Lyft also claims that 20% of its trips begin or end at a mass transit stop:

These ads are all over SF, and I think the number is much, much higher than 20%. Around BART stations in SF, I bet it's closer to a 50% transfer market to Uber/Lyft since BART hits so few neighborhoods, and because of the steep hills facing BART riders who never lived in hilly SF neighborhoods. You get really out of shape if you don't regularly walk uphill.

 

I'm the only person from Oakland I know who takes the bus or light rail in SF, and it's because three years of constant Muni riding taught me all the ins and outs of the system. I have a keen sense of what times are best to ride and what routes to avoid.

 

Most people from outside SF avoid the busses and light rail like the plague. Most take BART and transfer to ride sharing. Uber is already cleaning up this transfer market, so Lyft has to fight back. Uber has been more pro-transit than Lyft in the Bay. Uber is moving its headquarters to above a BART station while Lyft is outsourcing workers to Nashville.

 

Uber also keeps a lot of drivers around BART stations during after train times. It's much harder to get fair Lyft prices past 12:30am. Basically, this is a desperate marketing move by Lyft. Couple this with the layoffs and outsourcing to Nashville, and I'd say Lyft is on its last legs. This unicorn is becoming a unicorpse.

 

*Also of note is that Sidecar liquidated a few weeks ago in time for the new year:

 

Uber competitor Sidecar calls it quits

by Heather Kelly  @heatherkelly

December 29, 2015: 5:00 PM ET

 

After years of trying to catch up to competitors Uber and Lyft, lesser-known ride-hailing startup Sidecar is ceasing operations.

The company will stop offering all rides and deliveries on December 31, 2015 at 2 pm PT. Sidecar founder and CEO Sunil Paul announced the decision in a Medium post on Tuesday.

 

CONTINUED

http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/29/technology/sidecar-uber-closing/

Investors from around the world keep pumping money into Lyft because it's seen as undervalued whereas Uber is seen as overvalued. 

 

Uber does not consciously direct its drivers to go anywhere.  If you see a lot of cars at the transit stations it's because they just dropped somebody off there or they decided to drive there after dropping somebody off nearby. 

 

Lyft just announced that they're dropping rates in Cincinnati to stay competitive with Uber, which dropped their rates the first or second week of January.  Back in 2014, when each entered the market, Lyft was slightly cheaper, with a lower minimum fare of $4 versus Uber's $5 and then rates that were about 10-15% lower.  Nobody cared that Lyft was cheaper and so Uber has always been doing more rides. 

 

This is what is so stupid about the price wars -- Uber's rates are a solid 40% lower in 2016 than they were in 2014 when they started in Cincinnati.  Everyone who is taking Uber now at the lower rate would still be using it if it were back at the original rate.  And if it were back at the original rate, there would be less surge pricing, because more people (like me) would be motivated to go out and drive during ordinary times when surges don't happen.  Right now if you go out and drive on a random Tuesday or Wednesday, you're a fool.  I haven't done it but I think if you drove *all* day from about 7am through 9pm right now on an ordinary day you could probably gross $250.  But in the "old days" you could have grossed $350, driving the same number of miles.  Grossing $250 means you only really netted about $100, but the old rate put you closer to $150, which is actually okay money for unskilled labor in the Midwest. 

Uber does not consciously direct its drivers to go anywhere.  If you see a lot of cars at the transit stations it's because they just dropped somebody off there or they decided to drive there after dropping somebody off nearby. 

 

They're hanging around after last BART because the numbers of riders are really high from that time until 2am. 12:30am to 2am has much higher numbers of Uber drivers. Lyft has really started to collapse here and is doing all kinds of desperate acts.

 

Then there is this issue with Lyft Line that isn't getting proper attention:

 

I Love Lyft, But I Have to Tell This Story

 

“So, that guy literally uses this as a dating app,” our driver explained. He clearly could not wait to spill the beans. “That girl you saw before he got in your ride — she was from another Lyft ride. He said he’s gotten with 25 girls through Lyft Line so far.”

 

“That can’t be true!” the girl in the front seat blurted.

 

“Yeah, so he told me all about it, he’ll specifically order rides that are really far — ”

 

“So he has more time to talk to her,” I realized. “Yeah, our ride was like twenty minutes.”

SoMa to NoPa. My god, it all made sense.

 

“Yeah exactly. Anyway, so if it’s a dude, he cancels. If it’s an unattractive female, he cancels.”

 

Brutal.

 

“What about UberPool?”

 

"He doesn’t use it.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“No pictures.”

 

https://medium.com/art-marketing/i-love-lyft-but-i-have-to-tell-this-story-f9d37f5f0b7#.fbob0qan2

^ That's a brazen, but incredibly clever strategy.

Medical student flips out on Uber driver, probably ends her career:

http://coed.com/2016/01/21/anjali-ramkissoon-uber-attack-fight-story-facts-pictures-details-who-what-where/

^She's really cute, so she'll probably be fine. Though I agree it could end her medical career.

Interesting they're not serving Oakland...this market is already pretty saturated, so it will be telling to see how they do.

 

Uber Prepares Meal-Delivery Service for 10 U.S. Cities

Customers in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere will be able to use dedicated UberEats app

By DOUGLAS MACMILLAN

Updated Jan. 20, 2016 5:10 p.m. ET

 

Uber Technologies Inc. is preparing to go live with a full-scale meal delivery service across 10 cities in the U.S., an expansion that will test the company’s ability to use its drivers to move goods.

 

In the coming weeks, customers in such cities as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Austin, Texas, will be able to use a new, dedicated UberEats app to order from the full menus of dozens of local restaurants and have their food quickly delivered by an Uber driver, a company spokeswoman said in an interview.

 

Uber aims to build a new stream of revenue in food delivery, a highly competitive and still-speculative business where a range of venture-funded startups—from Postmates Inc. to DoorDash Inc.—already vie for customers. Some of these companies have struggled to demonstrate they can operate profitably, leading to difficulty raising new funding at high valuations and a slowdown in hiring.

