What's your Uber experience?

[Deleted member 29185]

In addition to the lift home I was educated on the merits of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey.....an interesting subject, but probably not what I wanted after an evening of lectures!

Ha ha ... A month or two back, I learnt all about how Mahatma Gandhi was/is actually quite disliked by the majority of Indians due to him being an English "Stooge" and how no one in India refers to Gandhi as Mahatma as that means a person both loved and respected ... which my driver/tutor claims is far from the truth!

Those BTW, are not my words (and I neither know nor care about the accuracy of them), just those that I heard for 1 hour straight between BNE and Gold Coast! I must admit, It doesn't particularly bother me too much as it does at least make the trip go a bit quicker!

 

[Forg]

Ha ha ... A month or two back, I learnt all about how Mahatma Gandhi was/is actually quite disliked by the majority of Indians due to him being an English "Stooge" and how no one in India refers to Gandhi as Mahatma as that means a person both loved and respected ... which my driver/tutor claims is far from the truth!

Those BTW, are not my words (and I neither know nor care about the accuracy of them), just those that I heard for 1 hour straight between BNE and Gold Coast! I must admit, It doesn't particularly bother me too much as it does at least make the trip go a bit quicker!

Actually, I find it a little disconcerting ... because the person who I'm 95% sure is ignorant & opinionated & probably incorrect is ALSO more informed on the subject than I am. But because I'm fairly sure there's something wrong with what they're saying, it feels bad to agree; and I don't want to engage with them otherwise they'll tell me ...

 

[jastel]

Bit more than generally I think. Is there any transport that doesn't have a cross subsidy or special tax break of some sort.

Taxis.

They USED to provide money TO the government in licence fees, stamp duty on transfers and income tax. This money helped pay for trains and buses etc...not anymore...

 

[UP4014]

Taxis.

They USED to provide money TO the government in licence fees, stamp duty on transfers and income tax. This money helped pay for trains and buses etc...not anymore...

Limited supply drove up prices. Money collected on taxi stamp duty wouldn't have covered the elevated the drop off ramp at the airport.

 

[Happy Dude]

Taxis.

They USED to provide money TO the government in licence fees, stamp duty on transfers and income tax. This money helped pay for trains and buses etc...not anymore...

I'm therefore surprised that you weren't lobbying for an increase in public transport fares and a decrease in services, and more spending on roads. Not only was PT taking away your customers, your taxes etc were paying for that to happen while the roads were left to decay.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Singapore Imposes Big Restrictions on Sale of Uber Southeast Asia - View from the Wing

* Uber will continue to be available in Singapore through May 7
* Grab cannot force drivers into an exclusivity arrangement, so they can drive for another platform too
* Drivers renting their cars can’t be penalized either if they use those cars on another platform
* Grab cannot be the only service with an exclusivity deal with a taxi company, if no other ridesharing service has one Grab has to drop theirs
* Grab cannot inherit Uber trip data. “Grab may however receive personal data of drivers, riders and merchants (eg, names, contact details, and supporting documents for vocation licence applications) who have expressly opted in and moved to the Grab platform.”
* Grab cannot raise prices, lower driver pay, or drop ride options.

These limitations of course only apply to the Singapore market.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

China's Uber has plans to take on the rest of the world - BBC News

You've probably already heard of China's Didi Chuxing. It's the ride-hailing firm best known for driving Uber off China's streets.

It is now also the world's largest ride-hailing app, and with its worth currently at $56bn (£39.4bn), it is also the world's most valuable start-up.

 

[VPS]

I'm not sure whether I can reject a car on size - taking home two elderly aunts last night we ended up with a Suzuki Swift which made it difficult to get them in and out - any comments?

 

[odysseus]

I'm not sure whether I can reject a car on size - taking home two elderly aunts last night we ended up with a Suzuki Swift which made it difficult to get them in and out - any comments?

No, they only guarantee that base UberX will have 4 doors (so no 2 door coupes), and seat 4 passengers.

You'd need to book UberSelect at least to weed out the smaller cars.

 

[RooFlyer]

Two Uber trips in Dallas today.

First ride very exuberant chap from Dominican Republic, second quiet guy from who knows where. I gave em both 5 * ( after the trip ended, because everything was good), and a cash tip ( because it's America).

Looks like they gave me 5 back.

Strange pricing though ( for me) : $15 one way, $10 back, 90 mins later on a Sunday morning.

