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Friday 231 (pg. 3)
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| Lews |
On my way to a meeting yesterday, 8 or 9 cabs drove past me, with customers, before an empty one came up, so, yeah, I'd say they're still pretty popular. It helps the industry that a lot of people are either tourists or can expense it for business.
I do laugh that, despite all the talk of 'The Knowledge' and cabbies knowing everything, they never know the park right next to my flat. In zone ing one.
Taxi licences / medallions are a weird thing. I 100% agree with the licencing rules for cabs, insofar as checking out that people can drive and are not criminals, but in so many cities they have just become monopoly tokens, raising prices to extreme degrees and limiting supply. Uber's biggest advantage, imo, was allowing Millennials to get cabs without actually talking to anyone, using an app, but they also got around the monopoly rent-abusing, which has been a huge plus for consumers (not to mention everyone else, considering how it lowers drunk driving). |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| That's because the only people who can afford to live in Zone 1 are rich enough to have private drivers. |
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| Sushipunk |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lews
On my way to a meeting yesterday, 8 or 9 cabs drove past me, with customers, before an empty one came up, so, yeah, I'd say they're still pretty popular. It helps the industry that a lot of people are either tourists or can expense it for business.
I do laugh that, despite all the talk of 'The Knowledge' and cabbies knowing everything, they never know the park right next to my flat. In zone ing one.
Taxi licences / medallions are a weird thing. I 100% agree with the licencing rules for cabs, insofar as checking out that people can drive and are not criminals, but in so many cities they have just become monopoly tokens, raising prices to extreme degrees and limiting supply. Uber's biggest advantage, imo, was allowing Millennials to get cabs without actually talking to anyone, using an app, but they also got around the monopoly rent-abusing, which has been a huge plus for consumers (not to mention everyone else, considering how it lowers drunk driving). |
Cabs are certainly still in use here, just the numbers are way down. Getting a cab without talking to someone was already a thing here, we can just send a text to the cab company number with the pick-up address, and a cab will turn up, but I guess an app makes it even easier. Uber caught on really quickly though.
And Uber are required to do background checks on their drivers now anyway, so really, why would you pay more to get a cab?
Uber were pretty cheeky when they started up here. They were straight up told by the government that the service they were providing was illegal, and that any driver caught operating would be given a $1000 fine. They basically said " it" and kept going, and told their drivers that if anyone receives a fine, we'll pay for it. Our spineless government eventually just caved in, lol. |
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| idoru |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sushipunk
They basically said " it" and kept going, and told their drivers that if anyone receives a fine, we'll pay for it. Our spineless government eventually just caved in, lol. |
Par for the course, that's how they've handled pretty much every region they moved into. They also operate at a massive loss and use VC cash to keep itself afloat and keep rides cheap for riders.
Fun fact, the company I work for provided a vital service for Uber Eats when it first rolled out, but they continuously neglected to pay what we were billing them. We began hounding them for the money when it reached close to seven figures that they owed us after about a year, and they essentially turned around and said, "You hadn't had an issue with this so far, why does this suddenly matter to you?" We ended up getting paid eventually but cut out of providing them that service immediately after.
They provide a great service, but they're massive ing s in every way possible. |
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| KiNeTiC ENeRgY |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sushipunk
Cabs are certainly still in use here, just the numbers are way down. Getting a cab without talking to someone was already a thing here, we can just send a text to the cab company number with the pick-up address, and a cab will turn up, but I guess an app makes it even easier. Uber caught on really quickly though.
And Uber are required to do background checks on their drivers now anyway, so really, why would you pay more to get a cab?
Uber were pretty cheeky when they started up here. They were straight up told by the government that the service they were providing was illegal, and that any driver caught operating would be given a $1000 fine. They basically said " it" and kept going, and told their drivers that if anyone receives a fine, we'll pay for it. Our spineless government eventually just caved in, lol. |
We used Uber while staying in Sydney. pricing was good, but of course that was partly due to the stronger US dollar. That's another hit on us yanks going to London where not only are things a bit expensive, but we have to pay up for the exchange rate. |
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| Lews |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sushipunk
Cabs are certainly still in use here, just the numbers are way down. Getting a cab without talking to someone was already a thing here, we can just send a text to the cab company number with the pick-up address, and a cab will turn up, but I guess an app makes it even easier. Uber caught on really quickly though. |
Most people don't remember this, but Uber was initially a town-car only service. Not sure when they discovered people liked the app part better than the town-car part! I just checked my records and my account dates from January 2012 :wtf:
| quote: | Originally posted by Sushipunk
And Uber are required to do background checks on their drivers now anyway, so really, why would you pay more to get a cab? |
Well, I live so central that my cab bills are rarely high enough for the savings of Uber to outweigh the hassle of waiting for someone to come to me. Basically the only time I get Uber is when I'm going to or from Heathrow, as the savings are pretty noticeable then.
