I can't believe people still use Uber

[ripcord]

Uber really is a horrible company, they refuse to pay their drivers a living wage and also are spending millions to fight the push in California to pay drivers a minimum wage and sick days. Now they are questioning their drivers about loan amounts between $100 and $1000 to tide them over temporarily, in other words pay day loans. So the company that won't pay it's drivers a minimum wage is looking for way to profit from that, if you still use Uber you are part of the problem and should be ashamed.

[Coventina]

1. I don't have a smartphone, so no Uber for me. But I wouldn't anyway.

I always use traditional taxis when I need such a service.

[dchill]

2. Company name is Uber. Think about it.

Who would do that?

[donkeypoofed]

32. I think Uber means "super" in German

[Coventina]

38. More precisely "Above" Deutschland Uber Alles is "Germany above all (other lands)" n/t

[shanti]

52. Over?

It sounds so close to uber. Same difference.

[Codeine]

54. Originally that phrase was meant

to denote the idea of a singular nation (Germany) above the individual and often quarreling constituent states that it bound together, encouraging the people to imagine themselves German rather than a Saarlander or Bavarian or whatever.

Obviously history has imbued the phrase with an alternate meaning.

[Turbineguy]

68. It's from the PDQ Bach opera

Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice

An opera in one unnatural act.

Alice's full name is Alice uber Deutschland.

[PasadenaTrudy]

3. I can't believe

people are still buying SUVs. Actually, I know someone who doesn't have much choice but to use Uber some times. She's poor, no car, lives in a fleabag motel in SE Albuquerque, has to be at work on a Sunday at a time when buses aren't running yet (or a holiday and buses don't run at all). It's either walk 3 miles in the dark through a bad neighborhood (she suffers from Lupus as well), or take an Uber. Taxis are very unreliable especially that early. I can't blame her, can you?

[Thekaspervote]

6. No... not at all people do what they have to... kudos to your friend, hope she has better times soon

[PasadenaTrudy]

19. Thank you...

She's black and 57. Trying to find another job, but things aren't looking good. She works on the loading docks at a Target. So hard on her body. Thank you for your kind thoughts, so many here need to check their privilege.

[Thekaspervote]

35. Yes.. the purity test .... leaves out a lot of people

[Blue_true]

75. If you are an Uber rider by choice, why not pressure the company to pay drivers better?

You don't have to boycott, just point out that it does not pay it's drivers what you think they deserve.

[dewsgirl]

81. It really does, I was just thinking the same thing.

[lunasun]

11. Plus often an Uber is available in an area most taxis won't go for pickup . The drivers may live

nearby and are not afraid to pickup in the local places taxis avoid
In some places taxi unions limit the numbers of cars on the road to keep drivers' wages inflated, so that can be why they are unreliable on a call basis

Uber drivers do not have to buy a medallion for thousands of $$ so they can quit with out being in heavy debt .
The taxi medallion is required in big cities . These Uber loans mentioned are not
Taxi industry leaders are no better at scamming drivers imo
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/21/nyregion/newyorktoday/nyc-news-taxi-medallions.html

[Coventina]

14. I was in an area of NM this summer where there was no Uber or Lyft.

Not that I would know that, because I don't have a smartphone, but people with me were looking for a ride to a restaurant and couldn't get one.

I was happy to stay at the hotel, myself, they had a nice restaurant on the premises....

Anyway, the point is that nothing is 100% certain. Uber and Lyft aren't everywhere, and neither are taxis.

[lunasun]

27. Well no maybe not out in rural spots . I was talking about red lined areas in cities many taxis may

not go to by choice even though there is demand
Although there eventually developed here other taxi companies that fill the void in some of the areas -deemed bad over time , there are not enough.
Before the small more independent regulated taxi companies there were more jittneys too which was way worse than Uber

Before Uber there was jitney
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-jitney-cab-flashback-0309-20140309-story.html

Serving the Underserved
Fifty-four percent of uberX trips in Chicago begin or end in an area deemed by the city as underserved by taxi and public transportation. Uber trips on the south and west sides have grown 30 times over the last two years .
More than 20% of uberX driver-partners live on the south and west sides, including many areas plagued by the city’s highest unemployment rates

[Floyd R. Turbo]

16. Right you are! Taxis refuse to service the residential areas where I live, preferring to cruise the

entertainment corridor. Taxi drivers here are infamous for “long hauling” adding substantial amounts to charges by taking freeways or indirect routes instead of the fastest.

