October 14, 20195 yr Anyone ever have Uber charges (big ones) show up on your credit card statement but not show up on your Uber account? Fortunately my bank is on top of it, though I still had to cancel out my card......grrr.
October 14, 20195 yr 3 hours ago, E Rocc said: Anyone ever have Uber charges (big ones) show up on your credit card statement but not show up on your Uber account? Fortunately my bank is on top of it, though I still had to cancel out my card......grrr. No. That is potentially scandalous. BTW Uber laid off 350 more people today in high-paying positions. The stock is down 25% since its IPO. Meanwhile, Lyft is now down a staggering 50% from its IPO. They're going to follow the GoPro model and soft-land as penny stocks in five years. GoPro is down to $4 after peaking at $80 in 2015.
October 15, 20195 yr Unbelievable that such a niche product such as GoPro went public and traded at $80.
October 15, 20195 yr 11 hours ago, jmecklenborg said: No. That is potentially scandalous. BTW Uber laid off 350 more people today in high-paying positions. The stock is down 25% since its IPO. Meanwhile, Lyft is now down a staggering 50% from its IPO. They're going to follow the GoPro model and soft-land as penny stocks in five years. GoPro is down to $4 after peaking at $80 in 2015. They were all over it, but confirmed that it was a duplicate account someone set up. Even gave me the first name of the person. Nothing about how it was authorized. The business model is very good, especially since the cab companies clearly intended to maintain their antiquated business model (Voice phone only? In 2019? Really?) and use local regulation to stifle competition. The execution, perhaps not so much.
October 28, 20195 yr LAX has banned Uber/Lyft pickups from the terminal area. You will now need to take a shuttle bus out to a less-congested parking area: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-28/
November 14, 20195 yr This article came to my attention today despite being a year old: The Inside Story of How Uber Got Into Business With the Saudi Arabian Government By Eric Newcomer November 3, 2018, 9:00 AM EDT Corrected November 3, 2018, 3:52 PM EDT The Saudi Arabian government was set to give the San Francisco-based startup $3.5 billion, an astronomical amount. The company’s legal team had to double-check that it was even possible to send that much money in a single wire transfer. But on June 1, 2016, the Saudi Public Investment Fund sent Uber Technologies Inc. the cash in one lump sum. It was the largest single investment from a foreign government to a venture-backed startup ever—and still is. The sprawling consequences of that mega-deal have yet to fully unfold. Two years ago, the money helped Uber settle its war with Didi Chuxing in China, fortified its position against rival Lyft Inc. and empowered then Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick ahead of a long, pitched battle with investors who ultimately pushed him out. Now, the deal is drawing Uber into a global reckoning over the business world's relationship with Saudi Arabia. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-03/the-inside-story-of-how-uber-got-into-business-with-the-saudi-arabian-government As I speculated earlier on this site, Uber isn't being propped up by those looking to make money; it is being funded by enemies of transit, walking, bikes, good urbanism etc. in order to damage them and keep the world dependent on fossil fuels. Here is an article written today: Khosrowshahi was asked about Khashoggi to begin with because Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund is Uber’s fifth-largest investor, having provided $3.5 billion to the rideshare company, not including whatever money the Saudis indirectly put into Uber through major investor Softbank’s Vision Fund. Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, the managing director of Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund, sits on Uber’s board. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the fund’s chairman.... Uber’s existence entirely relies on investors like Saudi Arabia to keep pumping money into its coffers because Uber does not and has never made a profit. It is, in the strictest sense of what we think business are, not a good one. So it relies on investors who are interested in things other than making money to keep it afloat. https://jalopnik.com/the-mistakes-we-make-1839812496