 

[jastel]

Limited supply drove up prices. Money collected on taxi stamp duty wouldn't have covered the elevated the drop off ramp at the airport.

No idea what ramp you are on about? But money raised from taxis went to public transport government projects.
I doubt it was used to build an airport road.
That money is now gone and must come from somewhere else.

The airport tolls that the airports charge taxis for pick up and drop off pay for taxi parking areas and maybe an amenities block and security etc. The same way they charge a normal car to park there.

 

[jastel]

I'm therefore surprised that you weren't lobbying for an increase in public transport fares and a decrease in services, and more spending on roads. Not only was PT taking away your customers, your taxes etc were paying for that to happen while the roads were left to decay.

Uh, we were...taxis are public transport...no body I know has said to the government ever that we charge too much and are making too much money.

More spending on roads would be great but there are other pesky things like hospitals, pensions and welfare that are obviously far more important to get re elected.

 

[Stevo.1702]

An embarassing uber experience for my partner and I. I travelled TSV BNE MEL. Mrs. Stevo travelled ROM BNE MEL (an infrequent traveller).

We meet in Brisbane and share the flight to Melbourne. Collect our bags and uber to Fitzroy North. Half way there a mysterious phone call recieved by Mrs.Stevo.

Apparently she had grabbed an identical bag from the carousel. I inspect the bag tag and discover QF2511 not QF2571 as the domestic connection prior to the Melbourne flight. We were both fooled by the expected trimmings including the domestic connection tag .

Uber driver happily doubled back (and doubled his fare). He mentioned though that this happens about once a fortnight for him alone.

I'm thinking about buying my partner a hardcase luggage. You know..... one of those that has a photo of the owners face screen printed on to it.

 

[QF WP]

Had 3 good Uber trips in Canberra on Tuesday - all got 5 stars but one that was meant to pick me up at Treasury drove past me and around the block again before stopping at the designated pin stop (there are 2 or 3 from recollection for Treasury). I was leaning against the bollards waiting but he didn't even slow down.

 

[Happy Dude]

Uh, we were...taxis are public transport...no body I know has said to the government ever that we charge too much and are making too much money.

More spending on roads would be great but there are other pesky things like hospitals, pensions and welfare that are obviously far more important to get re elected.

Then nobody you know ever paid for a ride in a taxi or paid 11% credit card surcharge. The whole reason that this thread, and Uber, exists is because taxis over-charge and under-deliver on every aspect of the experience.

And you're claiming that society will be worse off without the revenue from taxes, stamp duty etc from the taxi industry? Well presumably they still pay their share now and the revenue from Uber may make up the difference. Nett square for the government coffers but a win for the consumer.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Uber Plans To Stop Giving Drivers A Log Of Your Exact Pickup And Drop-Off Locations - Gizmodo Australia

 

[Sparkling Dolphin]

Uber in Canberra is well sign posted and very good. Canberra Airport is very small anyway.

 

[Pleb Status]

I would like Uber to institute a complete ban on drivers calling riders prior to pickup (except in an absolute emergency).

I had another driver 'cancel' at BNE airport last night after calling to determine where I was going and deciding that it was not far enough (I have learnt not to say but this does not appear to help). I have never had a driver call other than to try to cherry pick the best ride.

 

[Forg]

I would like Uber to institute a complete ban on drivers calling riders prior to pickup (except in an absolute emergency).

I had another driver 'cancel' at BNE airport last night after calling to determine where I was going and deciding that it was not far enough (I have learnt not to say but this does not appear to help). I have never had a driver call other than to try to cherry pick the best ride.

I can’t believe they don’t know where they’re going before they pick you up; the whole premise as sold to the world was that it was about drivers who were already going somewhere getting a bit of cash for picking someone else up who was heading in the same direction.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I would like Uber to institute a complete ban on drivers calling riders prior to pickup (except in an absolute emergency).

I had another driver 'cancel' at BNE airport last night after calling to determine where I was going and deciding that it was not far enough (I have learnt not to say but this does not appear to help). I have never had a driver call other than to try to cherry pick the best ride.

How far were you going? I guess it shouldn't matter. I very nearly called a cab to take me from the BNE Int. to Air Park. I'll never use that park again, ever (first time). They claim 7 min. to the terminal, but what they don't say is that it can be 25 wait for the bus and then it goes via Dom first. 7 minutes is a crock!