[Brainstormy]

28. all true, plus Uber and Lyft

in our area are good options for the partiers who have had one too many. In the burbs where I live you can't get a taxi and I've sent a guest or two home this way. This is a gig economy now. Without a resurgence of unions, we're screwed.

[DBoon]

53. Can she use Lyft?

Lyft is not quite as evil as Uber.

[underpants]

56. Uber has been a blessing to the blind

Much more affordable than a taxi and much more reliable than public transportation especially transportation for the disabled

[California_Republic]

4. Nice info. How is lyft doing?

[Tipperary]

5. I am quite content with my own car.

I prefer not to get into cars with people I do not know.

[RKP5637]

10. Yeah, same here. n/t

[MyNameGoesHere]

36. You've never flown, rode a train, or a bus?

[dumbcat]

79. You made me think ...

The last time I flew, rode a train, took a bus, or rode in a taxi was in 2012, on a trip to a city. I've managed to avoid all of those since.

I have three different vehicles, a sedan, an SUV, and a pickup truck. I drive, or I don't go there.

[Tipperary]

87. All three.

My dad was a pilot. I drove a bus for awhile.

I have been on many of all when traveling overseas. Even a ship!

[tblue37]

44. Remember when hitchhiking was common, and women were warned not to get

into cars with strangers?

[elocs]

7. I've never used Uber and never would,

but then I don't use taxis either.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. You might say the same thing about shopping at Wal-Mart.

It's a horrible company that doesn't pay its employees well and drives other stores out of business. But sometimes people don't have an alternative. I won't shop at Wal-Mart but I live in a big city and can go to Costco, among other places - but I won't shame someone for shopping at Wal-Mart if it's all they've got or can afford. Same with Uber.

[mainer]

12. I don't know if Lyft is better, but sometimes I'm forced to use it.

When you're visiting another town, you don't have a rental car, and taxis are nowhere to be found -- Lyft is a lifesaver.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. What if you live in a place that has no regular taxi service?

The one taxi company in Santa Fe went out of business about five, maybe six years ago.

Is Lyft a whole lot better than Uber in how it treats and pays drivers?

[UniteFightBack]

22. Even if you did, like I do ...Uber and Lyft are far superior. nt

[Tanuki]

41. My neighbor is a gig musician who supplements her income by driving for both companies.

According to her, Lyft treats the drivers more fairly than Uber does.

[smirkymonkey]

90. I use Lyft a lot. It tends to be less expensive and I tip the drivers

well. Sometimes I have to use Uber if Lyft is really busy. I talk to the drivers a lot and most of them have other jobs or are retired. Very few of them are relying upon it as their sole source of income, however I wish they would get a better deal. I always leave at least a 20% tip and sometimes more if they are really nice.

[PSPS]

15. Fun fact: Uber's most common customers are not car drivers

Most people assume the typical Uber customer is someone who would otherwise take a "normal" cab or drive their own car and, thus, not add to, or actually decrease the number of private cars on the road. However, many studies have shown that Uber and its ilk actually gets most of its business from people who would otherwise ride mass transit. So, it turns out that Uber/Lyft/etc., actually increases the number of cars on the road and contributes to a decline of mass transit ridership.

[Coventina]

18. Wow! That's really interesting. More reason to invest in our infrastructure.

Not that we have an administration interested in that.

[fescuerescue]

46. Seems like that would be HEAVILY location dependent

NYC and NE in general yep. Makes sense.

But the vast majority of the US doesn't really have a viable mass transit service.

In my case, Uber has replaced renting cars at my destination when I travel for business, it's a major hassle to rent a car. It easily adds 90 minutes at pickup and dropoff at the airport. God help me if I added mass transit except for maybe NYC or Boston.

[DBoon]

55. Uber and Lyft have actually made auto congestion in San Francisco much worse

you are right about poaching transit riders

[Codeine]

57. Perhaps transit needs to make some changes

if its potential passengers are willing to pay more to use the alternatives. As someone who used to use a bus regularly I can assure you it’s often revolting and inconvenient in the extreme.

