Anybody that lives in the cities use these ride-sharing companies? My sister and I have used Lyft to get around downtown LA, since we're not too familiar with the public transportation, let alone the city itself, and the taxis overcharge customers all the time. $15 to get from Chinatown to Westin Bonaventure? No thank you. It actually costed around $4.00 with Lyft. I really liked the idea of rating the driver, so that we could choose the driver if we like him/her.
I've used Lyft and Uber in San Francisco for getting to specific destinations. It's definitely convenient. I haven't used it enough to know if it's a good deal though. In general, I use the public transportation around there (BART/MUNI). I don't live in the city, but anytime I visit, I take BART.
Taxi drivers go through more background checks and are much better insured. Uber Drivers have very few regulations, so I really would not trust a complete stranger to drive me around. It might be a little better money wise, but I wouldn't trust them with my safety.
I'm not sure that I would exactly trust a taxi driver with my safety either. (Have you been in a taxi in SF? ) At least with Lyft/Uber, you can rate your driver and so drivers have an incentive to do better. People don't need to use drivers with a bad rating. But yeah, from an insurance standpoint, I don't think there is anything required for these apps' drivers.
Yeah, you get to rate your driver so you could be assured that the driver is a good one. Nobody would want a 3-star driver unless they were in a hurry. With Lyft, a couple of low ratings on a driver is already enough for them to stop appearing on your phone if you need a ride. With Lyft, there is a very comprehensive background check, car inspection, insurance check, and an in-person interview in order to become a Lyft driver. Besides, felons can work in restaurants, so you may have been trusting a former criminal with your food all this time.
The cost here is about the same as a cab, oddly; a $14 cab fat\re might be $12 or 13 on Uber, so I tend to just hail a cab if I need to, from the train stations, as they don't save me much, and I don't like the way the companies are structured, such that the CEOs and higher ups make so much more than the drivers. It's an OK idea, but it worries me, in terms of funneling so much $ to the already rich "1%". If the drivers made more, I'd be more in favor, and as I recall, you're not supposed to tip, and I don't like that aspect. All in all, I'd like to see better mass transit: more trains, a high-speed rail system, better subways, better light-rails, safer and better buses, and more bicycle and pedestrian friendly cities/suburbs/neighborhoods.
Haha. My sister and I are the type of people that likes to stretch a dollar, so a $1 difference means a lot to us :lol: Well, even if you're not supposed to tip, nothing is stopping you. Besides, a lot of people in first world countries don't tip, so keep that in mind