Pretty much exactly my experience, and I live two miles from an airport. I figure that the taxis just can’t be arsed to pick up a fare for such a short ride, so I’ve been left waiting and wondering what in the fuck happened to the taxi I ordered on multiple occasions, and calling back the taxi dispatch has never left me any wiser. Both Uber and Lyft–never a problem. Never. Always arrive within 5-7 minutes, since, you know I live by an airport so there’s always fricking cars around. With Yellow Taxi? I’ve been stuck waiting for 30-45 minutes, and then ending up calling another cab company because the cab never shows up and I have no idea whether it’s really on its way or not. Screw 'em.
You are so wrong, you’re not even in the same county as correct.
I started driving for Uber in early February and for Lyft about two weeks ago. My riders are very normal people. They are people who might not own a car, or who do but it’s in the shop. Or they are folks from out of town. Or they are folks who just don’t want to screw around with driving today.
They are just folks.
The taxis here are all clean, and I’ve never had to wait more than a few minutes. And that’s if I haven’t already arranged ahead of time for one to pick me up at a certain time. And from what I can tell, there’s not much of a price difference, if any. I guess we’re lucky here.
Maybe he was right 3 years ago when this thread started. I know I had only just heard of these services late 2014. That was normal back then and those mustaches on cars were a puzzle to me.
Update: Lyft no longer sucks.
They read my thread and decided to get their shit together, but it was dicey in the beginning.
I’ve taken Uber a few times in various cities and I’m impressed with the service. Nice drivers, quick service, convenient and affordable. What’s not to like?
Before getting her drivers license, my oldest daughter and her friends used Uber as their primary mode of weekend transportation. One of them would order the car, then the driver would pick each kid up at their home then drive them en masse to, let’s say, a pizza joint. With bellies full, they’d order another Uber to take them them to perhaps the mall and maybe one or two additional stops after that until finally depositing each child safely back to their homes. A few short Uber trips is surprisingly affordable when split between multiple friends.
You’re supposed to be 18 yo to have an Uber account, but these pre-18 teens never got denied service. Safety? Heck, I’d be more concerned about the driver’s safety if he ever got out of line—my daughter and her friends are a far cry from wilting flowers.
I was more worried about the infrequent times my ex drove the girls (“hey, Dad, mom hit a car in the parking lot again, then sped off like a bat out of hell—it was a scary drive back!”)
I’m even more worried now that my oldest is a licensed driver. That girl has a foot of lead and balls of steel.
My youngest daughter (15) and her friends are too timid to take Uber:
Daughter: “Hey Dad, can you drive me and my friends to the mall?”
Me: “Aw, c’mon, I was just getting ready to watch an Andy Griffith Show re-run…that Barney, he was a real hoot…they don’t make comedy shows like that anymore…”
Daughter: *“That’s lame, Dad. C’mon, you’ll take us, right?”
*
Me: “…yeah sure, let’s go.” [grumble] why can’t you kids take Uber like your sister and her friends used to do? [/grumble]
And, I think it may be a long time before my youngest gets her drivers license. The last time I gave her a driving lesson, she crashed through our garage door. That was a $1000+ lesson…for me.
Wow. Re-reading this thread I realized how much of a perfect encapsulation/near-parody-but-sadly-not of a Straight Dope thread this is. Classic.
You realize you’re arguing with a three-year-old catfish at this point?
Gatopescado has had three years to maybe change his mind. Considering the vehemence of his opinion so long ago, I’d be curious if he’d give us a 2018 update.
The Lyft time machine app sucks even more than their ride app.
It’s like a time capsule. I’m truly surprised it’s only three years old. I’d have pegged “thread where people complain about those useless, new-fangled ride-sharing services” as being well over five years old.
Yes, you’re lucky. Taxis in NYC, Seattle, Vegas, and D.C. (my most recent cab experiences) have been uniformly terrible. Driver on the phone the whole time, driving terribly, smelly cars, etc. Every Uber ride I’ve taken has been like a limo by comparison (but not actually a limo–although I usually opt for Uber Black Car). I also like the 'flat fee" instead of a meter, so I don’t have to worry about being taken for a ride.
Back when I lived in Bozeman, the airport was the only way to go anywhere out of town, and I never needed a car for anything else, so I just took the taxi whenever I was going to the airport. Until one time when I called for the taxi four hours in advance, and it still didn’t come on time, and I called again after they were supposed to pick me up and weren’t there, and it was over an hour after that yet before they showed up, and when I missed my flight, all I got from them was a “Sorry to hear that”: No waiving of the fare, not even a free ride back to town (since I wasn’t flying anywhere that day).
Oh, and the phone book listed three taxi companies, but they were all the same company, just with three different names. So it’s not like I could just use a different company.
Since then, I started hitchhiking instead, which worked much better. But if Uber or Lyft had existed back then, and I had a smartphone, I would have absolutely used it instead.
Sure, why not?
Still never used either service. Still don’t know anybody that has.
I guess it makes sense if you live in an urban environment, but it’s just not a thing here. Whatever. I guess “normal people” use taxis, so why not catch a ride with a random stranger and save a buck or two? Me? I’m happy to drive myself. See, we can just all get along.
I regret ever posting in this thread to begin with. But if I didn’t, it wouldn’t be what it is, now would it? 
Oddly enough, this post sounds best when read while Bob James’ Angela plays in the background.
I’ve noticed that things take a while to bubble to the surface here on the Dope.
This seems to be the case in a lot of areas. Lots of taxi names and phone numbers, but only one or two different cab companies.
As for the Lyft vs. Uber thing, most of the time drivers are now driving for both services at the same time. I’m not a heavy user, but I usually ask “do you drive for both Uber and Lyft?”, and most of the time they say the do and have both apps running at the same time and pick up riders from whichever one has a convenient pickup next. Frankly, I don’t see any meaningful difference. It all depends on the time of day, demand and pricing when you look.
Actually, with Lyft or Uber, you’re not getting in the car with a stranger. You receive the driver’s name, contact info and license plate through the app and there’s an electronic record of the transaction; the driver knows who you are and the passenger knows who the driver is. With a cab, you stick your hand up and a guy stops, maybe he has his license posted, maybe you remember to look at it.
As for driving yourself, don’t you ever want to go have drinks at dinner, or go to a bar?
FWIW, reasons I (or my college-aged kids) use Uber/Lyft
- Travel to the airport or train station when I don’t want to leave my car
- Travel when away and I didn’t rent a car
- When out drinking and don’t want to worry about driving even a little bit impaired.
- Meeting someone at a venue and then going out with them from there
Very convenient! Not every time has been a good experience, but overall better than average. Plus we set up a family account, so if my kids are ever somewhere they need to get a ride ASAP (driver is drinking, someone they are out with is harassing them etc) they can use our account, it’s charged to me, and they don’t have to figure out if there is a local cab company around. That’s a big peace of mind.
Interestingly enough, the local taxi company is now advertising an app. I’ve since gotten over my distaste of Lyft’s old symbolism, and Uber has since done sketchy things, but I’d rather use either than a taxi company. Although the local one is better than most.
I don’t think he lives anywhere with much Uber/Lyft saturation, nor taxis. I’ve probably drank at some of those bars, too. Even small cities have these services now, but it’s easy to take it for granted even though lots of places don’t have them.
For a ride, if the thumb or foot is not a option and mass transit doesn’t work then Lyft first, Uber second cab 3rd. Lyft first in this as I don’t like Ubers business practices and I like the ability to tip the driver on app, but will quickly switch to Uber if Lyft doesn’t have the ride I need in the time I want. Taxi’s are a fall back.