 

CONTINUED

http://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-to-ring-the-dinner-bell-in-10-u-s-cities-1453324399

 

They have been testing this in Chicago on a limited scale for a few months like lunch only at limited restaurants on weekdays

An interesting article...GM has been making a lot of noise lately with the company investing in things other than their typical business.

 

Now Maven, a ZipCar competitor. Looks like GM might think this is their future?

 

http://www.wired.com/2016/01/maven-gms-car-sharing-scheme-is-really-about-a-driverless-future/

Uber has suspended service today in New York City and other areas being hit by the blizzard.

An interesting article...GM has been making a lot of noise lately with the company investing in things other than their typical business.

 

Now Maven, a ZipCar competitor. Looks like GM might think this is their future?

 

http://www.wired.com/2016/01/maven-gms-car-sharing-scheme-is-really-about-a-driverless-future/

 

CES this year was filled with new tech integration at Ford and GM. Ford looks like it might beat Tesla, Google, and Apple to market with self-driving cars. If Ford pulls that off, they own the future. I wouldn't be surprised if they do too. Despite all the marketing huff and puff at companies like Tesla, Ford has always been a breeding ground for top engineers. They normally don't announce new technology until they're close to market. I think the Detroit auto industry has finally come to the realization that auto sales will never recover to pre-recession highs since Gen Y doesn't want to own cars, even if they make enough money to afford them. All car companies have to do is look at all the millionaire 20-somethings and 30-somethings in the Bay to come to that conclusion. Only a fraction are buying in the city, and urban areas are king.

 

Ford and GM are making sure to get in on ride sharing and food delivery. That's where the sales will be at.

 

*I'm happy the Detroit auto industry is realistic about its future and how it can survive the generational shift underway. They might better grasp market changes than the German or Japanese automakers who do not have the same pulse on American cities. In those two foreign countries, car ownership was never a big deal for young people....

 

Future products are going to need to appeal to Uber and food delivery companies. Ford won't get hit too hard if self-driving technology takes over, and they may even benefit since they'll probably be able to sell these cars directly to Uber for more money. B2B sales will be the future of the Detroit auto industry. Car dealerships will certainly shrink, so we may see the era of the traditional car salesman come to an end...

 

While many Americans would like to see that come to an end, it was a big part of our culture for the last 50+ years. It also could result in some layoffs (though I'm not sure how many people actually sell cars these days). We may go back to the glitzy urban dealerships of yesteryear and see suburban dealerships collapse. These urban showrooms will also be designed as places for corporate visits for fleet companies like Uber. The whole consumer model will change, but some rich people will still want to buy cars since rental companies, Uber, etc. won't replace the freedom of actually owning a car, even a self-driving one. A rich family will own so they can safely take their kids to soccer matches, go on long trips, etc.

 

I doubt singles will own cars in the future, and the majority of Americans will be single for life (I don't see marriage rates ever recovering). I just find it hard to see parents trusting their kids alone in an Uber car...but there won't be many kids in the future, so who knows? We may see a whole change in parenting as poly roommates raise babies from various people. And maybe these self-driving cars will have security measures to protect against sex predators and other types of criminals. They're going to have a lot of cameras, so that will lead to more of a surveillance state. It's going to be really dumb to break into a car in the future. Police (which may be robocops sooner than we think) will immediately be alerted. Crime will likely go down as tech creates more of a surveillance state...

More on GM's investment in Lyft, and also a good video interview with Yahoo at the Detroit Auto Show:

 

Why GM wants to compete with Uber

Rick Newman

January 20, 2016

 

What will happen when people stop buying cars?

 

That’s a question all the big automakers are grappling with, and General Motors (GM) is backing its brainstorming with some aggressive spending on the next big thing.

 

GM is launching a "personal mobility" service called Maven that will kick off in Ann Arbor and spread to other major U.S. cities throughout 2016. Participants will use a smartphone app to locate GM vehicles for rent at parking spots throughout the city, unlocking the car using the app and a wireless connection to the car, instead of a key. The service is a blend of Uber, Zipcar and bike-sharing programs in many cities, since it allows users to find a short term rental closes to them using an app.

 

GM also invested $500 million in the ride-sharing company Lyft recently, while also scooping up the remnants of Sidecar, an early ride-sharing venture that failed for lack of funding. GM president Dan Ammann will sit on Lyft’s board and oversee GM's new ride-sharing projects.

 

“The ownership model is a great model, but times are changing,” Phil Abram, GM’s chief infotainment officer, told Yahoo Finance at the Detroit auto show recently. “There will be alternatives.”

 

There already are alternatives, in fact, led by ride-sharing giant Uber, plus Zipcar, the short-term rental company popular with urbanites who need a vehicle every now and then but don’t want the hassle of owning one. Those ventures have grown from niche operators to mass-market firms that threaten to remake the car business, which insiders now call the mobility industry.

 

CONTINUED

https://beta.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-gm-is-betting-big-on-lyft-164717129.html

It would be an incredible slap in the face to so many people if in 5 years Lyft usurps Uber and in 10 Uber is a thing of the past, like a VHS movie collection.  All these guys with new money to burn have been throwing it at Uber, but the dark horse Lyft might in fact emerge triumphant, 10 years from now.  Maybe Uber's effort to take over everything (to bypass and bury the big 3) will be its undoing whereas Lyft's apparent willingness to act as as partner with them will be the path that is made obvious in hindsight. 

^Yeah, GM investing $500 million in Lyft is a big deal. This will stop the layoffs and likely have them coming back swinging. Uber not partnering with a major car manufacturer is a mistake, but I bet they'll jump on board Ford or something. Uber can't be that stupid not to partner with an automaker on a fleet.