February 28, 20205 yr Here's a recent account of how things are in Columbus right now for rideshare drivers: I am a ride-share driver. It’s an easy job. I started doing it in college while holding down a couple of part-time jobs, and other side hustles. It paid more than on-campus jobs, or doing retail. I could work “when I wanted”, although demand kind of ends up dictating a schedule anyway. I came here poor, with no assets. I needed something that would give me money, without interfering with my studies too much. For a time, it worked. Ride-sharing’s moving target, shift-on-the-fly changes with their pay structure has turned a once OK paying job into a scam that feels on par with Arbonne or LuLaRoe. When I started, the commissions were split 75/25 (Uber was 72/28) with myself getting the lion’s share, and the ride-sharing company getting a small take. This is no longer true. I get paid per mile, per minute. In Columbus, it’s $0.87 per mile, and about $0.14 per minute. What the passenger is charged has no bearing on what I am paid. In other Ohio cities, it’s even lower; Dayton’s per-mile cost is about $0.60 per mile. In other parts of the USA, it’s as low as $0.24 per mile. https://medium.com/@kevinwilliams_76732/i-dont-love-columbus-because-i-can-t-participate-in-it-4e2f62f9699d
March 2, 20205 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 2, 20205 yr On 2/28/2020 at 5:38 PM, GCrites80s said: Here's a recent account of how things are in Columbus right now for rideshare drivers: I am a ride-share driver. It’s an easy job. I started doing it in college while holding down a couple of part-time jobs, and other side hustles. It paid more than on-campus jobs, or doing retail. I could work “when I wanted”, although demand kind of ends up dictating a schedule anyway. I came here poor, with no assets. I needed something that would give me money, without interfering with my studies too much. For a time, it worked. Ride-sharing’s moving target, shift-on-the-fly changes with their pay structure has turned a once OK paying job into a scam that feels on par with Arbonne or LuLaRoe. When I started, the commissions were split 75/25 (Uber was 72/28) with myself getting the lion’s share, and the ride-sharing company getting a small take. This is no longer true. I get paid per mile, per minute. In Columbus, it’s $0.87 per mile, and about $0.14 per minute. What the passenger is charged has no bearing on what I am paid. In other Ohio cities, it’s even lower; Dayton’s per-mile cost is about $0.60 per mile. In other parts of the USA, it’s as low as $0.24 per mile. https://medium.com/@kevinwilliams_76732/i-dont-love-columbus-because-i-can-t-participate-in-it-4e2f62f9699d Yeah, I've heard this too, that drivers don't get any benefit now of working surges and overall pay is way down. I was talking to my Lyft/Uber (can't remember which it was) driver and he said he works 14 hrs a day to earn $120/day. that's pretty crazy.
March 2, 20205 yr Ironically fares have been significantly more pricey than years past. Overall they're still better than nightmare cabs, but the differences are thinning a bit.
March 2, 20205 yr ...and Softbank is the Saudi Royal Family disguising itself as a Japanese "bank". https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-reportedly-considers-investing-in-softbank-vision-fund-2-2019-10 Why is the Saudi Royal Family subsidizing rideshare? Because rideshare cars use a ton of fuel and damage public transportation ridership worldwide.
March 12, 20205 yr On 10/14/2019 at 9:27 PM, GCrites80s said: Unbelievable that such a niche product such as GoPro went public and traded at $80. They're down to $2.65.
April 16, 20205 yr On 2/28/2020 at 5:38 PM, GCrites80s said: I get paid per mile, per minute. In Columbus, it’s $0.87 per mile, and about $0.14 per minute. What the passenger is charged has no bearing on what I am paid. In other Ohio cities, it’s even lower; Dayton’s per-mile cost is about $0.60 per mile. In other parts of the USA, it’s as low as $0.24 per mile. That sure takes any credibility out of the argument that drivers are just "independent contractors" and that Uber and Lyft are just "middlemen" who make a small percentage on each ride. Nope, the drivers are employees, making a set amount per mile or minute. It's just a taxi service now.
April 16, 20205 yr Same ol' same ol' with "disruptive" companies. Everybody involved including old-school competitors loses a ton of money and arrives almost right back where things were before. Cabs have apps too plus an optimized fleet and support structure while the new people supporting the internet (drivers) are stuck with massive bills and an inability to make money using their personal assets.
April 16, 20205 yr 1 hour ago, GCrites80s said: Same ol' same ol' with "disruptive" companies. Everybody involved including old-school competitors loses a ton of money and arrives almost right back where things were before. Cabs have apps too plus an optimized fleet and support structure while the new people supporting the internet (drivers) are stuck with massive bills and an inability to make money using their personal assets. I think that the only advantage of being a rideshare driver vs. a traditional cab driver is that you really do have the flexibility to work whenever you want. Being able to take breaks to go home or run an errand is something a traditional cab driver doesn't have. Also, shifts for most cab drivers were 12 hours - a very, very long day of sitting. The sitting itself is not healthy.
