Another speed bump for Uber in Pittsburgh (employment, pricing)

[wanderlust76]

Uber needs more competition they are full of themselves now because they successfully rode the "millennials wanting more public transportation options" wave that gained them support in urban areas. When a private company has cheerleaders all they see is dollar signs. I noticed their prices are much higher compared to a few years ago yet if you're a driver for them you still have to work a ton of hours to make a decent wage.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

If you think it's dangerous (and I don't know this bike lane so I can't say) for the Love of All that's Holy, don't take your kid there! It's one thing for you to take your own life in your hands, another to subject your kid to that. Find a different way or drive your car!

It's like a block, and you have to cross a lane of traffic. It's just hard to be able to crane your neck back far enough to do the shoulder check and see if someone is behind you. That's why instead of darting over right before I do it a block or two further back, so that any cars coming down Penn can see me quite clearly and know to not rear end me. I do the same sort of defensive "riding in the street" at major intersections elsewhere, but otherwise I tend to stick to as close to the right shoulder as comfortable (I don't want to get doored).

I rode with my daughter in a bike seat from the time she was 1 until she was almost five (it got very cramped near the end). I also rode with my son for awhile prior to his being diagnosed with cancer, and now that he's in remission, I'm going to start back up again. I never got into an accident with them on the bike, or even fell off. I even cut through a local cemetery to spend as little time on surface streets as possible.

I am considering, however, changing from my existing bike seat method to a trailer. I like having a child in front of me where I can see them, but I do worry about falling off. Trailers are supposed to automatically detach if you lose control, but I don't like the idea of it accidentally spinning into an intersection - or someone taking a right hand turn directly into the trailer if they don't see it.

[norcider]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It's like a block, and you have to cross a lane of traffic. It's just hard to be able to crane your neck back far enough to do the shoulder check and see if someone is behind you. That's why instead of darting over right before I do it a block or two further back, so that any cars coming down Penn can see me quite clearly and know to not rear end me. I do the same sort of defensive "riding in the street" at major intersections elsewhere, but otherwise I tend to stick to as close to the right shoulder as comfortable (I don't want to get doored).

I rode with my daughter in a bike seat from the time she was 1 until she was almost five (it got very cramped near the end). I also rode with my son for awhile prior to his being diagnosed with cancer, and now that he's in remission, I'm going to start back up again. I never got into an accident with them on the bike, or even fell off. I even cut through a local cemetery to spend as little time on surface streets as possible.

I am considering, however, changing from my existing bike seat method to a trailer. I like having a child in front of me where I can see them, but I do worry about falling off. Trailers are supposed to automatically detach if you lose control, but I don't like the idea of it accidentally spinning into an intersection - or someone taking a right hand turn directly into the trailer if they don't see it.

I used a trailer for years. Most are brightly colored and mine even had an orange pennant flag at the end of a flexible rod. I didn't like the idea of the bike mounted seat in case of a serious crash or OTB incident. The trailer has its benefits but they are heavy and cumbersome. The only safety feature of mine was an extra safety strap that I attached to my stays in the event of my axle shearing etc.

[Plink]

Originally Posted by wanderlust76

Uber needs more competition they are full of themselves now because they successfully rode the "millennials wanting more public transportation options" wave that gained them support in urban areas. When a private company has cheerleaders all they see is dollar signs. I noticed their prices are much higher compared to a few years ago yet if you're a driver for them you still have to work a ton of hours to make a decent wage.

There was relatively little competition in this market before Uber and I don't see how that competition made any difference with union workers and with all of these companies having relatively similar labor and vehicle costs.

I think Uber should be seen not as a place for full time employment/living wage but as an easy way for someone to supplement their income. Drivers turn on and turn off whenever they want but I have yet to see this mentioned in all the Uber discussion here. How many jobs out there where one can do that? Few if not none. What price or value can be assigned to this vs driver wages? They are maximizing economic value with sharing economy principles both for drivers and passengers. This is basically every comment I have heard from every Uber driver during every Uber ride I have taken.

Uber has management and ethics problems but on the other hand, they are fighting establishment competition. For that, I have a lot of sympathy. They are losing money simply because they are thinking longer term and market share. Perfectly acceptable as long as their investors are in line with their strategy, which is still the case.

Having been f'd over by taxis not showing up in the past or having to wait an hour (best example was hotel in the north side by PNC Park no less), as a customer, I personally love Uber and love opening the app and seeing which drivers are near me, a driver being selected, and knowing that someone will show up when the app told me they would show up...which has always been the case.

[Benzman66]

Originally Posted by Enough_Already

You must not actually see the bike lane on Penn. First it makes a cross in the strip which is dangerous. Then at many intersections cars make left turns through the bike lane. Add to that the fact that most of the people using the bike lane totally disregard traffic laws and even jump curbs onto the sidewalk terrorizing pedestrians. Get out of your ivory tower and see the real world

I agree about cars in the bike lane. When I am down on Penn in the cultural district Fri and Sat nights for dinner, theatre, etc, you always see a few cars throughout the evening going the opposite way of traffic in the bike lane. Biggest problem area seems to be at 6th st where people coming out of the garage make the right and then down at 9th street. The highway dept needs to be replacing those center poles more often so cars know not to go down.

[Enough_Already]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...rs-passengers/

[krogerDisco]

Originally Posted by Strelok

Pittsburgh's rocky relationship with Uber takes another turn - Apr. 4, 2017

Great to hear this from Peduto. It's about time politicians stand up to companies like Uber.

I'm worried that Peduto might be like Pete Flaherty who I think made Pittsburgh "business unfriendly".

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by krogerDisco

I'm worried that Peduto might be like Pete Flaherty who I think made Pittsburgh "business unfriendly".

He's gotten to where it's tough to take him serious anymore.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by erieguy

He's gotten to where it's tough to take him serious anymore.

I much prefer his major opponent who runs on the platform of "I hate bike lanes".

[Enough_Already]

https://www.engadget.com/2017/04/13/...-lyft-drivers/