 

*Also, it seems like Detroit is ahead of Japan and Germany here. All companies like GM have to do is look out their windows to Downtown Detroit to see this huge generational shift underway. Downtown Detroit is really starting to boom, and it's right in time for the Woodward Avenue light rail. That streetcar will lead to lots of investment. Detroit could really start to turn around by 2020. I haven't been there since 2014, but I noticed a new type of energy downtown, and I've heard it has only expanded since then. The city has the "cool" branding on lockdown. Detroit is the only Rust Belt city that knows how to market the Rust Belt to the masses of people who live in nicer cities. It's really starting to stick and Detroit is landing saltwater transplants. My greatest hope for Toledo is spillover from Detroit. I think it will happen too as long as Toledo starts branding itself as Detroit's right hand man (which it is). Toledo just needs to push the whole DTW thing, and it's set. We could be seeing a major shift in the auto industry where Detroit comes back as the king of the world. By being tech-focused, they're preventing a collapse of their industry and figuring out a way to survive. They get how cars are going to fit into the new America, and they'll have a stronger direct sale model. I'm not sure if the Japanese or Germans have long-term business plans like this. In those two countries, cars were luxury items, not necessities just to survive. America is where the biggest cultural upheaval is underway.

 

Germans and Japanese also didn't experience this type of urban flight and disinvestment, so they might not understand the American millennial mindset as well...

Well I think some investors didn't learn from the tech boom, when huge money was thrown at the first people to go public in an auspicious new field, but some later company ended up winning.  A great is example was Palm, which I believe barely exists anymore, getting crushed by Apple and Samsung by 2010.  Their stock went nuts when it went public back in 1999, if I remember correctly it went up 400% on the day of the IPO.

 

I've only read one book on the auto industry and it was clear just a few pages in that I didn't know anything about how insanely complex it is.  I think people buying Apple stock in anticipation of their entry into cars and those people throwing money at Uber before it goes public just might get a nasty schooling.  When Elon Musk stands up their and makes casual remarks about solving technical and business issues that have framed the car business for 50+ years, I think he succeeds in getting naïve investors to buy a couple dozen shares of his stock, but those people too might just end up losing their investments in 10 years. 

 

^The auto industry is insanely complex, which is why it's a lot harder to disrupt than most other industries. Building a car is not cheap and not easy. Product development is complicated, the design/engineering side is extremely complicated, and the manufacturing side is also complicated. On top of that, you've got to maintain a ton of business partners. The parts suppliers play a huge role, which is why Toledo has such a tight relationship with Detroit.

 

Ford, GM, and Chrysler have survived this long for a reason...

Except GM did get bailed out once and Chrysler twice.  Ford was only spared that ignominy in 2009 because of some weird deal the Ford family members orchestrated starting back in 2006 (I couldn't understand the details of it when I read about it several years ago) that gave the company way more cash than it would have had otherwise during the recession.  They weren't anticipating a recession -- it was just dumb luck.  Also, somehow the Ford family retains a huge stake in the company, which makes absolutely no sense.  It has to be the only big car company in the world where third and fourth-generation descendants of the founder are still making major decisions.  I believe there are something like 250 living descendants of Henry Ford who inherited Class A voting stock in the company and have some say in its affairs.   

^Fair. But I would say the GM bailout paid off. Honestly, a couple of the less corrupt bank ones did too. The bailouts were a good idea in some cases and a terrible idea in others. The Chrysler restructuring with Fiat was questionable (though Toledo would have been completely decimated if Chrysler/Jeep wasn't bailed out). That all happened so fast with likely tons of secret meetings none of us know about. It will be decades before we truly understand who pulled the strings. Some of the early documentaries missed big targets.

 

*Our whole economy might be rigged, and the Detroit 3 used to be a classic "good old boys" type of industry that rubbed elbows with powerful politicians in Washington. Now that they are smaller, they actually seem to be more innovative again...

 

They've also recently hired a lot of young people from Detroit and Toledo. I think there is a big generational shift underway in that core Rust Belt region around the Western Basin of Lake Erie. They still have some product development muscle, and are learning how to market to young people again.

 

Overall, this is a good trend to see. The days of GM tearing out streetcars are long gone...though a lot of those systems were already tanking before GM bought them. Looking back, the market for suburbia was nearly insatiable in most American metro areas. Now the pendulum has swung back to urban areas with dramatic force. GM knows this and can't stop it.

 

*I wonder how the oil industry is reacting to Gen Y and all this ridesharing? I haven't read much from Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, etc. And the weird thing is Chevron is still headquartered in the Bay...I think they've got to have some sort of plan for alternative energy and charging stations in urban areas.

 

The oil stocks are tanking (likely just getting started), and demand is going down in the United States (which should only accelerate). By contrast, GM might be a good investment.

 

**And Elon Musk could be in trouble. This downturn is hitting Tesla hard. Prices are still too high, but it's tough to break even if they go any lower. Musk himself has said cheap oil hurts the electric car industry. The tax breaks they've gotten have been huge. Tesla is still largely a taxpayer-subsidized enterprise (though I assume weaning off). It's quite possible the big boys in Detroit, Japan, and Germany are going to take out Tesla...Elon Musk has been acting really weird in public lately. He's losing some of the nerdy, but competent charm he used to have, and I suspect he's stressed out. This is a scary time in general in the Bay, but Tesla is trying to disrupt a much more complicated industry than the other guys. They're building and selling real products...and not just any real products, but expensive, luxury-oriented products. That's always harder to make work than simple services like Uber or Airbnb. Tesla is much more complicated than that. While it gets thrown in with this tech bubble, it has much more in common with Ford or GM than any other company in the Bay.

 

Homeboy might want to cut back on Burning Man and worry more about his recent product launches. Burning Man has destroyed lots of great people in the Bay. It becomes this all consuming thing that wrecks "Default World" life if not kept in check. Many a Bay Arean has crashed and burned after getting too deep into Burner culture...not that it matters since they're already rich. No matter what happens to Tesla, Musk wins out. I could more likely see a merger or buyout with another automaker down the line. They have a lot of good technology.

