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An Antidote to Corporate Media
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Patrick
2012 Nov 20, 2:21am
In places where rush our traffic or an accident can make it take twice as long, that's fair. The cab driver has to make a living.
But the cab drivers know better than anyone else how long any ride will take at any time of day. There are also excellent on-line tools showing current traffic conditions. So cab drivers could do fine quoting the exact price to any destination. They'd lose on rare occasions, but win most of the time.
Obviously a lot of the time was spent waiting for the next fare.
If cabs were cheap and easy to get via services like Lyft, people would start to ride them all the time, leaving their cars at home. So you wouldn't be waiting for the next fare very long.
The attempt to prevent the free market from working (medallions, regulations to prevent innovation) raises prices, makes cabs scarce, and makes the whole experience suck so that most people don't even try to get a cab.
leo707
2012 Nov 20, 2:34am
By the way, I drove a cab for a while a few decades ago (age 20), and it's a tough job. I paid about one third of what drivers pay now, to rent a single shift cab - I had the cab all the time and drove as many hours as I wanted).
I drove a cab at 20 as well. The company took a % of the meter, or a % of the fixed rate airport runs. Also, the dispatcher required a "tip" (or familial relation) if you were going to be sent out on any of the airport runs.
It was hard to do decently without working at least 12 hours a day. It's hard to work more than that, but to do well you needed to.
Yep.
I don't think that deregulating it is the way to go. I've been in countries where it's a free for all, and every cab ride is a big negotiation game, and an adventure (I know these apps have reviews etc).
Yeah, I have been to those places as well. The free-for-all makes it harder for the drivers to make a decent wage, and makes the street less safe for everyone who has to share the road with a cab drivers rushing to each destination. I don't think that total deregulation is the way to go either.
How many drivers today could actually afford a medallion of their own (assuming they actually got a chance to buy one). The medallion system is just another way, for those rich enough to buy a medallion, to extract "rent" from the person actually doing the driving.
Tenpoundbass
2012 Nov 20, 2:42am
This will all be great until the Craigslist murderous lunatic fringe takes a stab at it. In a highly sensationalized international news story, then that will be the end of that. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up, even offering someone a ride will be against the law.
leo707
2012 Nov 20, 3:00am
This will all be great until the Craigslist murderous lunatic fringe takes a stab at it. In a highly sensationalized international news story, then that will be the end of that. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up, even offering someone a ride will be against the law.
Actually, --while this is certainly possible-- it is probably less likely with a service like Lyft than a cab.
Cabs are more anonymous, when you flag down a cab no one other than you and the driver knows that you got into that drivers cab. Cab drivers have been known to kill their fairs.
With services like Lyft there is a record of who you drove with and when. It would be a lot harder for a Craigslist murderous sociopath to think that they could getaway with anything.
FYI, this also makes it safer for the driver.
Tenpoundbass
2012 Nov 20, 3:20am
Craigslist murderous sociopath to think that they could getaway with anything.
Who said anything about getting away with anything. AFAIK, every Craigslist Psychopath has been caught.
leo707
2012 Nov 20, 3:22am
Craigslist murderous sociopath to think that they could getaway with anything.
Who said anything about getting away with anything. AFAIK, every Craigslist Psychopath has been caught.
Yes, but I would be willing to bet they all thought that they were going to get away with it.
That is the problem with punishments as a deterrent to crime, they only work if people think they are going to get caught.
zzyzzx
2012 Nov 20, 3:30am
If cabs were cheap and easy to get via services like Lyft, people would start to ride them all the time, leaving their cars at home. So you wouldn't be waiting for the next fare very long.
The attempt to prevent the free market from working (medallions, regulations to prevent innovation) raises prices, makes cabs scarce, and makes the whole experience suck so that most people don't even try to get a cab
I agree. It's more about generating revenue for the local municipality than anything else.
NPR interviewed the Sidecar, Uber, and (I think) Lyft folks this morning along with a member of the taxi industry. I think the Sidecar argument that its service is merely carpooling is a stretch especially when folks are specifically driving around for fares (like I've seen with Lyft). Their legal arguments may hold water in a vacuum but I sincerely believe when there is a lawsuit and drivers are deposed, we'll see that a fair number of drivers will be doing this as a full-time job.
leo707
2012 Nov 20, 4:51am
Their legal arguments may hold water in a vacuum but I sincerely believe when there is a lawsuit and drivers are deposed, we'll see that a fair number of drivers will be doing this as a full-time job.
Not to mention there is probably a shit-load of internal company emails/communications that would tell a different story.
