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I've never used Uber. Wouldn't know how. I've always been sort of philosophically opposed to Uber, thinking I should support the conventional Taxi industry.

Well, it appears the regular taxis are doing just fine. I called for one last week and waited and waited. I called in to the dispatcher three times and she just said they would get to me, but they were really backed up with calls.

After 90 minutes, I cancelled my request and took the bus home.

The taxi Companies must be short staffed like everyone else.

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 08, 2022 9:42 pm

I've never used Uber. Wouldn't know how. I've always been sort of philosophically opposed to Uber, thinking I should support the conventional Taxi industry.

Well, it appears the regular taxis are doing just fine. I called for one last week and waited and waited. I called in to the dispatcher three times and she just said they would get to me, but they were really backed up with calls.

After 90 minutes, I cancelled my request and took the bus home.

The taxi Companies must be short staffed like everyone else.

Driving a cab is a difficult, thankless and fend for yourself job. You rent a car from the cab company and either make enough to cover the cab and have money left or you owe the cab company the difference between the cost of the cab and how little you made that night. So you could work 12 hours and have a bill at the end.

With Uber you are sent fares through their driver app, use your personal vehicle and only pay gas and maintenance on it. So you subtract that and taxes and end up with an amount to take home at the end of the day. Both are independent contractor jobs so no insurance or retirement. Uber is the better deal. I’ve done both.

Does Uber get a cut of what you take in?

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 08, 2022 10:09 pm

Does Uber get a cut of what you take in?

They take a percentage of the fare off the top and you get the rest. It simply shows you how much the fare is worth to you when it’s offered. If you don’t like the offer you can decline.

We have a neighbour here in Florida who is a Uber driver but also does some freelance on his own.

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 08, 2022 10:53 pm

We have a neighbour here in Florida who is a Uber driver but also does some freelance on his own.

That’s one other good thing… you can literally work whenever you want.

The high cost of both is the strongest reason I support SMART.

I've never used Uber either. What would a ride cost me, say, if I had to ride forty miles to the airport?

My wife's youngest daughter and her husband lived in Chicago for 12-13 years. They used Uber extensively with Lyft as a backup and rarely taxi's.
At one point her daughter was such a "preferred customer" that she had a 2 week period when all rides were $5.
I've used Uber maybe 2 or 3 times over the years.

moldyoldie wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 9:42 am

I've never used Uber either. What would a ride cost me, say, if I had to ride forty miles to the airport?

You can plug in a trip and get an estimate. I just plugged in Ann Arbor train station to DTW and its about $60 for a little under 30 miles.

craig11152 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:08 am

moldyoldie wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 9:42 am

I've never used Uber either. What would a ride cost me, say, if I had to ride forty miles to the airport?

You can plug in a trip and get an estimate. I just plugged in Ann Arbor train station to DTW and its about $60 for a little under 30 miles.

Thank you, Craig. So you need a smartphone, download an app, type in a trip if you want to get an estimate, then call a number to arrange for a ride?

moldyoldie wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:14 am

craig11152 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:08 am

moldyoldie wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 9:42 am

I've never used Uber either. What would a ride cost me, say, if I had to ride forty miles to the airport?

You can plug in a trip and get an estimate. I just plugged in Ann Arbor train station to DTW and its about $60 for a little under 30 miles.

Thank you, Craig. So you need a smartphone, download an app, type in a trip if you want to get an estimate, then call a number to arrange for a ride?

I got the estimate from my desktop. But you do need a smartphone with the app to actually order a ride I believe.

I know a couple folks that used to drive for Uber and now drive for LYFT. They LOVE the change and won't ever consider going back. I knew a few that did taxi and that was tough work. Probably much better in very limited situations, like airports or congested downtown areas.

However, it's been a couple years since I used a taxi and it was at an airport. In the time I waited in the line for the taxi, I probably could have called an Uber or Lyfft and got faster service!

I use Lyft weekly. I choose Lyft because it is more fair to the drivers, so they tend to be better humans.

Cabs are no longer reliable.

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 12:21 pm

I use Lyft weekly. I choose Lyft because it is more fair to the drivers, so they tend to be better humans.

Cabs are no longer reliable.

Hmmm, they must be conservatives .