 

There is also the possibility of Uber partnering with Tesla. It has long been rumored, but nothing concrete has happened yet. :|

Hilarious...the doctor who went nuts on the driver in Miami last weekend is doing the exact same thing as the Taco Bell Bro..."I don't recognize that person...that wasn't me!". 

 

https://gma.yahoo.com/miami-doctor-accused-attacking-uber-driver-calls-biggest-125500270--abc-news-topstories.html#

This has been happening with celebrities for a while....they think if they apologize all repercussions should go away :/

They keep saying she's a doctor. Is she actually a doctor, or is she just a student?

 

EDIT: I guess she's a doctor? They keep saying Dr. blah blah blah

Hilarious...the doctor who went nuts on the driver in Miami last weekend is doing the exact same thing as the Taco Bell Bro..."I don't recognize that person...that wasn't me!". 

 

https://gma.yahoo.com/miami-doctor-accused-attacking-uber-driver-calls-biggest-125500270--abc-news-topstories.html#

 

"'I just, I can’t,' she said."

 

She was so close to unintentionally using a meme, one that is stereotypical of the exact type of girl I imagine she is:

 

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-cant-even

Well it seems like her an the Taco Bell guy were counseled by the same lawyer or PR team.  Or do people from the upper crust just inherently know what to say in these situations? 

 

As a side note, in my food delivery career I've had a lot of dealings with doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff.  I'm continually amazed by how dumb and trashy (and obese) so many people are in the medical field.  It's like you get to a certain age as someone who was never encouraged to enter the medical or legal fields, with the insinuation that you didn't have what it takes, and you realize how many of these people lead pretty disorganized and pathetic lives and really aren't that good at their jobs. 

Hilarious...the doctor who went nuts on the driver in Miami last weekend is doing the exact same thing as the Taco Bell Bro..."I don't recognize that person...that wasn't me!". 

 

https://gma.yahoo.com/miami-doctor-accused-attacking-uber-driver-calls-biggest-125500270--abc-news-topstories.html#

 

That was one of the most calculating, manipulative interviews I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot in my day. She totally nailed that interview, and I'm guessing she got a lot of coaching from lawyers and media professionals before going on GMA.

 

She'll be fine. She said exactly what will make people feel bad for her. She totally twisted it around to make her look like the victim. Beware this girl. I've been with maybe one too many of these types of well-educated, high-functioning party girls, and this is a classic game they play. I'm now finally smart enough to avoid these types of people. There is a fine line between drinking too much and drinking so much you go into a drunken blackout rage. My guess is this isn't the first time she has been an angry drunk and treated people like that. Alcohol isn't an excuse for treating people like that, especially a total stranger posing no threat. Is what she said even all true? We'll never know, and it doesn't matter. She could have made up that whole boyfriend thing (or she probably broke up with him, not the other way around), but that was designed to make people go, "Yeah, I guess I drink a lot too when my relationships end." Throwing her dad in was clutch PR, but most people would be depressed by that, not violent. Her level of drunken rage comes off as more of an alcoholic type, not a one-time deal. She's an evil genius who likely has a serious drinking problem. If you've lived with high-functioning, good-looking, successful alcoholics, this all comes across as very familiar.

 

She's gorgeous too, and showed up dressed to the nines. She'll be back in business in no time...

 

We're going to see a lot of more of this stuff, and it's amazing more of these videos aren't coming from college campuses. They're coming from successful college grads with real careers. There are a lot of ways to look into this. Do modern-day careers push us to drink more? Does the stress of a high-pressure job lead people to have these periodic breakdowns? Are college students today more mature than the millennials who have already graduated? Judging by what I see, that's quite possible. In San Francisco and Oakland, I find people in their late teens and early 20's tend to be more mature than people in their late 20's and 30's...

Hilarious...the doctor who went nuts on the driver in Miami last weekend is doing the exact same thing as the Taco Bell Bro..."I don't recognize that person...that wasn't me!". 

 

https://gma.yahoo.com/miami-doctor-accused-attacking-uber-driver-calls-biggest-125500270--abc-news-topstories.html#

 

"'I just, I can’t,' she said."

 

She was so close to unintentionally using a meme, one that is stereotypical of the exact type of girl I imagine she is:

 

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-cant-even

 

That was the point. She was trying to get millennials to relate to her. I think the average person in their late 20's in a top tier city is really going to relate to this...

 

*She also makes a relevant point about the cyber-bullying she has experienced. While someone long out of undergrad shouldn't be acting like she did, Anjali Ramkissoon is a name that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The cowards on the internet sending her threats and telling her to kill herself are disgusting human beings. They're likely jealous of her talent or looks, and taking to the internet to threaten someone is pathetic. She's right on the money about the cyber-bullying issue in that interview. People today can't even make a mistake without it blowing up in public. Granted, her mistake was pretty stupid, but it's not like she seriously injured anybody. In the broad scheme of drunken mistakes, this is small potatoes. Nobody got hurt and nobody's life was destroyed. This is a first world controversy. All she did was act like a drunken idiot past the age when being a drunken idiot is acceptable. Would America be treating her differently if she were a 20-year-old undergrad? We seem to have a really weird double-standard in America about this type of behavior. How is it OK for a 20-year-old to do this, but not a 25-year-old or 30-year-old? It's like undergrads can do whatever they want with no consequences, but once out in the "real world," all of that stuff is taboo.

 

And it's not like she got behind the wheel and drove. Ten years ago, she would have likely been a drunk driver. Uber gets multiple PR wins from this. "Hey America, these are the people we're taking off the road. We're saving lives!"

