Uber, lyft, and side car

[sfbloodbrother]

Who here has heard of these services? Basically it's a taxi that anyone can sign up for. Make some money on your days off by driving people around town.

I recently got my brother to sign up for Lyft and he will meet with his mentor tomorrow I wish him good luck.

I would love to sign up, however I'm too young for it. Have to wait until i'm 21.

 

[dibblebill]

I've thought about signing up for Uber but I just have too much to do!

 

[MoodyBlues]

They've been big news here in LA for a while now--mostly BAD news. Just awful things like super-sized bills (thousands of dollars) and other problems.

 

[codesplice]

I haven't used any of those services, but Uber is apparently so easy a DJ can do it

 

[Gmash]

I think they are shady companies that are taking jobs away from legitimate taxi drivers, and they don't have to go through the same training or follow the same regulations that real taxi drivers do. They have been accused of many unscrupulous practices like making fake taxi calls to steal their business and trying to poach drivers from other services to join them. It's only a matter of time before something really bad happens with one of these untrained, unvetted drivers, and hopefully they will be sued or regulated out of existence.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

I think they are shady companies that are taking jobs away from legitimate taxi drivers, and they don't have to go through the same training or follow the same regulations that real taxi drivers do. They have been accused of many unscrupulous practices like making fake taxi calls to steal their business and trying to poach drivers from other services to join them. It's only a matter of time before something really bad happens with one of these untrained, unvetted drivers, and hopefully they will be sued or regulated out of existence.

Strong opinions there. I respect that.

However there is a big difference between the politics of the two. Let alone the service.

The service I always had when in a taxi was fearful. The drivers for the taxi's I've been in were intimidating drivers. They don't have a rating to worry about so it's not like they offer the best service. The car sometimes smells bad too.

For the politics, it gets worse. In some cities I don't know which ones, the city no longer licenses taxi cabs, so many drivers have to lease the vehicle out. Some pay as much as $500/month for the car, which a crown Victoria only averages 20 miles a gallon. The driver must pay for gas as well.

The taxi cab companies only allow the drivers to drive for 40 hours a week. So that limits the drivers quite a bit. Those drivers aren't able to make as much money because of the rules and regulations that politics put in place. So maybe, yes uber and other services should advance a bit more, like require a driving test, but keep politics away as much as possible. And maybe it's a good thing that taxi companies go out of business. Because they aren't doing a great job with their drivers either.

 

[mikedt]

Who here has heard of these services? Basically it's a taxi that anyone can sign up for. Make some money on your days off by driving people around town.

I recently got my brother to sign up for Lyft and he will meet with his mentor tomorrow I wish him good luck.

I would love to sign up, however I'm too young for it. Have to wait until i'm 21.

You might find a major problem though, insurance. Have a smash, and you'll very likely find that your insurance is invalid when they find out you've been carrying paying passengers. And for anyone who uses unlicensed taxis, they're usually not insured for public hire. and therefore illegal. We call them "black cabs" here in China.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

You might find a major problem though, insurance. Have a smash, and you'll very likely find that your insurance is invalid when they find out you've been carrying paying passengers. And for anyone who uses unlicensed taxis, they're usually not insured for public hire. and therefore illegal. We call them "black cabs" here in China.

I'm aware of this issue. Don't know what to make of it.

I would suggest that someone who is driving would get business insurance that way it's legal. Also to avoid the cops and give them a hard time, a commercial driving license would seem necessary.

 

[Gmash]

Strong opinions there. I respect that.

However there is a big difference between the politics of the two. Let alone the service.

The service I always had when in a taxi was fearful. The drivers for the taxi's I've been in were intimidating drivers. They don't have a rating to worry about so it's not like they offer the best service. The car sometimes smells bad too.

For the politics, it gets worse. In some cities I don't know which ones, the city no longer licenses taxi cabs, so many drivers have to lease the vehicle out. Some pay as much as $500/month for the car, which a crown Victoria only averages 20 miles a gallon. The driver must pay for gas as well.

The taxi cab companies only allow the drivers to drive for 40 hours a week. So that limits the drivers quite a bit. Those drivers aren't able to make as much money because of the rules and regulations that politics put in place. So maybe, yes uber and other services should advance a bit more, like require a driving test, but keep politics away as much as possible. And maybe it's a good thing that taxi companies go out of business. Because they aren't doing a great job with their drivers either.

