Confession Of An Uber Addict

[W_L]

I freely admit it, I am an Uber.addict

 

I love the cheap rides that are less expensive than a taxi and slightly more expensive than a bus ride, but three times as fast with fewer breakdowns.

 

I love the ability to point to a google map and say, "Take me there", like I am in the not to distant future where cars will drive themselves.

 

I love the idea of sharing rides with interesting people

 

And to top it all off, I feel like I am finally free of my constraints being unable to drive as a one eyed gay man.

 

Does anyone else want to admit their Uber addiction?

[glitteryantlers]

We don't have uber any more,a few weeks ago it was prohibited. It was said,taxi companies go bankrupt because of them, it's illegal, immoral, etc. Still we have another application, that's quite the same.

new app , what I saw yesterday is for postal services. You can volunteer to take something with you but also send something.

[Arpeggio]

Does Uber work in the boonies?

 

Edit: I totally looked it up. Why am I the last to know things?! 

Edited August 17, 2016 by Arpeggio

[drpaladin]

No one would dare drive for uber here. The city is too greedy for license fees. I just read an article where they are arresting drivers in another city for an array of offenses starting with business licenses. Typical and backward.

[Krista]

They do not have them here. We are finally starting to see Taxi services. 

[wildone]

Sorry, I don't believe Taxi's to be the money grab.

 

What I have a problem is that a bunch of people get together and say they will pick someone up, drive them somewhere, and drop them off for a fee. What a novel idea!! Oh wait, that is what a taxi cab does.

 

Taxi cabs need a certain class of license up here, they need a criminal background check with the police, they need to carry 3rd party insurance (btw, look up how many times Uber's supposed insurance has paid out for accidents that their drivers end up with no coverage from their personal insurance) and bi annual vehicle inspections.

 

Are you willing to put you grandmother/grandfather, mother etc into a vehicle where you know nothing about the driver and expect that Uber's sub par security check is enough to vouch for them? Yeah right...

 

If you want to act like a cab, then you need to pay the costs of being a cab. Period.

[DynoReads]

Although I'm in a large metroplex, I'm far enough out that you have to reserve the cab the day before and it's a minimum $20 for a ride. With the county pulling out of the rural bus service due to management embezzlement, Uber is the only other choice if you aren't on government assistance.  (Those with medicaid/medicare can get medical rides.)

[W_L]

Well, at $4.00 for a Uber Pool to work, when I paid $15 for a ride on a taxi back from Christmas party late at work, it makes sense for me.

 

Also, being legally blind, I can't drive and riding a bike is becoming just as dangerous as there are so many riders now, who ignore everything around them as they plow through the bike lanes. The Bus lines are an option, bu they are horribly managed, the buses are never on time and you can't depend on the drivers not skipping your stop if its a full bus during rush hour.

'

Basically, it works for me, but Boston also have 2 other Uber-like alternatives, "Lift" and "Fasten", as a result of demand.

[impunity]

I use Lyft. According to drivers who drive for both services, Lyft treats their drivers better. Also, the Lyft app allows you to tip.

 

I would be happy to use cabs if I lived in a city where they were easy to come by, but it's a pain in the arse to get them in Atlanta. Plus, I love the convenience of the apps.

Edited August 23, 2016 by impunity

[TetRefine]

I live in a big city where both Uber/Lyft and taxis are common. There is a mountain of difference between the two.

 

Uber or Lyft is by far and away the better service, both in quality and price. First off, Uber is ALWAYS cheaper then a cab, and even in the middle of the night can pick me up in less then 5 minutes. The cars are always clean, the drivers are nice and respectful, and they speak English. I've taken it dozens of times and never once have I had a bad experience. Its also great to not actually have to exchange money by hand. 

 

Taxis, on the other hand, are awful. They are more expensive then Uber, and a lot of times the cabbies will try and bully you into paying them in cash (which is illegal, they have to accept cards). The cars are almost always dirty, old, and smell like they haven't been aired out in a decade. They also never turn on the air or the heat even when its 100 degrees or 20 degrees. Many cabbies won't take you to parts of the city if it is too far or for whatever arbitrary reason they have. Another big thing is that almost all the cabbies in this city (and most others) are foreign born Pakistanis, Indians, Bengalis, etc., and are almost impossible to understand, if they speak English at all. 

 

Technically Uber is illegal here, but it has become so popular that the cab drivers have begun staging protests by blocking traffic at rush hour because it has destroyed their business. They brought this on themselves by offering a crappy product at an inflated price.

 

Though to be honest, I prefer to take the subway or walk over a Uber 95% of the time. 

[methodwriter85]

I used Uber for the first time. It was pretty good, and I'll definitely use it again.

[Sasha Distan]

Taxi's/uber/lyft etc are all completely useless when you own small children. or dogs. Goblin looks like a little emperor in his car seat, and lord knowns I ain't dragging that around town with me.

Our neighbours got a taxi to the airport and had to take their own carseat. I have no idea what they did with it when they got to the airport, but assuming it didn't get on the plane with them they won't be able to take a cab where they're going either.

In the UK it is illegal to drive with children under 12 who are not in a seat fitted with age-appropriate safety devices.