 

**I know we don't have a whole lot of data, but I'd bet Uber has led to a nation-wide reduction in drunk driving. We've long had issues with drunk driving in this country, and Anjali's drunken explosion on the internet is much better for everyone involved than her getting behind the wheel of a car.

 

 

As a side note, in my food delivery career I've had a lot of dealings with doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff.  I'm continually amazed by how dumb and trashy (and obese) so many people are in the medical field.  It's like you get to a certain age as someone who was never encouraged to enter the medical or legal fields, with the insinuation that you didn't have what it takes, and you realize how many of these people lead pretty disorganized and pathetic lives and really aren't that good at their jobs. 

 

The medical field has such a massive amount of jobs now that there's no way that they only get good people any more. That's like how nerds aren't all smart these days since there are simply far too many of them for that to be possible.

 

 

Are college students today more mature than the millennials who have already graduated? Judging by what I see, that's quite possible. In San Francisco and Oakland, I find people in their late teens and early 20's tend to be more mature than people in their late 20's and 30's...

 

I work with a lot of people in their early to mid-20s and have to be like, "Listen, a lot of people my age (10 years older) are still boring and stupid. I'm not cool because I'm older... I'm cool because I'm Me."

They're coming from successful college grads with real careers.

 

Yeah it's unbelievable.  Lawyers, guys in finance, guys in sales, and anyone inheriting their dad's business tend to be the worst.  I wouldn't put it past this girl to turn this incident into a launching pad for a reality TV career. 

 

 

 

I came out of retirement last night because I thought St. Patrick's Day would be a big night.  Things started out mildly enough around 8pm by driving an Indian guy from a suburban hotel to a suburban Indian restaurant.  But then things got obnoxious and depressing. 

 

I drive to Fricker's in Mason to pick up "Amanda".  She's not there.  I call.  She screams "WE HAVE TO PEE i'LL BE OUT IN A MINUTE!!!!".  About 10 minutes later she and a friend waddle out to the car.  They debate for 3 or 4 minutes if some other girls is "supposed" to get in the car.  They agree "she isn't coming!" and we drive to some other bar about 4 miles away.  The whole time the one girl is on the phone with the girl who was supposed to be in the car telling her she's supposed to be in the car.  They get out of the car but that very cell phone is left in the car.  So I have to drive back when I hear it ringing in the back seat to give them the phone.  I decided to turn off the Uber app in order to avoid having them ride request me again, because they were plotting to have me go get the other girl (Stephanie?) on Amanda's account.  Which would have meant I would have driven back to Fricker's and had to run around looking for Stephanie because there's no way she'd be outside waiting for me.  That just plain never happens with these kinds of people. 

 

So I turn off the app and start driving south to get away from Amanda.  About 5 miles south, I turn the app back on.  Sure enough, a ride request from Amanda.  I cancel that shit and turn the app back off.  I switch over to Lyft while still driving south.  I'm around Kenwood Towne Center when I get a request in...O'Bryonville.  It can't be worse than Amanda I'm thinking, so I say okay and drive all the way down to O'Bryon's.  Into the car comes a couple in the back seat and a +1 female in the front passenger seat.  I drive them to Mac's Pizza, with the couple in the back making out the entire way and kicking the back of my seat.  There is a wreck at the corner of McMillan and W. Clifton so I drop them off next to Chicago Gyros rather than making the loop around Hughes High School.  They stumble out, barely able to separate for the 3 seconds necessary to get out of the car. 

 

I drive to my house, eat dinner, and check my email.  I get back in the car about 45 minutes later.  I hear a buzzing in the back seat...it's the second lost phone of the day.  Eventually somebody calls named Kevin.  I tell him I've got that girl's phone.  He asks me where I am.  I say Mt. Adams.  He says can you drive it to Mac's Pizza?  I say yeah.  He calls back asking me if I have his number.  I tell him to just wait outside I'll be there in under 10 minutes.  He calls back again asking if I have his number.  I tell him hey dude just stand outside of the place.  He says he's going to give me money for the phone.  I said sure. 

 

So I'm driving up the W. Clifton hill when I get another call.  It's the girl.  I tell her I'm taking the phone to Kevin.  She goes NOOOO.  She says to bring the phone to her.  I ask her where she is.  She doesn't know.  I asked her where she is going.  She said Clifton.  I asked where?  She said the west side.  I asked her what she meant by that.  This went back-and-forth for 2-3 minutes with me being totally unable to figure out where she is or where she is going.  By now Kevin is wondering where I am.  He's blowing up her phone.  I don't pick it up.  I guess he finally is out on the sidewalk waiting for me to round the corner and hand off the phone.

 

Eventually the girl hands off the phone she's talking to me on to...HER MOM.  So the voice goes "this is Karen's mom...where are you?".  I ask her where she is.  She says in Clifton.  I'm drifting aimlessly down McMillan when the CVS comes into view.  I ask if she can meet me at the CVS.  She says yes.  10-15 minutes later she shows up in a minivan.  The drunk girl gets out, is about to throw her arms around me thanking me for brining back the phone, but the look on my face is "where's my $5 or $10 bill?".  She doesn't give me anything for returning her $400 iPhone 6. 

 

So to recap -- the girl is making out like crazy with this Kevin clown around 9pm.  Leaves her phone in my car.  In the ensuing hour she breaks up with this guy and somehow gets rescued by her mom.  Kevin starts calling her obsessively like a fratty sort-of alpha male always does.  I pick up the phone.  Now he sees his chance to meet back up with this girl since he will soon have her phone.  Instead, the phone goes directly to her.  So instead of me doing 1-2 drives and making $10-20 on each drive, I do the nice thing and return this phone to these people and don't get a real thanks or any kind of payment for the favor. 

