# I was in a cab today and the cab driver said, "



## Minneapolis uber captain. (Jan 9, 2015)

I was in a cab today and the cab driver said, "I love my job, I'm my own boss. Nobody tells me what to do..." Then I said, *"turn Left"*


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## Gung-Ho (Jun 2, 2015)

How many stars did you rate him after the ride? You all know how important those stars are...oh wait that's something else.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

My bosses last 17 minutes on average. Course I'll turn left, your way will make the meter go higher


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## shiftydrake (Dec 12, 2015)

I always ask.....faster route, shorter route, or scenic route?.....they choose I drive when they get out and pay ME not some company that will take my $$or some fees that I will never see yeah I'm good..


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## phillipzx3 (May 26, 2015)

Minneapolis uber captain. said:


> I was in a cab today and the cab driver said, "I love my job, I'm my own boss. Nobody tells me what to do..." Then I said, *"turn Left"*


So how much did your Uber stock go up this year? Mine paid me $24K. Oh wait. Unlike many cab drivers, who are also share holders in the company they drive for, you don't own any part of Uber.

So ya.....your story is pretty funny. ;-)


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> My bosses last 17 minutes on average. Course I'll turn left, your way will make the meter go higher


This is exactly why i love getting directions,

Either
A. it's the right way to be going which is the best route i should have taken.
B. My meter is going to love it


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

phillipzx3 said:


> So how much did your Uber stock go up this year? Mine paid me $24K. Oh wait. Unlike many cab drivers, who are also share holders in the company they drive for, you don't own any part of Uber.
> 
> So ya.....your story is pretty funny. ;-)


OP Now you went and made the cabbie butt hurt.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

phillipzx3 said:


> So how much did your Uber stock go up this year? Mine paid me $24K. Oh wait. Unlike many cab drivers, who are also share holders in the company they drive for, you don't own any part of Uber.
> 
> So ya.....your story is pretty funny. ;-)


Honestly... i think the "right" way to be doing this industry is going to come to, licensed marked taxis, taxi rates and independent owner/operators with "tech" companies handling credit card processing and dispatch.

The tech companies can get a flat $1.00 on cash transactions on the meter and 5% of credit card transactions and all they do is matchmaking and processing (and vehicle tracking for price complaints) so they make their cut without any financial risk while the drivers put in all the miles and take most of the meter. The cities can then regulate the taxis do their thing, they can legally and with insurance coverage take street hails and stage at airports (where airport staff can force them to take the next passenger regardless of where they are going.

I think this is going to be the future, ridesharing is going to be an interesting side note of a terrible company(s) that almost brought transportation to it's knees.


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## UberChicago80 (Dec 22, 2016)

You were just a backseat driver in my opinion. Not a boss. Don't get it twisted.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> My bosses last 17 minutes on average. Course I'll turn left, your way will make the meter go higher


That reminds me of when I picked up a West Indian passenger after the last bus left one evening at the Shakespeare Giant Eagle, taking him home to Montier St. I was going to head straight out Penn to take him home- he insisted on taking the route the bus would have looping through Homewood Brushton and East Hills to get there. It at least doubled the fare but that's the way we went.


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

I_Like_Spam said:


> That reminds me of when I picked up a West Indian passenger after the last bus left one evening at the Shakespeare Giant Eagle, taking him home to Montier St. I was going to head straight out Penn to take him home- he insisted on taking the route the bus would have looping through Homewood Brushton and East Hills to get there. It at least doubled the fare but that's the way we went.


He was scoping out the route to a bank robbery, with the bus as his getaway car...I can see the logic in it LOL


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## iUBERdc (Dec 28, 2016)

UberChicago80 said:


> You were just a backseat driver in my opinion. Not a boss. Don't get it twisted.


The dude is an idiot. With a taxi, good luck complaining. With UBER, even if you do everything right, 1 star for you.


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## A_Driver (Dec 2, 2016)

I let a drunk pax give me direction. It worked out well for me.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

I_Like_Spam said:


> That reminds me of when I picked up a West Indian passenger after the last bus left one evening at the Shakespeare Giant Eagle, taking him home to Montier St. I was going to head straight out Penn to take him home- he insisted on taking the route the bus would have looping through Homewood Brushton and East Hills to get there. It at least doubled the fare but that's the way we went.


He was afraid he would miss something.
Routine us important to some.


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## iUBERdc (Dec 28, 2016)

A_Driver said:


> I let a drunk pax give me direction. It worked out well for me.


You've been reported for inefficient route, you lose money ... how do you prevent them from sobering up the next day and complaining to UBER with BS charge that you were responsible for the extra time and distance?


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## A_Driver (Dec 2, 2016)

It's a chance you take I guess. I'll fight for my money if I have to. So far so good.


