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Taxis and ride-sharing in Toronto

dowlingm said:
Interesting if true. Given profile of poster, some scepticism is warranted.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Tom_416/status/682176858796982272
Click to expand...

Can't say if this is real or not, but it's only a matter of time until some sort of tension arises between Uber and its drivers. The drivers are working for a modest amount, while Uber is on its way to becoming a filthy rich corporation. One doesn't have to believe in trade unions to appreciate that drivers will have more bargaining power if they band together.

It will be interesting to see how Uber handles relations with its drivers, should they desire some changes to the relationship - such as a bigger share of the profits.

- Paul
 
PinkLucy said:
Why is this always a surprise? Surge pricing with Uber isn't new, and you have to actually accept the surge price, yet every holiday, we hear these poor stories of woe ...
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The issue is you have no sense of how much you're actually paying while inside an Uber. You don't have a ticker that tells you just how expensive your ride is getting. A while ago I took a cab and realized the price was shooting up. I told the cab to let me off and I proceeded to find an alternate method for the rest of my trip. With Uber you really don't know what your final bill is until it comes. At least that's how it works on my Uber app.
 
BMO said:
The issue is you have no sense of how much you're actually paying while inside an Uber. You don't have a ticker that tells you just how expensive your ride is getting. A while ago I took a cab and realized the price was shooting up. I told the cab to let me off and I proceeded to find an alternate method for the rest of my trip. With Uber you really don't know what your final bill is until it comes. At least that's how it works on my Uber app.
Click to expand...


It warns you upfront what the multiplier is. Above 2x you have to type the multiplier in.

https://2q72xc49mze8bkcog2f01nlh-wp...s/2013/12/surge_info_english_checkpoint_2.png

You're also able to get an estimate before you request a ride.
 
picard102 said:
It warns you upfront what the multiplier is. Above 2x you have to type the multiplier in.

https://2q72xc49mze8bkcog2f01nlh-wp...s/2013/12/surge_info_english_checkpoint_2.png

You're also able to get an estimate before you request a ride.
Click to expand...
Exactly. There's no excuse for not having a rough idea of what your ride will cost you. In many ways you have more information with Uber than you would with a taxi as the Uber price estimate factors in real-time traffic data.

I'm kind of tired of these people claiming they've been scammed by expensive rides during surge pricing. The multiples are unambiguously transparent. For New Year's I even got an e-mail from Uber warning me that surge pricing likely would be in effect. Buyers remorse should not be news.
 
Napoleon said:
Exactly. There's no excuse for not having a rough idea of what your ride will cost you. In many ways you have more information with Uber than you would with a taxi as the Uber price estimate factors in real-time traffic data.

I'm kind of tired of these people claiming they've been scammed by expensive rides during surge pricing. The multiples are unambiguously transparent. For New Year's I even got an e-mail from Uber warning me that surge pricing likely would be in effect. Buyers remorse should not be news.
Click to expand...
I agree with the sentiments about buyer's remorse.....what this controversy over surge pricing should point out is how meaningless and trivial the general comments are about "the taxi industry needing to adapt to the new business model/climate" are.

The low prices that you can get on uber in the middle of the evening on a meaningless Tuesday are offset by the revenue they generate at times when surge pricing is in effect.

Along with the need to pay fees/taxes/permits taxis are legally obliged to to charge the same rates when the bar closes in the wee hours of January 1 as they are on that meaningless Tuesday night. They simply cannot adapt to the the new model/climate because their entire business is regulated (including what they can charge) while their main new competition is operating in a largely unregulated environment.

Forget what channel I was watching a report on the surge pricing last night...but they interviewed one chap who suggested that this one aspect of Uber needs to be regulated.....there needs to be a cap on this he said......but, I bet, he would not support a regulation that also regulated the minimum amount they could charge. It may be a natural, human, reaction but the idea that only one end of the price spectrum should be regulated and only for one market participant seems bizarre (IMO).
 
Napoleon said:
Buyers remorse should not be news.
Click to expand...

It's almost always news, then we get laws to prevent it. Another recent example is the roaming charge legislation that requires the phone company to tell you when you've gone over $100 in roaming charges (now Roam like Home packages are available).

Watching an HD stream of a football game while in a foreign country was never a good idea with $5/MB data fees.


Some kind of legislation will eventually be created to force feedback of the current fare if Uber doesn't take action first. It doesn't seem difficult to have the Uber App throw a notification when the in-progress fare passes $200 (to both the driver and the passenger).
 
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Skeezix said:
As for that guy in Edmonton who has been whining to the media about his $1000+ Uber bill from New Year's Eve:

Robyn Urback: Sorry about your $1000 Uber bill, but the Internet isn’t idiot-proof
National Post, 4 January 2016
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I have no sympathy for people who complain about surge pricing. It's not like Uber is trying to hide it! Before ordering, you are made to accept the fact that there is surge pricing of *x the regular fare. If you're ultra paranoid (like me) you'll even do a fare estimate which would take the surge cost into account.

Caveat Emptor! Sorry dumbass!
 
TOareaFan said:
Along with the need to pay fees/taxes/permits taxis are legally obliged to to charge the same rates when the bar closes in the wee hours of January 1 as they are on that meaningless Tuesday night. They simply cannot adapt to the the new model/climate because their entire business is regulated (including what they can charge) while their main new competition is operating in a largely unregulated environment.

Forget what channel I was watching a report on the surge pricing last night...but they interviewed one chap who suggested that this one aspect of Uber needs to be regulated.....there needs to be a cap on this he said......but, I bet, he would not support a regulation that also regulated the minimum amount they could charge. It may be a natural, human, reaction but the idea that only one end of the price spectrum should be regulated and only for one market participant seems bizarre (IMO).
Click to expand...
There is absolutely more complexity to this debate that then either side lets on, and your post hits some of the highlights. Uber right now exists as a useful adjunct to existing transit and taxi options. It's lower fares at non-peak times definitely influence the frequency of use for me. I tend to avoid it at non-peak times.

I do think people rightly have some quibbles about just high a surge pricing is reasonable. Also, there's a really worry that if it were to supplant taxis altogether, what would this do. It may be that a parallel regulatory structure is needed, but that would involve the competing parties getting around the hyperbole and finding a practical solution.
 
PinkLucy said:
Why is this always a surprise? Surge pricing with Uber isn't new, and you have to actually accept the surge price, yet every holiday, we hear these poor stories of woe ...
Click to expand...

How is this model "better" for the consumer then? The sense that Uber is a blessing for consumers seems to be lost when fees start to rise. That's all I'm trying to say.
 
I didn't say it was better or worse, or a blessing. All I'm saying is that surge pricing isn't a surprise, and I'm tired of the media running these stories all the time as if surge pricing is new or hidden or something. You make a choice when you use Uber during peak times to accept surge pricing. Don't cry me a river when your bill is horrendous. The issue of surge pricing in itself is a different issue than trying to make out like it's a surprise.
 
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