[DangerousRhythm]

88. Yep. I'm in Houston.

We have Metro, but as decent as it can be in some areas, it’s terrible in others. I won’t be shamed for taking a Lyft to work and tipping $5 every time instead of waiting for two or more hours out in the heat to catch up to FOUR buses to get to work when I am only about 15 minutes away from my job by car.

[JI7]

85. i met a person last week that was disabled(in a wheelchair)

and had used uber to come a long way for some labor day thing where i was working at the beach.

it was in the los Angeles area. she said it came out to 80 dollars.

i thought it was a lot but maybe she doesn't go out much and once in a while she will spend like this.

using uber would be a lot more convenient for her than the public transportation we have.

[USALiberal]

17. Better than Taxi's And I always tip well. nt

[wasupaloopa]

20. What should Uber drivers do if no one rode with them?

I rarely have need for Uber. A few times when we traveled by train it was handy

[UniteFightBack]

23. It makes me feel more secure knowing that wherever I go no matter what happens I have a ride.nt

[Coventina]

25. Uber and Lyft are not available everywhere. See my post #14. n/t

[UniteFightBack]

21. Yes because we all know taxi companies take care of their drivers. nt

[CatWoman]

24. I use Lyft mostly, never Uber

and Lyft drivers have informed me that there's a lot of grumbling going on with them, as Lyft has cut the amount paid to them via mileage.

A new company is starting up and looks promising: Tryp https://www.ridester.com/tryp-rideshare/

[Roland99]

26. Love using Uber/Lyft. Very useful when traveling

Business or leisure we use them a lot to get to popular tourist places or to/from airports without the hassle of rental car returns or the extra cost of a taxi

[KPN]

29. We just need to raise minimum wage nationwide.

And get rid of laws that serve principally as impediments to collective bargaining. And apply anti-trust laws to technology companies that dominate services by virtue of technology ownership. Break them up geographically or require that technology is the product, not the service, and must be sold to service providers. Companies will always pay labor at the cheapest rate it can; they pay what the labor market will bare.

[Jake Stern]

30. Unlike those big hearted taxi companies, right?

[DBoon]

59. Taxi companies pay better and are regulated

Taxi drivers could make a decent wage. It was an entry occupation for many immigrants. They can save up enough money to move on.

Taxi companies need to meet regulatory standards, particularly in terms of who they hire. Things like drug tests are commonly required, and fingerprint background checks for drivers.

Uber and Lyft pay as little as possible. Their purpose is to "disrupt" the cab industry by replacing cab drivers with very low paid casual workers.

[Blue_true]

76. I only take cabs when away from home.

I have never met an angry cab driver and have met only one rightwing one (he was courteous though).

[Jake Stern]

78. Better pay for shittier service

If they can actually get their response times up and lower their fares a bit I would consider using taxis again but it's not really fun to have a taxi company bullshit you for over an hour, during a snowstorm, about when the car will arrive.

[brush]

84. Cab companies set themselves up for competition. They take much longer to pick up and cost more.

That left ripe territory for ride-sharing services to move in. I use both and have to wait 45 minutes to an hour for a taxi pick-up but only 5-10 minutes for Uber. I reluctantly call cabs when I can't get Uber.

[aikoaiko]

31. Ride sharing apps are relatively new. there is room for improvement.

[RazBerryBeret]

33. I had an uber driver

for an early morning drive to the airport for business travel. He is an immigrant with a small child. He has an 8 hour a day job but says he leaves 2 hours open each weekday for uber fares. He takes all the money her earns and puts it in an account for his daughter's college. He is willing to invest 10 hours a week for his daughter's future education; although Americans shouldn't have to make these types of sacrifices, I applaud his drive and planning.

[Joe941]

67. Now that is a quality person.

[RazBerryBeret]

71. that's how I felt too

and maybe a little bit pathetic because I did not plan that well for my kids' educations!! I do wish I were that disciplined. I tipped him well.

[Glimmer of Hope]

34. I am a cancer patient without a car and Uber is a life saver. I try to tip well.

[yaesu]

37. this is the norm under capitalism, capitalism destroys Democracies, and what's left is fascism. nt

[brush]

82. Not quite. Between there is regulated capitalism with socialist elements (see Western Europe).

[Hortensis]

39. Ripcord, how much shame should Uber drivers feel?

First: Let's can any "helpless victims of everyone else" nonsense before it starts. They're people too and in way over their eyeballs in it. So let's consider the shameful immorality of being an Uber driver.