I am looking into getting a job as a driver with Lyft it seems like a good job and have an interview on monday. Are there any drivers out there that can answer this question. Is there a drug test. I don't have any illegal drugs in my system but I was a late bloomer and just got my wisdom teeth removed and was on vicodin pretty heavily due to some issues. I am now almost fully recovered and havn't taken the medication for 2 days. I will let them know at the interview but a lot of drug tests are either pass or fail with no details.
Tenpoundbass
2013 Apr 7, 11:48pm
We acceped and looked for the pink mustache and the car.
I would go all Elaine Benes' dad on the guy, if he pulled up in a car with a pink mustache.
Code: COSTA12 Gets you a free ride up $25! Extra tip: punch in the code on payment screen BEFORE requesting a lyft and it's free :)
zzyzzx
2014 Jun 12, 1:23am
I'm not sure why medallion cabs can't do the same thing
In some places, actual cabs do use these services to get clients, yes. Maybe not in the US, but this was mentioned on a TV news story I saw about this last night.
zzyzzx
2014 Jun 12, 1:25am
This will all be great until the Craigslist murderous lunatic fringe takes a stab at it. In a highly sensationalized international news story, then that will be the end of that.
May have already happened! At least that was implied on the TV news story I saw about this last night (specifically said "bad things"; no actual murder was mentioned).
Ceffer
2014 Jun 12, 3:34am
One problem is the taped whining guilt trips played for Boomer customers by the Mill XY Lyft drivers to extort larger tips.
One problem is the taped whining guilt trips played for Boomer customers by the Mill XY Lyft drivers to extort larger tips.
Yet this is perhaps--marginally--more acceptable than the TV screen that is blasting commercials at me for the duration of my taxi cab ride.
donjumpsuit
2014 Jun 12, 5:42am
Anyone have a brief essay on the difference between Lyft and Uber?
I have been following these companies closely, then had with a friend had a couple of experiences with Uber and it seemed cool. (Besides the variable/high use time flex pricing, which shouldn't be a problem since they say how much it will be before you hire the car).
I choose Uber, because it seemed it was separating itself from the pack, also no haggling and can take straight from paypal.
From what I see here and read, Uber tells you how much you will pay, and with Lyft, you negotiate with the driver in person?
I'd rather just pay and not deal with any of it (tip included).
SFace
2014 Jun 12, 6:30am
very little difference besides Uber is the bigger fish, they should just merge. It is the ultimate no brainer win-win.
Maybe you can just get their private #'s and just bypass the middle man fee altogether.
One of the reasons why the job participation rate is so low is because of self employment opportunities like Uber/Lyft provides.
marcus
2014 Jun 12, 7:46am
I still seriously question whether it would be good for places like New York, Chicago or London, or Vegas, where cabs work great. And I tried to explain why.
For Los Angeles though, where cabs suck. Lyft can't hurt a system that's already bad, and in a city thats so spread out.
Screw the medallion program. It's just another way to prevent competition and charge the public more for the same service.
There is one taxi regulation I would like though: the exact price to the destination should be explicitly quoted when you enter the cab.
and what if you end up in traffic for an hour on a 1 mile ride? cabbie eats it?
marcus
2014 Jun 13, 12:38am
and what if you end up in traffic for an hour on a 1 mile ride? cabbie eats it?
Patrick's a free market capitalist on this subject. THat side of the equation where people have to make a living driving a cab or driving for Lyft. That side of things just magically takes care of itself.
There will be so many Lyft drivers (supposedly) out there that you'll be able to get one in five minutes, and yet the number of people using the service won't be able to generate enough rides and business so that all those Lyft drivers that it takes to have them available in 5 minutes can make a living.
Details.
SFace
2014 Jun 13, 2:24am
For Los Angeles though, where cabs suck. Lyft can't hurt a system that's already bad, and in a city thats so spread out.
You can't have much of a "for hire" market when there are something like 20M registered cars for 20M people.
So me and my wife decided to try Lyft after a dinner night out at Mission District. (impossible to park)
We loaded the the lyft app previously, posted the the address and time and within 1 mins, two cars were spotted to be available. One was a Lexus driven by a mid 20's guy with his picture (with great reviews). We thought he was going to USF to pay for his 50K tuition. We acceped and looked for the pink mustache and the car. The GPS tracked where the car was so there was no doubt it was coming. Greeted with a fist pump, yes it is us.
As it turns out, he was a USF student paying crazy tuition, long chat short, our suggsted donation was $12, we paid $15 for what would be normally a $20 cab ride before tips. The suggested donation is probabaly work around the car for hire rule legally.
This is application of modern technology. I'm not sure why medallion cabs can't do the same thing but here was a case where application of technology works and I would likely reuse. The experience is off the charts and we felt comfortable. Also, I rather support a college kid then the semi cab fraternity.