What do you guys think of Uber's threat to leave Houston

Maybe should go to D&D, but what kind of jobs should criminals be able to get?

Assuming they did their time.

 

So it's much easier to sign up in the suburbs of Houston?

This is looking dumber on Houston's part.

 

Basically I get an email that says you can be fined if I pick up anybody in the city of Houston without the TNC. I can pick someone up in Katy and take them to Houston with no issues but picking anybody up in Houston can lead to a citation.

Below is straight from the email I revived from Uber.

Did you know that you can take your first trip today? You're able to pick up riders from outside Houston City Limits, including areas with growing demand such as Sugar Land, Katy, Spring, The Woodlands, and Pearland. You can also take riders from outside city limits into the city (including drop-offs at both major airports) without a TNC (Transportation Network Company) License. More details on the TNC License are available below.

 

Would not be my preference but should we brand rapist on their forehead for all time?
Why not?

At what point does one get beyond past crimes?
If you think once a criminal always a criminal . . . then that means we really should brand them
This electronic branding of back ground check etc is nothing more than a 'clean hands' way of doing the same thing . . ..
be honest and upfront about it. . . .

Rocket River

 

I find it interesting that some of the same people who aren't supporting Uber, support Tesla, and vice-versa. Tesla wants to change the rules so they don't have to have a brick and mortar and Uber wants to change the rules so they don't have to be certified by the city like other drivers.

 

Tesla isn't creating and funding a voter referendum to overturn state law in a hissy fit. They're lobbying legislators like normal businesses. If Uber wants to work through the legislative process to change the rules, then that's fine.

What isn't fine is bankrolling a referendum on an extremely low turnout election date in order to get the result that you want and then on top of that using that event to threaten another city.

 

The two situations don't seem at all comparable to me.

 

Voters reject Uber & Lyft's Prop. 1

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/uber-lyft-and-city-council-await-voters-decision/179212527

We will see if they leave Austin now, but I would guess they stay. Austin might be much smaller than Houston, but it does host several big events during the year that are conducive for services like Uber and Lyft.

 

So Uber and Lyft are gone from Austin for now. I think there will be some sort of deal worked out. Neither side wants to be done doing business with the other. I just don't understand why it is such a big deal for Uber and Lyft to comply with what the city is asking.

 

I think all these actions are on the same continuum of what lobbying firms do for any regulatory issue, and what corporate clients would gladly pay for or engage in themselves. Also I think all non-federal elections, whatever the date or weekday, have low turnout.

 

I'm a driver around Austin. Uber is hit and miss IMO. 20% cut they take hurts. Then being an independent contractor which takes another 15% in taxes and loss of benefits in any form. I got an IRA from my bank but I do miss my 403b working at Seton and super cheap health insurance. It's over $200 for a ****ty HMO Obamacare plan I never use since I'm always healthy.

Factor in wear and tear on your vehicle, constant risk of getting in a wreck, possible citations from law enforcement, drunks defiling your vehicle, filling up the tank plus doing routine maintenance more frequently and there are a lot of hidden costs. Over the summer and winter it's much slower when school is out in Austin and they don't always do guarantees which is when it's mostly consistent.

Tonight was great for me but it wasn't because of the actual fares from riders I received tonight. For 8 hours the total comes to $147 earned not including $19 on gas for 34 passengers dropped off. Instead it was the guarantees of earning $12 per fare regardless of distance.

So you game plan to do small short distance fares around downtown. Were it not for the $12 per fare guarantee I'd only be making between $3-6 per (which they constantly adjust to favor passengers) fare and it's usually only during the drunken post-2 AM hours where people consistently decide to plunge on those high surges where you actually earn a decent singular fare. Airport rides aren't worth it any more since they put you in a queue which can leave you sitting outside Bergstrom for 40 to 60 minutes. So instead of $147, I should earn $408 before deductions are taken into account which will be sizable. Without the guarantees though, it's practically not worth it.


I didn't vote because I'd be willing to do that finger print scan and whatever additional hoops that come with it. FBI already has me in their system with AFD's background checks so I got nothing to hide. It'd eliminate more of the people that work a steady 9-5 looking to make extra on the side and would benefit the people who Uber/Lyft full time since they'd be the only drivers on the road to take up a bigger influx of passengers. Then it'd be like the old days when Uber first hit Austin and you really were making a killing with earnings.

I expect they'll be gone for a short while like they did in San Antonio but will come back. In the meantime there's Get Me, and delivery services like Favor to try out instead. My $.02 as a driver.

 

Uber is/was too good to he true.

Convenience and pricing

Have used it in many cities including Houston.. nothing but good experiences.

Wouldn't be surprised if it was taken away.

 

I see both sides to this. The referendum was a bad idea, and they got too ambitious with with the changes. The city needs some control as long as they aren't doing it to squeeze out competition in favor of taxi companies. I also think Uber screws their drivers, but that is a different story.

 

I'm throwing a party if they leave.

 

How is Uber not considered a taxi company?

 

when the authoritarians like the Austin city government try and stomp on things like Uber, it will mutate into something harder to control/ban

with Bitcoin and an open source app, the Uber middleman can be cut out entirely

ride sharing will eventually be a purely peer-to-peer transaction with no central authority to come after

 

I hate Uber so this is beautiful news to me. Been reading the whole thing with a smile on my face.

 

Lulz at your life.

 

I'm pretty sure we already have that

 

with physical cash you can do it (not sure if such apps exist yet), but not with electronic payments, because there is a centralized third party payment processor

unless you use Bitcoin