# Uber to its drivers: we don’t want you!



## Salthedriver (Jun 28, 2014)

Many years away! Uber to Its drivers - we don't want you


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## Laura Smith (Jun 4, 2015)

By the time drivers are obsolete, there will be better ways to make money anyway. Hopefully. Everything changes.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

I felt the article had some bias.


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

"_Kalanick said. "When there's no other dude in the car, the cost of taking an Uber anywhere becomes cheaper than owning a vehicle."_ "

Travis forgets he will need to factor in the cost per mile (CPM) for those autonomous cars. I bet initially the cost of riding one of these vehicles will somehow include a surcharge to pay for the purchase of the vehicles as well as the CPM.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

Current autonomous cars being tested by Google cost $150,000 in additional equipment over the base price of the car. So if Uber thinks they are going to put a million $200,000 Prius and Teslas on the road, and be profitable, they have some cray cray going on. I think Travis is just trying to lure investors with new tech hype.

I've read that Google's tests are going well. The biggest problem has been the autonomous vehicle being rear-ended because they actually make complete stops at stop signs and don't run red lights.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

UberNorthStar said:


> "_Kalanick said. "When there's no other dude in the car, the cost of taking an Uber anywhere becomes cheaper than owning a vehicle."_ "
> 
> Travis forgets he will need to factor in the cost per mile (CPM) for those autonomous cars. I bet initially the cost of riding one of these vehicles will somehow include a surcharge to pay for the purchase of the vehicles as well as the CPM.


Exactly. 
For a dude with the biggest dispatch service EVER to have never owned a taxi, livery, or even one of his own gypsy cabs is pretty remarkable. 
He's in for a rude awakening once he begins fleet management, and insurance management as well!


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## CNJtrepreneur (Mar 25, 2015)

So, these autonomous cars have radar, collision detection, communications, yadda yadda, overlays.

Did anyone consider a security/antitheft/anti-hijacking overlay? I can see these cars, being unattended and left all over the place, being attractive targets for thieves, both in terms of automotive parts as well as advanced electronics. Yes, they'll have GPS transceivers, but it's RIDICULOUSLY easy to spoof GPS, it was never designed to be a secure protocol. Jam the GPS signal, and the car is off the grid.

Or, spoof a fake driving routine so it looks like the car is going to 1 place, whereas it's actually driven up the ramp into a truck with Faraday Cage shielding around the cargo area, so it can be taken to a chop shop and disassembled in peace.

BTW, this is a scenario that a schmuck with a passing knowledge of electronics came up with, on the spur of the moment. I'm sure dedicated car thieves will have a field day with these.


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## Teksaz (Mar 16, 2015)

And I can only imagine the damage these robot cars are going to receive from disgruntled ex partners. There's gonna be a huge uptick in the glass industry and the tire business is gonna go through the roof. 

I'm not advocating vandalism, it will just happen. That's what happens when you piss off a million ex partners. Stupid Goober lol

Invest in PPG and Goodyear now. lol


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

CNJtrepreneur said:


> So, these autonomous cars have radar, collision detection, communications, yadda yadda, overlays.
> 
> Did anyone consider a security/antitheft/anti-hijacking overlay? I can see these cars, being unattended and left all over the place, being attractive targets for thieves, both in terms of automotive parts as well as advanced electronics. Yes, they'll have GPS transceivers, but it's RIDICULOUSLY easy to spoof GPS, it was never designed to be a secure protocol. Jam the GPS signal, and the car is off the grid.
> 
> ...


I see a bright future in UberJacking.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

The "Go Live" versions will not have human usuable controls. No steering wheel, accelerator, or brake. Besides the GPS, they use LIDAR to assist the AI with navigation.

How many people does it take to tip over a Prius?


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

Can you imagine what all of the unemployed Uber drivers will do to these cars? Passengers puke in our cars when were sitting in the drivers seat.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

Remember the "Johnny Cab" from the first "Total Recall?"


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

Just my personal belief that we are a long way from having successful autonomous vehicles. When I was a kid, the sci fi books predicted we'd have flying cars and, erm, lifelike, entertainment androids by now. The US can't even get the infrastructure for real high speed trains in place.