Uber drivers are the very heart of what you're complaining about. Not a single pickup happens without them. In your picture, if not your description, every one of them is a contemptible, heartless victimizer of all the other drivers, and even society.

And let's not pretend that, for whatever reasons that are causing them to be part of this, they don't WANT the people you're bashing to need their services. They do. If people just realizing they need a ride home are committing moral crimes by calling them, then aren't the Uber drivers their corrupters?

[MicaelS]

40. I am poor.

I do not have a car. I ride the bus or train.

But if I want to go someplace they do not serve I would be forced to either use ride sharing or walk. And I am 62 and not in the best shape.

BTW, I also shop at Walmart.

IOW, I do not have the liberty of being choosy.

[pecosbob]

42. Sympathy to anyone feeling victimized, but it is what it is...

What part of driving one's own vehicle to transport people made anyone ever believe it would pay a living wage? Seems to me a lot of people let these companies blow smoke up their collective ass. I fully support and sympathize with anyone being victimized by the ride-share companies, but I've been a courier and a delivery driver of sorts on and off all my life, and believe me the margins never were there for this to happen. The economics just aren't there to support driving people around in your car and getting paid twenty dollars an hour to do it (or whatever a LW would be in your region). Most of the drivers that I know of that do make a decent living are members of unions.

IMO if you are routed by dispatcher then you should be considered an employee by law. I have always considered the taxi-cab industry's business model to be exploitive in the extreme. There simply was no reason for the ride-share companies not to do the same. That's the working world, folks...you're simply not going to make forty or fifty grand as an independent chauffeur, particularly when your 'employer' dumped most of the cost of the operation onto your back. Record profits for shareholders and more Americans slide toward the poverty line. It's another step forward in the Walmart/Amazon Jurassic Park Economy.

[mnhtnbb]

43. My youngest son is legally blind

although you wouldn't know it to meet him. He is a doctoral student at Yale where he lives near campus and walks a lot.

Uber has become his transportation of choice when he returns to Chapel Hill if the fare free buses don't go where he needs to go or aren't running on a convenient schedule.

Not everyone who can afford to have a car is physically able to drive. He relies on Uber a lot.

[MFM008]

45. I dont drive

So sometimes it is necessary.

[fescuerescue]

47. How much shame should some feel when they take an Uber to Walmart

and then stop by chik-fila for lunch?

[GulfCoast66]

48. I can't believe people are upset about Uber.

It not like Taxi drivers are earning much of a wage. And where I live I could not get one without an hours wait. I could have an Uber here in 10 minutes.

I often use Uber. Things like dropping the truck off for service. Much rather pay $10 bucks the 8 minutes back and forth to my house that cool my jets in a pathetic waiting area at the garage.

Or when going to breweries. I bet, with no evidence to back it up, we will see a reduction in Drunk drivers.

And of course when flying.

The main reason it does not bother me is because I actually talk to my drivers. I’m rather chatty at time and curious about them.

In my area the most popular reason they give: retired, bored and the wife is tired of them hanging around the house.

Next reason is they had rather fill their empty time between their real jobs shifts earning some cash rather than killing time.

Now maybe it is different in other regions. Probably is. But I have never had a driver doing it full time.

Especially since they allowed tipping which the driver gets it bothers me not at all. One driver told me the additions of tips has made it much more profitable. Often on short runs my tip is more than the fare.

[Jake Stern]

77. I was introduced to Uber during one of those fun Denver snowstorms

The local buses were running at least an hour behind (sometimes more) and I was trying to get home from my retail job. Called for a taxi and was told "We'll be there in 15 minutes, tops!" Well 15 minutes went by and I called them only to be told "They're 10 minutes away".

This went on for over an HOUR until one of my co-workers told me about the Uber app so I downloaded it, signed up and requested a ride. About 10 minutes later a car pulls up and I was on my way home.

Heard from a co-worker a couple days later that the cab that I called for at 6:30 in the evening finally pulled up looking for me . . . at 9:15.

Called them up to ask how in the hell they could justify making someone wait almost 3 hours for a cab. They basically said that's not their problem and hung up.

