And let's not even get into the joke that we call public transportation here.
This is the problem it solves. A problem that is not nearly as pronounced in Europe.
Uber is extremely draconian when it comes to driver quality. Any driver whose average dips below 4.6 is out. Period. That ensures quality and weeds the bad drivers out.
Sure, there are good taxi drivers, but the average driver is horrible. I was comparing them by saying that, say, the 50th percentile cabbie (median), is worse than even the 5th percentile (worst) Uber driver.
Then why is that many taxi drivers drive for Uber as well? Where are you getting these numbers? Or are you maybe just falling for marketing?
Also, in NYC and SF plenty of people rent out their account to other drivers. People sign up for Uber and never drive a single passenger so the rating is really not much more than a rented token in some cases.
In America, there is a widespread perception that Taxi companies have shit service, and that Taxi drivers are frequently untrustworthy or discriminatory.
Whether or not the perception is accurate, it is definitely true that the perception exists. Uber provides value to American consumers because American consumers find that the faults they perceive in traditional taxi services do not apply to Uber.
Lest you doubt that I am correct: I am an American, and the above are my beliefs. I can assure you that I have stated my beliefs accurately.
As a side note, the term "value" has been so overused at this point that when people use it I tend to think they are idealists and I don't take their comments as seriously as if they had not used the term.
Lolno. I own a car, but commute every day by bus. I am middle class but, surprise surprise, still have places I want to get to. The only success I have ever had with taxis is if I ambush them when they are waiting outside of airports and train stations. Calling them is always a unmitigated shit-fest. This is both Seattle and Philadelphia. Philadelphia is significantly worse; cabs are unhailable (unless you ambush them at 30th street station) and they hang up on you when you give them an address in west or north philly.
> Or maybe your issue is that there are too many non whites driving taxis.
Eat shit and fuck off.
It's nice when there's an Uber available a mere 1-5 minutes away, and that they have an app for tracking them, but I don't see how taxi companies couldn't replicate this exact service.