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## CommanderXL (Jun 17, 2015)

CNJtrepreneur said:


> So, these autonomous cars have radar, collision detection, communications, yadda yadda, overlays.
> 
> Did anyone consider a security/antitheft/anti-hijacking overlay? I can see these cars, being unattended and left all over the place, being attractive targets for thieves, both in terms of automotive parts as well as advanced electronics. Yes, they'll have GPS transceivers, but it's RIDICULOUSLY easy to spoof GPS, it was never designed to be a secure protocol. Jam the GPS signal, and the car is off the grid.
> 
> ...


Watch, they will have to hire a security guard for each car and thereby defeat the entire purpose of it. There will still be another dude in the car. Lol


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

*http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/22/uber-self-driving-car-pittsburgh*


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

CommanderXL said:


> Watch, they will have to hire a security guard for each car and thereby defeat the entire purpose of it. There will still be another dude in the car. Lol


UberSecurity.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

UberNorthStar said:


> *http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/22/uber-self-driving-car-pittsburgh*


My house was built six years ago and Google street view still shows an empty lot. For Google and others to make this viable, they'll have to update their data much more often.


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## Jedi Driver (Aug 23, 2015)

Realityshark said:


> Can you imagine what all of the unemployed Uber drivers will do to these cars? Passengers puke in our cars when were sitting in the drivers seat.


Oh my gosh. It will be madness!


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## Jedi Driver (Aug 23, 2015)

CommanderXL said:


> Watch, they will have to hire a security guard for each car and thereby defeat the entire purpose of it. There will still be another dude in the car. Lol


And I bet the security guards will not only get paid a decent wage, but will also probs get more tips than UDs!!


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

Salthedriver said:


> Many years away! http://www.stopuber.com/uber-to-its-drivers-we-dont-want-you/


POST # 1/Salthedriver: Bostonian Bison
Thanks You for this
Hyperlink to the Website
Article. More importantly, You've tipped
Your Cap to #1 Notable, St. Comity of
Chicago for his P R O D I G I O U S "News-
Meister"ing, with now nearly 7400 News
Threads/Posts to his 16 month Marathon.

Sure hope that Bostonian Bison's Com-
ment on the StopUber.com Article drives
Interest in UPNF. Not to be Outdone by
the R E A L EvilEmpire, I bestowed *NEW* Honorifics on chi1cabby
(as Master of The Twitterverse) and Sydney Uber (as The
Thunder from Down Under.) Please,
God, let my Comment/UPNF Promo
pass "Moderation". That Site's Owner's
a TravisTwinkieBuster so I'm hopin'
Big Time.

Bison Sells the UPNF "Sizzle"!


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

Old Rocker said:


> Current autonomous cars being tested by Google cost $150,000 in additional equipment over the base price of the car. So if Uber thinks they are going to put a million $200,000 Prius and Teslas on the road, and be profitable, they have some cray cray going on. I think Travis is just trying to lure investors with new tech hype.
> 
> I've read that Google's tests are going well. The biggest problem has been the autonomous vehicle being rear-ended because they actually make complete stops at stop signs and don't run red lights.


POST # 5/Old Rocker: As a Platter Spinner
in Spring 1973, at
WTUL-FM, Your User Name takes me back!

Maybe...MAYBE You're old enough to re-
member when "Cray Cray" meant two
SuperComputers, rather than the Com-
pany of the World's Biggest SuperDouch-
ery Dude!

Bison prays that Emperor A$$hat the
Fist experiences "Extraordinary Ren-
dition".........to South Korea.


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

Old Rocker said:


> My house was built six years ago and Google street view still shows an empty lot. For Google and others to make this viable, they'll have to update their data much more often.


POST # 17/Old Rocker: Wait......WHAT?!
You built an
"Invisible House" ? Sell it to His August
Exigency (may $Billions be Upon him)
for a Cool $Bill, then call in an Airstrike!

That WOULD BE an appropriate usage of
"Awesome" UberRidiculous.
N'est ce pas ?

Bison has fun with Languages.