I have refused to patronize cabs since.

[Joe941]

49. How can uber not pay minimum wage?

[DBoon]

61. Drivers are "independent contractors"

Labor laws don't apply.

Drivers get a percent of fees, and have to pay maintenance, insurance themselves and take the risk of downtime.

[Joe941]

65. I've been a contractor before. If I couldn't make a decent living I would do the job.

[PoliticAverse]

62. Because they classify their drivers as "independent contractors" not employees...

See: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/california-labor-commissioner-rules-uber-driver-employee-not-independent-contractor.html

[shanti]

50. As of now

Uber/Lyft are the only thing holding my oldest son's family together, along with his wife's paycheck, pretty difficult in SoCal. He didn't pass his federal probation period (changed job classifications), so he's officially in the gig economy AGAIN. 42 years old and ten years with the Feds down the drain I am heartsick for him.

[BeyondGeography]

51. You could if you landed at Newark Airport at 1 am with no other way home

[AllaN01Bear]

58. uber and lyft were supposed to be a profit sharing company sharing w the drivers .

turned out to be another greedy lying company. my insurance companies motorpool contractor hired them as beiing cheep and cheep they were . leaving thousands stranded at their medical apts . where i live , tuolumne county ca , uber and lift dont work for the area.
never , ever use them again. p.s i view them as a ulicensed cab co and that is that.

[PoliticAverse]

60. Don't worry. Uber loses a tremendous amount of money and can't last indefinitely. n/t

[fescuerescue]

89. The guys putting Billions of dollars into it understand that equation.

Right now they are buying marketshare. Marketshare is currently cheaper than it EVER will be in that space.

Once Uber/Lyft finish expanding into market saturation, and it's no longer a novel thing, but something that people depend on, that's when they start raising rates into profitability.

[tymorial]

63. If I need a driver, I still call a cab.

I refuse to use Uber or Lyft.

[underpants]

64. Culture, the blind, and coal mining

Culture - you have people who live through their phone. Uber Lyft Grubhub etc are like utilities for them.

Uber and Lyft have been a blessing to the blind world. Much cheaper than a taxi and it offers independence from asking for a ride. MUCH more efficient and reliable than mass transit especially transit for the disabled.

The loans are payday loans yes but the first thing I thought about when I saw a headline about it was going to the company store to spend your pay check.

[Codeine]

66. I can't believe people still eat meat, shop Walmart,

smoke cigarettes, use meth, have lawns, drive SUVs, or drink alcohol.

The fact is that everyone does something they know isn’t great, but adds comfort or convenience to their lives. We all need to examine our own actions and find the best balance for ourselves.

Maybe that Uber ride does help support a shitty gig economy business model, but the alternative is a three mile walk in 100F heat and blazing sun. If you’re privileged enough that you can eschew ride services that’s great, but don’t denigrate those for whom it may represent a vast improvement for their quality of life.

[Doodley]

69. You are dead right, plus not taking Uber means even less money for the Uber drivers. How far do we

take the whole "so outraged that people do this" thing. Maybe we should be so outraged that people are driving their own cars by using greenhouse gas-releasing gasoline.

[Drunken Irishman]

70. I I Lyft because I don't drink and drive.

[MicaelS]

72. Anyone notice the OP...

Has not replied to a single post?

[Blue_true]

73. I haven't used Uber once.

I just don't like the idea of being in a car with a non professional driver. It is taxis for me.

[lindysalsagal]

74. Uber is a lifesaver for a single woman traveling. Keeps me independent.

All the drivers but 1 were men and total gentlemen and professional and sweet. If they didn't want to do it, they wouldn't have to.

[guillaumeb]

80. Recommended.

Some will speak of the supposed convenience, but Uber is part of the deep problem with the US economy. These gig jobs do not pay a living wage, and are designed solely to make the inventor rich at the expense of workers in the industry.

[d_r]

83. I live so far out in the country

we have to use Goober

[Codeine]

86. Ha!! nt

[a la izquierda]

91. It is the only way for me...

to get home from the metro to the rural area I stay in the Netherlands. There is a bus, but if I miss it, what exactly am I supposed to do?
Plus the drivers are always nice and than me for the good fare (usually 25-30€). I can practice my basic Dutch and learn something about the place.
Taxis won’t take me out so far.