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Originally Posted by Ari
Uber is nice, as long as you don't mind the company tracking you, tacking on surge prices at events, or having little recourse against a company who treats their drivers poorly.
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It's never really occurred to me to worry about Uber tracking my rides. It's hard reasonably to expect privacy about where you are and where you're going when you hire somebody to come pick you where you are and drive you to where you're going. They have to know where you are to pick up you, and where you are going to drop you off. I guess they could do something bad with that information about restaurants I like. Surge pricing is a pain in the ass, but I'm usually either too drunk to care or just grumble about it until my ride gets there. Still beats parking. I like the
idea that it reduces demand to keep wait times reasonable, but it also irritates the fuck out of me when it's surge pricing and I have to wait more than 5-10 minutes for a pickup. I've never driven for Uber, so I don't know how it treats its drivers, but it seems like the most obvious recourse would be to stop driving for Uber.
Lyft is technically here but the uptake seems to be less with the result that wait times are usually longer. Otherwise I'd go with whichever was quicker, though I did like the big mustaches.
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Of course taxi companies have little to stand on as well. Here in SF taxis often refuse to go to certain areas (calling for a taxi out in the sunset is a crap shoot, they often ignore their dispatcher and don't pick you up). So things like Uber and Lyft have popped up specifically because taxi's have sucked so much.
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Holy shit yes. Even where there is a line of taxis waiting for pickups - like at the airport - the comfort difference between a taxi ride and an Uber ride is huge. I was in Boston last week. The last time I was in Boston my group took a taxi in because it was easier to get reimbursed; it reeked, the driver didn't know where the fuck he was going, and he squabbled over the cost that was shown on the meter. This time I took an Uber from the airport. The car was clean, the driver was pleasant, and the transaction was done as soon as I stepped out of the car. Also about $12 cheaper than a cab.