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The industry got decimated due to being worse than the apps. The apps 100% exploit drivers, but let's not act like calling a cab was such a good experience 20 years ago.
100%
American cabs fucked passengers. Gig companies fucked drivers.
I recently said “fuck it, I’ll take a cab from the airport cab pool.” It was like immediately time traveling to a differently shitty moment in history. The cab smelled like it was made out of Newport filters and ass, and when we got to my home, the guy refused to take a credit or debit card.
Dude was picking up people from the international terminal, where they were often landing without local currency, then he would tack on a trip to the bank, with the meter running.
He had Master and Visa card stickers on his car.
That’s when you refuse to pay, not your fault their card reader is “broke” and they didn’t inform you when you got in. They can get fucked, they tried pulling this shit on me before. I straight refused to pay cash.
Yeah, that’s what I did. I said, you can take me to the bank for free, or I can not pay you.
After arguing with me he then relented and one of these magically appeared.
Man I have not seen one of those credit card carbon copy machines in a long time! It’s funny current credit cards will not work on them since they don’t have any raised numbers
Haha yeah. My CC doesn’t even have numbers on the card. They’re in an app so they can be quickly swapped out if the card is compromised.
Yeah, fuck taxis to hell and back. I know Uber and Lyft suck for the drivers but I try to help out by being polite and leaving a good tip.
The apps weren't profitable. They sold rides for less than it cost them, which killed the industry. That's what all disruptive companies do, sell for an unprofitable price and have investor money make up the difference.
Taxi companies could not compete. How could they? It didn't matter if they were good or bad. There was no chance to compete because they all went out of business.
Again, the apps didn't win because they were better, it's because they didn't allow competition. In a sane world they would have had to have made a profit, and the taxi companies would have made their own app, and things would be pretty much equal across the board. But that never happened.
I rarely ever took cabs or other such transport because they're universally dodgy as fuck. Apps made it convenient and accountable, thus succeeded.
You miss the point, taxi companies couldn't compete with apps, they couldn't have their own app. Because of investor lead disruption
Some taxi companies made their own applications.
Again, they did and failed because they couldn't compete because investors paid for the likes of uber to run everyone out of business. I don't know how more I can explain this to you, but you don't seem to understand.
There was nothing stopping them and they set their own up; I'm referring to places in the UK where I know it happened, and some other countries too (SEA).
Likely because of your explanation in the first place.
okay you are obviously taking this far too literally, obviously they could make an app, but the apps could not survive and exist because the competition would undersell them, paid for with investor money.
do you see what i'm trying to get through to you yet? everyone is saying "well the apps are better!" when the reality is that the big investor backed corporations like uber pushed all the smaller taxi firms out with uncompetitive price undercutting, they didn't die out because they didn't have an app, they couldn't survive with an app or without - they couldn't make that app to make you happy because you'd still pick the 20% cheaper one anyway
Well yes, I read what you said as you wrote it. I can't infer very well over text.
Honestly, it was both, plus a third thing.
Uber/Lyft pay like shit and run at a loss.
Cabs almost universally sucked. Nobody wanted to use one outside of somewhere like NYC; and only then because parking sucked so hard driving yourself is an even shittier option than the shitty cabs.
In places like NYC, the government over regulated cabs so hard the medallions cost into the 6 and 7 digits of dollars. Out-competing that simply involved....not paying 7-digit sums of cash just for the ability to work as a cabbie...
I still don't understand how Uber and Lyft can be so expensive to run.
They aren’t. You’re paying a smallish dev staff and some people to answer emails. The rest is pure profit. If you’re not making money then you’re an idiot.
Exactly. If you’re in NYC or SF, fine, just hail one. If you’re anywhere else you’re gonna wait 1.5 hours.
What do you mean? You can just call their dispatch line and talk to an incredibly rude person over the shittiest phone connection imaginable then try to describe your location and hope that they heard what you said correctly from their mumbled response and hope they might show up and then charge you an unknown amount that you didn't know until you reach your destination while having no idea if they accept card or will demand a tip.
I stopped riding in cabs after the umpteenth time of getting pressured to pay in cash instead of credit card or being told the "meter was broken" and I had to pay a flat rate.
Ridesharing has a lot of problems but they're a much better customer experience.
Yeah no. Taxis are dodgy and often thieves with low to zero accountability.
I've had shit service and terrifying experiences no matter what cunt was behind the wheel. This talking point, probably invented by an advertising company doing PR for the taxi industry, needs to fucking die already.