This month, a group of mostly Black and immigrant Uber and Lyft drivers in Minneapolis won their fight for a minimum pay rate when the Minneapolis City Council refused to be bullied by the rideshare corporations.
For years, Uber relied on billions of dollars from venture capitalists like BlackRock and Jeff Bezos to offer low fares for riders and high pay for drivers. This allowed the corporation to undercut competition, sign up millions of customers and corner the market in major cities.
They didn’t even need to do that tbh, Taxis were (and still are) so shitty they could have just charged marginally cheaper than the going local taxi rate and people would have still flocked to them lmao
Well no they couldn’t. Uber is far less efficient and more expensive to run than a taxi company. They need the extra cash.
I tried taking a taxi about a year ago. There was one right there and I figured, might as well give it a try, won’t have to wait. It was over twice as much as a ride share. The price difference isn’t even close, they’d have to raise prices a ridiculous amount before I’d take a taxi again. Fuck not knowing how much a trip is going to cost ahead of time.
I never take rideshare from the airport anymore. It’s nearly the same cost to take a taxi, without the wait.
Their payment systems suck though. I was in one where the default tip started at 35% and was a few steps to avoid.
I was kinda mad at Uber in 2019 (I can’t remember what reason it was… They have so many reasons) and needed a ride share from the airport to a conference. The bus runs every two hours on weekends apparently, a dirty ass taxi said he can take me for $15 each, if he can get three more people. So we waited and finally got four people.
The vehicle was a mess, there was coke cans on the floor, he drove like a complete asshole, and he was incredibly rude.
Taxis were always shit before Uber. But Looks like taxis are still shit.
Even then, many taxi companies have apps now. They aren’t trying to pay extra for dispatchers and stuff.
I’ve tried those apps and they’re some of the shittiest apps I’ve ever used
Ask Uber what happened in Italy
What happened in Italy?
The whole article reads like it was written by people living in an alternate dimension. I’ve followed the news, the protests, the legislation and ban. I have no dog in the fight, I’m nowhere near MSP and no desire to be.
But they didn’t call Uber’s bluff… Uber called theirs. This is toddler level “no I am not, you are” logic. Uber said, hey if you do this we’re leaving. They did it. Uber left. MSP failed.
Now of you’re in the area and need to get around, you can’t. Taxis are not a possible option. You can blame it on rideshare decimating them. But even in the prime of taxis, they sucked. That’s why Uber took off.
People today pay MORE for an Uber in some cases because they know the cost upfront, they can see when it’s coming, etc. A taxi is a gamble. And people don’t like to gamble especially when it’s on if they’ll be late for work or the airport or an important meeting.
https://www.uber.com/us/en/r/cities/taxi/minneapolis-mn-us/
Sure looks like I can get an Uber in Minneapolis today. I can’t get past the login page to see if I can actually request a ride but the web page is still there, indicating that Uber is still in Minneapolis