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Comment by fatjokes | Hacker News Reader

I have zero sympathy for the yellow cab industry. None.

I have a lot of negative feelings about Uber, and I would never work there myself as a SWE, but these feelings pale in comparison to my experiences with yellow cabs (NYC bias here).

I've had my partner be threatened (the usual pay cash/credit card machine broken or "better be a good tip"), cabs drive right pass after asking where you're going, scammed. I've had female friends molested by drivers.

Sure, all this could happen (and some have) in an Uber. But I'd bet dollars to donuts that Uber can track down the driver must easier than your usual taxi driver. (Who the hell remembers the medallion numbers?)

TK is an asshole, and I'm no fan of assholes (e.g., screw Apple products). But if he was the price we have to paid to upend the yellow cab industry, then I for one am willing to pay it.

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I've taken cabs all over the world in the pre Uber days (Literally, like 60+ countries on 5 continents). I can count the number of normal or pleasant experiences I had in a cab on one hand, out of HUNDREDS of rides. Not all cab drivers are/were asshole scammers but I have a decent sample size and can confidently say at least 95% or more were. I have zero sympathy for any of them.

The cab industry as it was pre Uber needed to die. These days it's gotten a bit better now that they actually have some competition. But I simply have no tolerance left for anything to do with cab drivers given how bad it was in the late 90s and early 200s.

And yes, I am 100% in agreement that Uber sucks too. But they suck 1000% less than cabs did at least for the riders.

I've had zero trouble with taxis in Japan and Singapore. In Singapore they even had hailing apps long before Uber and they worked just fine.

I believe London taxis also have a good rep but haven't use them.

On the other hand I've had criminal experiences in Istanbul and Rome and non-pleasent experiences in LA and SF.

> I've had zero trouble with taxis in Japan

Japan was the first (only?) place I've been where the taxi experience was comparable to Uber/Lyft. Every payment method accepted, apps, GPS routes, non-hostile drivers, and clean vehicles. It's no wonder why ridesharing companies have failed to gain much market share there.

Some of my very few pleasant experiences were in Japan. I don't doubt that Singapore would be fine too but public transit was generally faster there so I never took a cab.

London definitely has a better standard of cars and service, but they will still try to take longer routes and play games with you if you're obviously a tourist. Definitely better than most places though, their standards for cabbie training are very high.

> London taxis also have a good rep

Yes black cabs are great, but the cost is so high most people take mini-cabs which aren't.

Yes, same here for Japan and Singapore. Drivers super polite and never, ever tried to cheat me. I cannot say that from almost anywhere else, at least ocassionally or more than that tried to cheat.

As a teen in the early 00s I rode in plenty of taxis around LA and never had a problem. None of them were people I would like to hang out with but none were bad enough to leave a bad impression either.

My only pleasant cab experience was a black cab in London. He found an old Native American body digging in Hyde Park. Apparently the first time Native Americans came to the UK one of them died and they covered it up saying only 3 came not 4.

He went to a local College in my area and spoke about it. Showed us a hat from the College and pictures.

Don't worry, the yellow cabs put handy mnemonics inside so you can remember what your cab number is instead of just remembering the cab number. So instead of having to remember the impossibly difficult "4M95", you can instead easily remember "purple antelope 7"

Man, if you think cabs in NYC are bad, try Toronto some time. Our cabs are beyond awful. At least you have credit card machines in the back of your cabs!

Our cabs are probably twice as expensive as NYC cabs, and there is no credit card machine in the back. 90% of the time the driver lies and says "it's broken" to try and force you to pay cash. They'll even drive you to an ATM sometimes to get cash, just don't leave your stuff in the cab because they may just drive off with it instead of waiting.

When they DO give you a cash machine there is a high chance of getting your card swiped. And yes, they commonly do the "where are you going?" trick then refuse you a ride because it's not far enough for them, they want the more lucrative fares. Also, the cars are all completely awful quality, just terrible.

> 90% of the time the driver lies and says "it's broken" to try and force you to pay cash

Two can play at that game. Despite the practice being illegal, cabbies in the Vancouver area ask if you've got cash before you get in. I always say yes. But, I never carry cash. When we get to the destination, I play dumb, and ask if they've got a machine. They do, because they're required to by law. Or, on the off chance I do have cash, I'll say "oh, but I only have a $10" and sometimes they'd rather knock $5 off my fare than take a card.

Also, I live in a burb, so I've taken to lying about where I'm headed until the car's in motion. Since they always want directions, not a destination (are they dishonest or ignorant about what route's best?) this has always worked for me.

If [assholes were] the price we have to paid to upend the yellow cab industry, then I for one am willing to pay it.

The article wasn't about TK or about assholes -- it was about political corruption.

We’re allowed to talk about things not in the article, especially if they are relevant.

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