Passengers from hell? Complaints or suggestions for Uber and Lyft? Glaring problem with the industry? Do you have stories of your horrible experiences with rideshare services? Leave your comments here and share your stories.
Taxi Driver - Boston
I've been a taxi driver for 20+ years now. Been in Boston the whole time. I'd like to think I have open mind and am not against signing up for Uber. Just haven't had the chance yet. Oh, I don't own a car, so how do I do that?
So, we used to hear the feud between Uber and Taxi quite a bit in the past, but I feel like I don't hear about it much.
Even London and Austin, which were supposed to be the holdouts, seems to be quiet now. So...what happened? Is taxi done? I still see many, and there doesn't seem to be big changes coming.
RIDEGURU
Comments
I have done taxi, uber, lyft for years. In the past year or so the taxi has skyrocketed.
In the city and airport I get flagged down 10-12 times a day.
I still run old school top light & meter full insurance.
The airport police even flag me to park at the front door to wait to pickup.
There are plenty of areas where there are no Uber drivers available.
Will Uber eventually get there? maybe, but only the its concepts. By then, Uber and Taxis will be synonymous. Yep, I am in that camp.
Welll, like I said in the past, the whole industry will collapse back into a single entity. Taxis and Ubers will come together. At the end of the day, physical cars, drivers, apps, and people are all fluid. They will go to whatever services are dominant.
So, in a few years, they will all be the same. That rest is about what people will be calling it.
Taxis won't completely disappear. There will always be needs for taxi stands, airports, etc.
There were good and bad parts about the taxin industry. The bad was the medallion system and the fact that few people could own them. It should have been purely a licensing model, where it couldn't be owned or sold or whatever. So, that market has collapsed, and without the big wigs owning these medallions and assets, the industry got streamlined, I think. Drivers and dispatchers still make money.
Oh, I should add that this probably depend on the market you are in.
I think they gave up. Many drivers have moved over to Uber and Lyft. The biggest hurdle was that they didn't own cars (taxis are leased), but that also seems to have a solution as almost anyone rent from these rideshare companies now.
Medallions are being sold off in auctions and bankruptcy courts.
No government officials stood up and fought Uber. Regulations have not been adjusted, and the fares have not been adjusted, as far as I can tell. No helping hands to the drivers or company owners.
The reason you don't hear about it now is that people either left or gave up. Sad, yes.
Where have you been this whole time? Taxi drivers were committing suicides, dispatch offices closed, and London officials said Uber can continue to operate anywhere.
Like another poster said, most drivers have just migrated over. They go wherever the money is. (Which is natural and totally fine)
Just posted this thread: https://ride.guru/lounge/p/lyft-and-uber-serve-low-income-communities-better-than-taxis
It talks about how Uber/Lyft are doing so much better at serving low income neighborhoods. I get the plight of taxi drivers but if you do not adapt you will lose.