May 23, 20205 yr Why Do Food Delivery Companies Lose Money? Delivery via smartphone is one of those venture-funded sectors where business executives appear to have taken seriously the old joke about “losing money on every transaction but making it up on volume.” Normal rules of capitalism about maximizing profits do not apply. This has led to a strange situation where restaurants feel squeezed by the fees charged by delivery services (when, unlike Roy’s friend, they participate voluntarily on a delivery platform) and yet the delivery services themselves manage to keep losing money. Why is this even happening? https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/05/why-do-food-delivery-companies-lose-money.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab Article also has rideshare discussion Just as crooked as the Sugar Trust, the railroad barons and 1800s coal mine owners -- but people like them. Well people back then liked sugar, trains and coal too.
May 23, 20205 yr ^That article gets it all wrong. As someone who has delivered food for two restaurants (one as a bicycle guy, another with a car) for literally 13 years (so thousands upon thousands of deliveries), and pocketed well in excess of $200,000 for doing so, let me chime in. 1. A delivery guy does work back at the shop. He or she often answers the phones, does food prep, cleans, and even does runs to the restaurant supply store in between delivery runs. How in the hell does a Door Dash guy fill in any gaps in labor at the restaurant when all they do is deliver? 2. A store sends their drivers out on runs. Solo runs are avoided unless absolutely necessary. So while a traditional sub or pizza guy is out there delivering to 3-4 customers on a single run, Door Dash is nothing but solos. 3. Store drivers have dedicated parking spots, usually right behind the restaurant. A Door Dash driver has to find a spot to park somewhere near the restaurant, which wastes time. What's more, the Door Dash person has to often wait in line with the customer pickup people whereas a store driver is dispatched by the kitchen manager and exits through the back door. 4. The order-taking integration between Door Dash, etc., and the host restaurants is non-existent and leads to errors. For example, when you order via your app on Door Dash, a physical person calls in that order. That person is often overseas and so has a thick accent. So here you are in the United States being called by someone in Asia with a salad and wings order. They are unfamiliar with the food and unfamiliar with regional American dialects. Some yuppie using their app triggers an Asian person who has never been to the U.S. to call a restaurant somewhere in the United States where the person taking the orders might be a hillbilly, might be ghetto, might be foreign themselves. IT DOESN'T WORK. 5. So...if Door Dash, etc., end up creating their own restaurant POS system they will be able, in theory, to circumvent that huge problem in the process right now. But they're going to have to convince restaurant owners to switch to their POS, which frankly sounds like a slow-motion scam. But even if it works perfectly and even if it's not a scam, and even if it routes coherent multi-customer runs, the independent driver still can't help out in the physical restaurant. They still can't fill in the labor gaps in the way that drivers do currently.
May 23, 20205 yr ^Well at least your arguments bolster the article's position -- in ways the author didn't think of.
May 23, 20205 yr The author had clearly never been a driver. I delivered pizzas for years when I was in high school and early college, and yeah you don't just sit around while not delivering. Doing delivery was the easy, fun (I got to spend so much time listening to my music!) and profitable part mostly. Back at the shop it was washing dishes, making pizzas, doing prep work, or cleaning out grills and ovens and grease traps. Someone still has to be paid for all that. What I still don't understand is who the investors are who are willing to lose money year after year, and why. I was hoping that the article would have given some insight into that.
May 23, 20205 yr 3 hours ago, X said: What I still don't understand is who the investors are who are willing to lose money year after year, and why. I was hoping that the article would have given some insight into that. Like the author, the investors have never worked in a restaurant. Softbank is fueled by the Saudi Royal Family...does anyone actually think a Saudi Prince ever worked at Pizza Hut? How about the average Silicon Valley stooge?
May 24, 20205 yr Another viewpoint: Restaurants rebel against delivery apps as cities crack down on fees One restaurateur gives each bag a personal touch, printing out a small note with a simple message: Grubhub orders are killing his business. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/restaurants-rebel-against-delivery-apps-cities-crack-down-fees-n1211456?fbclid=IwAR0iaO7ao9jwVcqW7duXYOFPw_RMfTNeZPiMXVyNqbDBcBzta5T5StO12hs
May 24, 20205 yr 13 hours ago, GCrites80s said: ^Well at least your arguments bolster the article's position -- in ways the author didn't think of. I talked to a guy today who was working the register at a place that does Uber Eats. He explained that Uber Eats provided them with a proprietary tablet which displays the orders their app generates. There is no cash changing hands, obviously, but it circumvents the problems I explained above regarding a call center calling in orders from overseas. I followed up and said I'd bet that Uber Eats, etc., are going to worm their way so deeply into small restaurants that at some point they're going to demand that their POS system takes over completely. They would then have complete access to every restaurant's data. They might then demand that all employees go through their payroll system. They might demand that the company use their tax preparer. Fees, fees, and more fees. After getting the restaurants in debt, they could buy them out for pennies on the dollar and put disparate local restaurants under the auspices of a pseudo- franchisee...maybe set up an investment product similar to a REIT.
