[rd108]

Uber, Lyft and its ilk are half innovative, efficient tech services and half hypercapitalist scavengers employing workers while avoiding paying those pesky benefits, worker's compensation or damages to a dead six year old's family.

[enoch_r]

On benefits and worker's comp: almost single UberX driver I've talked to has raved about Uber. Spontaneously. Why? Because the main way Uber saves money, compared to traditional taxi companies, isn't "avoiding paying those pesky benefits" or workers comp. They save money by not getting taxi medallions--part of a regulatory quota system that serves no purpose other than to artificially limit the number of cabs.

Note that since cab drivers can't usually afford hundreds of thousands of dollars for a taxi medallion, they have to lease them--so it's primarily people with a few hundred thousand dollars to spare (taxi companies and their investors) not drivers, that benefit from this hamstrung competition.

A lot of people criticize Uber because "it isn't really innovative, they are just skirting regulations." Well, maybe avoiding the regulations is the innovative part. It's a loophole, and to me (not a lawyer) it seems shocking that it's legally workable. But they've dramatically increased the incomes and freedom of cab drivers, and substantially decreased the price of cabs (I only take UberX, and it's at least 30% less than an equivalent cab here in Orange County, CA). And now that drivers and customers have experienced a medallion-free taxi system, the taxi companies are going to have a hard time regaining control.

[johnrob]

Scavengers is probably extreme, but they do tend to paint a half picture when it comes to the externalities of their services.

[icebraining]

They're just trying to pass as a real cab company:

http://setexasrecord.com/news/280325-east-texas-family-files...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/nyregion/new-york-taxi-dri...

[samstave]

As a user f Uber since very early on, I half agree, half disagree.

Uber is awesome -- ut the costing model fucking sucks.

When in SF I lived in Presidio and Upper Market/Noe Valley area...

Getting the SF cabs to come to my house was so infuriating; nobody wanted to come pick me up in Presidio or Noe Valley.

I was actually banned from multiple cab companies, as - it turns out - they share caller data: I was calling multiple cab companies to my house (Because nobody would show) as a shotgun approach to getting a cab. A dispatcher told me I was blacklisted due to this practice; my response was that if the cab had shown up, I wouldnt do this...

They didnt care. (I had MANY calls where I called 20+ times and waited 2 hours.)

FUC THE SF CABS. PERIOD.

HOWEVER; I think that Uber (and ALL cabs) are way over priced.

The fact that I had to pay $75 to take me from SF to SFO - where I was FLYING to LAX from SFO for $99 - I found this ridiculous!

The fact is that all CAB fees are just not congruous with the service.

When A cab ride from a home in SF to SFO costs ~$80, but takes ~30 minutes, you're paying the equiv $160K per year for the services of a DRIVER...

This is not sustainable.

[kunaalarya]

I've taken UberX to the airport and it's been $5 over the cost of a cab when I take a cab.

The reason Uber black car costs $65 (not sure if they charge more from Presidio) is because it is still cheaper than taking a black car limo from an agency. Black car is a luxury good.

Uber is great for within the city and UberX is now cheaper than a cab in a lot of cases. $7 home for me vs $12 for a cab. It replaces cars for a lot of people and the demand they've had for it shows that it IS sustainable. It's an amazing alternative over cabs, price included.

[diN0bot]

SuperShuttle provides cheap rides to and from airports (flat rate, so esp. good for say presidio) and actually shows up at obscure locations or calls if they can't find you.

[jaksmit]

if you are concerned about price, then why didn't you just use Uber X? I just did SF to SFO via Uber X and it was $30.

[samstave]

I've used Uber since day one -- Uber X didn't exist when I relied on it often for SFO trips ... even still, it's not a good mapping...