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I understand and agree with disrupters in general. I appreciate that for the most part, they take industries that have become stale or onerous and streamline or otherwise improve them.
What I don't get though is "Ride Sharing Services."
For the most part, I don't see anyone sharing rides as in, "I'm going this way, why don't we share a ride." What I do see is, you give me a call and I will come to your location and then transport you from here to there - for a fee. How is this ANY different from a taxi - other than the fact that there is no dispatcher in the loop.
And IF there is no real difference from a taxi, then how and why are the ride sharing services allowed to bypass the rules that taxi services must follow.
In this case, it seems that disruption is just bypassing the regs. Tell me where I am wrong on this.
Uber and Lyft do have "ride sharing" options. The driver can pick up Passenger A, pick up Passenger B on the way to drop off A, drop off A, then drop off B. It's pretty cheap, but is only slightly faster than taking the bus. If your trip is shorter, sometimes you can luck out with not having to wait for the driver to pick up someone else.
Also, Uber and Lyft are MUCH more convenient than a taxi. With a taxi, you call the office, and they send someone out in 30min. Sometimes they don't show up at all. With Uber and Lyft, you just request a ride from your phone. The driver arrives in 5min or less.
Rideshare vehicles are cleaner, the drivers are generally nicer, and you don't have to worry with cash or "broken" credit card machines. The only time I'd consider taking a taxi is if I'm at the airport or in a large downtown area and the cab is sitting right there waiting for me.
Rideshare companies have been operating in a grey area. They aren't technically a taxi service and the drivers are not employees. That's why they aren't required to have taxi emblems or special license places like some cities/states require.
My elderly grandparents have just reached the age where they no longer feel comfortable driving at night. Rideshare services have been a godsend for them.
In my opinion, the Taxi companies in my areas abused their monopoly and consumers so much because of the prohibitive regulations, that all 'rideshare' had to do was show that you can offer the same service, much cheaper and much more consumer friendly. They operated illegally for awhile, and the public, seeing what life could be like, started questioning and demanding that those barrier to entry regulations be done away with.
Ironically, the Taxi companies became a victim of the same entry barriers they put up to protect themselves. In my market, service was awful and they had no reason to try and improve until there was real competition, now most won't go back to them unless it is the last resort. They never thought they would have to improve so they never tried and are paying a steep price now.
I don't want to share a ride. I prefer real cab companies because that is the driver's job, not a hobby or way to may money to party or to meet drunk chicks. I also heard Lyft and Uber raise rates if many people want a cab at the same time. Professional cabs don't do that.
I use both, but sometimes still prefer taxis. Before Uber and Lyft became popular, one could easily hail a taxi off the street in my area. Oftentimes, the arrival times in Uber are longer than they say they are. They may say driver is two minutes away, but the driver ends up taking ten. Also, Uber and Lyft drivers tend to not know their way around like taxi drivers do. Over the years of taking taxis, taxi drivers have inadvertently showed me shortcuts I would never have used or found on my own. It’s thanks to taxi drivers that I can accurately navigate the ins and outs of lower Wacker drive in Chicago.
I understand and agree with disrupters in general. I appreciate that for the most part, they take industries that have become stale or onerous and streamline or otherwise improve them.
What I don't get though is "Ride Sharing Services."
For the most part, I don't see anyone sharing rides as in, "I'm going this way, why don't we share a ride." What I do see is, you give me a call and I will come to your location and then transport you from here to there - for a fee. How is this ANY different from a taxi - other than the fact that there is no dispatcher in the loop.
And IF there is no real difference from a taxi, then how and why are the ride sharing services allowed to bypass the rules that taxi services must follow.
In this case, it seems that disruption is just bypassing the regs. Tell me where I am wrong on this.
Uber and Lyft offer options if someone wants to share a ride, it lowers the cost.
It is different from a taxi because it is much, much lower in cost, and you order it to come via an app and they are usually there very quick (depending on location/time of day of course). While you can order a taxi, it has been only due to Uber/Lyft that some are starting to use an app for it, it use to be you had to call them.
Another difference is the Uber/Lyft use their personal cars, whereas a taxi does not. I also found Uber/Lyft much, much cleaner than taxis which about every taxi I been in has been rather dirty.
I do agree about the rather unfairness of taxi vs Uber/Lyft, but that is the good ole gov for you. Taxis and the gov invited this competition though, as through the monopoly, the prices were ridiculous. I remember it being over $50 for a simple ride which costs $6 using Lyft. An airport drop off many, many times more than using Lyft. The taxi industry brought this upon themselves (with help of the gov though through regulation).
Edit: taxis are starting to adapt though, so they are not done with and may come rushing back if the gov lets them adapt. I see them using apps, flat rates, etc to entice customers, have even bargained with them before in DC to get straight down the street. So I would not count the industry done with yet.
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Originally Posted by blktoptrvl
What is the difference?
I understand and agree with disrupters in general. I appreciate that for the most part, they take industries that have become stale or onerous and streamline or otherwise improve them.
What I don't get though is "Ride Sharing Services."
For the most part, I don't see anyone sharing rides as in, "I'm going this way, why don't we share a ride." What I do see is, you give me a call and I will come to your location and then transport you from here to there - for a fee. How is this ANY different from a taxi - other than the fact that there is no dispatcher in the loop.
And IF there is no real difference from a taxi, then how and why are the ride sharing services allowed to bypass the rules that taxi services must follow.
In this case, it seems that disruption is just bypassing the regs. Tell me where I am wrong on this.
Taxis and mini-cabs are bad enough without going even cheaper.
I just don't like the idea of not knowing who you are sharing the can with, and I just don't ever want to ever hear the words 'Do you have room for my axe'.
I don't want to share a ride. I prefer real cab companies because that is the driver's job, not a hobby or way to may money to party or to meet drunk chicks. I also heard Lyft and Uber raise rates if many people want a cab at the same time. Professional cabs don't do that.
If you need a bigger vehicle to pick you up because you have more people, then they charge more, but there is no passenger surcharge. Professional cabs will do the exact same thing. No cab is going to let you pile in more people than the amount of seatbelts in their car either. 1. It is against the law and 2. Their insurance won't cover them if they have an accident with injuries
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