August 10, 20204 yr Quote A judge ruled Monday that Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. must classify their drivers as employees due to a new California law, a decision that threatens the business models of the ride-hailing giants and other gig-economy companies. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/uber-and-lyft-ordered-to-classify-workers-as-employees-in-california-11597095698?mod=home-page
August 20, 20204 yr Uber and Lyft are each trading at $29 as of today. Lyft debuted at $80 and Uber at $43. They're terrible stocks and it's looking to get much worse with both in real danger of shutting down in California by the end of the month.
October 8, 20204 yr Uber is pushing a “Yes on 22” message to anyone hailing a ride in California. If passed, Prop 22 would exempt ridesharing and food delivery services from the recently passed California law that requires companies to treat their core employees as actual employees.
October 8, 20204 yr ^This is exactly why government by referendum is bad. For every good thing that comes along (California high speed rail) there are more obnoxious bad things.
October 14, 20204 yr And...I just got a push notification from the Uber app claiming that "Prop 22 will save lives". This is pretty sleazy and erodes some of the goodwill that I had towards MADD, TBQH.
October 14, 20204 yr Maybe MADD could work on getting pedal wagons and Bird scooters considered "motor vehicles" under the law so we can get all of those drunks out of our hair. Meanwhile, traditional bicycles are considered "motor vehicles" under the law and so you can get a DUI on a bicycle but not while pedaling a pedal wagon, which has a motor.
October 14, 20204 yr you don't actually control the pedal wagon as a participant. a driver at the front controls everything. This would be like getting a DUI for riding passenger in a car.
October 14, 20204 yr 4 minutes ago, ryanlammi said: you don't actually control the pedal wagon as a participant. a driver at the front controls everything. This would be like getting a DUI for riding passenger in a car. Not true. The riders do actually provide motive power to many pedal wagons with the motor as a backup, not unlike a small outboard engine for a sailboat.
October 15, 20204 yr I rode on the Pedal Wagon when it was relatively new to Cincinnati and you actually had to pedal pretty hard to make it move. I have heard that people complained ("I didn't know I actually had to pedal on this thing!") and they now use the electric motor a lot more now. In any event, the Pedal Wagon is only steered by its hopefully sober driver, not by the drunk peddlers. I wish MADD would come out as strongly in favor of public transportation or banning parking lots at bars as they would for passing a California ballot proposition that allows Uber to mistreat and underpay its employees.
October 15, 20204 yr 38 minutes ago, taestell said: MADD MADD was a twitter mob before there was Twitter. They went on a rampage where details and collateral damage didn't matter. That's how we ended up with ridiculous fines for bars and bartenders serving "underage" drinkers. It's how we ended up with people getting DUI's on bicycles, horses, and riding lawnmowers. It fed a nationwide rehab business (i.e. the Talbert House in Cincinnati) where a bunch of counselors who are on drugs call you names and try to get you angry so they can throw you in real jail. It fueled the DUI equipment industry with expensive and error-riddled breathylizer machines in every police and state highway patrol stations, the handheld ones that aren't admissible in court, plus that nasty trick where the officer tells you blow harder than you've ever blown bubba so undigested alcohol goes into the machine and you for sure blow over. It killed off revenue for all sorts of neighborhood bars and seasonal festivals and especially live music. It made going to see live music for 18-20 year-olds a huge hassle for both the patron and the venue. The inability to go to bars and pool halls gave rise to the coffee shop. Colleges had to kick the bars that were in their student unions out or turn them into lame-o coffee shops. No more beer sales at the campus bowling alley. 18-year olds could be drafted but they couldn't order a beer. For several years in the late 80s one of my uncles used to go around wearing a shirt that said DAMM: Drunks Against Mad Mothers.
October 15, 20204 yr If they hadn't started handing out DUIs like candy in the '90s but especially the 2000s there wouldn't be nearly as much tension between the citizens and the police. When that changed all of a sudden it made anyone out at night fearful of every cop they saw even if they hadn't had anything to drink. You probably wouldn't see as many white people out there protesting with BLM without that friction.
October 15, 20204 yr 11 hours ago, jmecklenborg said: For several years in the late 80s one of my uncles used to go around wearing a shirt that said DAMM: Drunks Against Mad Mothers.