 

I have seen many uber/lyft drivers declare that they now simply throw phones on the side of the road rather than try to take them back to people.  It's just not worth your time.  Early on I had someone from out-of-town give me $20 to return their phone the next day, and I had a coked-up mom at The Greenbriar (the notorious cougar bar in Florence) give me $10 last year also just for driving right back to the bar.  But I've now had too many of these episodes where I've wasted time during surge periods driving all around to find these unappreciative clowns. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ford may join Uber and Lyft in the ride-sharing business

Fri, Mar 25, 2016, 5:56pm EDT - US Markets are closed

 

Selling cars is big business, but there’s an even bigger one: transportation services, which includes things like taxis, shuttles and ride sharing. “We literally get none of that,” Ford Motor (F) CEO Mark Fields tells me in the video above, shot recently at the New York International Auto Show. “We look at that as a huge opportunity.”

 

That’s why Ford has set up a new “mobility” division to figure out ways the company can grow beyond the manufacture and sale of automobiles. When asked if Ford might get into the booming ride-sharing business, Fields says, “That may be one area we pursue, transportation as a service.”

 

Ford’s crosstown rival, General Motors (GM), has purchased the technology of failed ride-sharing service Sidecar, and invested $500 million in Lyft. In one new program, GM will provide vehicles for some Lyft drivers in a few cities, a possible first step toward a broader rental program. Virtually every automaker is developing self-driving cars that could be more popular in ride-sharing fleets than in consumers’ own driveways.

 

Ford has a pilot program in London that allows drivers to check out a Ford from one of about 25 locations in the city and use it as they wish, paying by the mile. The deal also includes guaranteed free parking. That model is more like Zipcar, which offers short-term rentals in urban areas, than Uber or Lyft, but future transportation offerings could include both rentals and ride-sharing. Similar programs will probably roll out in the United States eventually.

 

CONTINUED

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-may-join-uber-and-lyft-in-the-ride-sharing-business-173021620.html#

Some U of Michigan frat guys...this is so typical of what Uber drivers are experiencing every day, over and over again.

 

I've been using UberPool lately and....it's just too good and cheap to be true. So far my fares have been 20-30 percent of UberX, and picking up other passengers has added maybe 10 minutes. 

 

There is no way it's going to last; not at these reduced rates. So I definitely recommend using UberPool while it's still available.

Some U of Michigan frat guys...this is so typical of what Uber drivers are experiencing every day, over and over again.

 

 

They'll be plenty of time for him to watch TV when he's got multiple DUIs.

I've been using UberPool lately and....it's just too good and cheap to be true. So far my fares have been 20-30 percent of UberX, and picking up other passengers has added maybe 10 minutes. 

 

There is no way it's going to last; not at these reduced rates. So I definitely recommend using UberPool while it's still available.

 

The drivers are being exploited.  All of the cost and risk is being pushed on them, and they're the least-likely to understand what is going on.  Travis Kalanick and his buddies are all rich, Uber passengers tend to be from wealthy families, but drivers most assuredly are not.  During my 1,000-ride career, I might have driven 5 people who I was certain were from poor backgrounds.  That's under 1%.  Remember, you have to have a smart phone AND a checking/credit card account to use Uber, and many poor people don't have one, the other, or both. 

 

 

Unbelievable what that UM guy was saying to his Uber driver. That guy is disgusting and sadly probably has a high-paying job waiting for him after graduation (but might not even need it). Uber seems to have brought out all sorts of classist behavior in wealthy, drunk 20-somethings and 30-somethings. I bet this guy insults fast food workers too. And janitors. And a whole host of other important jobs.

 

It's obvious this guy has never struggled a day in his life and has zero grit. What's sickening is that to act that way, he is probably already set up for a lifetime of privilege. :| I bet he has a large trust fund...

 

He reminds me a lot of some of the Oakland hipsters I encounter who make fun of people with jobs. "Ha! You must be poor if you have to work for a living!"

Well, it turns out the UM guy's dad is one of New York's greediest and most notorious landlords. No surprise there...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It's pretty obvious where this kid learned this behavior.

 

It's amazing that people can be this classist in a country that used to pride itself on class mobility. Have they no empathy? Do they understand how hard it is to be poor in modern-day America? Do they have any idea what it's like to uproot your life and move to a new place with no connections? Why are they making fun of someone for having a job? :cry:

 

Frat bro son of reviled New York City landlord Steven Croman under investigation for Uber driver harassment video

BY JASON SILVERSTEIN    NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Monday, March 28, 2016, 8:58 AM

 

Like father, like son.

 

The frat bro son of one of New York City’s most reviled landlords was recorded harassing an Uber driver in Michigan, calling the man a “minimum wage fa---t” and mocking him for needing to work for a living. Jake Croman, a member of the University of Michigan’s Tau Kappa Epsilon chapter, is now being investigated by his frat for his recorded roadside rage at an Uber driver, according to the Michigan Review.

 

That means he’s following the flagrant footsteps of his father, Steven Croman — a Gotham property magnate who’s under investigation by State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for allegedly forcing rent-stabilized tenants out of their homes.

 

Uber driver Artur Zawada filmed Jake Croman and a group of his goons belittling him while standing outside his car — apparently because Zawada canceled a ride they ordered.

 

CONTINUED

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/son-reviled-nyc-landlord-filmed-harassing-uber-driver-article-1.2579810

 

EXCLUSIVE: Multimillionaire Manhattan landlord probed for possibly using illegal tactics to force out rent-stabilized tenants

BY GREG B. SMITH  NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Saturday, July 26, 2014, 2:30 AM

 

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has launched an investigation into the tactics used by Steven Croman, 47, to push rent-stabilized tenants out of their valuable apartments, the Daily News has learned. Croman, who owns 100 mostly residential buildings across Manhattan, portrays himself as a philanthropist, raising money for causes like the 92nd Street Y.

 

The multimillionaire Manhattan landlord whose ex-cop employee is accused of terrorizing tenants is now himself the subject of an investigation, the Daily News has learned. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has launched a probe into the potentially illegal tactics used by landlord Steven Croman, 47, to force rent-stabilized tenants out of their valuable apartments, a source said.