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## Rooster06 (Sep 14, 2016)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Honestly... i think the "right" way to be doing this industry is going to come to, licensed marked taxis, taxi rates and independent owner/operators with "tech" companies handling credit card processing and dispatch.
> 
> The tech companies can get a flat $1.00 on cash transactions on the meter and 5% of credit card transactions and all they do is matchmaking and processing (and vehicle tracking for price complaints) so they make their cut without any financial risk while the drivers put in all the miles and take most of the meter. The cities can then regulate the taxis do their thing, they can legally and with insurance coverage take street hails and stage at airports (where airport staff can force them to take the next passenger regardless of where they are going.
> 
> I think this is going to be the future, ridesharing is going to be an interesting side note of a terrible company(s) that almost brought transportation to it's knees.


Dude, I'm not going to praise Uber/Lyft as the new end all, be all of on demand transport, but seriously... traditional taxis are slowly going the way of the buffalo. If the companies and unions don't make drastic changes, then there will be no more taxi demand. Hell, I've heard people in bars say they'd rather drive drunk than deal with the bullshit of the local cab company.


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## BurgerTiime (Jun 22, 2015)

Everyone has a boss.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

Rooster06 said:


> If the companies and unions don't make drastic changes, then there will be no more taxi demand. Hell, I've heard people in bars say they'd rather drive drunk than deal with the bullshit of the local cab company.


Actually, taxis have already made big changes, computerized dispatching and the taking of credit cards.

Cab unions have already gone away in many places, they broke up in the 80's in Pittsburgh when leasing became the norm.

The real reason for the attitude is that people don't care to pay, and don't want to keep it together enough while boozing it up to take a cab.


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## A_Driver (Dec 2, 2016)

Not cabs here. I ask almost every Pax why they use Uber. Almost all say because cabs take way to long, the drivers are bad, smelly, or rude. The cab is dirty, old, not well maintained. It's really rare they even mention price. Uber could charge more in my market and people would pay it.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

I_Like_Spam said:


> Actually, taxis have already made big changes, computerized dispatching and the taking of credit cards.
> 
> Cab unions have already gone away in many places, they broke up in the 80's in Pittsburgh when leasing became the norm.
> 
> The real reason for the attitude is that people don't care to pay, and don't want to keep it together enough while boozing it up to take a cab.


Some companies are worse than others, FAR WORSE. I'll be the first to admit that.

Some drivers are worse than others, we all know what i'm talking about here.

But here in Orlando there's only one company that always takes everyone (eventually), it isn't Uber, It isn't Lyft, it's the biggest cab company. At the end of the day with a bar set that low, that uber still can't manage to meet that one simple expectation, Uber really is just amateur hour BS around here. Sure it sucks to wait 15 minutes for a cab, but if uber just gave you the "no cars available" crapola, and yet the cab company STILL shows up in 15 minutes... who is really winning?

With the rideshare rates being what they are, the number of passengers who don't get service between 3:00 am and 3:00 PM is growing. And the public is starting to wake up to that fact around here.

This might be one isolated example, but i'm more suspecting that it's just uber butting heads with what a cab company that runs the way it should be. If the uber rates continue downhill, which is see as inevitable from these $(#*# running the show) it's going to open up cabs to being the ones you can count on.

Also fascinating side note, In Orlando... statistically... cabs show up faster to the biggest tourist spots the vast majority of the time, (because they are already there on site already,but i digress), have a lower refusal of service stats, actually HAVE para transit capabilities, and can show up in under 10 minutes more often than most people believe possible for a cab company... and we do scheduled pickup and have for many years, and the vast majority of the time we are early, for the people who depend on us that's where we shine is doing scheduled pickups.

And if someone schedules a trip that just plain sucks, i'm mean really bad... dispatch will do a package deal with a driver and give them a good airport run or something else for taking care of business. Sure you shouldn't have to do these things but it's better than having your driver call you, ask you where you are going, and cancel.

Compare this to scheduling a pickup to take your ride on wheelchair so you can go to the doctor, and having it show up.. ON TIME... it's no comparison, uber is losing in this category out here.

Maybe i'm just askewed because Disney holds us to a higher standard... I'd like to believe that uber is the future but my time on this forum tells me that with how they treat their drivers that it's a sinking ship. Let's not forget that passengers didn't want to get off the Titanic when they were first told to.


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## 123dragon (Sep 14, 2016)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Some companies are worse than others, FAR WORSE. I'll be the first to admit that.
> 
> Some drivers are worse than others, we all know what i'm talking about here.
> 
> ...


