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BogartCatJay Hathaway
8/04/15 6:28pm
I worked as a cab driver, dispatcher, and wrote a weekly newspaper column about my adventures on the road. Here are my two cents. I know, TL;DR, but bear with me.

Yes, legit cab drivers have assaulted passengers. However, it is a lot less common because unlike Uber, legit cab drivers are screened by the cab companies, because unlike Uber, they are liable for what their drivers do. Yes, sometimes they’ll try to weasel out of it with the independent contractor bullshit, but that is just business in America.

Also, legit cab drivers usually have a lot more to lose. They have to buy taxi medallions, or the taxis themselves. Yes, there are lease drivers who do not, but they still have to pass the background check, get a hack license, and pay for an expensive lease every shift. Also, this is their only job, rather than something they’re doing for a little extra cash on the side.

Most legit cabs these days are required to have GPS installed that the driver cannot remove or disable. Some cities have installed cameras as well, which also cannot be turned off. Those are intended to protect the driver, but they protect you as well. Uber drivers simply have to turn their phone off. They can also share the phone with the app on it with other people. This is what happened with the Uber driver who raped a woman in India.

Popular perception is that cab companies don’t give a shit about customer complaints. There are apathetic assholes everywhere, but the reality is that since they are, in fact, responsible for what their drivers do, they pay attention to serious complaints (as opposed to complaints about attitude, etc.) More than once I had passengers regale me with stories about how my company had done nothing about something that I knew for a fact had been dealt with. Just because the company didn’t kiss your ass and call you back later to tell you what they did does not mean they did nothing.

And last but not least, for those of you who find talking to an actual human being on the phone wildly inconvenient, more and more legit cab companies are supplementing their regular dispatch with apps like Flywheel, that allow drivers from multiple companies to subscribe, greatly improving response time. Those apps will spare you the necessity of noting the company name, driver name, and number of your cab when you are drunk. But if you aren’t drunk, complaining (as many people do) about having to take a few seconds to note the info about the car and person that are whisking you from door to door is ridiculous.

The reality is that legit cab fares cost more because those companies must carry massive amounts of insurance, unlike Uber, and pay for the regulatory framework intended to protect consumers, unlike Uber. Uber is deliberately trying to undermine consumer protections and in many cities they are openly breaking the law, and thumbing their noses at city officials who tell them to take their cars off the road. Uber’s entire business model is predicated on the idea that consumers are ignorant, short sighted, and/or selfish. They count on people not realizing that their fares are lower because they aren’t paying for insurance or consumer protections, or not caring because they figure if anything bad happens, it’ll be to someone else.

So if you’re fine with all of that, go right ahead. I won’t say I hope something happens to you, because I don’t. But I won’t be hugely sympathetic, because you are deliberately contributing to a system that is actively trying to make money at the expense of our safety and well being.
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  Celia the Vampire Slaying VampireBogartCat
  8/04/15 6:56pm
  Great post, thanks. Also, a random Uber driver is not required to be equipped for disabled passengers. Cab companies have regulations and do cater to disabled people. Uber doesn’t give a shit about the safety of any people.
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  BogartCatCelia the Vampire Slaying Vampire
  8/04/15 7:03pm
  Thank you for pointing out the thing I didn’t remember I’d forgot until after the edit window closed!
  
  Remember the story about the Uber driver refusing a guide dog? A legit cab would never do that, or if they did, that driver would be fired instantly. Cab companies also have lift vans, and my own company required all drivers to take CPR, and also provided free first aid training for those who were interested.
  
  Most cab companies will also come give you a jump, btw.
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gramercypoliceJay Hathaway
8/04/15 6:04pm
Weird statement from Uber CEO Travis Kalanick — at least I think it’s weird:

I would like to express my sincere sympathy and outrage to the Uber passenger over this incident. And by that, let me be clear: the passenger is not really Uber’s passenger. We don’t have passengers; we just offer an app. What these “passengers” choose to do with that app — hail a ride, buy a coffee, get a haircut, trade BitCoin, pour milk on a bowl of Alpha-Bits, you name it — is outside our control. We don’t know what they do. But in this case, this person elected to become a passenger with a person we don’t employ or know anything about. Plus, this ‘incident’ probably never even happened. But that’s what I guess I’m trying to say: I feel really bad that some person did something that ended badly in their own mind. I also heard about a dude in Phoenix last week who lost his dog and found it a few days later and it was less alive than it was when the guy last saw it. So, I express my sincere sympathy to that guy, as well — though not so much outrage since the dog was pretty old to begin with. Uber is looking into the policies that allowed this driver to commit an act like this without paying Uber for the time he was interacting with his passenger (not ours, his, btw, but still, he should be accounting for his time). As we say around the office: “Uber: We care about a lot of things”.