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## Adbam (Jun 25, 2015)

Uber is a technology company and not a transportation company. If they have those cars they would have to change that.

What stops a cabbie from thowing a rock at a normal uber....the guy that's inside that can chase the cabbie and call the cops.

How does a driverless car clean throw up?

Do you know that people would easily steal those uber rides at parties.
People put the pins at the Wrong location all the time how does a robot car fix that

People would knife the seats, pee in them

How does a robot car go thru the drive thru, help the elderly, load luggage?

I can keep on going. Robo cars can work when you own your own. But won't work in taxi or rideshare

Can robot cars change a tire

Travis k ceo of uber puts all tax burden on drivers but he can't tax a robot

Robot cars will have to obey traffic laws right? You can't program them to break laws uber would be sued. So how are they going to make all the illegal turns and stop illegally in the street down town to p/u pax

Anyone that thinks that rideshare or taxis will work without humans lives in a make belive world where there are always places to park, people are always nice and courteous, thinks GPS directions are always right and roads are perfect.
They live in a make belive upper class world that everything is handed to them. They need to actually drive a cab or a ride share for a couple of months and then they might really realize the true problems.

It will be a game for all the taxi drivers that lost their jobs out there let's go [email protected] up some robot ubers. Puncture tires, hit the sensors on the top, stick gum on the cameras. It would be so easy to do on Halloween everyone's wearing masks.

Especially peeing in an uber the cameras inside wouldn't even see it or hear it. Next guy gets in wtf.

Passed out blacked out drunk guy that was fine when he got in but is out cold in the back after getting to the house. How will they Handle this? Uber eject button? I'm sure taxi drivers and uber drivers have saved pax lives before for what ever reason.People will die in those cars and robot car will sit there.

What if a guy doesn't want to get out says. **** you robouber is it gonna drive to the police station.

10 people will try to pile in those things. People will ask robot uber to open trunk and pile people in there.....I can keep on going. They will spend so much money on those things and they will get torn up in less than a year.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

Adbam said:


> Uber is a technology company and not a transportation company. If they have those cars they would have to change that.
> 
> What stops a cabbie from thowing a rock at a normal uber....the guy that's inside that can chase the cabbie and call the cops.
> 
> ...


Nah, they'll have someone in Mumbai or Cebu who makes $3.00 an hour monitoring live feeds from a dozen vehicles at once.


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## Adbam (Jun 25, 2015)

Old Rocker said:


> Nah, they'll have someone in Mumbai or Cebu who makes $3.00 an hour monitoring live feeds from a dozen vehicles at once.


Live feeds won't solve half the problems I mentioned.


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## Teksaz (Mar 16, 2015)

This would be fun. lol









Just a little pit maneuver. lol


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Adbam said:


> Uber is a technology company and not a transportation company. If they have those cars they would have to change that.
> 
> What stops a cabbie from thowing a rock at a normal uber....the guy that's inside that can chase the cabbie and call the cops.
> 
> ...


SO many great ideas in this post.
One more:
How many disgruntled ex drivers does it take to FLIP a robot car?
Only about 4 or 5. Chock the wheels and rock it til she turtles.


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## BurgerTiime (Jun 22, 2015)

Who helps with luggage? Who cleans up the puke? How is a robot going to find a drunk person? Will a robot navigate a hard driveway?


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

And the most important question of all:
How are the Zombie Millennials going to find their robot car?
These days, even in a garishly labeled taxi, I practically have to drive over the zombies to prove I'm the cab they called.
You think a robot knows how to close the sale?
LMAO.


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

Adbam said:


> Uber is a technology company and not a transportation company.


I read somewhere Uber was first formed under Uber Taxi, Inc.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

Adbam said:


> Live feeds won't solve half the problems I mentioned.


Oh, indeed. I completely agree, but that will be their solution. The monitor worker drone will dispatch a service vehicle to the impaired autonomous vehicle.

I also would guess the vehicle will have a flat screen serving customized ads to the passengers.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

My last pax was a pickup at a large medical center for women. The pin was in the middle of the parking garage and he went to the entrance on the road on the other side of the facility from the addressed entrance. He kept calling me and telling me to hurry up because it he was "broiling." It was only 94, practical polar for August in Houston.