The challenge is that a cab companies behave regionally. Uber is pretty consistent through out the world. I am sure some area's have better cab service then Uber but in aggregate Uber is far more reliable worldwide. I had the same experience taking an Uber in San Francisco, Washington DC, London, and Capetown South Africa. It's amazing how Uber has removed the worry of leaving an airport in so many places that you don't even have to research getting from the airport to your destination. That's Uber's biggest value.

The 20-30s crowd is the biggest users of Uber and Lyft so I would expect over time for them to become more prevalent.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

> That's Uber's biggest value.
> 
> The 20-30s crowd is the biggest users of Uber and Lyft so I would expect over time for them to become more prevalent.


That would depend on whether Uber and/or Lyft can maintain the same level of service at the same price point.

Consumer tastes change, when I was a young man, Sears was the undisputed king of retail, GM reigned supreme in automotive transportation.

Self Driving cars are going to come, no doubt about it. Whether people will want to use Uber's or someone else's or just buy their own, how much they will cost to own or use, its difficult to say. The future is an onion which has yet to be peeled.

Right now, the 20s/30s people using Uber are oftentimes using Uber has their own private vomitoriums, in a few years many won't be drinking so much and might not be as likely to call for an Uber.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

I_Like_Spam said:


> That would depend on whether Uber and/or Lyft can maintain the same level of service at the same price point.
> 
> Consumer tastes change, when I was a young man, Sears was the undisputed king of retail, GM reigned supreme in automotive transportation.
> 
> ...


How's do you like your flying car?

Cause they work, but.... they never really caught on now did they?

What about Nuclear power?

It works, it's pretty awesome, but it's still getting phased out because of the consequences of it's use.

Here's some others awesome predictions of over reaching inventors to consider.

*"Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within ten years."*

_Alex Lewyt, president of Lewyt vacuum company, 1955_

"Before man reaches the moon, your mail will be delivered within hours from New York to Australia by guided missiles. We stand on the threshold of rocket mail." -Arthur Summerfield, U.S. Postmaster General under Eisenhower, 1959

my personal favorite, and very applicable to the uber issue

"Two years from now, spam will be solved."

_Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, 2004_
If Billy Gates can't fix email spam. The self driving car is a lot farther away than people believe.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/history/selfdriving-cars-were-just-around-the-cornerin-1960

Personally, i expect Uber's self driving car to be the next betamax. The tech is going to come out, but it won't be uber.

Afterall.. Uber has to get their self driving car 1000% PERFECT before it can cut out drivers, Tesla can put in an advanced cruise control that works as a mere novelty in ideal conditions and get it on the road YEARS before uber can roll out its working model.

If your self driving car works in 85% of the time based on weather, on 75% of roads... it's completely useless for eliminating drivers from vehicles for hire, yet Tesla could put that out, sell the tech to ford GM, Toyota... Northrop Grumman, and make a killing all the whiled Uber is trying to figure out how to get a SDC to respond to a police officer giving it directions, or how to tell an exotic dancer cop from a real one.

What's that? I came up with an absolutely absurd situation where an SDC can't tell if a uniformed police officer is a real LEO or a drunk guy in a costume who is waving their arms like a lunatic trying to get an SDC to take a right turn the wrong way up a street?


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Honestly... i think the "right" way to be doing this industry is going to come to, licensed marked taxis, taxi rates and independent owner/operators with "tech" companies handling credit card processing and dispatch.
> 
> The tech companies can get a flat $1.00 on cash transactions on the meter and 5% of credit card transactions and all they do is matchmaking and processing (and vehicle tracking for price complaints) so they make their cut without any financial risk while the drivers put in all the miles and take most of the meter. The cities can then regulate the taxis do their thing, they can legally and with insurance coverage take street hails and stage at airports (where airport staff can force them to take the next passenger regardless of where they are going.
> 
> I think this is going to be the future, ridesharing is going to be an interesting side note of a terrible company(s) that almost brought transportation to it's knees.


So, go back to the dreaded past? Yeah, that's not happening. TNC will continue its growth until SDCs take over. Taxis and regulated rates are being delegated to the pages of history.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

iUBERdc said:


> You've been reported for inefficient route, you lose money ... how do you prevent them from sobering up the next day and complaining to UBER with BS charge that you were responsible for the extra time and distance?


Because all good Uber drivers have dash-cams?

I've followed passanger instructions hundreds of times with zero inefficient route complaints.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Some companies are worse than others, FAR WORSE. I'll be the first to admit that.
> 
> Some drivers are worse than others, we all know what i'm talking about here.
> 
> ...


...but back in reality if people were being served by cabs in the manner you present, Uber wouldn't be a verb today.

