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  1. #1

    Problems with UBER

    About a year ago, maybe 2, UBER came to my country and there has been an huge uproar from local taxi drivers, how UBER is an unfair competition, because they dont need to have taxi licences that cost around 200€ in my country per year and they are breaking law by doing that etc. Today they even blocked one of the busiest roads in my city.

    So i was wondering, have there been simmilar issues with UBER in other countries (mostly thinking about western europe). I personaly dont use taxi services that often, a few times a year at most, but i think its a good thing, because in my city taxi services are expensive as hell and UBER seems like a good thing, especialy to someone with a bit of a tight budget like myself who is a student.
    Last edited by valky94; 2017-06-21 at 04:09 PM.

  2. #2
    Taxis are shit and treat drivers like crap and are costly. Uber, lyft, etc are shit and treat drivers like crap but are cheaper because they skirt the law.
    Your dollar, your pick.

  3. #3
    The Lightbringer
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    Uber has had a lot of trouble in other countries, while they are cheaper they are often horrible to the people that use the service.
    Since anyone can become a uber driver even people without a valid driver license this allows a lot of situations where the uber drivers have assaulted passengers

  4. #4
    The Insane Underverse's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gatsbybutters View Post
    Taxis are shit and treat drivers like crap and are costly. Uber, lyft, etc are shit and treat drivers like crap but are cheaper because they skirt the law.
    Your dollar, your pick.
    I've generally had better experiences with Lyfts than with taxis, costs aside. But people I know have awful luck sometimes with drivers ignoring their pickup requests, driving the wrong way, etc.

  5. #5
    Uber drivers are self employed and use the ap to get riders. They make a hell of a lot more money than cab drivers and that's why drivers use Uber. Uber makes it money by taking a commission on the ride, like 25% this is for finding the rider.


    When someone takes a ride with you, they are charged a fare plus a “Rider Fee”. The fare for UberX in Los Angeles is currently $0.15 a minute + $0.90 a mile. If there is “Surge Pricing” then the entire fare is multiplied by that number. Surge Pricing means Uber increases the fare prices during certain times of higher demand, making these hours more attractive for drivers.
    Let’s say for example someone takes a ride from West Hollywood to Downtown L.A. (which is approx. 8 miles and 30 minutes). Furthermore, let’s add a 1.3 surge. The calculation for the ride looks like this:
    (8 mi. x $0.90 + 30 min. x $0.15) x 1.3 surge + $1.65 Rider Fee = $16.86
    This is the total amount charged to the passenger.
    What percentage do Uber drivers make?
    Uber takes a commission out of the $16.86.
    After a deduction of the $1.65 Rider Fee, Drivers keep 75% of the total fare price for a given ride. Uber takes 25% of the fare.
    So here is the math for our example after Uber’s commission:
    $16.86 – $1.65 Rider Fee – ($15.21 x 0.25) = $11.41
    This is how much the driver is paid before any expenses. My rule of thumb (this may not be an accurate number for you) is that I spend about 10% on gas and other vehicle expenses and 10% on taxes on average (after all the deductions). Which in this case is calculated as follows:
    $11.41 x 0.80 = $9.13
    This is the approximate net income from the 30 minute-ride.

    http://www.alvia.com/how-much-do-uber-drivers-make/
    .

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  6. #6
    even some cities / states have had issues. there are issues near where i live between taxi companies and uber being allowed at the air port...
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  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Hubcap View Post
    Uber drivers are self employed and use the ap to get riders. They make a hell of a lot more money than cab drivers and that's why drivers use Uber. Uber makes it money by taking a commission on the ride, like 25% this is for finding the rider.
    You got that from a page advertising "become a driver" at the top, so ya know those numbers are skewed. Since these companies do whatever they want, those could be one week promo bonuses or whatever.

  8. #8
    In Brazil we had a LOT of trouble because taxis wanted to keep their monopoly. We had protests where taxi drivers blocked roads and they even assaulted Uber drivers and destroyed an Uber property. The main problem is that Brazil's regulation says that a taxi service is one where you call the taxi at any point, so you can wait in the middle of the street and signal to a cab that is passing and it will stop to you. Since Uber is called from the app, it doesn't fall in this category.

    There were loads of legal battles, but after two years and a lot of public pressure, the apps are now legalized.

    As for the service, it had a huge impact here, taxis were absolutely crap. I have been to broken cars, drunk/high drivers and some that were speeding so much that I was very concerned I would not get home alive (once I even made the guy stop half the way because he was going over 50% the speed limit while cutting everyone off). On the top of that the service is VERY expensive, specially at night.

