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Comment by _dark_matter_ | Hacker News Reader

I wish to hell there was a good alternative where I live. I'd pay more for it.

Are there not taxis where you live? They may be slightly less convenient (or they might not be!) but sometimes that's the price for doing the right thing.

depending on where you are, taxis can be much, much worse. "no I won't bring you there, it's not on my way" is just one tiny example.

Similarly, "no, those two addresses aren't the territory of the same company, there's no way to get there from here by cab."

Taxis are even worse, they literally corrupt the government and violently threaten (and harass on social media) competition here in France.

Some places I lived in the states, you couldn't rely on a taxi to get you to work on time. I specifically asked. You had to call when you needed it and they said you'd wait anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours.

Nothing like being nearly 2 hours early for work when the place isn't even unlocked yet.

The taxis here in Edinburgh are great - the problem I have is when you travel somewhere else and they are often awful: rude, attempting scams, refusing to take you somewhere....

I guess services like Uber have that advantage of relative ubiquity....

From what I've seen, Uber is far more convenient than taxis. When I call a taxi I have to wait anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes only to ride in a usually dirty vehicle for inflated prices by an aggressive driver. Never mind the typical "our VISA machine isn't working" bit.

I've literally never waited more than 5 minutes for an Uber and it's usually closer to 2 - 3. They're fast, clean, fare splitting is a non-issue, and the drivers are almost always friendly. It really is on a different level than taxis in my experience.

Would you pay less for it? Biking places in any weather and with reasonable amounts of cargo is very much a solved problem. Been doing it for years, have never needed an Uber or Lyft. Granted I don't know where you live, but moving to where this is possible, is kind of part of the deal. I moved across the country.

But I enjoy going to Costco.

Oh me too - look for me with my 48 rolls of TP in the trailer!

You don't have any Lyft drivers where you are?

Lyft is US-only

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