Most milennials and even some older folks no longer plan to retire. That being said, I can’t see the future, but I can see what looks like personal vehicles in my area with taxi cab stickers on them. I can also see hoards of UberBlack cars sitting and sitting and waiting and waiting. I’ve seen a young hipster driving a Yellow Cab. Things are definitely changing. I don’t pretend to know where it all will end…
I would have no problem hiring the right Uber driver. My drivers make about $60k per year. Not going to get rich, but can pay their bills. And when I say “make” that’s what they gross as EMPLOYEES minus taxes of course. I pay 100% of expenses because that’s what good employers do.
If the taxis really want to compete, I would say they need to band together and create a common platform app that allows users the same features as Uber. One great thing, I can fly from Baltimore to New York to London to Los Angeles, and all I have to do is fire up the Uber app and get a ride. No need to download a separate app for each city, or each cab company.
What people do not like is the problems inherent to the rideshare business. What people do like is what you posted, especially with Uber. If you do not like the UberX, you can get a limousine in most markets and a taxi in a few.
That is one of Uber’s advantages over all of the others. Some are willing to suffer a TNC ride if that is all that is available in the market in which they happen to be that week. They know that in most of the markets to which they travel, they can get a higher level of service. Thus, they stick with the one that works.
they do get tired of some of the problems inherent to the TNC rides, but, in the case of Uber, it does offer alternatives in most of its markets. These people are used to Uber, so they do stick with it, they simply choose a higher level of service, where it is available.
Those who decide that they can not deal with it, choose a different level of service. One thing about Uber is that it becomes habit-forming quickly.
If any of us could tell or see the future, we would have heavily invested in various stocks and retired on a 50’ yachts. But, its all talk for the sake of personal entertainment. So when you are done pretending being a money manger for Prince of Dubai, spend $2 for $200mill Power Ball. Capital One Bank has an interest rate of 0.75% for your $120mill… thats after 40% taxes.
The other day I was in the operations managers office at the Cab Company. I looked on the chalk board and noticed the next lease number. So I have been there nine or ten years. I took the lease number and subtracted my lease number then divided by the number of years and it came out to almost the exact amount of the Taxi fleet in Cabs.
But IMO I would imagine it’s pretty much the same thing everywhere as a driver for hire. Turnover rate. It’s a very high stress business no matter how much or little money one can make.
In order for the taxi industry to “compete,” they need to be allowed to drive around uninsured/under insured, like Uber drivers do. They also need to be allowed to operate without city permits and/or licensing…like Uber drivers do.
BTW…There have been apps for taxi’s for years. And it would help if the Uber drivers weren’t subsidized by Uber. Without Uber subsidizing the unemployed, underemployed and unemployable Uber drivers, most would quit in the first month.
Once they get millions and millions of people taking rides in Uber they will have the customer base built up so large that when they start deploying autonomous fleets then they can take 100% of the fare, charge even more for it and tell all the drivers to piss off.
Burned out Uber drivers are applying to the cab company I work at. It is like a breath of fresh air for them finally get paid what they’re worth after being Screwbered. They are a joy to dispatch to because the short hops and grocery runs ($6-10 fares) the old cabbies whine and moan about are no problem for someone that has done the same shit for $2.40 in their personal vehicle.
How a class of people, cabbies, can think they are the “professionals” when just about everyone hates their service is beyond me. Cabs suck. They are terrible in so many ways, I won’t even bother listing them, we all know the reasons.
You mean people pat you on the head and tell you how wonderful you are for doing the same thing a cab does at one third the price? Gee, what a surprise!
We can’t focus our audience marketing on only the senior citizen segment since they don’t take “multiple rides” on a daily basis, maybe once a day to their doctors appointment.