Every market is different but in my market no one wants to take a cab. It's definitely plan B or C for most people.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Afterall.. Uber has to get their self driving car 1000% PERFECT before it can cut out drivers


Not at all. Where did you get the idea that perfection is possible or that it's a requirement? That's silly.



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> What's that? I came up with an absolutely absurd situation where an SDC can't tell if a uniformed police officer is a real LEO or a drunk guy in a costume who is waving their arms like a lunatic trying to get an SDC to take a right turn the wrong way up a street?


_What if someone dressed an ostrich as a hula girl and called it a car?! How would that car even know it was an ostrich?!
_
Naysayers and their "unsolvable" and wildly unlikely scenarios crack me up!

A guy in a cop costume wildly waving his arms? Is that really your show stopper?

Question: Why would you wave your arms at an SDC?

Second Question: How many people have you seen dressed in cop costumes recently?

How about the cops have an app or transmitter that authenticates them to the car? Or the cop can log into a central system and instruct all SDCs about the blockage and new route? Oh, yeah, that was easy.


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## 123dragon (Sep 14, 2016)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> How's do you like your flying car?
> 
> Cause they work, but.... they never really caught on now did they?
> 
> ...


The flaw in thinking is "Uber has to get their self driving car 1000% PERFECT". It's never going to be 100% and no one thinks it. I live in DC and work at a self driving test facility in McClain VA doing simulation modeling to validate safety. The goal has always been better then humans which is .99996 of the time no accident. Seeing the data one of the companies will hit, most likely to me it's Tesla. They are a lot further ahead then everyone else.

To go off your lead here are some quotes:

"It's just a toy" - Alexander Grahm Bell's father in law about the telephone
"The sky will explode" - Sun in a Bottle - Scientist during the first Manhattan bomb experiment.

You can be anecdotal as can I. My prediction may be off, I am basing on a trend and how we have progressed there might be roadblocks with the final .00006 percent. Smart money says it's coming which is why everyone is racing to win the Transportation as a Service game. Don't go off of articles sit in a self driving car and experience it for yourself. Half the states have some sort of program involving it at this point.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

RamzFanz said:


> ...but back in reality if people were being served by cabs in the manner you present, Uber wouldn't be a verb today.
> 
> Every market is different but in my market no one wants to take a cab. It's definitely plan B or C for most people.


You mean if the cab company had a taxi app that was released almost a year before uber came to town,
(We have used and still use taxi magic as well, we were one of the early adopters)

Let's we have also been computer dispatching calls since.. 1989

We are also regulated directly by the Walt Disney World corporation since Walt Disney World opened, (follow the rules or GTFO)

The drivers still make more money running a taxi a lot of days compared to uber (especially X-only drivers) (after the taxi drivers expenses, before the uber drivers)

Let's not forget the large abundance of cab fares that are just people walking up to the cabs and getting in at the theme parks and hotels. Why call an uber and wait when there's a shiny cab that's likely newer than the uber cars your likely to get. 2012 or newer VS 2001 and newer.

Let's see... one company likes to hit people with "no cars available" at off hours and leave people stranded, and the other "eventually" gets a car there. I know neither situation is really ideal but honestly eventually is better than "no cars available"

And if you need a handicap accessible van... well... it's either us or the county bus service's para transit service, who subs out work to us during peak hours, Potato potato with that decision.

Maybe we were the ideal that all the other cab companies should have been living up to, but didn;t


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> You mean if the cab company had a taxi app that was released almost a year before uber came to town,
> (We have used and still use taxi magic as well, we were one of the early adopters)
> 
> Let's we have also been computer dispatching calls since.. 1989
> ...


And yet Uber has become a verb. The reality belies your fantasy.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

RamzFanz said:


> Question: Why would you wave your arms at an SDC?
> 
> Second Question: How many people have you seen dressed in cop costumes recently?
> 
> How about the cops have an app or transmitter that authenticates them to the car? Or the cop can log into a central system and instruct all SDCs about the blockage and new route? Oh, yeah, that was easy.


You ever see a traffic signal go out?

You ever see a police officer traffic direction or any number of reasons?

The car will have to either have some sort of transponder receiver (yup just stole the idea from you), allowing a police officer to quickly and seamlessly guide a car through an intersection while directly ignoring both traffic control signals and lane markings, ]

What happens if... a police department can't afford to buy X transmitters for X different models of cars. Or uber decides to not make their vehicles compatible with the national standard system and gets the public to protest until everyone rolls over for uber and there is no way for law enforcement to override a vehicle?

Or if a police officer can't get the override to work or the location is in a cellular hole..

Do you give construction workers the override devices as well? so they can reduce a road down to a single lane? Kinda need to do it there to.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

RamzFanz said:


> And yet Uber has become a verb. The reality belies your fantasy.