 

The AG is investigating potential violations of city and state laws, including numerous infractions related to tenant harassment by Croman, the source said.

 

Schneiderman’s spokeswoman, Melissa Grace, declined to answer questions about the probe, instead issuing a brief statement.

 

“While we cannot comment on potential or ongoing investigations, the attorney general is committed to ensuring that no one — no matter how rich or well connected — is above the law. We are prepared to take action against landlords who use illegal tactics to force rent-regulated tenants out of their homes to raise rents.”

 

Croman, who owns 100 mostly residential buildings across Manhattan, portrays himself as a philanthropist, raising money for causes like the 92nd Street Y.

 

This week Schneiderman slapped a “cease and desist” order on one of his employees, ex-NYPD cop Anthony Falconite, a private investigator tenants say has engaged in a campaign of harassment and intimidation to force them out. Numerous tenants say Croman regularly files frivolous lawsuits, blows off repairs and uses every trick in the book to get them out so he can rent units at much higher rates.

 

CONTINUED

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/exclusive-millionaire-manhattan-landlord-probed-force-tenants-article-1.1880709

Uber wants to kill surge pricing.

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/05/03/476513775/uber-plans-to-kill-surge-pricing-though-drivers-say-it-makes-job-worth-it

I just got an email saying that Uber now offers scheduled rides. So, combined with by previous post, it seems they are moving away from their on-demand, supply-and-demand driven business model towards a more typical taxi model.

Uber has also begun uber eats in Cincinnati, but the rollout will be slow because Uber does not enable drivers to receive food requests until they have sent a heat bag. 

 

I'm skeptical that uber eats is going to work well because there are too many opportunities for customers to defraud the restaurants.  They can simply claim they didn't receive something that they did, and the restaurant will be stuck having to pay uber eats for a rerun.  So they'll be duplicating food orders and paying for two deliveries.  It won't work without uber eats requiring restaurants to photograph every order that goes out. 

I recently took trip and decided to use Uber to get to the Cleveland airport from Tremont.  No problem getting an early morning ride (4 AM) and it cost me about $14.00.  After arriving back in Cleveland I decided to simply take a taxi back to my house since it would just be easier.  They're just sitting there you know.  Big mistake.  That trip cost me $42.  How is this even possible for a 10 mile ride in Cleveland?  Either Uber drivers are making absolutely no money or the taxi companies are bloated and inefficient.  Either way, from the airport it will be Uber or train + uber for me from now on.

I recently took trip and decided to use Uber to get to the Cleveland airport from Tremont.  No problem getting an early morning ride (4 AM) and it cost me about $14.00.  After arriving back in Cleveland I decided to simply take a taxi back to my house since it would just be easier.  They're just sitting there you know.  Big mistake.  That trip cost me $42.  How is this even possible for a 10 mile ride in Cleveland?  Either Uber drivers are making absolutely no money or the taxi companies are bloated and inefficient.  Either way, from the airport it will be Uber or train + uber for me from now on.

 

^Uber drivers are making no money and neither is Uber itself.  It is burning through investor cash at horrific rates. 

$14.00 to get from the airport to Tremont?! That does sound way too low. Especially for someone working at 4am. It does seem like there should be some sort of shift differential there. Probably $3 of that is gasoline, alone. Then there's the hidden cost of wear and tear. Are Uber drivers supposed to carry commercial car insurance like delivery drivers? Let's say those hidden costs are $2. After Uber gets their cut, you're making like $7 taking someone from the airport to Tremont at 4am!? It's not like it's non-stop work, either.

 

I'd imagine you spend a lot of time just driving to pick someone up after dropping the last person off. There's another hidden cost. I've heard so many stories about people puking in Uber drivers cars but lately I heard that you can charge them for that. Still, that smell is hard to get rid of and no one wants to have to clean up someone else's vomit.

Uber drivers making no money? I have to disagree - as an Uber driver.

 

* My insurance policy covers me well and the policy extends to me carrying Uber passengers. I pay no premium.

* On a decent night with no surge, I can pull down $60-$70 in a few hours. For trips that are short, I try to be speedy (and speed) since the base price is $3 and generally won't go over that by much; for longer trips, I travel slower since I get money per mile and per minute.

* On a good night with surge (sometimes 3x, rarely 5x+), I can pull $150-$300 for 2 or 3 hours of driving/sitting. It's usually a combination of inclement weather, concerts, sporting events and conventions that drive up the surge, along with typical rush.

* Typical trips from/to the airport to downtown hotels cost $20 to $30. I've never had one go under $20 in Cleveland and airport trips now constitute about half of my pickups/drop-offs.

 

Additionally, I get 15% off of oil changes which cost me around $80 that needs done once every two or three weeks - not because of Uber but because of my other travels. I also receive 20% off of my AT&T wireless bill, bringing it down from $100/month to $80/month.

 

I've gotten pretty selective about driving for Uber. I rarely drive if it's normal rates - those $3/fares really don't do much and barely cover expenses but surge pricing and airport rides more than cover expenses - insurance, wear and tear and all that.

 

It's also... a good way to meet people. I've gone on three dates after chatting with passengers :wink2: It's also a great way to make contacts and learn the city.

A friend of mine was hitting  $1000- $1250 a week driving Lyft. It paid better than when he managed a bar, and with much more flexible hours

Uber drivers making no money? I have to disagree - as an Uber driver.

 

* My insurance policy covers me well and the policy extends to me carrying Uber passengers. I pay no premium.

* On a decent night with no surge, I can pull down $60-$70 in a few hours. For trips that are short, I try to be speedy (and speed) since the base price is $3 and generally won't go over that by much; for longer trips, I travel slower since I get money per mile and per minute.

