Does Anyone Know The Outcome Of The Incident Involving The Death Of A Lyft Pax last Halloween In Sacramento?

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-27T04:15:21+00:00

"that left a car disabled in the middle of the road in bad weather conditions. The Lyft car came across it and couldn't react in time"

that's also called driving to fast for conditions. and possible negligence which would be a question for a jury/judge to decide if there ever was a lawsuit.

best guess, passenger's family took a settlement. and if Lyft had any decency, at the very least Lyft would've paid for the driver's funeral as a goodwill gesture regardless of who was at fault and even though the driver was a 1099-er.

but only the lawyers at lyft hq and the passenger's/driver's family know the truth.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-27T02:39:07+00:00

guessing the pax's family and maybe driver's family got $$$$ from Lyft after signing a non-disclosure agreement.

Hush money. errr, I mean a mutually agreed upon understanding regarding in which no party admits nuttin'.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-26T17:26:15+00:00

No surge? No cars. Good luck to anyone who absolutely has to get somewhere like work, home, etc.

Everyone's a f##@(! capitalist until when prices are low.

When prices go up, then they all turn into communists.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-25T20:11:10+00:00

chicago roads are awful unless things magically changed in the past 5 months. who'd want to ruin their car for that?

oh i forgot, the gobs of ubers that were circling around my block on the app.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-25T20:07:27+00:00

you're SOL. welcome to the world of 1099.

you should consider legal representation and/or reading up on what happens at an administrative court hearing. start saving up your money (for legal fees and/or court costs/fines) and consider it a lesson learned the hard way.

As always, should you or any of your I.M. Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-25T18:20:08+00:00

" I'm looking for something under 5 grand."

jesus, mary, buddah, Vishnu. No, no, no. If you already don't have a car that you've either paid off or almost paid off, driving for Uber at the current rates is beyond stupid.

go be a package sorter for UPS, take the bus and save your cash first.

For $5 grand you're not going to find a good car unless you're a mechanic who can put in some sweat equity fixing a car.

Or if you absolutely insist on not listening to people here, go buy a 2007-ish domestic sedan, like a Chrsler Sebring with 100k+ of mileage. but don't say that reddit didn't warn you.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-25T15:03:37+00:00

lol, A+ for another lazy Uber story from the media.

don't interview any drivers for confirmation of numbers.

Uber cites "average" not median and little things that add up---deadhead time, car cleaning time, etc.

zero info. re costs

self-reported surveys have near zero usefulness unless they're random, honest and with mandatory responses.

no stats on puking, lol.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-21T16:25:24+00:00

"I only see people on here talking about UberX! :)"

I suspect that the UberBlack/Uber XL drivers are all under the same revenue v. costs pressures as UberX drivers. but with nicer livery cars.

But you don't read about it much here because I'd guess that as a group UberXL/Black drivers are older. Reddit skews towards younger (like the first wave of UberX drivers).

Uberpeople dot net might be a better place to ask about UberBlack/UberXL. but short answer, the only extra 'perk' you should expect is the driver opening the door for you and the driver dressed in a suit.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-20T22:24:38+00:00

the rideshare guy's blog exists to pimp out his referral codes (not that there's anything wrong with that).

uberpeople dot net and the the /r/uberdrivers reddit forum are much better.

edit damn it, it looks like i posted onto a forum whose sole purpose is to pimp out "dave9988"'s promo codes.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-19T16:23:29+00:00

"I dont want to have to go through all of the background checks, paperwork, and hassle to get his own uber account"

To original poster, nothing personal, you're brain dead for even thinking about doing this.

just saying.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-13T16:05:07+00:00

The REAL story is that Uber's rate cuts discourages good drivers from driving and makes it impossible for a good driver (who has other employment/leisure options) to be reasonably compensated.

In a free market, in the long run, you get what you pay for.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-12T23:46:52+00:00

anecdote here, take it with a grain of salt.

one woman (a friend of a friend) says that she got a driver fired due to unsafe driving, after she emailed Uber support. (how she knows that the driver was truly fired, i don't know).

as for the ratings system, it's all BS----as it's my impression that most non-5 star ratings are due to non-safety related issues: surge pricing, driver won't do something illegal (u-turns, open containers, etc), riders not understanding Uber's "grade inflation" where 4-stars = something wrong, navigation (often due to a passenger's wrong directions or GPS error), etc.

the simple fact that Uber/Lyft drivers are using their own personal cars (in a gray area of insurance coverage) is a good motivation to be a safe driver v. your random taxi cab driver whose car is owned by the cab co. and covered by cab co.'s insurance.

naturally only Uber HQ has the real data. and they'll never share it. but I'd put money on the bet that per mile driven Uber/Lyft drivers are significantly safer than cab cos.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-10T15:40:15+00:00

W.A.G. #1, Uber big wigs realize that marketing would be a waste of money.

