worst of the worst.