Community Chat

[LilacTree]

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@makena wrote:

http://uberestimate.com/about-uber/

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@makena

Thanks, makena.  Sometimes I don't think of that.  Of course it explained everything!

[LilacTree]

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@ChynnaBlue wrote:

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@ValuSkr wrote:

Taxi drivers can also own their own cars, or they work for a business that owns them.

The main difference is that taxis are regulated but Uber (and Lyft and others) are not.  They need to be licensed and they pay an annual fee, oftentimes large amounts, to the regulatory authority.  They may also be required to perform background checks on their drivers (not sure about that!).  There may be caps on how much they can charge.  On the other hand, Uber isn't regulated so anything goes.  But, obviously, it's going well and people are generally happy with thm.

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The many lawsuits Uber has lost say otherwise, as do the rape charges against their drivers and the horrible sexual harassment allegations to come out of their offices.

Uber takes advantage of their drivers and has lost a $100 million lawsuit because of the way they misclassified drivers. They also make all kinds of cuts to fares that eat away at how much drivers earn. Drivers have held protests across the country and there have been other lawsuits, as well.

Uber and Lyft both refused to have their drivers fingerprinted in my city. Things got uglier than you could possibly believe. Uber attempted to have a sitting city councilwoman recalled because she supported the fingerprinting rule. The council had it put on the ballot as a proposition and Uber and Lyft spent over 10 million dollars to try and get the fingerprint rule tossed. They had some of the most misleading advertising I have ever seen in a political campaign. They had people going door to door and there were videos of people harassing homeowners who did not support the initiative. The city even offered to pay for the fingerprinting, but Uber and Lyft just didn't want to. They said it might scare potential drivers away. They said that if the outcome wasn't what they wanted - no fingerprinting - they would leave the city. They lost and they left, leaving all their drivers without job. Uber spent more on trying to prevent their drivers from being fingerprinted than they would have on fingerprinting all their drivers. They tried to buy an election and we said no. 

Both Uber and Lyft have had drivers charged with rape here in Austin, so yeah, we wanted them fingerprinted. Uber, meanwhile, has made news for covering up rape allegations against their drivers.

And now Uber is under fire for sexual harassment charges by many former female employees who have very compelling and distressing stories.

Uber has a serious ethics problem.

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@ChynnaBlue

Not surprised.  It's what I thought.  Unsafe.

[ladyroxanne]

i have a friend/neighbor who has used uber in the last 2 weeks and has been very satisfied.  i have no doubt there are problems as with everything.

[ladyroxanne]

@ChynnaBlue

i certainly don't have statistics, but what about regular taxi drivers?  are they any different?

[ChynnaBlue]

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@ladyroxanne wrote:

@ChynnaBlue

i certainly don't have statistics, but what about regular taxi drivers?  are they any different?

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Different in what regard?

[jaxs mom]

I'm not sure what you guys are talking about regarding highly inflated prices without notice. The price is right there in the ap when you book your ride and you can choose the type of vehicle you want, luxury cars are more, but it's all there in black in white. Plus you prepay anyway. Some problems have occured from people getting in cars that they think are their uber but aren't. But it's on you to pay attention what car you get into. 

[Noel7]

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@jaxs mom wrote:

I'm not sure what you guys are talking about regarding highly inflated prices without notice. The price is right there in the ap when you book your ride and you can choose the type of vehicle you want, luxury cars are more, but it's all there in black in white. Plus you prepay anyway. Some problems have occured from people getting in cars that they think are their uber but aren't. But it's on you to pay attention what car you get into. 

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@jaxs mom

Your ride home from work could be $20 one day, another day it could be $200, and no, they don't always post it.  It's been going on here for some time, most people find out about their bizarre price hikes for a day by way of the local news warning people on the air.

[Stray]

I use Uber quite frequently, only yesterday.  The drivers have always been nice, some quieter than others, cars are neat and clean.  My driver, yesterday, discussed his background check (I am in NJ) and he was quite pleased with the financial arrangement. Your fare is right there and you must accept your ride and if you encounter traffic, as we have done many times, your fare doesn't change.  However, you may see a higher fare during surge periods but then, too you must accept the ride but it won't go past that fare, once you enter the car. 

Maybe different states have different policies??? But, I am quite pleased with Uber

[Noel7]

Article here about Uber's Surge pricing, and how even the driver's hate it, especially during emergencies.

Their company is bad for women, drivers and passengers.  They seem to have no ethics.  There was a report the other night about something called Grey Something, another illegal practice they were caught doing and admitted to it.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to financially support any company this unethical, and a company that will not check the backgrounds of their drivers, even knowing that women riders have been raped by some drivers:

https://www.cnet.com/news/detest-ubers-surge-pricing-some-drivers-dont-like-it-either/

[Noel7]

Deaths and Assaults involving Uber and Lyft:

http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/rideshare-incidents