You misunderstood me, i clarrified my post.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

123dragon said:


> The flaw in thinking is "Uber has to get their self driving car 1000% PERFECT". It's never going to be 100% and no one thinks it. I live in DC and work at a self driving test facility in McClain VA doing simulation modeling to validate safety. The goal has always been better then humans which is .99996 of the time no accident. Seeing the data one of the companies will hit, most likely to me it's Tesla. They are a lot further ahead then everyone else.
> 
> To go off your lead here are some quotes:
> 
> ...


Well, the rollout of new technology always affects how wizards do business. Diane Duane

Tesla can roll out a self driving car that works 30% of the time and it will be economically viable, as a car that can drive itself when the conditions are right but when they arn't it will still bed economically viable to sell as is.

Uber needs to have it be 100% (or reasonably close to 100%) Perfect is never going to happen, but it has to A LOT better than Google maps currently is, It also has to be able to figure out that the passenger dropped the pin in the wrong place.

Or that the passenger is at the wrong door of the building. (or the car is at the wrong door)

There's a lot of situations where i just have to call the passenger to get their A outside and wait at the curb and get ready to jump in when Slow down at the door, as i can't park. It's not that i don't want to park, it's that i can't park.

It's actually possible to call an uber to addresses that are inaccessible or has zero parking left. It's very hard to look at the map data and see this.

Another situation I can think of.

Gonna call the passenger...

"Sir.. i'm afraid to say this but if you walk one block towards Garland ave you'll get picked up 20 minutes sooner and get to your destination a lot faster"

And it's the truth.

Something that happens regularly is i'll type in an address and something completely bogus pops up.

And I do this completely stone cold sober.

Imagine some drunk guy typing in an address and he doesn't realize that the navigator detected it as being 4 states away rather than 4 miles away. Personally i think it's hysterical... but the customer wont.

There are nights that i'm pulling teeth to get the full address from people, no destination set.

"(Yes i really need to know what city your in)

(No google, i'm not going to 1000 s Semoran BLVD orlando, i'm going to 1000s semoran Blvd Winter park.)

If the passenger can't get it right now with a human driver and or dispatcher helping them out, people are going to get lost.


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## Woodbury77 (Nov 30, 2016)

A_Driver said:


> Not cabs here. I ask almost every Pax why they use Uber. Almost all say because cabs take way to long, the drivers are bad, smelly, or rude. The cab is dirty, old, not well maintained. It's really rare they even mention price. Uber could charge more in my market and people would pay it.


Hear the same thing every night I drive in Minnesota...


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## UberBlackDriverLA (Aug 21, 2014)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> My bosses last 17 minutes on average. Course I'll turn left, your way will make the meter go higher


Californians are the complete worst. They all think they have a "shortcut" or better route. Their routes are ALWAYS longer. Unfortunately, most of our rates are fixed.


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## 5StarPartner (Apr 4, 2015)

In Philly people are coming back to cabs at an alarming rate. UberX cars here set a new precedent of being the biggest pieces of garbage on the road.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

5StarPartner said:


> In Philly people are coming back to cabs at an alarming rate. UberX cars here set a new precedent of being the biggest pieces of garbage on the road.


Uber rates are a lot higher in Philadelphia than they are in other places, so I'm sure that Uber is looking how to fight this.


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## Woodbury77 (Nov 30, 2016)

5StarPartner said:


> UberX cars here set a new precedent of being the biggest pieces of garbage on the road.


How so? With the Uber requirements on age of cars are people really driving POS cars for Uber? I'm getting screwed in my SUV, but it's my choice. Just wish they weren't f#cking me at 28%.


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## 5StarPartner (Apr 4, 2015)

Don't worry, Uber's "Winter warmup" rate cuts are coming by the end of the month. Philly will soon be about .80 a mile. Oh how the poor get poorer.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

RamzFanz said:


> So, go back to the dreaded past? Yeah, that's not happening. TNC will continue its growth until SDCs take over. Taxis and regulated rates are being delegated to the pages of history.





5StarPartner said:


> In Philly people are coming back to cabs at an alarming rate. UberX cars here set a new precedent of being the biggest pieces of garbage on the road.


Fascinating isn't it... Give a ride share car few years on the road and they are worse than taxis... funny how that happens.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> You ever see a traffic signal go out?


Yes, it's very rare, but I have. A signal out becomes a 4 way stop. Easy peasy.



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> You ever see a police officer traffic direction or any number of reasons?


Yes, at accidents and major events.



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> The car will have to either have some sort of transponder receiver (yup just stole the idea from you), allowing a police officer to quickly and seamlessly guide a car through an intersection while directly ignoring both traffic control signals and lane markings, ]


The Waymo system can already violate rules of the road as needed. Yes, one way or another, hand signals or electronic communication, they will need to communicate.



