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Comment by crazygringo | Hacker News Reader

> Tipping was introduced in 2017, and Uber is trying to make it more common

Uber was anti-tipping, and it seems like the media backlash forced their hand, to not look like scrooges, together with driver demand for it. I don't see how Uber is trying to make it more common?

> Especially arriving at an airport after a 16+ hour flight, I'm glad to pay a driver to wait.

That might work anywhere but the airport. There isn't enough space in front of arrivals to handle everybody who wants to do this, in a way that doesn't block traffic. Uber already has special-case systems for airport pickups to reduce congestion (that riders don't see).

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>Uber already has special-case systems for airport pickups to reduce congestion (that riders don't see).

Those special case systems (IMHO) are solving the wrong problem. Uber airport queues should be exactly like taxi queues: the passenger at the front of the queue takes the taxi at the front of the queue and you're done. No more which car is yours, let me find a spot, block other cars while we load, etc, etc.

At Newark, for instance, Uber drivers regularly take 10-30 minutes to show up after accepting your ride, and even then, they'll often call you and ask you meet on a different floor, one specifically meant for private cars, not car hire services, because the traffic on the floor they're supposed to pick you up on is so very busy.

It's far better to just do front of queue matching and let the passengers scan a QR code that establishes that driver as their driver for the trip. No more brinksmanship of ordering an Uber when you deplane and hoping you are ready with your luggage around the time your driver arrives.

Yes, just give them a ride or a code and I have the driver entry then you know who is going where.

it's a very simple problem to solve

This is how Uber works in airports in India. You don't get assigned a driver, you are given a six digit code. You give it to the next driver up when you reach the front of the queue and then your ride starts as normal.

That's fascinating, I had no idea. Why haven't they implemented this at other airports?

The only potential loser I see in this situation is the driver, who would no longer have advance knowledge of the destination before accepting a ride, but I would imagine that it would be made clear up front that that's what you'd be opting in to as a driver if you chose to work the airport.

Guess it works in India because in the existing system (pre-paid airport taxis), drivers would have no advance knowledge of the destination before being assigned a ride. Also helped that the pre-paid taxis in most cities were actually a police initiative.

One big reason this works is that there is a specific area in which all the rideshare cabs can wait. I am guessing this isn't the case in the US either due to a lack of space or the cab cartels not letting it happen.

But then it wouldn’t be a carpool/rideshare, it would be a taxi service. Taxi services are regulated. It is a stupid game we all play.

Doesn’t that mean the driver doesn’t get to screen their passenger & doesn’t get to preview the route they’re being asked to drive?

Seems like that takes away a lot of the essential agency from the driver

> That might work anywhere but the airport. There isn't enough space in front of arrivals to handle everybody who wants to do this, in a way that doesn't block traffic. Uber already has special-case systems for airport pickups to reduce congestion (that riders don't see).

That's not how my local airport works. My local airport has a designated pickup location for Uber+Lyft in the central garage with plenty of room. It has adequate room even during e.g. Christmas rush season.

This was a bizarre compromise between taxis, airport, and apps. Airport collected taxi fees. Taxis didn't want to compete with Uber. In the end, they allowed Uber, but made it as awkward as possible.

Even so, before Uber, what we did was usually curbside pickup with a relative waiting. After Uber and these contortions, curbside pickup isn't even busy (drop-off still is).

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