* On a good night with surge (sometimes 3x, rarely 5x+), I can pull $150-$300 for 2 or 3 hours of driving/sitting. It's usually a combination of inclement weather, concerts, sporting events and conventions that drive up the surge, along with typical rush.

* Typical trips from/to the airport to downtown hotels cost $20 to $30. I've never had one go under $20 in Cleveland and airport trips now constitute about half of my pickups/drop-offs.

 

Additionally, I get 15% off of oil changes which cost me around $80 that needs done once every two or three weeks - not because of Uber but because of my other travels. I also receive 20% off of my AT&T wireless bill, bringing it down from $100/month to $80/month.

 

I've gotten pretty selective about driving for Uber. I rarely drive if it's normal rates - those $3/fares really don't do much and barely cover expenses but surge pricing and airport rides more than cover expenses - insurance, wear and tear and all that.

 

It's also... a good way to meet people. I've gone on three dates after chatting with passengers :wink2: It's also a great way to make contacts and learn the city.

 

That makes sense. As long as you know all of the tricks, it seems like Uber can be a very good gig.

 

One of my old roommates / landlord drives for Uber. He's your quintessential military bro whose house perpetually smells like Axe Body Spray. He's an ex-marine and student at John Carroll, on the GI Bill. He's 23 and a homeowner and gets by barely working at all. He Ubers 15 hours a week at the most and sells drugs on the side and gets by just fine. I always suspected that the reason he was able to get by on working so little is that he uses Uber as an opportunity to sell drugs to the people he gives rides to. He usually only takes advantage of the surges, big events like major league games and the Cavs parade, RNC, concerts, etc. Big events that go on in CLE - so he makes a good hourly rate. I'd imagine if you get someone sh!t-faced drunk or high in your car late at night, you're pretty comfortable mentioning that you sell drugs and giving an open invitation to buy them. It's actually pretty genius, IMO.

 

I can see how flexible hours can make it an attractive gig, even if the money could potentially be less than what you're accustomed to making with a regular job. Work-life balance and flexibility are a huge concern these days. Plus, we all have those moments where we're extremely bored with nothing to do and would figure that making SOME money and doing SOMETHING sure as hell beats the alternative which is being bored and continuing to not do absolutely nothing. That's where Uber comes in, in seems.

One of my old roommates / landlord drives for Uber. He's your quintessential military bro whose house perpetually smells like Axe Body Spray. He's an ex-marine and student at John Carroll, on the GI Bill. He's 23 and a homeowner and gets by barely working at all. He Ubers 15 hours a week at the most and sells drugs on the side and gets by just fine. I always suspected that the reason he was able to get by on working so little is that he uses Uber as an opportunity to sell drugs to the people he gives rides to. He usually only takes advantage of the surges, big events like major league games and the Cavs parade, RNC, concerts, etc. Big events that go on in CLE - so he makes a good hourly rate. I'd imagine if you get someone sh!t-faced drunk or high in your car late at night, you're pretty comfortable mentioning that you sell drugs and giving an open invitation to buy them. It's actually pretty genius, IMO.

 

It's also pretty obvious that there is a small cottage industry, if you want to call it that, of gay Uber drivers who are also possibly prostitutes.  On more than one occasion I have had either drivers or passengers get pretty pissed off that I wasn't gay.  Meanwhile, you do literally have to defend yourself from drunk women, especially 30+ year-old divorced women. 

 

 

 

 

One of my old roommates / landlord drives for Uber. He's your quintessential military bro whose house perpetually smells like Axe Body Spray. He's an ex-marine and student at John Carroll, on the GI Bill. He's 23 and a homeowner and gets by barely working at all. He Ubers 15 hours a week at the most and sells drugs on the side and gets by just fine. I always suspected that the reason he was able to get by on working so little is that he uses Uber as an opportunity to sell drugs to the people he gives rides to. He usually only takes advantage of the surges, big events like major league games and the Cavs parade, RNC, concerts, etc. Big events that go on in CLE - so he makes a good hourly rate. I'd imagine if you get someone sh!t-faced drunk or high in your car late at night, you're pretty comfortable mentioning that you sell drugs and giving an open invitation to buy them. It's actually pretty genius, IMO.

 

 

 

See, with a regular cab someone would complain and the guy would be fired. But the 8 people who actually work at Uber that aren't on the technical side don't have time to give a crap.

Uber drivers making no money? I have to disagree - as an Uber driver.

 

* My insurance policy covers me well and the policy extends to me carrying Uber passengers. I pay no premium.

* On a decent night with no surge, I can pull down $60-$70 in a few hours. For trips that are short, I try to be speedy (and speed) since the base price is $3 and generally won't go over that by much; for longer trips, I travel slower since I get money per mile and per minute.

* On a good night with surge (sometimes 3x, rarely 5x+), I can pull $150-$300 for 2 or 3 hours of driving/sitting. It's usually a combination of inclement weather, concerts, sporting events and conventions that drive up the surge, along with typical rush.

* Typical trips from/to the airport to downtown hotels cost $20 to $30. I've never had one go under $20 in Cleveland and airport trips now constitute about half of my pickups/drop-offs.

 

Additionally, I get 15% off of oil changes which cost me around $80 that needs done once every two or three weeks - not because of Uber but because of my other travels. I also receive 20% off of my AT&T wireless bill, bringing it down from $100/month to $80/month.

 

I've gotten pretty selective about driving for Uber. I rarely drive if it's normal rates - those $3/fares really don't do much and barely cover expenses but surge pricing and airport rides more than cover expenses - insurance, wear and tear and all that.

 

 

 

 

You fail to mention the devastating federal taxes you pay at the end of the year.  You need to gross about $250 in fares before you net $100.  I had three times when I grossed over $400 in one night, so only three times when I netted something approaching $200 or maybe nudged over it thanks to cash tips and somebody leaving a bottle of wine in my car.  You can bartend or delivery pizzas and beat that net regularly.  Like pretty much every night.