    The Uber service is quite good, thought the UberX category has been getting worse and worse lately. I have been using Uber Select or Cabify a lot, specially when I have to work late, as most cities in Brazil are pretty dangerous during the night, using those services are much safer than taking a bus (private or public) and walking. As for price, here is a comparison:

    At night from my work to my home (6.2 km shortest path, ~12 direct minutes ride, ~20 minutes private bus,~35 minutes public bus):
    Public bus: R$ 4.05.
    Private bus: R$ 6.00.
    Uber X: R$ ~12.00
    Cabify / Uber Select: R$ ~14.50.
    Uber black: R$ ~23.00.
    Taxi: R$ ~40.

    So as you can see, it is much cheaper and the service is a lot better, so I am really, really, really thankful that Uber and other apps got their service here.

  9. #9
    Banned JohnBrown1917's Avatar
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    Uber is thankfully banned here.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by valky94 View Post
    Today they even blocked one of the busiest roads in my city.
    I hate when protesters do this shit, for whatever reason.

    How the fuck does making it harder for me to get to work / late for a trip, etc make me want to sympathize with your cause? On the contrary, I would support whatever the fuck you were protesting

  11. #11
    The Insane Kathandira's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by valky94 View Post
    About a year ago, maybe 2, UBER came to my country and there has been an huge uproar from local taxi drivers, how UBER is an unfair competition, because they dont need to have taxi licences that cost around 200€ in my country per year and they are breaking law by doing that etc. Today they even blocked one of the busiest roads in my city.

    So i was wondering, have there been simmilar issues with UBER in other countries (mostly thinking about western europe). I personaly dont use taxi services that often, a few times a year at most, but i think its a good thing, because in my city taxi services are expensive as hell and UBER seems like a good thing, especialy to someone with a bit of a tight budget like myself who is a student.
    Instead of attacking the competition, why don't they attack the system?
    RIP Genn Greymane, Permabanned on 8.22.18

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  12. #12
    The Insane Dug's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dvaz View Post
    I hate when protesters do this shit, for whatever reason.

    How the fuck does making it harder for me to get to work / late for a trip, etc make me want to sympathize with your cause? On the contrary, I would support whatever the fuck you were protesting
    Silly logic

  13. #13
    Deleted
    lol ... poor people.
    Chauffeur or gtfo.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by dvaz View Post
    I hate when protesters do this shit, for whatever reason.

    How the fuck does making it harder for me to get to work / late for a trip, etc make me want to sympathize with your cause? On the contrary, I would support whatever the fuck you were protesting
    It also happened in my country last year. Because of that, the taxi drivers became a laughing stock and the situation got even worse for them. Serves them right, trying to defend the monopoly of an awful service.

  15. #15
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    People talking about monopolys not realising that Ubers buisness model only works if they have a monopoly on the market.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by ctd123 View Post
    People talking about monopolys not realising that Ubers buisness model only works if they have a monopoly on the market.
    Not really, Cabify and the smart taxi drivers are also fighting for the market in my country. Which is good for the customer.

  17. #17
    To be a taxi driver you need a license, and it is required to do regular service checks of your car..

    With uber, you do not need either of those things.
    You don't know what kind of shit driver you get, or how long ago the car was serviced..

    I wouldn't ride a uber, because I am not stupid enough to put myself in such a dangerous situation..

    If I absolutly need to use a payed transport, I would much rather ride a taxi where I know the driver has a license and the car has recently been to service.
    "Everything always changes. The best plan lasts until the first arrow leaves the bow." - Matrim Cauthon

  18. #18
    Banned here for various reasons.

  19. #19
    The Patient Nerdgasm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by valky94 View Post
    i was wondering, have there been simmilar issues with UBER in other countries
    It's pretty insane here in Brazil. It's not uncommon for taxi drivers to attack Uber drivers/cars. Sometimes taxi drivers join forces with corrupt police officers to harass drivers.

    Some people even avoid going near pubs/parties/raves while ridding black cars to avoid being mistaken for Uber.

    But I hate taxi services around here. I pay for uber even when a cab is cheaper.
    Last edited by Nerdgasm; 2017-06-21 at 10:00 PM.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by ctd123 View Post
    People talking about monopolys not realising that Ubers buisness model only works if they have a monopoly on the market.
    Their current business model doesn't work at all; their generally assumed plan for the future doesn't rely on a monopoly, just strong popularity combined with automation.

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