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Uber, Lyft, or Cab

M

max2

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 31, 2015
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What would you choose if you needed to get to the airport on time ? I am thankful I have all these options. Yes one or two of my cab companies have apps!
 
I get to airports __way__ early, chill, have a drink, maybe knock around on the computer, so the "promptness" of the transport system is usually not a big issue for me (my latest SF trips, I was ~15 minutes from the airport, ~30m in pretty dense traffic).
 
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Huntn said:
Do you plan on going to arrive at the last minute or early? What do the other options charge as compared to a for hire cab?
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Early definitely. They charge a little more.
 
Huntn said:
That's interesting. I've never used them. My impression is that these other services only gain traction if they are cheaper or they offer some kind of superior product.
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Sorry for the misunderstanding the cab company is more expensive.
 
max2 said:
Sorry for the misunderstanding the cab company is more expensive.
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Thanks for clarifying. My concern would be timely performance. An 11 mile ride to the airport via cab is $30. I wonder how they compare? I assume they have a central call center and drivers sign themselves up for specific rides. I wonder what happens if no one is available?
 
I have used Uber some 30 times or so to get me to the airport. Both to LAX and LGB when needed. Never had any issues with them. Of course I do arrange for an early pickup and I am usually an hour or two early. So I hit the bar, have breakfast and a drink.
 
Either Uber or Lyft, depending on the pricing or whether either service has 'surge pricing' going on at that particular time. In almost any instance these services are going to be cheaper and quicker than a regular cab. Not to mention they have promos going on from time to time (every 10th ride free, 20-30% off rides on weekdays, 10-20% of the fare credited back if you pay with a certain partnered credit card).
 
I like Lyft better so far because you get to see a picture of the car and told the color of it! Plus you can tip electrically. That makes a huge difference.
 
Huntn said:
I assume they have a central call center and drivers sign themselves up for specific rides. I wonder what happens if no one is available?
Click to expand...

Since it sounds like you haven't seen how these work, I'll use Uber as the example:

You fire up the app, and a map of your location shows the current cars in service (based on the service level you select, there's different car types and shared/non-shared), in real time, driving around a map, with an average pickup time. You set your destination (you can "fine tune" your pickup location where the GPS is off, or there a multiple options like at an airport), order the car, touchID to pay and that's it. The system determines the car, it's selected, you're updated as to the driver/name/car/model, and shown a real time track of the car on a map with the time.

After pickup, you also get an estimate of travel time, a real time map of your current location, etc.

You get to your location, hop out, that's it you're done. The billing is taken care of, you get notifications of the transaction, and as a final followup, you can rate your ride.

Don't get me wrong, when it doesn't work, it really fails, but for me, the delays haven't really been an issue, and I was able to resolve the billing concern right through the app (Help >> Issues).

sdilley14 said:
Either Uber or Lyft, depending on the pricing or whether either service has 'surge pricing' going on at that particular time. In almost any instance these services are going to be cheaper and quicker than a regular cab. Not to mention they have promos going on from time to time (every 10th ride free, 20-30% off rides on weekdays, 10-20% of the fare credited back if you pay with a certain partnered credit card).
Click to expand...

Yeah, my constant use in SF over the last few months got me free rides, multiple $10 vouchers, upgrades, etc.

max2 said:
I like Lyft better so far because you get to see a picture of the car and told the color of it! Plus you can tip electrically. That makes a huge difference.
Click to expand...

Uber does the same, make/model of car, photo (that most of the time matches and indicates the color), photo of the driver and their name.

As of my last use of Uber, there was no tipping mechanism, I'm actually glad, that introduces a whole additional can-of-worms.
 
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D.T. said:
Since it sounds like you haven't seen how these work, I'll use Uber as the example:

You fire up the app, and a map of your location shows the current cars in service (based on the service level you select, there's different car types and shared/non-shared), in real time, driving around a map, with an average pickup time. You set your destination (you can "fine tune" your pickup location where the GPS is off, or there a multiple options like at an airport), order the car, touchID to pay and that's it. The system determines the car, it's selected, you're updated as to the driver/name/car/model, and shown a real time track of the car on a map with the time.