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## Adbam (Jun 25, 2015)

UberNorthStar said:


> I read somewhere Uber was first formed under Uber Taxi, Inc.


Your right they had to change it because they didn't want to abide by transportation rules.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Exactly.
> For a dude with the biggest dispatch service EVER to have never owned a taxi, livery, or even one of his own gypsy cabs is pretty remarkable.
> He's in for a rude awakening once he begins fleet management, and insurance management as well!


Do you suppose he will own the fleet? My assumption is they would lease the technology or service. I don't see this Uber headed towards ownership. It is people with money and capital who want to invest in a fleet of self driving cars, who don't want to deal with drivers who will lease the dispatch service (app) from Uber to access the market. Something like that. I don't think Uber or Travis want to own cars in a driverless world, that is counter to everything they do.


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

Old Rocker said:


> he went to the entrance on the road on the other side of the facility from the addressed entrance.


I know the facility well. My GYN practices there. Your comment is a reminder to ask pax _*where *_they are waiting for me if it is a large facility.


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## hanging in there (Oct 1, 2014)

Adbam said:


> Uber is a technology company and not a transportation company. If they have those cars they would have to change that.
> 
> What stops a cabbie from thowing a rock at a normal uber....the guy that's inside that can chase the cabbie and call the cops.
> 
> ...


Great list! I can add that there will be nothing to prevent it from becoming an Uber Rolling Sex Mobile, an Uber Drinking and Drugs Party Mobile, a getaway car after a bank or store robbery, a gang drive-by shooting mobile, a drug dealer's personal delivery mobile, etc.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

Huberis said:


> Do you suppose he will own the fleet? My assumption is they would lease the technology or service. I don't see this Uber headed towards ownership. It is people with money and capital who want to invest in a fleet of self driving cars, who don't want to deal with drivers who will lease the dispatch service (app) from Uber to access the market. Something like that. I don't think Uber or Travis want to own cars in a driverless world, that is counter to everything they do.


That brings up a good point. Would they invest in a depreciating rolling stock that would probably be technologically outdated in two years? Who would buy used, outmoded autonomous vehicles with no driver controls?

If you're familiar with the Amazon drone delivery plan, it took a year for the FAA to approve testing. Amazon said thanks, but no thanks because they were already working on a different technology and submitted a new proposal imploring the FAA to hurry up this time.


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

UberNorthStar said:


> I know the facility well. My GYN practices there. Your comment is a reminder to ask pax _*where *_they are waiting for me if it is a large facility.


My wife goes there. If he would have stayed by the circle drop off and pick up area everything would have fine, but noooooo.....


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

hanging in there said:


> a drug dealer's personal delivery mobile


It already has happened.

*http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/21/police-uber-drivers-real-job-may-have-been-dealing-drugs/*


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Old Rocker said:


> That brings up a good point. Would they invest in a depreciating rolling stock that would probably be technologically outdated in two years? Who would buy used, outmoded autonomous vehicles with no driver controls?
> 
> If you're familiar with the Amazon drone delivery plan, it took a year for the FAA to approve testing. Amazon said thanks, but no thanks because they were already working on a different technology and submitted a new proposal imploring the FAA to hurry up this time.


I just sense that they are more focused on intellectual capital, property rights. They, if you look at travis' history, he likes to license things. Downloading pirated music, he loves the disruptive nature of venture capitalism, he likes to feel the threat of lawsuits breathing down his back. That kind of person may not want to accrue a fleet of cars, they are walking that tightrope where one misstep could mean the end of his current venture.

There is nothing to suggest Uber will be around five years off. If travis felt Uber was dead weight, I suppose he would be done with it in a heartbeat, whatever that might suggest I wouldn't know.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Regarding owner operators investing in Uber as a franchise with robot cars?
I'd say nonsense, you can't turn a profit.

But then, hundreds of thousands of owner ops world wide already try...


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Regarding owner operators investing in Uber as a franchise with robot cars?
> I'd say nonsense, you can't turn a profit.
> 
> But then, hundreds of thousands of owner ops world wide already try...