Some regulations are not a bad thing. Would you want someone driving you around who's been awake for 36 hours? Would you want yourself or a loved one to get picked up at 2 AM by a serial killer or rapist due to subpar background checks?

 

[dibblebill]

Some regulations are not a bad thing. Would you want someone driving you around who's been awake for 36 hours? Would you want yourself or a loved one to get picked up at 2 AM by a serial killer or rapist due to subpar background checks?

Because laws and licenses and company-run background checks totally stop criminals from committing crimes. Keep in mind that the "official" background checks are the same ones that anybody can hire and use. The hirer doesn't make it any more or less valid. But that's a PCA topic

 

[sfbloodbrother]

Some regulations are not a bad thing. Would you want someone driving you around who's been awake for 36 hours? Would you want yourself or a loved one to get picked up at 2 AM by a serial killer or rapist due to subpar background checks?

Ets hope peoplearent that stupid to do that. Some people do however need to work 3 jobs I order to make ends meet, and with regulations some cab drivers are put in, they too work other jobs. Who knows, they too could also be asleep on the wheel. The good thing about Uber is the schedule is 100 percent yours. So you can sleep when you want.

Because laws and licenses and company-run background checks totally stop criminals from committing crimes. Keep in mind that the "official" background checks are the same ones that anybody can hire and use. The hirer doesn't make it any more or less valid. But that's a PCA topic

Uber, Lyft and side car do background checks. However they dont drug test and I think they should.

 

[dibblebill]

Uber's background checks are actually pretty in-depth. I was surprised, as I was expecting it to be creepily easy to sign up.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

Uber's background checks are actually pretty in-depth. I was surprised, as I was expecting it to be creepily easy to sign up.

Uber, Lyft, and SideCar are actually MUCH safer than a regular taxi. With a regular taxi, they are allowed to pick up any person who wants a ride. Off the street, anywhere. That's random. However with Uber, Lyft, and SideCar, this is not allowed. Fares are ONLY allowed to get a ride if the request a ride within the app, which brings me to another point. Money.

With a regular taxi, you can pay in cash, credit, debit, whatever. That way, you EXPECT the driver to have SOME money from a fare throughout the day right? Some people still use paper money, which is easy to steal because it's physical.
So, someone off the street can easily rob the driver, but a gun to him and get out, right? There goes his money. However, with these services, Uber, Lyft, SideCar, Physical money is COMPLETELY taken out of the equation, so when someone gets in the car, they don't expect the driver to have much money at all, because everything is done within the app. No physical money is required.

And if something were to happen, you basically have all the information on the driver, and the passenger within the app. You have their first and maybe last name. Phone number. Vehicle make, model, year, color, and licence plate number, within the app. Say, if the driver wants to rob the passenger, the passenger already knows the basic information about the driver. Easily send an email to Uber, Lyft, SideCar, and say, hey, this guy robbed me.

I feel safer with these services, because they are less random, and more predictable than any taxi.

 

[dibblebill]

Uber, Lyft, and SideCar are actually MUCH safer than a regular taxi. With a regular taxi, they are allowed to pick up any person who wants a ride. Off the street, anywhere. That's random. However with Uber, Lyft, and SideCar, this is not allowed. Fares are ONLY allowed to get a ride if the request a ride within the app, which brings me to another point. Money.

With a regular taxi, you can pay in cash, credit, debit, whatever. That way, you EXPECT the driver to have SOME money from a fare throughout the day right? Some people still use paper money, which is easy to steal because it's physical.
So, someone off the street can easily rob the driver, but a gun to him and get out, right? There goes his money. However, with these services, Uber, Lyft, SideCar, Physical money is COMPLETELY taken out of the equation, so when someone gets in the car, they don't expect the driver to have much money at all, because everything is done within the app. No physical money is required.

And if something were to happen, you basically have all the information on the driver, and the passenger within the app. You have their first and maybe last name. Phone number. Vehicle make, model, year, color, and licence plate number, within the app. Say, if the driver wants to rob the passenger, the passenger already knows the basic information about the driver. Easily send an email to Uber, Lyft, SideCar, and say, hey, this guy robbed me.

I feel safer with these services, because they are less random, and more predictable than any taxi.

"But think of the taxi drivers!" - Germany

 

[sfbloodbrother]

"But think of the taxi drivers!" - Germany

Actually, I have been looking at Taxi's for a while now. Many of them come through the drive thru (Through) at McDonalds. Many of them are Uber Drivers. I can tell because they have the [Required] Uber tag on their car. That's telling me that they (taxi drivers) do in fact see potential in Uber.

