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Comments
What a joke...
How convenient of the BBJ to fail to mention that Brett Barenholtz also owns local black car service Boston Car Service. You see, poor Brett went out and bought a bunch of high end BMW sedans for his fleet that he needs to pay for. Of course having drivers who know where they are going and don't smoke in those lovely vehicles might improve Mr. Barenholtz's business and he won't have to feel so threatened by Uber.
Yes, and let's go back in time to the BBJ and hear what a local cabbie had to say about driving for a large company like Boston Cab:
Well, I'm glad to see that Mr. Barenholtz has once again proven that all of this hostility towards Uber and it's popularity with Boston residents is based on his deep care for the welfare of his drivers who lease daily from him.
Hardly a nefarious omission...
...but I did add that information. Thanks for pointing it out.
Maybe not a nefarious omission
but when the subject of your article is using the courts to try and rid himself of legitimate competition, I would say the term "glaring omission" might apply.
Competition = good
The cab company mentioned in the article made their own iPhone and Android apps. Anyone try it yet? I'm glad Uber has come to Boston. Competition is always good for consumers!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boston-cab/id57777...
"see you in court.....
...and how do i get there?"
I had a cab driver ask me how
I had a cab driver ask me how to get from South Station to the Prudential Center. SEEEEERIOUSLY?
What a scumbag
Yeah, I'm sure each and every driver with whom he does business is in this country legally and observes all driving laws. GTFOOH! Glass houses...
I love Uber
Don't love the price for the black cars, but it is well worth it to know that a car is actually coming. I've spent far to much of my life calling cab companies back to let them know that the cab the promised me has not shown up. The cab companies have absolutely nothing but their own crappy service practices to blame for Uber's success.
Competition Stinks
Let me start by saying I love Uber so I am biased here. I took an Uber car home yesterday and enjoyed a clean, safe, comfortable ride to my home for only slightly more than the price of a taxi. Setting aside the obvious point that this lawsuit is just an attempt by a taxi fleet owner to stop much competition (i.e. from having to change his business), how can what Uber does be illegal? Lets not forget that any of us can, at any time, call a car service and have a car pick us up and drive us about the city at our pleasure. Car services are nothing new, and are certainly not illegal. All that Uber has done is to price that service by the mile instead of the hour or a flat fee. The big difference is that they have also made it easy to summon the car. Now, the taxi fleets could try to create a similar system to allow you to summon a taxi. I'll warrant that it is conceivable that could work (although I don't know how the dispacher could be rude to you over an app). However, the real impediment to the taxi fleet doing this is that when you summon an Uber car, you know that you are going to get a high quality service (courteous and safe driver, clean and spacious car, someone who knows where they are going etc.) By contrast, when you call a cab (or hail one on the street) its anyone's guess whether the cab will be in good working order, filled with exhaust, filled with cigarette smoke, driven by a drunk person (I have had this happen 2 times in the past couple years), or driven by someone who does not appear to have any idea how to get around the city. The taxi fleets should spend their money reforming how they do business to match the level of service of Uber rather than on lawyers.
Do they take credit cards
Do they take credit cards without whining? Do they know how to operate their GPS devices? If so, bring 'em on. The number of surly, incompetent Boston cab drivers I've had to deal with gives me no sympathy for the rest of them.
This is a major reason why
This is a major reason why I'm on Uber's side. I've had a lot of bad experiences with Boston cabbies. I understand that they got a raw deal with the credit card machines, but telling me it's broken won't magically make 20 bucks appear in my wallet.
The credit card machines were
The credit card machines were also added like three or four years ago. Plenty of time to either get used to them or find another job. Maybe if Boston actually licensed enough cabs to handle demand, the drivers would find that they got more business from people who have credit cards in their pockets but no cash. If people could actually step outside and hail a cab, and pay with a credit card, they'd get in the habit of taking cabs. But of course, that would require more medallions, so that obviously will never happen. Better to keep a tiny handful of owners in the money than to provide a useful service to Boston residents and visitors.
Anyway, the drivers I've had haven't even pretended that the credit card machine is broken. They're just like "Don't you have any cash? I don't want to take a credit card because I need the cash." Tough shit, whiner, this is the job. I just gave you a $32 fare and will tip even though you're giving me a hard time and didn't even know how to read your GPS machine and I still had to tell you every turn to take on your way to the far-off and little-known exurb of Arlington. If you don't like it, find another job, or another town to drive in.
There's two types of drivers.
There's two types of drivers. The ones that bitch about credit cards and try and get you to pay cash and the ones that just lie and say the machine is broken. I haven't yet come across a Boston cabbie that just shuts up and accepts the card.
I had a driver once who told
I had a driver once who told me to use the credit card machine. I was taking too long to count out cash.
But yeah, usually it's "Oh, my machine is broken".
Define "raw deal"
Yes, their association acted like idiots when they contracted with a company that charges an almost-usurious fee per swipe. But they also received a hefty, hefty fare increase that MORE than covered even that high fee. So every time someone pays cash, they get free money. Every time someone uses their card, the cabbie still is making more than he/she was making before the card requirement.
Any cabbie who complains about this issue deserves a strong proverbial slap. They have a lot to take issue with in their jobs, but this is NOT one of them from anyone's perspective but their own myopic one. They are creating the very business environment that makes Uber popular, but seem to not understand that concept.
Cash versus Credit Tip
One gets recorded.
The other does not.
One gets taxed at actual value.
The other only gets taxed if it is reported.
Therefore, I suspect the beef against cards has little or nothing to do with the fee.
Even Better
Its even better than that. They ONLY take credit cards and you are charged automatically through your Uber account when you get to your destination based on the length of your route calculated by the GPS. No cash, no tips, no nothing. Uber then sends you a receipt (instantly) by email showing your route, the miles logged, etc. It also immediately sends you a prompt on your phone asking you to rate your driver and provide any comments. If you try it, you will never want to take a cab again.