Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

Re:Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to... by icebraining on Sunday August 21, 2016 @05:20AM (#12330112)

In my area, Uber is better because their drivers don't treat me like shit - and I'm not talking about being servile, but simply greeting me back and not ranting the whole way about how rides should be $20 minimum. Before Uber, I took a taxi only in emergencies, simply because it was more often than not an unpleasant experience.

Their association is also corrupt as hell, so they can't even claim that over Uber.

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Re:Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to... by CydeWeys on Sunday August 21, 2016 @09:41AM (#12330883)

I had an unpleasant Uber experience a few months ago where my driver illegally drove in a bike lane to make a right turn at a light, cutting off another car at the light that was legally trying to proceed right. The two drivers got into a verbal altercation that lasted for another light, and then my driver was ranting about it for the rest of the entire drive. I got the feeling that the Uber driver used to be a yellow cab driver who was doing the same thing now but without a medallion. I should point out that driving in the bike lane was especially infuriating to me because I bike every day, whereas I almost never take cars.

The big difference between Uber and cabs, however, is that I left the driver a negative review on Uber, and their customer support got back to me. If he keeps pulling that crap he's not going to be able to drive for Uber anymore. There's essentially no recourse for cab drivers. Sure, they may have contact info posted for their company by law, but if you try to contact them you won't reach anyone who cares.

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Re:Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to... by thwarted on Sunday August 21, 2016 @01:29PM (#12331763)

illegally drove in a bike lane to make a right turn at a light, cutting off another car at the light that was legally trying to proceed right

Diverging off-topic, and your account is light on specifics needed for this divergence...

http://pedalfortcollins.com/righthandturns/

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Re:Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to... by ptaipale on Sunday August 21, 2016 @04:32PM (#12332613)

Good point. Rules of the road regarding right turns and bike lanes vary depending on jurisdiction. But even though your link was for Colorado and I'm in northern Europe, the rule is the same: a right-turning car actually should merge into bike lane.

So, sometimes it could be that the Uber (or taxi) driver knows more about the rules of the road that the passenger, and when the passenger complains based on wrong understanding of traffic law, it's not an easy customer-serving situation.

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Re:Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to... by CydeWeys on Sunday August 21, 2016 @07:29PM (#12333228)

To be clear, I didn't say anything at all. The driver was ranting at me and I didn't want any part of it.

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to use a bike lane to cut off another car that's already stopped at an intersection. Keep in mind this is a road that has a single travel lane in each direction -- there isn't a separate right-turning lane.

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Re:Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to... by CydeWeys on Sunday August 21, 2016 @07:31PM (#12333232)

I can't find specifics on NYC -- any ideas? Regardless, I don't think it's acceptable to use a bike lane to cut off another vehicle that's already stopped at the light indicating a turn when there is only one car travel lane. The Uber barely slipped through.

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