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.

  • cm0002@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    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

    • fidodo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      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.

      • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        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.

      • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        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.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Even then, many taxi companies have apps now. They aren’t trying to pay extra for dispatchers and stuff.

        • fidodo@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I’ve tried those apps and they’re some of the shittiest apps I’ve ever used