November 4, 20204 yr On 10/8/2020 at 11:15 AM, taestell said: Uber is pushing a “Yes on 22” message to anyone hailing a ride in California. If passed, Prop 22 would exempt ridesharing and food delivery services from the recently passed California law that requires companies to treat their core employees as actual employees. Companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart spent $200 million pushing Issue 22, making it the most expensive ballot measure in California's history. This ultimately paid off as it looks like Issue 22 will pass with over 58% of the vote. The means that "gig economy" workers will continue to be classified as independent contractors and won't qualify for benefits and protections that companies must provide to full time employees.
November 4, 20204 yr 6 hours ago, taestell said: $200 million pushing Issue 22 McGuffy spent $100+ million in Kentucky and didn't come close to winning and neither did the other big-money D senate challengers in Alabama and South Carolina. That volume of money no doubt helped their cause but the fact is that the public: doesn't understand the problems associated with 1099 app-based delivery jobs and likes cheap rideshare rides I mean, if you've actually driven for Uber, you'd experience in person what little respect many riders have for the drivers. No way were those people going to vote to increase the cost of something they don't respect. It's not like you're a police officer or fireman or teacher. Edited November 4, 20204 yr by jmecklenborg
January 5, 20214 yr On 11/4/2020 at 10:42 AM, taestell said: Companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart spent $200 million pushing Issue 22, making it the most expensive ballot measure in California's history. The investment is now paying dividends:
February 11, 20214 yr So people used it less therefore it lost less. Unless the food delivery is much more profitable than carrying people. Which is also a bad scenario since people are worth more than food.
February 11, 20214 yr 11 hours ago, GCrites80s said: So people used it less therefore it lost less. Unless the food delivery is much more profitable than carrying people. Which is also a bad scenario since people are worth more than food. Look at those numbers. Every ride is more or less costing them 2X as much as they are charging. Obviously Uber is doing a lot of stuff in its office and r&d, but still. Uber Eats and Doordash are still harassing pizza and sub places that don't want their service. Like, they're putting the option to order from places that have their own delivery guys on the app, even though the restaurants ask them not to. The calls from these places are usually from call center or driver people with unintelligible foreign accents, so the orders get screwed up half the time. Many of the drivers are just plain dumb. They call but can't tell you if they're placing the order or here to pick up the order. "Will this order be pickup or delivery?" "Hello immediately order". "Okay, how can I help you?" "Yeah, this is the Doordash, and we have place an order". "So you want to place a pickup order?" "Salad chef with the banana peppers pizza banana peppers medium coke" "Okay so let's start over at the beginning...you want a chef salad and then were the banana peppers in reference to the salad or the pizza?: Then you realize the driver is in the restaurant and for mysterious reasons is calling you to pick up the above order rather than just telling the customer pickup girl that they're here to pick up XYZ order. Plus they're on the phone with some unrelated matter the whole time they're being rung up at the counter. I mean, Tech.
August 21, 20213 yr On 11/4/2020 at 10:42 AM, taestell said: Companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart spent $200 million pushing Issue 22, making it the most expensive ballot measure in California's history. This ultimately paid off as it looks like Issue 22 will pass with over 58% of the vote. The means that "gig economy" workers will continue to be classified as independent contractors and won't qualify for benefits and protections that companies must provide to full time employees. Woah, Friday night legal surprise - judge rules CA Prop 22 unconstitutional (state constitution). When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
February 13, 20223 yr Uber is a Bezzle: https://marker.medium.com/end-of-the-line-for-uber-901e3077bbbc
February 13, 20223 yr Seems like more and more people are using Curb these days. It's certainly been cheaper in my experience.
February 14, 20223 yr Uber is claiming a profit for Q4 2021 according to recent news articles. As for Curb... I wasn't familiar, so I looked it up. I've never used Uber or Lyft, but I think I would use Curb. Edited February 14, 20223 yr by gildone
May 25, 20223 yr The Decade of Cheap Rides Is Over How American life was changed by a subsidy Uber and Lyft can no longer afford. BY HENRY GRABAR MAY 18, 2022 11:09 AM Quote The cynical assumption was always that Uber was burning all that investor cash in order to corner the market. Once it killed off car service, taxi cartels, and its ride-hail rivals, the company would stop charging riders less than it was paying drivers and prices would have to go up. On Monday morning, an Uber from Manhattan to JFK Airport was $100—nearly double the fixed yellow cab rate. But good luck finding a yellow cab! https://slate.com/business/2022/05/uber-subsidy-lyft-cheap-rides.html
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