I didn't say franchise. They could simply buy a fleet of robot cars, or whatever one might call them. Uber then might be the licensed software with which the cars use to navigate to a given pax. ALong the way, Uber is developing the technologies, applying for patents and looking for all sorts of ways to profit. This is their real deal.

TwoFiddy...... You read the Wall Street Journal article about them gutting Carnegie Mellon's robotics department? However it actually works itself out on the pavement, Uber wants to hold patents, as many as possible to the patents that make that happen. That is my assumption anyway.


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## LA#1x3 (Jul 9, 2015)

UberNorthStar said:


> "_Kalanick said. "When there's no other dude in the car, the cost of taking an Uber anywhere becomes cheaper than owning a vehicle."_ "
> 
> Travis forgets he will need to factor in the cost per mile (CPM) for those autonomous cars. I bet initially the cost of riding one of these vehicles will somehow include a surcharge to pay for the purchase of the vehicles as well as the CPM.


Lmao what about the safe rider fee what will he do about that I bet he has a lot of thinking to do. Well just go drive for lyft I guess


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## LA Cabbie (Nov 4, 2014)

Old Rocker said:


> Oh, indeed. I completely agree, but that will be their solution. The monitor worker drone will dispatch a service vehicle to the impaired autonomous vehicle.
> 
> I also would guess the vehicle will have a flat screen serving customized ads to the passengers.


Oh God, no. I just updated the back verifione credit card terminal and now the dang thing plays ads and stupid shows all times. I cut the meter short now just to shut the Damon thing up.

Any cabbies out there with a verifione back terminal and know how to make it shut up?


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

Martin818 said:


> what about the safe rider fee what will he do about that


Both driver & rider pay a SRF at this time. The whole fee will be the burden of the pax.


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

LA Cabbiie said:


> Oh God, no. I just updated the back verifione credit card terminal and now the dang thing plays ads and stupid shows all times. I cut the meter short now just to shut the Damon thing up.
> 
> Any cabbies out there with a verifione back terminal and know how to make it shut up?


LMAO!!


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## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

LA Cabbie said:


> Oh God, no. I just updated the back verifione credit card terminal and now the dang thing plays ads and stupid shows all times. I cut the meter short now just to shut the Damon thing up.
> 
> Any cabbies out there with a verifione back terminal and know how to make it shut up?


A hammer and chisel applied to the speaker?


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## hanging in there (Oct 1, 2014)

UberNorthStar said:


> LMAO!!


The ones we have in OC allow us to hit a button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen to turn it off. It comes on again when needed to process a CC. Believe me it is second nature for me to reach back and blindly hit the off button before the pax even has a chance to see it or hear it. In the off chance that it comes on first I ask them if they want me to turn off "this annoying thing" AS I am turning it off. It is a very rare occurrance that the pax says no I'd prefer to have this stupid thing flashing in front of my face and blaring BS at me. From what I understand Steve Wynn made it a point to not allow the cabbies in Vegas to have an "off" button, gotta blast those precious ads non-stop. I've had late night bar pax, before I knew there was an "off" button, threaten to break the screen to try and shut it off.


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

Another cost to factor in . . . Mechanics.


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## LA Cabbie (Nov 4, 2014)

LA Cabbie said:


> Oh God, no. I just updated the back verifione credit card terminal and now the dang thing plays ads and stupid shows all times. I cut the meter short now just to shut the Damon thing up.
> 
> Any cabbies out there with a verifione back terminal and know how to make it shut up?


Solved it. You have to stick a fully functioning headphones into the plug. The one that was in there the technician left the jack in the plug but cut the rest of it. Headphones from the dollar store do the job just fine.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

I had Taxi TV on my first charlotte taxi with ShittyCab.
I somehow dropped a $20 in front of the wiring tech and said loudly "I wish that sound card was accidentally disabled".


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

LA Cabbie said:


> Solved it. You have to stick a fully functioning headphones into the plug. The one that was in there the technician left the jack in the plug but cut the rest of it. Headphones from the dollar store do the job just fine.


Nice hack, hack!


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