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> What happens if... a police department can't afford to buy X transmitters for X different models of cars. Or uber decides to not make their vehicles compatible with the national standard system and gets the public to protest until everyone rolls over for uber and there is no way for law enforcement to override a vehicle?


Then it's on the vehicle to figure it out.



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Or if a police officer can't get the override to work or the location is in a cellular hole..


Hand signals or direct local communication. My point isn't that this isn't a problem that needs to be solved but that it can be. A cop could pick up a tablet and circle a "no go" area on a map and the problem is solved.



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Do you give construction workers the override devices as well? so they can reduce a road down to a single lane? Kinda need to do it there to.


I would imagine a central system that supports construction work and emergency services by sending out temporary changes. These changes can be passed car to car so being out of cell range shouldn't be an issue.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Fascinating isn't it... Give a ride share car few years on the road and they are worse than taxis... funny how that happens.


According to 1 cab driver's opinion? OK.


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## 4.9 driver rating (May 15, 2016)

Minneapolis uber captain. said:


> I was in a cab today and the cab driver said, "I love my job, I'm my own boss. Nobody tells me what to do..." Then I said, *"turn Left"*


lol


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## WeirdBob (Jan 2, 2016)

A_Driver said:


> Not cabs here. I ask almost every Pax why they use Uber. Almost all say because cabs take way to long, the drivers are bad, smelly, or rude. The cab is dirty, old, not well maintained. It's really rare they even mention price. Uber could charge more in my market and people would pay it.


My phone died, and all I have is cash. Can you call an Uber for me?


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## WeirdBob (Jan 2, 2016)

RamzFanz said:


> Not at all. Where did you get the idea that perfection is possible or that it's a requirement? That's silly.


Is the traffic light red or green? Or is that a tail light?




















RamzFanz said:


> How about the cops have an app or transmitter that authenticates them to the car? Or the cop can log into a central system and instruct all SDCs about the blockage and new route? Oh, yeah, that was easy.


Is Uber paying for these cool tools, or the taxpayers??


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## WeirdBob (Jan 2, 2016)

RamzFanz said:


> Yes, it's very rare, but I have. A signal out becomes a 4 way stop. Easy peasy.


*Traffic Light Mapping, Localization, and State Detection for Autonomous Vehicles*

http://driving.stanford.edu/papers/ICRA2011.pdf

. . .

III. TRAFFIC LIGHT STATE DETECTION

A. Prominent Failure Cases

Our system must be robust to pathological situations,
like superfluous lights and temporary occlusions, and must
also work at all times of day, under all possible lighting
conditions.

Assuming that a vision algorithm could distinguish tail
lights from traffic lights during the day in real-time, the task
becomes impossible at night with most video cameras. All
distinguishing features, aside from light color, are lost. Since
in the United States there is no legally-defined standard for
light lens material and intensity [10], tail lights near where
we expect a traffic light could be considered traffic lights in
the image processing algorithm.

. . .​


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

WeirdBob said:


> Is the traffic light red or green? Or is that a tail light?
> 
> Is Uber paying for these cool tools, or the taxpayers??


Even if they were ordered to they still wouldn't. So it's going to be put on the taxpayers.


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## UsedToBeAPartner (Sep 19, 2016)

I was trying to take a rider from an area off of Memorial to NRG for the "big game". I headed for 610 and he said no, he wanted to go via 45. Well, due to construction the 45S on ramps were closed. I told him that I was pretty sure we could not get on 45 from Memorial but he insisted. His wife disagreed but he continued to tell me which way to go. Once we got there and we could not get on 45 he said "OK, let's just get there." The wife got a chuckle and I got a better fare. We finally got there after about a 15 minute add-on. Thank you to all know-it-alls!


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

WeirdBob said:


> Is the traffic light red or green? Or is that a tail light?


You do realise they were aware of the challenges a decade ago and are still projecting 2018 - 2020? Lenses can be recessed away from the elements, be self cleaning, and they also have irises to adjust out glare. It's not like there aren't obvious answers.



WeirdBob said:


> Is Uber paying for these cool tools, or the taxpayers??


If it benefits society, improves traffic, and lowers costs, who cares?

Who pays for the jaws of life to remove bad human drivers from their crushed cars?


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

WeirdBob said:


> *Traffic Light Mapping, Localization, and State Detection for Autonomous Vehicles*
> 
> http://driving.stanford.edu/papers/ICRA2011.pdf
> 
> ...


The car will already know exactly where the traffic light is in 3 dimensional space and can easily isolate which is the control and which is a car. Issues we have for determining a light when backlit or glared can be dealt with using technology. We can't adjust brightness, contrast, color saturation, etc on the fly like a computer controlled camera. To assume these can't be dealt with is the same as saying humans can't deal with them now.


