Uber to Resume in Calgary December 6 2016

[Resolute 14]

The implosion continues: The president Uber hired six months ago to help make the company look better quit because the culture at Uber is that damn bad. He's the third member of their senior leadership team to jump ship in the last few weeks.

https://arstechnica.com/business/201...month-at-uber/

[calgaryblood]

Nobody believes me when I tell them but I have no doubt uber will be bankrupt and out of business within 5 years.

Ride share apps are here to stay but uber can't survive IMO.

[Resolute 14]

And the hits keep coming. Uber is in serious danger of having an injunction slapped against it that could virtually shut its entire self-driving car program down in a theft of trade secrets lawsuit against Google where the exec that stands accused refused to answer questions on the grounds it would incriminate him.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...it/?comments=1

The judge in this case handled Oracle v Google as well, so neither side is going to be able to pull any fast ones using technobabble.

[Travis Munroe]

Anyone who is into podcasts should listen to "How I Built This". It is my favorite podcast of all time and they recently did one where the interviewed the CEO of Lyft. I know very little on the matter outside of what I read on CP and this interview but I wouldn't be surprised to see Lyft surpass Uber with what appears to be different work place cultures.

[heep223]

All of this aside...I can move around the city on weekends again! I even got to the game on Friday night on time. Thanks Uber.

[Muta]

I only use Uber now, so damn convenient. Screw whatever's up with their corporate culture, my transportation has improved because of it.

[ToewsFan]

I used Uber once. Much better than a cab. Cheaper too.

[Fuzz]

Innisfail to use Uber for public transit:

https://news.slashdot.org/story/17/0...tm_medium=feed

So, uhm, I guess that's happening...Is this a late April Fools gag?

EDIT: Sorry, not our Innisfail, Innisfil in Ontario.

[agulati]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Innisfail to use Uber for public transit:

https://news.slashdot.org/story/17/0...tm_medium=feed

So, uhm, I guess that's happening...Is this a late April Fools gag?

It is a very interesting concept. Even John Zimmer (Co-founder of Lyft) alluded to that being a strong future potential in the emergence of ride-sharing. For those who haven't listened to it, NPR's "How I built this" has an excellent podcast discussing the origin and growth of Lyft with him.

[Fuzz]

This is an interesting quote from The Star article:

“It has been really frustrating,” Saini said. “To be honest, we’re thinking about slowly taking our cabs out, one by one. I can’t compete with Uber and still pay my fees to the town.”

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/04/03/innisfil-taps-uber-to-fill-public-transit-void.html

So the town subsidizes Uber, yet charges cab companies licensing fees? Talk about picking winners and losers!

[Fuzz]

What an astounding surprise:

A class-action lawsuit against Uber alleges that Uber has "devised a 'clever and sophisticated' scheme in which it manipulates navigation data used to determine 'upfront' rider fare prices while secretly short-changing the driver," reports Ars Technica. "When a rider uses Uber's app to hail a ride, the fare the app immediately shows to the passenger is based on a slower and longer route compared to the one displayed to the driver. The software displays a quicker, shorter route for the driver. But the rider pays the higher fee, and the driver's commission is paid from the cheaper, faster route, according to the lawsuit." From the report:

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/17/04...tm_medium=feed

[GGG]

That's awesome though the driver isn't getting short changed. Assuming the driver takes the route given they are paid properly.

Passengers are getting screwed on distance but even then since they know the price before they get in they are agreeing to the price prior to entering the vehicle.

I don't think this is illegal.

It's essentially bidding on a lump sum contract based on 2000 hrs of work required and using contractors that can accomplish the work in 1800hrs.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by GGG

That's awesome though the driver isn't getting short changed. Assuming the driver takes the route given they are paid properly.

Passengers are getting screwed on distance but even then since they know the price before they get in they are agreeing to the price prior to entering the vehicle.

I don't think this is illegal.

It's essentially bidding on a lump sum contract based on 2000 hrs of work required and using contractors that can accomplish the work in 1800hrs.

But the driver gets paid the shorter amount and Uber pockets the difference. If I understand correctly.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Weitz

But the driver gets paid the shorter amount and Uber pockets the difference. If I understand correctly.

PRovided the driver only drives the shorter distance and he is paid on a per km basis he hasn't lost anything he is entitled to. I understand the driver to get a % of each km and not a percentage of the overall fare.

[Fuzz]

At the very least it is deceptive. Uber is arranging a service between a driver and a passenger. The driver and the passenger both are led to believe they are given the same information, that is the trip is this distance and will cost this much, and that Uber is taking 30%(?) to provide that service. Is it illegal? Well the courts will decide. It is skimming extra money in any case.

They are also in an interesting court case where one of their employees used to work for Google and is accused of steeling information on self driving cars. It isn't looking good for them on that one.

[sureLoss]

So quick question, is Uber going to be reliable for an early morning (around 5 am) pick up to go to the airport?

[HotHotHeat]

I found one in Feb at 4am, but it took awhile. They have a feature that allows you to set a pickup time ahead of schedule now, you could try that.

[oxygen]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

I found one in Feb at 4am, but it took awhile. They have a feature that allows you to set a pickup time ahead of schedule now, you could try that.

Used the scheduled pick up feature twice, once for 5 am and another for 6 am, and had no issues. When you schedule a pick up it is within a 15 minute window, for example a 6 am pick up would comer between 6 and 6:15. I live in Marda Loop so not sure if availability is less in the suburbs that early.

[Bunk]

I'm in San Francisco right now - the volume of Uber and Lyft vehicles is astonishing. They're everywhere.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

So quick question, is Uber going to be reliable for an early morning (around 5 am) pick up to go to the airport?

Not at all. This is their weakest point by far.

Book a cab service as timeliness is important.