After pickup, you also get an estimate of travel time, a real time map of your current location, etc.

You get to your location, hop out, that's it you're done. The billing is taken care of, you get notifications of the transaction, and as a final followup, you can rate your ride.

Don't get me wrong, when it doesn't work, it really fails, but for me, the delays haven't really been an issue, and I was able to resolve the billing concern right through the app (Help >> Issues).



Yeah, my constant use in SF over the last few months got me free rides, multiple $10 vouchers, upgrades, etc.



Uber does the same, make/model of car, photo (that most of the time matches and indicates the color), photo of the driver and their name.

As of my last use of Uber, there was no tipping mechanism, I'm actually glad, that introduces a whole additional can-of-worms.
Click to expand...

Uber around here never has the color or a picture of the car. It is very rare. Lyft always. Now Uber always has a picture of the driver and license plate number like Lyft does as well.
 
Uber works flawlessly. I've used Lyft twice upstate. They don't seem to be terribly popular here, downstate. The word "Uber" has become common vernacular.
 
So I wrote this referring to Uber:

D.T. said:
Yeah, my constant use in SF over the last few months got me free rides, multiple $10 vouchers, upgrades, etc.
Click to expand...

... then tonight in email I get this:


Screen Shot 2016-09-06 at 9.23.07 PM.png


~*~spooky~*~
 
D.T. said:
Since it sounds like you haven't seen how these work, I'll use Uber as the example:

You fire up the app, and a map of your location shows the current cars in service (based on the service level you select, there's different car types and shared/non-shared), in real time, driving around a map, with an average pickup time. You set your destination (you can "fine tune" your pickup location where the GPS is off, or there a multiple options like at an airport), order the car, touchID to pay and that's it. The system determines the car, it's selected, you're updated as to the driver/name/car/model, and shown a real time track of the car on a map with the time.

After pickup, you also get an estimate of travel time, a real time map of your current location, etc.

You get to your location, hop out, that's it you're done. The billing is taken care of, you get notifications of the transaction, and as a final followup, you can rate your ride.

Don't get me wrong, when it doesn't work, it really fails, but for me, the delays haven't really been an issue, and I was able to resolve the billing concern right through the app (Help >> Issues).



Yeah, my constant use in SF over the last few months got me free rides, multiple $10 vouchers, upgrades, etc.



Uber does the same, make/model of car, photo (that most of the time matches and indicates the color), photo of the driver and their name.

As of my last use of Uber, there was no tipping mechanism, I'm actually glad, that introduces a whole additional can-of-worms.
Click to expand...

So, I wonder what my $30, 11 mile cab ride to the airport would spec out using Uber. Is it as simple as a rate per mile?
 
max2 said:
Uber around here never has the color or a picture of the car. It is very rare. Lyft always. Now Uber always has a picture of the driver and license plate number like Lyft does as well.
Click to expand...

Weird. Where is "around here"? I looked at my ride history, and it pretty much always had a car photo, and the color was right (as I recall at the time of the ride).

In SF, 90% of the cars were a Prius :D
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Huntn said:
So, I wonder what my $30, 11 mile cab ride to the airport would spec out using Uber. Is it as simple as a rate per mile?
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They have an online cost/ride estimator:

https://www.uber.com/fare-estimate/

There's an initial fee, a minimum, mileage and time. The *killer* is if you get into a high rate time. I've had rides from SFO to the same hotel, one would be $18, one would be $45.
 
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I've never had any problems with Uber, and for me it has always shown the car make, model, and the driver's picture.

The only time I've used Lyft is when Uber surge pricing was too high.
 
In Austin I use either of the "F's" (Fare or Fasten) with Ride Austin as a backup. Austin has essentially beaten corporate pressure from Uber and Lyft.

The crazy thing is, most of the things Uber and Lyft claimed would happen (i.e. increased drunk driving, automotive deaths) haven't at all happened.

Living in Chicago, I took public transportation or cabs.
 
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