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## WeirdBob (Jan 2, 2016)

RamzFanz said:


> The car will already know exactly where the traffic light is in 3 dimensional space and can easily isolate which is the control and which is a car. Issues we have for determining a light when backlit or glared can be dealt with using technology. We can't adjust brightness, contrast, color saturation, etc on the fly like a computer controlled camera. To assume these can't be dealt with is the same as saying humans can't deal with them now.


The car will know where the traffic light is SUPPOSED to be in 3-D space as long as A. The car knows where IT is in 3-D space (localization, direction, pitch, and yaw), B. The lights have not been replaced with an upgraded configuration, and C. The lights are secure in that 3-D space (not dangling, twisting in the breeze). Where I live, in the heart of of the auto industry, the traffic lights are being replaced with a design that is more SDC friendly (high contrasts, reliable positioning, standardized lens colors). But we are a fairly wealthy area where the car companies are THE most important industry. When GM and Ford say jump, our pols ask how high. However, not every jurisdiction has the resources, foresight, or political will to spend the money required to replace all their traffic lights in the near future.

Yes, with the proper technology, the cars CAN read traffic lights fairly reliably. But only at the cost of $$$ and clock cycles. Remember, even the fastest computers have a finite # of clock cycles. The NVIDIA DGX-1 is a promising platform hardware wise, but it is still going to take some time before economically viable software and sensors are robust enough to drive beyond limited, carefully controlled areas in full autonomy.


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## WeirdBob (Jan 2, 2016)

RamzFanz said:


> You do realise they were aware of the challenges a decade ago and are still projecting 2018 - 2020? Lenses can be recessed away from the elements, be self cleaning, and they also have irises to adjust out glare. It's not like there aren't obvious answers.


More $$$. More maintenance. More physical wear and opportunities for failure.



RamzFanz said:


> If it benefits society, improves traffic, and lowers costs, who cares?


Taxpayers. And thus, vote seeking politicians. SDCs will be a tiny minority of the cars on the road for the next 20 years.

So the cop waves his magic SDC wand "Over that way!", sending the car over area and terrain that the SDC was taught to never go. The cop cannot leave his post to keep gesturing each individual throughout the entire detour. Then what?


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Minneapolis uber captain. said:


> I was in a cab today and the cab driver said, "I love my job, I'm my own boss. Nobody tells me what to do..." Then I said, *"turn Left"*


funny, but its' no different when you are truly in business for yourself, your customer or client is still going to tell you want to do, the only difference is, you don't have one boss, you have many, so if one fires you, you still got quite a few left to serve, that's why I loved being self employed as a wedding photographer for 13 years.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Some companies are worse than others, FAR WORSE. I'll be the first to admit that.
> 
> Some drivers are worse than others, we all know what i'm talking about here.
> 
> ...


That sounds about right. In San Diego, noting that taxi medallions used to be selling for over $100K, and now they are book price because of Uber ( the city sells them for just over one thousand, so I'm thinking of purchasing one, betting taht Uber will go out of business, and the value of the medallions will rebound ).

It really boils down to money, and drivers for Uber are not making it, and now Uber is spending millions in advertising to attract new drivers. what company spends millions on TV advertising just to hire people? I will tell you who, the ones that need workers, but pay them crap so no one wants to work for them, that's who. Uber management must be morons, for why not do the reverse? Spend the millions on drivers ( give a generous mileage allowance and/or raise the rate to, say, $2 per mile ) then spend advertising money on attracting more customers, and people will be banging down Uber's door to be hired, and driver morale, which is now in the tank, will go up and up.

In the 90s, I drove for Yellow cab here in San Diego, and I did much better and was just as busy as Uber is now, I was actually able to afford a one bedroom apartment with no roommates. With UBer, that is impossible ( fortunately, I own a home, no mortgage, otherwise I could not afford to driver for Uber ). Of course, with Uber's rates being so low, they have taken all of Yellow's business. But, I read on Business Insider website that uber lost 3billion in 2016, so one wonders how long Uber can hold out.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Oscar Levant said:


