Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting, Endangering Loans

Re:Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting, Endangering Loans by tptacek on Monday January 30, 2017 @11:38PM (#13527662)

I'm not saying much more than I'm actually saying. Uber subsidizes fares. Those subsidized fares are putting pressure on cab companies. When we ask ourselves how we feel about cab companies being squeezed, we should consider that this isn't a natural state of affairs; it's a distortion of the market by speculators, and probably can't stay this way.

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Re:Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting, Endangering Loans by curun1r on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @03:15AM (#13528708)

I'm probably in the minority, but Uber's fares aren't what make me prefer them over traditional cabs. The up-front pricing, which limits scams, is a huge plus. And the lack of ability for drivers to discriminate against minorities/destinations is also a huge step forward.

Even if Uber eventually raises prices to what cabs currently charge, it will still be a massive improvement. The schadenfreude I feel when seeing cab drivers struggle has little to do with their prices and more to do with the abusive antics they made us put up with when they had a monopoly.

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Re:Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting, Endangering Loans by JamesBarney on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @11:52AM (#13532364)

In my experience in Houston/Austin Uber is a superior product.

Uber pick up times 15-30 minutes. Taxi pick up times 30 minutes - 6 hours(bad neighborhoods)

Never dealt with a rude Uber driver. Routinely dealt with rude Taxi drivers(usually not to me but to my wife)

I'm not friends with anyone who was sexually harassed or assaulted in an Uber but plenty of them were sexually harassed/assaulted by Taxi drivers.

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Re:Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting, Endangering Loans by richardwhiuk on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @03:54AM (#13528873)

Uber doesn't charge up front. You get a suggested fare, but the actual fare isn't guaranteed to be in those bounds.

Uber drivers also aren't guaranteed to go the optimal route. More and more Uber drivers seem to ask me what route they want me to take (which given I usually use Uber when abroad means my answer is almost always - whatever the GPS says).

If/when self driving cars come in, obviously these problems will disappear...

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Re:Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting, Endangering Loans by aianus on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @08:21AM (#13530265)

Maybe it depends on the city but in Toronto and SF the rate is guaranteed unless you tell the driver to take a longer route or make stopovers or you change the destination mid trip.

(I'm a part time Uber driver and I'm familiar with the menu options for disputing a fare due to stopovers or strange route requests)

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Re:Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting, Endangering Loans by tptacek on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @08:23AM (#13530283)

The bit about minorities is pretty tenuous. For instance, in Chicago, Uber's service and fares maps cut off the south side of the city; if you undertook a map of white people and where white people want to go in Chicago, you'd end up with that map.

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Re:Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting, Endangering Loans by dionidium on Tuesday January 31, 2017 @11:26AM (#13531948)

"Uber's service and fares maps"

Are you referring to a literal service and fares map that exists somewhere on Uber's website? If so, I'd love to see it.

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