I haven't seen any with a pink mustash on the grill yet.

 

[Gmash]

I don't know about big city Chicago, but I haven't had any problems with taxis around here. But I only take them when I'm drunk, so maybe I didn't notice lol.

 

[dibblebill]

Actually, I have been looking at Taxi's for a while now. Many of them come through the drive thru (Through) at McDonalds. Many of them are Uber Drivers. I can tell because they have the [Required] Uber tag on their car. That's telling me that they (taxi drivers) do in fact see potential in Uber.

I haven't seen any with a pink mustash on the grill yet.

I have.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

I have.

Haha, that's soon to be my brother.

However he got rejected from insurance because his car had the wrong VIN number because the dealership screwed up... That's why I won't buy from them.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

My brother got approved to be a driver.

So, soon he'll be driving for Lyft.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

I've been thinking that in the year 2017 when Tesla comes out with their model 3 car, that I can use that car to be a driver. The good thing about that is the car will have an unlimited mile warranty like the model s. There will be no cost of fueling the car, because Tesla charging will always be free forever. That's their promise.

The bad, driving 50,000 miles a year will definitely take its toll on the battery. And chatting takes like an hour for a full charge.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Gmash]

I've been thinking that in the year 2017 when Tesla comes out with their model 3 car, that I can use that car to be a driver. The good thing about that is the car will have an unlimited mile warranty like the model s. There will be no cost of fueling the car, because Tesla charging will always be free forever. That's their promise.

The bad, driving 50,000 miles a year will definitely take its toll on the battery. And chatting takes like an hour for a full charge.

What are your thoughts?

2017 Tesla Model 3 Starting Price: $50,000, According To A Sobering Report On Tesla’s Future Challenges

^
If that article is correct, it will either cost $50,000 or only have a 200 mile range. Either one seems to make it impractical for taxi service.
Regardless, if we keep fracking the hell out of the country, which is more than likely, the oil companies will probably manage to keep gas prices low enough to stop electric cars from being viable. Thus they will kill the electric car for at least another generation.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

2017 Tesla Model 3 Starting Price: $50,000, According To A Sobering Report On Tesla’s Future Challenges

^
If that article is correct, it will either cost $50,000 or only have a 200 mile range. Either one seems to make it impractical for taxi service.
Regardless, if we keep fracking the hell out of the country, which is more than likely, the oil companies will probably manage to keep gas prices low enough to stop electric cars from being viable. Thus they will kill the electric car for at least another generation.

haha, that's so true. You're probably right. Tesla aims for $35,000 but that's hard when they build Premium Sedans.

However, Nissan has really taken the toll for creating a electric car. The new 2015 Lead can go up to (Top) 120 miles. However that doesn't seem viable for a taxi service... Take 2 rides, and have to charge up for an hour to two hours? Buying a $50,000 car just to drive people around doesn't seem likely, unless I lived in the car, spend 14 hours a day driving, making $8,000 a month, then hell yeah it may be worth it.

Tesla is premium start up by a single man, and I think that somewhere along the line, Detroit or Japan will do something that will actually be viable for the industry.

The more and more oil becomes in need, the more and more I think the world is going to end like it happens in the Fallout series. Happening in Alaska, in the year 2077. America vs China, and we both lose.

 

[mikedt]

Thing with a taxi, there's particular usage. Often it's stop start, stop start, stop start, with picking up and dropping off passengers, does the 200 mile range of a Tesla cover that? Also if got to spend an hour or two charging, it's not working and making the money. Some vehicles that are used for taxi work are on the go 24 hours a day, and they just change drivers. Some places they're using hybrids now, either electric and diesel, or LPG and diesel, or even pure LPG, e.g. Hong Kong. Some cities have electric pedicabs, but these only really do the local neighbourhoods, rather than covering the whole city like regular taxis.

In London and other major UK cities, new black cabs can cost equivalent of $50,000. But then these are purpose made as taxis and are diesel or LPG. Also in the UK, a taxi has to be disabled accessible, i.e. it has to be able to take someone in a wheelchair.

In China they're often using VW Santanas or Toyota Crown Comforts as taxis.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

The crown Victoria has been an American car that is used for so many taxis and police cars. Why is that?

 

[dibblebill]

Reliability and price, I believe. Other than that, I don't know. I know they were supposed to be good for 200,000 miles or so.