> That sounds about right. In San Diego, noting that taxi medallions used to be selling for over $100K, and now they are book price because of Uber ( the city sells them for just over one thousand, so I'm thinking of purchasing one, betting taht Uber will go out of business, and the value of the medallions will rebound ).
> 
> It really boils down to money, and drivers for Uber are not making it, and now Uber is spending millions in advertising to attract new drivers. what company spends millions on TV advertising just to hire people? I will tell you who, the ones that need workers, but pay them crap so no one wants to work for them, that's who. Uber management must be morons, for why not do the reverse? Spend the millions on drivers ( give a generous mileage allowance and/or raise the rate to, say, $2 per mile ) then spend advertising money on attracting more customers, and people will be banging down Uber's door to be hired, and driver morale, which is now in the tank, will go up and up.
> 
> In the 90s, I drove for Yellow cab here in San Diego, and I did much better and was just as busy as Uber is now, I was actually able to afford a one bedroom apartment with no roommates. With UBer, that is impossible ( fortunately, I own a home, no mortgage, otherwise I could not afford to driver for Uber ). Of course, with Uber's rates being so low, they have taken all of Yellow's business. But, I read on Business Insider website that uber lost 3billion in 2016, so one wonders how long Uber can hold out.


If Uber doesn't IPO in 2017 they are doomed.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> If Uber doesn't IPO in 2017 they are doomed.


IF they IPO, then they must open their books, and then people will know they are a losing bet, and the stocks will tank.
But, Travis & equity partners will make a killing, but the stocks will tank shortly thereafter because you know the game, they will dump the stock after the IPO in order to cash out and leave stockholders holding the bag. Essentially, it will be a transfer of wealth to stockholders to the guys at the top. But, with new management, Uber will flounder, and eventually fold.

That's my prediction.

And, this is precisely what is wrong with corporatism as it is currently structured. It allows people to steal from one another, legally.

I believe that stocks should be tied to the book value, which is the real value of a stock, and let real value be traded, disallow bidding on stocks. What is the point of bidding on stocks? Excluding IPOs, ( most stock purchases are not IPO ) it does nothing to improve the economy, it just ties up trillions of dollars in digital paper, and allows for all sorts of manipulation and essentially theft of wealth, employing only stock brokers, mutual fund people. But, think of all the jobs that would be created if that money were used to purchase actual goods and services.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Oscar Levant said:


> IF they IPO, then they must open their books, and then people will know they are a losing bet, and the stocks will tank.
> But, Travis & equity partners will make a killing, but the stocks will tank shortly thereafter because you know the game, they will dump the stock after the IPO in order to cash out and leave stockholders holding the bag. Essentially, it will be a transfer of wealth to stockholders to the guys at the top. But, with new management, Uber will flounder, and eventually fold.
> 
> That's my prediction.
> ...


I'll.call that and raise you 50.
I think the stock price should be tied to tangible prices and sales of the actual product.
How many Ponzi stocks have been out there which theoretically have a widget or service, but the stock has NOTHING to do with the unicorns so called product?
I'm with you on insanity in the public trading world. I made a vow a decade ago to never take a company public. The evil involved in having a mandate to make quarterly profit regardless of eithics or actual product sales, price and performance is off the hook.


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## Lowestformofwit (Sep 2, 2016)

5StarPartner said:


> Don't worry, Uber's "Winter warmup" rate cuts are coming by the end of the month. Philly will soon be about .80 a mile. Oh how the poor get poorer.


In the Land Downunder, it'd be better to describe the process as the "Summer Shiver".


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

WeirdBob said:


> SDCs will be a tiny minority of the cars on the road for the next 20 years.


That tells me all I need to know.



WeirdBob said:


> So the cop waves his magic SDC wand "Over that way!", sending the car over area and terrain that the SDC was taught to never go. The cop cannot leave his post to keep gesturing each individual throughout the entire detour. Then what?


No, there is no reason the cop would have to help more than once, if even that. Investigate V2V.

If you can't use even the slightest bit of imagination or problem solving skills, explaining possible solutions to you is a meaningless endeavor.

Keep pointing at easily solved outliers and telling yourself these are show stoppers and you're going to be very unhappy in a few years.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

WeirdBob said:


> More $$$. More maintenance. More physical wear and opportunities for failure.


Electronics are cheap and can be very robust. You want there to be unsolvable issues, but there just aren't.


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## WeirdBob (Jan 2, 2016)

RamzFanz said:


> Electronics are cheap and can be very robust. You want there to be unsolvable issues, but there just aren't.


LOL!!! At no time have I said there were UNSOLVABLE issues. Merely that these are difficult CHALLENGES that must be addressed. You, on the other hand, seem to believe that auto auto technology is near flawless in its current state.

Safe driving involves A LOT MORE than keeping between the lines and far enough back.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

WeirdBob said:


> LOL!!! At no time have I said there were UNSOLVABLE issues. Merely that these are difficult CHALLENGES that must be addressed. You, on the other hand, seem to believe that auto auto technology is near flawless in its current state.
> 
> Safe driving involves A LOT MORE than keeping between the lines and far enough back.


I don't think you grasp its current state if you think they only stay far enough back and between the lines.


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