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Right. I never understand people nowadays freaking out over getting into a car with a stranger driving when they've been doing that with cabs forever.
The cars being clearly marked is a thing, but not 'getting into a car with a stranger'.
Yes, unless you've ridden with a particular cab driver before, he is a stranger to you, but the difference is that cab drivers need to be licensed to do what they do (they need a special permit from the city and/or county in which they drive), whereas Uber and Lyft drivers do not. Uber and Lyft will accept just about anyone to drive for them. A good taxi service will do a more thorough background check on someone before hiring them than Uber or Lyft does. With a cab service, you may need to present evidence that you've taken a defensive driving class recently to get your taxi license/permit. Uber does not require this.
Uber also does not require drug testing before hiring someone.
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Originally Posted by Arcenal352
This is ridiculous.
As discussed in a previous post already, it is MUCH safer to ride in today's Uber/Lyft than it is to ride in a cab. Too many reasons to list, but one that also hasn't been mentioned: When you call Uber/Lyft, you know when the driver is coming, and can track the exact location. So no need to wait outside at the curb hoping that a cab will happen to drive by.
You can also share live location/ETA with friends through the app.
As I said in my reply above, I don't know why people think it is safer to ride in an Uber/Lyft than it is to ride in a taxicab. Uber and Lyft drivers are for the most part people who are driving part-time to pick up extra cash. They're NOT professional drivers like a cab or car service driver. They don't need any special training to get hired, they don't need a special license (other than a regular driver's license), and they aren't drug tested. Their driving skills and style are not evaluated by Uber or Lyft prior to be allowed to pick up customers. What other job do you know of where you can be hired without even a face-to-face interview with a company? Uber and Lyft hire people they have never met, and only do a cursory background check (without fingerprinting) before they hire someone to drive for them. I don't know if this is true in the SLC area, but I do know that in NYC, cab drivers are required to display their taxi license, complete with the driver's first and last names, the driver's photo and the license number, visibly in the front interior of the taxi. With Uber and Lyft, you get to see a photo that the driver chose (which is rather small), and you are only provided with the driver's first name.
BTW, there are some cab companies that have smartphone apps that allow you to reserve a car and follow the progress of the car as it makes its way to your pickup location, just like Uber and Lyft do.
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Originally Posted by Hulsker 1856
Cab drivers are total strangers.
Bus drivers - not to mention the passengers - are total strangers.
Walk into a shop and you're the only customer? You're alone with a total stranger.
See my comments above. Cab drivers and bus drivers are PROFESSIONALS, Uber/Lyft drivers are not. As someone who has worked for the Utah Transit Authority here in Salt Lake, I can tell you that there is a lengthy process that someone has to go through before he or she is allowed to operate a bus, light rail or commuter rail train or paratransit vehicle carrying passengers. Classroom and field training is done for each job, and you won't be allowed to carry any passengers until your skills have been evaluated by a senior operator first. You have to pass a Department of Transportation physical, including a vision test, hearing test and drug test. Uber and Lyft does NONE of this before sending a new driver out on the road to pick up customers!
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Originally Posted by Arcenal352
Exactly.
Uber/Lyft are basically just modern-day cabs.
I use Uber very frequently. I always check the license plate prior to entering. There is also a picture of the driver on the app to help confirm his/her identity. The proper safety measures are there. Whether people chose to observe/follow these is a different matter. I guess the fact that a lot of people using these services are drunk doesn't help.
I disagree. Most people that drive cabs do so as their profession, not as a "side hustle" like Uber and Lyft.
I've already stated how easy it is to get a job as a driver for Uber and Lyft. Their hiring process is a joke, really. If the proper safety measures are there as you say, then why do so many Uber and Lyft drivers still think that they can get away with doing inappropriate and/or illegal things to their passengers? (Yes, I do realize that in this particular case, the man who picked up the young woman was not an actual Uber driver but was pretending to be one.)
There is actually a website that lists all of the incidents that have occurred where Uber and Lyft drivers have assaulted, kidnapped or raped their passengers, but because CD will not allow me to post links to other websites, I can't mention the site here.
It's nice to see one poster (codergirl) gets it. Yeah, cab drivers are strangers who have been fingerprinted and had a background check. Uber does nothing so they can make as much money as possible. Maybe people will wise up after this and take taxis. But Uber is a little cheaper sometimes, so go ahead and risk your life to save a few cents.
Exactly! There is a huge difference between a professional taxi or car service/limo driver and an Uber or Lyft driver, but people just think that a driver is a driver, and all they look at is how much the ride is going to cost them and choose Uber or Lyft because they're the cheapest way to get from point A to point B.
There's are reasons why Uber and Lyft can afford to offer rides at such low prices, and the fact that they do no training or ride checks before hiring their contractors and don't do a proper background check before hiring someone are among them.
Lol, Uber had nothing to do with this, yet getting blamed, goodness.
Sorry, but she has the location, vehicle description, name, and license number to verify for ride, that is plenty, she did none of it, and well, the worse case scenario happened.
Uber, Lyft, greatest things that have happened to transportation.
I think the passenger should receive a code and prior to getting in the car, the driver should have that same code.
She already had the car's license plate number, and a description of the car, and the driver's first name. Obviously she checked none of them before getting into the murderer's car. If she is given an additional code, what makes you think she would check that either?
Yeah, cab drivers are strangers who have been fingerprinted and had a background check. Uber does nothing
Uber (and Lyft) do background checks.
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so they can make as much money as possible.
I see codergirl isn't the only one hysterical.
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Maybe people will wise up after this and take taxis.
