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Comment by danwee | Hacker News Reader

I have never taken an Uber. What am I missing? It's just that they are cheaper than conventional taxis?

I never had a bad experience with conventional taxis either: I just get in, say address, pay, and get out.

In some big cities, I find taxis vastly superior. Notably so across Europe. However, I was at an airport in the US the other day, and the Uber pickup area was packed. There was a 30 minute wait. So I went to get a taxi. They called for one, and it came after about 10 minutes since the taxis don’t wait in the taxi area anymore. I had to instruct the driver everything down to which highway to use (something obvious for anyone that drives semi-regularly in my town). When I arrived, I paid the fare, which was more than double what Uber quoted me.

It all felt so easy for the taxi to be competitive. But it’s far too expensive, and the driver was less knowledgeable than an average Uber driver using maps. The ride quality itself was a lot smoother however. For me, they have to get the cost lower than the cost of an Uber with an added surge to be competitive for my choice.

I really like the FreeNow app in Europe. I’d be happy to see something like that in the US.

Uber isn't replacing street hails. When you call a taxi company there's no certainty if or when they'll actually turn up.

> When you call a taxi company there's no certainty if or when they'll actually turn up.

Ah, that's a good one actually. So, with Uber is there any certainty? Do they give you money back or something if the Uber doesn't appear on the specified time?

It has happened to me that I have waited a bit over the usual time for my taxi, but not very often.

No, but Uber adds a market signal - if there is a shortage of drivers, rates will go up to entice more to get on the road.

It happens with Uber sometimes that your designated driver just dallies some other place until you have to cancel the ride and hail a normal cab - then the canceling charge will be on you. Pretty neat trick, I'd say.

You can trust the price and not get shaken down, I had to take a local small town taxi the other day and they charged me $20 for a very short ride with no meter.

I needed a ride from queens to NJ and many cab companies simply hung up on me.

I dislike uber the company but cabs were worse, for me.

What does "certainty" mean to you?

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=uber+did+not+show+up&ia=web would suggest there are people who ordered an Uber ride that never showed up.

Uber says it's possible for a ride to not show up: https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-would-like-to-get-a-r...

Uber even says it's possible for someone else to take the trip you requested, without your knowledge. https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-was-charged-for-a-rid...

From my experience it's the same like conventional taxi except you don't have to talk to anyone.

Your phone can handle your payment details and the payment itself as well.

The GPS can help you find out where you actually are and feed that to the app if you have a hard time keeping track of that.

For one reason or another a lot of people have become allergic to the "say address" part, i.e. talking with a total stranger and having a financial transaction with said stranger via physical contact (like handing in cash).

To me, Uber is like Starbucks and McDonald’s. Everyone you go there is a better local option, but on the other hand, in a city or country you aren’t familiar with, you can get service at an acceptable standard level.

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