-Travis
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  Armageddon T. Thunderbirdgramercypolice
  8/04/15 6:08pm
  Uber: covering our asses from every angle.
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  hummmingbirdgramercypolice
  8/04/15 6:22pm
  WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT
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MaximumReadJay Hathaway
8/04/15 5:53pm
Question for everyone here, how will black people like me be able to get around the city without Uber? I think we all know I can’t catch a cab, so what do you suggest I do
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  Hatless Süspęçt and 6 othersMaximumRead
  8/04/15 5:56pm
  You’ll find a way Miss Dolezal.
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  Sure, Jan ◔_◔MaximumRead
  8/04/15 5:58pm
  Can you be white? That would probably help. Be white the next time you go out and you should be fine.
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lecomtedArgentalJay Hathaway
8/04/15 5:50pm
If only there was some sort of regulated service, some sort of “taxi” service, if you will, that offered the same services that Uber provides. Such a shame...
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Armageddon T. ThunderbirdJay Hathaway
8/04/15 5:56pm
This is why I only travel by rickshaw. Those guys are too tired to assault me.
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TRUMP DELENDUS EST (fka Chatham Harrison)Jay Hathaway
8/04/15 6:11pm
Uber: We’re the Craigslist of transportation
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babyhousemanJay Hathaway
8/04/15 6:58pm
I’m a little bit confused on policies regarding Uber. It seems here (NYC) from every driver I’ve spoken to that they actually need to be registered with the TLC to drive even just for Uber. Yet, when I was in Austin everybody and their grandma (literally was driven by a very nice grandma) was driving. Which meant the standard of service was not great.

Why don’t other cities pass the same laws so that there is someone (if Uber won’t) doing their due diligence? Of course that wouldn’t stop someone from using someone elses’ car or permit but it seems it would cut down on these types of occurances.
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  e30s2kbabyhouseman
  8/04/15 7:56pm
  Because Uber uses ridiculous amounts of public pressure and lobbying to push for what they want, nonstop. They literally have Obama’s presidential campaign leader heading up their lobbying efforts - you saw the mess they managed to get de Blasio in - imagine a small town city hall in Middle America - they’ve got no chance against their bullying efforts. And yet they somehow pretend to be the underdog fighting for the common man.
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  BogartCatbabyhouseman
  8/05/15 2:08am
  Well, Portland banned them until they could find a way to safely regulate them. But Uber just steamrollered over them. Portland sued, but Portland isn’t worth $40 billion.
  
  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/…
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BogartCatJay Hathaway
8/05/15 2:12am
Stuff like this keeps happening because Uber is both worth $40 billion and not liable for anything their drivers do. When Portland banned them until they could figure out a way to regulate them, Uber just steamrollered right over them when they didn’t do it fast enough. Portland sued, but the city isn’t worth $40 billion.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/…
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  cmaxwellgsuBogartCat
  8/05/15 11:34pm
  So how did Uber get to be a $40 billion company? It couldn’t have anything to do with how much it sucked for the average person to have to deal with the traditional taxi companies, now could it?
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  BogartCatcmaxwellgsu
  8/06/15 10:24am
  You do realize they actually lose a ton of money, right? Over $400 million so far.
  
  http://gawker.com/here-are-the-i…
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ghostandgoblinJay Hathaway
8/04/15 7:14pm
How does Kate Upton feel about this?
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  momofpeanutghostandgoblin
  8/04/15 8:23pm
  Now I need to know, too. Will you please call me when you find out?
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Hatless Süspęçt and 6 othersJay Hathaway
8/04/15 5:53pm
Thankfully, cause of Uber, they were able catch this predator immediately. And not after he acted again and again and again.
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  e30s2kHatless Süspęçt and 6 others
  8/04/15 7:49pm
  LOL what? Instead of berating the company for failing to do a simple background check that would’ve easily prevented this, you applaud them for being the platform that allowed this criminal to strike - thereby facilitating his capture?
  
  What’s next? Let’s just get rid of all child molester restrictions and just create an app for them to sell ice cream to kids! The ice cream will be super cheap because they work for next to nothing, since they get to enjoy their hobby (touching kids!) while on the job) - AND once they strike, the app can direct the cops right to them thanks to the magical GPS enabled app. I’m calling the VCs right now!
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Uber: We’re the Craigslist of transportation