Maybe they'll use the simple safety precautions Uber provides. They likely would have prevented this tragedy, and that girl would still be alive and safe.
When someone calls for an Uber ride, Uber sends them the name of the driver, a description of the car he's driving, and the license plate number. This is done expressly to avoid such horrible crimes as this one.
But it only works if the rider checks them, and compares the description and plate no. to the car that pulls up.
I drive Uber. And when someone wants a ride, Uber always sends me the rider's first name. And when I arrive to pick them up, I always say before they get in the car, "Hi, I'm Charles the Uber driver, and I'm looking for Denise."
Riders should always at least check the name of the Uber driver that Uber sends. A crook wouldn't know the name of the driver to give them, and wouldn't know the rider's first name unless he was standing next to the rider when they called for Uber.
Anything else Uber should do to help with security?
Sure, now give me the percentages of the uber customers that do the blue security measures EVERYTIME they get a UBER. Below is probably what is typical for what happens, when most Uber drivers pull up to their pickup.
Uber sends them the name of the driver.... The uber driver pulls up and rolls down the window. The pick up is in a hurry and before the driver can even speak the rider says " Are you Bob ? Driver… "Yep, That's me, get in and lets go". ( No bad guy would lie about their name, now would they ?)
license plate number.... Sure, the pick up is going to walk around behind or in front of the car, (during the cold, snowy, raining, windy conditions?) hold their phone up and check the plates while comparing them to the number on their phone EVERY time, they use UBER.
description of the car he's driving.....Have you noticed how many millions of cars that look alike now ? And females are supposed know one from the other ? Many of them have badges on them that even I a 66 year old male, cannot find nowadays without walking around the vehicle 360 degrees.
So if a pickup just fails to do the uber security policies in blue above 50% of the time they get a uber, then sooner or later, there is a higher percentage of chance the pickup, could be a fake uber driver.
At least with a yellow checker cab, the bad guy preying on women will have to steal one and then it will be reported to the police. Sure a yellow cabbie can end up being a bad guy, but I am talking about the law of averages here being used to compare....
One yellow Checker taxi driver that is a bad guy VS one bad guy posing to be a legit uber driver. Because it is peoples nature once doing something over and over like calling for personal hired transport, to get LAX in them adhering to any security measure put in place for them.
And when people do the same events over and over , they also get too complacent while not using their MOST important attribute that will help keep them safer...their SA = "Situational Awareness" instincts. JMO
The person gets the name, license plate, make/model of car, and picture of driver, and there is a sign in the front displaying "Uber/Lyft". What else more is needed? Nothing, there is a point in life where a person must actually make an effort.
Sure, now give me the percentages of the uber customers that do the blue security measures EVERYTIME they get a UBER. Below is probably what is typical for what happens, when most Uber drivers pull up to their pickup.
Uber sends them the name of the driver.... The uber driver pulls up and rolls down the window. The pick up is in a hurry and before the driver can even speak the rider says " Are you Bob ? Driver… "Yep, That's me, get in and lets go". ( No bad guy would lie about their name, now would they ?)
license plate number.... Sure, the pick up is going to walk around behind or in front of the car, (during the cold, snowy, raining, windy conditions?) hold their phone up and check the plates while comparing them to the number on their phone EVERY time, they use UBER.
description of the car he's driving.....Have you noticed how many millions of cars that look alike now ? And females are supposed know one from the other ? Many of them have badges on them that even I a 66 year old male, cannot find nowadays without walking around the vehicle 360 degrees.
So if a pickup just fails to do the uber security policies in blue above 50% of the time they get a uber, then sooner or later, there is a higher percentage of chance the pickup, could be a fake uber driver.
At least with a yellow checker cab, the bad guy preying on women will have to steal one and then it will be reported to the police. Sure a yellow cabbie can end up being a bad guy, but I am talking about the law of averages here being used to compare....
One yellow Checker taxi driver that is a bad guy VS one bad guy posing to be a legit uber driver. Because it is peoples nature once doing something over and over like calling for personal hired transport, to get LAX in them adhering to any security measure put in place for them.
And when people do the same events over and over , they also get too complacent while not using their MOST important attribute that will help keep them safer...their SA = "Situational Awareness" instincts. JMO
Yup, excellent points.
It's not just Uber/Lyft riders, but with many things in life people become complacent and either fall into a comfort zone, or live life with a false sense of security that nothing bad will ever happen to them ("sucks to be him/her, but won't happen to me').
I'd say that many Uber/Lyft riders fail to do basic safety checks when being picked up (despite what some on this forum will adamantly lecture you about how they always do a six point security verification check before getting in an Uber ride). I've used Uber several times, and outside of tracking my ride on my phone and seeing that the car matches the description of what the app says, I certainly don't verify the license plate or do other security measures.
This story of this unfortunate young woman is so far missing many details. How inebriated was she? Where were her friends and what were they doing at the time? Who knows if the killer will ever say anything, but how did she get into his car and what did she say?
Stories of fake Uber drivers preying on young women have been going on for years now, so this recent tragedy is certainly not new.
god, I can't count how many times I've done this. Most of us who are hailing an uber/lyft are inebriated and/or exhausted, so aren't really in that investigative mode. Most times I've had really shady gangsta types in the bay area. Glad to live to tell about it. Will try to confirm next time that's for sure before I get into the car (never confirmed before but just jumped in as this girl did). I recall one in particular who seemed dark and scary and gave me hesitation to get in, But he turned out to be a really great guy (gentleman opened the doors for me and my BFF) and even gave me a great rating as a passenger (he got a good tip and rating). So it's hard to stereotype people. I guess just go by the description you're given and also trust your gut.
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