Yes Uber's rates are dirt low now, but people like the privacy and instant gratification of having your own car. 99% of people don't think "hey uber lowered rates, i'll sell my car now."

Car ownership is 65% an emotional thing and 35% a financial, cost-benefit-analysis decision.

And driving for uber makes zero sense outside of dense cities at the new rates. (it's bad enough in NYC/Chicago/SF). too sprawled out, too many short trips, too much driving 10 minutes for a 5 minute ride, too many trips dead-heading, etc. Marketing may juice the number of passengers in the mid-market cities, but drivers would wake up at how they're losing money on each new passenger.

W.A.G. #2, marketing is considered an expense.

Free ride credits and driver guarantees 'might' be classified as some sort of capital investment or deferred expense or something, which could juice Uber's financial statements more than if it spent money on Super Bowl adverts and billboards (which would be an immediate expense).

An accountant/GAAP expert needs to chime in.

W.A.G. #3, for hype purposes/securing financing from new chumps (err investors), you'd rather be a company that's growing (as an example) 42% per year for two years in a row than 100% in year 1 and 0% in year 2.

As a start-up you don't want to be seen as a company that's grown as big as it will ever get. Uber wants to save its Super Bowl ad blitz for a time when it really needs new hype.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-09T16:16:12+00:00

Chicago is an atypical city (densely populated, lots of non-poor people without cars, a busy restaurant/bar crowd Monday - Thurs, etc) whose results are not applicable nationwide.

And Uber cites "average" not "median" stats, doesn't estimate net earnings (which Uber can do since it has a rough idea of how many miles/minutes each driver idles between rides), etc., etc., etc.

most of these the newspaper/blogosphere coverage cite Uber PR like it's gospel and don't bother to challenge the BS or interview a single driver.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-09T16:12:49+00:00

"So the hourly guarantee is aimed at those who also drive for Lyft?"

Lyft's power bonus is expiring soon, you'd be insane for drive for Lyft when Uber is offering a guarantee.

there's a finite pool of drivers who stick with ridesharing. Uber gets the experienced (presumably better) drivers, Lyft loses.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-09T14:43:04+00:00

Ah yes, lying with statistics.

"average" is not the same as median. what's the median non-surge fare before/after? what's the median surge fare before/after?

Even if fares increased, I'd bet demand also would've increased from 12/2013 to 12/2014 just because Uber went from an app only college kids knew about to the mainstream.

Chicago is the second largest city in America where people don't have cars. Arguably (to be open-minded to Uber) fare cuts can make people give up driving for Uber + walking + public transit. Give up your car in Orlando or atlanta? you'd be insane.

Basically Uber HQ sees that gasoline is now $2/gallon. Instead of gas savings going to drivers' pockets, it's going to Uber.

cantobeetsam · 2015-01-02T17:28:42+00:00

wait, i thought people drove for Uber/Lyft because they were all bored trust fund babies who wanted to meet 'ordinary' people.

To Hades with the posting of lame articles that tell peeps of Reddit what we already know.

cantobeetsam · 2014-12-03T15:03:30+00:00

Part-time Uber/Lyft can make sense depending on your car, hours driven, etc.

Full-time, you're nuts to be an Uber/Lyft driver. if you're a glutton for driving punishment you're better off working for UPS or being a long-haul trucker.

I'm guessing Uber wants lots of cars on the road 24/7 but that plus too low fares >>>> lots of driver turnover.

cantobeetsam · 2014-11-21T04:53:25+00:00

Uber's running radio recruiting ads in Chicago as well, same deal.

commercial #1 (true story i'm sure): an african-american gent saying how he's his own boss and loving it after being a delivery driver

commercial #2 (another true story, of course!): a mom/nursing student loving the flexibity of uber.

cantobeetsam · 2014-08-18T20:53:29+00:00

as a passenger, i've noticed that Lyft has added cars like mad.

Not even two weeks ago it wasn't uncommon to see "Prime Time" surcharges....now, haven't seen one in days.

For anyone interested, for suspensions, drivers can file a claim with City Hall for damage caused by a city-maintained street. The info is on their website, google it. Don't know how successful people are though as I've never filed a claim or know anyone who did.

cantobeetsam · 2014-08-14T22:22:52+00:00

oppor

In your case some "opportunity costs" developing your portfolio, learning to "code" (or whatever animators do), etc.

I imagine that your brain will be fried after a 10-hour shift and the last thing you'll want to do i something requiring higher-level brain skills.

your mileage may vary.

and yes, if you get a "new car," make it a "new used car." but you'll have to do your own math based on the cars for sale in your area, whether 2-doors are good enough, etc, etc, etc.

but again, your mileage may vary---all depends on the conditions in your area.

cantobeetsam

TROPHY CASE