The safety part I get, though to be honest, if a state/area has inspections (other than emissions) for all road going vehicles, it would seem to negate this aspect to a large degree. And for what it is worth, I think it should. A vehicle is either safe to transport goods and lives on the roadways, or it is not. It doesn't really matter if money is involved (hah! "doesn't matter if money is involved", I crack myself up!).

As to the price gouging? I've never understood how/why that's the governments business. Certainly there are industries and fields where it is needed, but taxis seem to be an area where the market really ought to be able to handle their own. Post the prices on the side, and let the customer choose. They won't all go sky high. Someone will come along and undercut.

So, yeah, I guess I don't understand why taxis are as regulated as they are in NY.

MV

I would think personal safety is at issue too when one steps into a gypsy cab. How do you know if its a mugger or rapist?

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..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I think gypsy cabs are a totally different case. Uber background checks their drivers, plus you have the plate, color, make and model of their car when you book a fare. Tbh I feel safer around the uber drivers I've had than most of the cabbies.

Just wondering, how many folks on here have used uber? How many in a taxi recently?


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I can understand some of the historic reasons, but it seems like they are (wait for it...) history. Policing of criminal activity will of course still be needed, but that's true of just about everything.

I think it's that last line, the one I bolded, that applies the most. Like many things, I see the history behind things, and acknowledge how we got here, but I'm not understanding why, once we've got a handle on the thing(s) that was causing us problems, we continue to spend such time and effort on the "fix".

MV

Taxi and Uber fight for the curb at Atlanta airport | Marketplace.org

Airport curbs are one of the remaining battlefields in the fight between Uber and taxi drivers, and passengers traveling the final few miles to their families for the holidays are hotly contested business for the car services.

I've ridden in Goober with friends -- cars are usually nice and clean. Until I can pay in cash, I have no interest in installing their brand of spyware. I'd rather ride in a dodgy taxi with a driver with dubious personal hygiene than fund a company that's using VC money to perpetuate a model that steals users' privacy.

How many burner phones and IP spoofing computers does spdrun own?

I don't carry my phone unless I actually need to, and often leave it in "airplane mode" when I do -- I didn't need to be reachable 24/7 in 1995, so why do I have to be in 2015? Needy people who can't handle that -- too bad, so sad.

I used uber first time a few months ago in DC. Very interesting experience. Friend of mine set it up when i landed and called her and the guy called me literally 3 minutes later asking where i was. I hadnt even found my way out of the airport to the taxi stand.

You dont pay, you dont have to tip, they dont carry money. My driver was an ex cop who entertained me for the half hour drive talking about busting drunk college kids.

I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than a traditional cab. Cities and towns are just slow is all. They will find a way to whack uber for taxi license fees and make back their money, but this is extremely convenient otherwise.

We are in a golden period before that happens and before uber prices climb. If i owned a cab company id start routing my cabs through it honestly. At the same time id be raising hell with the town that i have to buy a medallion and they dont.

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That's the other problem with Uber -- if your driver tells you stories about terrorizing college students who just want to have a good time, you can't even stiff his sorry ex-cop butt on the tip. Or even antagonize him at risk of getting a bad rating.

At least he's no longer a cop.

Under the safety net I was including background checks, insurance coverage, driving records ... etc.

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- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

Good grief.

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2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

My dad lives in San Diego. He is 901 and lives in an independent living facilty and no longer drives. He uses Uber all the time. At least several times a week if not every day. Never had a problem with a driver yet. Cleaned, much more polite, no waiting, cheaper ..... nothing but good reviews from my father.

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2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

I did say he "entertained" me with his stories, which would imply i both desired to hear them and found them enjoyable. I know it sweetens your sour heart a little to imagine all interactions with cops are completely innocent angelic people hassled by 700lb donut swilling facists, but you are mistaken.

Conversation was started by me asking about wear and tear on his nice clean car and what the best times to be active on uber were, and him talking about never operating during bar hours because he had enough of that as a cop. This led to descriptions of collecting drunken naked destruction of property suspects ect.

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Its a great option. Im working on getting my horribly unpleasant older step grandmother into it so shes mobile when she invites herself into my home and complains that no one drives her anywhere when we are at work

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