[stuxnet79]

> I've gotten in the habit of flagging cabs for black people, and even after the cab stops, sometimes when they realize that it's a black person getting in the cab instead of me, they drive off.

Good on you. This is terrible - I've never been to NYC but I always hear from black people down there how difficult it is to flag a cab. Wasn't aware that it was still happening to this extent in 2016. The fact that the cab stops and then it drives away right after they find out it's not you entering is disgusting. To be honest I'd rather they drive away than I give my hard earned money to a person or corporation that clearly looks down on me and hates me to such an extent that they are willing to NOT take my money. You say Uber offers a solution to this - what is it? Meh, maybe I'm pessimistic but I don't believe any company (not even AirBnb) can provide enough incentives to mitigate this kind of stuff happening.

[potatolicious]

> "You say Uber offers a solution to this - what is it?"

Drivers don't get to pick and choose their fares, and canceling a fare after assignment counts against the driver - do it too much and you get kicked off Uber completely.

Uber does some incredibly dodgy things, but on this front they are an absolute and unalloyed improvement over the previous status quo.

[killa_kyle]

This is my primary reason for using Uber. Getting a taxi as a black person in NYC is tough. I usually have to wait on the curb for my (non-black) wife to flag one and then walk up to it once it stops for her.

With Uber/Lyft/Juno etc, there's at least some accountability for the driver. NYC's 311 process isn't enough to deter cabbies that just don't want to pick up black people.

[hackuser]

> I don't believe any company (not even AirBnb) can provide enough incentives to mitigate this kind of stuff happening.

They can't stop it altogether, but certainly they can and will mitigate it. We can't stop murder and rape, but we do work hard to mitigate them.