Exactly. I just lament the degree to which people are addicted to their smartphones, and frankly I actively resent the extent to which service providers just assume that everyone has a data-enabled smartphone and require it to access their services. If, for example, taxis existed long before the invention of automobiles using carriages powered by engines called “horses”, and still exist a century and a half later, why is it now mandatory to have a smartphone “app” to summon an Uber?
Speaking of newfangled technology and “apps”, I dearly love my tablet which I use to watch movies and TV shows, get news, and sometimes to haunt the SDMB in the wee hours when I’m in bed. Whenever I get into bed at night or wake up in the morning, I automatically reach for it, a fact I realized recently when I couldn’t find it among the mess of bedding. But, on the subject of “apps”, Firefox for Windows is a fine browser, but Firefox for Android is a piece of shit.
No, I was thinking of this kind of insane concept: pick up the phone (you know what a phone is, right, a thing that you talk into) and ask for a taxi to be sent to your address. Is that so completely crazy that it’s no longer operative in today’s world? Or at least, is unacceptable to Uber?
I’ve used Uber exactly once in my life. When I bought a car from the ex-wife, she offered to send an Uber for me to come pick it up. I said, thanks, but I’ll just call a local taxi.
The taxi service said it would be at least half an hour and quoted a pretty exorbitant cost because the destination was out of town. The wife just ordered an Uber for me which arrived in less than three minutes, She automagically paid for it somehow, but I gather that it was very much cheaper than the taxi would have been.
So I acknowledge the innovation and efficiency of the Uber concept. I just don’t get why a smartphone “app” is so integral to their business. The pizza chain “Pizza Pizza” innovated the concept that you dial one single toll-free number wherever you are, and it connects you to the nearest local pizzeria. This is useful innovation that doesn’t require fancy technology at the user end.
Part of the magic of Uber is that it’s not a centralized service. When you request a ride from your location, the app knows where every single driver is and offers reasonable candidates the chance to accept the trip.
A bunch of semi complicated stuff happens on the backend to figure out which accepting driver gets awarded the work, and it incorporates a lot of predictive knowledge about where rides will be needed from in the near future and tries to balance things out.
It’s probably much more complicated even than that, but I know the magic of it is that it’s not a dispatcher just picking out a car to send to you.
Taxis have a dispatcher and you can talk to them. Uber doesn’t. It’s all through the app that the drivers and the customers use. No middleman. Pretty much none of their users want that and find the app significantly easier. Wanting real person who would enter information in the app for you isn’t feasible.
I’ve had my iPhone for several years now. I take it with me when I go on my urban hikes, in case I get sideswiped by a car or sprain my ankle or whatever. And I took it with me today when I went to turn in our car for inspection, so I could hail an Uber to take me home.
I have an actual phone number for Uber, by the way, to make up for the fact that I don’t have a data plan attached to this phone. I call them, tell them what address to pick me up at, and what address I want to be taken to.
It still spends most of its life next to my computer plugged into the charging cable, and today, as is typical, my iPhone informed me that I’d spent an average of 1 minute per day using it.
I do not have a smartphone, and I do not want a smartphone. I have a flip phone that can access the internet but I choose not to use the internet access, ever. I refuse to be forced to have a smartphone. If I can’t do it without a smartphone, I look for a workaround, but if there is no workaround, I just do not do the thing. There are companies from whom I will not buy event tickets, because they insist I have to show my ticket on a smartphone – so I don’t go to those events. For curbside pickup I just call the store, say I’m outside for pickup but do not have a smartphone, and they bring the stuff out to me. Sometimes I have to wait a longish time for them to pick up. I am told that it is very very inconvenient to go on a cruise without a smartphone these days. I’m not in a position to go on a cruise right now, but when I am, I will inquire as to whether I really need a smartphone. It is frustrating sometimes, but it is doable. This video is helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNm-vYWepn0&t=1s
There are taxi services that have an app now. Haven’t downloaded/setup/used to know if it’s like Uber/Lyft or it’s just a way to get to a dispatcher w/o making a phone call.
I never knew you could do this. What did you do, set up an account on your PC & then just call them when you want one?
Definitely. I’m sure they all do now. They really missed the boat by not getting into that early.
I’m also surprised that Uber had a phone number. I guess that they can’t possibly be an objection to them now.
Getting a taxi at LAX used to be a fucking nightmare. They’d have to wait for a long time to get a fare. The riders would have to wait a long time to get a taxi. Often the driver would throw a fucking tantrum if you only had to be taken a short distance away like where I grew up. I’d give great tip if they didn’t act like pricks which was only about half the time. That’s not to mention the old taxi monopolies in places like NYC. Now with Uber someone can choose the short trip or not and there is significantly less bullshit and abuse.
Taxis were typically old, beat up PD cars & many times driven by immigrants. It was a shitty starter job in run down vehicles. Right, wrong or indifferent, there was extra regulation for taxis over & above what it was to own a private vehicle. The driver was licensed, the taxi itself had to have a medallion, they required twice a year inspections where private vehicles only had to do that once a year. Then somehow someone came up with an app to allow private citizens to be part-time taxi drivers & all of those requirements were sidestepped. I’m still not sure how it’s legal as the ability of technology shouldn’t negate government regulations. Some cities/states tried to ban them but eventually everyone caved in. I’m not surprised the taxi industry didn’t think the various governments would swat them down; especially because it meant loss of some revenue to the government
I also don’t think a lot of the drivers realize the true cost of using their own asset; when kidlet was driving for DD I sat him down & made him do the math; basically 50% of his income should go towards vehicle maintenance & replacement of wear items, oil, tires, brakes, & eventually, a new vehicle & a more expensive, hybrid insurance policy because the vehicle is now being used commercially for some part of it’s existence.
An app may have cut the cost of a dispatcher but that shouldn’t have been a significant part of a taxi ride yet anyone who’s using rideshare services is almost universally being driven around in a newer, better car that what a traditional taxi was.
Not only that, according to an email they sent me recently, you can even pay for your Uber ride with cash now. Although drivers don’t make change. If you overpay you just get a credit in your Uber account towards another ride.
As someone who went from taking a taxi to/from LAX to taking Uber/Lyft, I can attest to the immediate advatages I saw with Uber/Lyft:
Pre-negotiated fare. Ever been in a cab and wondered if you weren’t being taken the longway 'round? Even as a local, I hated having to get in an argument with the cab driver to assure we were taking a reasonable route.
The driver always knows the destination and how to get there. I can’t tell you how many times I had to instruct a novice cab driver on turn by turn directions to get me home, and I only live about 20 minutes from LAX! It was also a ride share blessing to have provided an address when I ordered and not worrying about staying alert to avoid ending up in some odd place because of miscommunication or mishearing.
No cash, no waiting for the driver to run a credit card. Internationally, I still run into taxi drivers who seemingly have never heard of payment by credit card, though less so in the US. Plus, if you’re paranoid about someone skimming your information, the last thing you want to do is hand your card to someone sitting in the front seat and performing actions you can’t see.
No lost or weird receipts. With the ride-shares, when I get back home, the receipt is ready for upload for business reimbursement (or just my own records). No paper to lose or weird cards with a couple of scribble on them for me to fill in things like the fare and the destination.
As someone who travels both extensively and professionally, the ride share services were a giant step forward and I’m glad to hear the taxi companies are finally getting with it.
This type of driving is good as a stop gap between jobs or if you have a month or two with lower hours than normal but it’s not a career for this exact reason. I have had a small few people tell me that if you know how to game it, it can be profitable in the long run. I can believe that but that is more of an edge case.