| quote: | Originally posted by Sushipunk
Uber were pretty cheeky when they started up here. They were straight up told by the government that the service they were providing was illegal, and that any driver caught operating would be given a $1000 fine. They basically said " it" and kept going, and told their drivers that if anyone receives a fine, we'll pay for it. Our spineless government eventually just caved in, lol. |
As idoru said, they have not been the most well-behaved corporation in history. Very Silicon Valley tech mindset: move fast and break things; pay the fees / get the laws changed afterwards.
| quote: | Originally posted by KiNeTiC ENeRgY
That's another hit on us yanks going to London where not only are things a bit expensive, but we have to pay up for the exchange rate. |
Well, the dollar has strengthened massively against the pound over the past five years... On 11 July 2014 the pound was worth $1.712, now it's only $1.228. That's a 39% increase in your purchasing power! |
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| KiNeTiC ENeRgY |
| First trip to London in 2015 the xchange rate was around $1.50 US per quid - that year kinda hurt, hehe. The next year we went in 2016 and it had dropped to around $1.30 or somewhere around that if I recall. We're probably headed there next year and then shoot over to Italy. |
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| OrangestO |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lews
Well, the dollar has strengthened massively against the pound over the past five years... On 11 July 2014 the pound was worth $1.712, now it's only $1.228. That's a 39% increase in your purchasing power! |
:eyes:
That's helped me tremendously because I still earn USD. Watch the exchange rate like it's a stock :o
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Dubfire was alright. Nothing special. I was actually quite underwhelmed by his uninspired set. But it wasn't bad. I don't know how to describe it right now. That's the best I can do. Wasn't worth the hassle of traveling and all the £6 cans of Heineken I drank to make up for the lackluster vibe. Oh well.
Really enjoyed the stand-up last night. All three acts were very different in their approaches (the pun guy, the impressionist and the older guy who could tell a good story) yet very funny. The crowd was well up for it too. I think the only heckler of the night had tourettes and never returned after the first intermission. At least he might have had an excuse for blurting out. But I just don't understand how someone can feel they're entitled to do so while someone is performing. When a comedian knows how to flip it on the spot, though, it's gold. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| Uninspired sounds bang on. It's Dubfire, lol. |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| Well, Fort Romeau did not disappoint. Because he only had 90 minutes he just smashed it out. Big tunes all the way through. The rest of the party was as crap as I expected it to be, though. And the irritating mate turned up for literally about 10 minutes, went for a cig and was never seen again. |
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| idoru |
The Ghostly 20 party was decent. Even though the event was in SF, it was hosted by Decibel out of Seattle so it was nice to party with a bunch of the crew I used to work with back home. Lusine's set was good, though I wish Jeff would occasionally dig into his back catalog rather than sticking with material from his two or three most recent "accessible" albums. Telefon Tel Aviv played a set composed of entirely new music, all pretty bass-heavy, and that was damn good. Audion's set was the best I'd ever heard from him - it was also entirely new music, much of it improvised, and it was harder and a lot faster than you'd usually hear him play. He had me locked on the dancefloor cutting a rug like a maniac, the crowd was small so it was really intimate, and Sam Valenti, head of Ghostly, was dancing with us the whole time, so that was pretty cool.
Minor rant: SF crowds continue to ing blow. Whereas parties used to be full of random weirdos from all walks of life getting down with infectious energy a decade ago, nowadays they're packed full of vapid, narcissistic, hardly-wanting-to-dance tech folk. Sure they might look diverse, but tech culture itself is so incredibly homogeneous and boring that partying in this city has become a dull, hollow shell of its former self. Though I guess you could apply that criticism to the city at large. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| Sounds like Toronto crowds, blech. Hnnghhhhh loooove Audion. Have never ever been disappointed by an Audion set, and have seen him many times over the years! |
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