Über

[fuse]

Anyone in Raleigh area used Uber yet?

Any Uber thoughts in general?

I'm thinking about using Uber tonight and not sure what to expect, including whether or not my starting and end points actually qualify within what Uber defines as Raleigh.

Celebrating tonight and Uber seems nicer than a taxi and more financially practical than a limo.

What does everyone think?

[flyingdutchdevil]

Anyone in Raleigh area used Uber yet?

Any Uber thoughts in general?

I'm thinking about using Uber tonight and not sure what to expect, including whether or not my starting and end points actually qualify within what Uber defines as Raleigh.

Celebrating tonight and Uber seems nicer than a taxi and more financially practical than a limo.

What does everyone think?

I live in Boston, the city with the highest cab fares in the US. I use Uber all the time. So much so that I never take cabs. I love Uber - I have absolutely bought into the brand and product. Uber provides convenience, great prices, reliability, and happy customers. But that's just my opinion.

[JohnGalt]

Anyone in Raleigh area used Uber yet?

Any Uber thoughts in general?

I'm thinking about using Uber tonight and not sure what to expect, including whether or not my starting and end points actually qualify within what Uber defines as Raleigh.

Celebrating tonight and Uber seems nicer than a taxi and more financially practical than a limo.

What does everyone think?

I've used it in NYC a number of times and have been surprised at how well it works. Never had an issue with it...although I've used it less than 10 times.

[fuse]

Swing and a miss- tried to book Uber and I was out of area.

[brevity]

Don't know a thing about Über, but I wanted to thank the moderator who added an umlaut to the thread title. It's the little things.

[sue71, esq]

What about Lyft? I have friends that live by Lyft out here in SoCal. Seems like the same business model as Über, but I don't know enough about either to say that with much confidence.

[YmoBeThere]

I view Uber with an insurance lens, they present multiple liability issues that need to be addressed.

I equate them with Aereo, which was essentially put out of business today by a Supreme Court ruling. They are a potentially disruptive force that is likely skirting many legal issues as they disenfranchise the rest of an industry. One that has lobbyists, lawyers and political connections. I'm not necessarily siding with the cabbies, uber, lyft, etc. are a clear sign they need to deliver a much better and reasonably priced product to the marketplace.

[hurleyfor3]

Don't know a thing about Über, but I wanted to thank the moderator who added an umlaut to the thread title. It's the little things.

Two little things, in this case. You're welcome.

[Mike Corey]

I use Uber in Columbus, and have found it to be a great service.

I live Downtown, and no longer have to wait 30-45 minutes for a cab driver to pick me up. At peak hours, Uber is there in 5 minutes or less.

This service, coupled with a car sharing service called Car2Go, means I drive about twice a month.

I hope it does well in Raleigh, but I agree with the poster above that legal challenges are certain. But they will force the cab industry to evolve a bit (a lot?).

[77devil]

I view Uber with an insurance lens, they present multiple liability issues that need to be addressed.

I equate them with Aereo, which was essentially put out of business today by a Supreme Court ruling. They are a potentially disruptive force that is likely skirting many legal issues as they disenfranchise the rest of an industry. One that has lobbyists, lawyers and political connections. I'm not necessarily siding with the cabbies, uber, lyft, etc. are a clear sign they need to deliver a much better and reasonably priced product to the marketplace.

The Aereo comparison doesn't really apply IMO. Uber and Air B & B are more akin as disruptive technologies. Uber's latest capital raise valued the company at $18 BB. While that is frothy, there are some very smart VCs who have assessed the regulatory risk and made the bet that Uber can win the battle.

I don't see Über in federal court or ever before the Supreme Court subject to an existential court decision but I'm not an attorney. There is no interstate commerce that I'm aware of. This business is regulated at the local and state level. It would seem Uber will be challenged market by market.

There is new insurance regulation being debated in CA to require ride sharing drivers to have comparable coverage to cabbies.

[gus]

Two little things, in this case. You're welcome.

Except that it's now wrong. The company doesn't have the umlaut in its name:

https://www.uber.com/

[hurleyfor3]

Except that it's now wrong. The company doesn't have the umlaut in its name:

I say we let the US/Germany match decide this.

[hurleyfor3]

I say we let the US/Germany match decide this.

Über. Alles.

[YmoBeThere]

The Aereo comparison doesn't really apply IMO. Uber and Air B & B are more akin as disruptive technologies. Uber's latest capital raise valued the company at $18 BB. While that is frothy, there are some very smart VCs who have assessed the regulatory risk and made the bet that Uber can win the battle.

I don't see Über in federal court or ever before the Supreme Court subject to an existential court decision but I'm not an attorney. There is no interstate commerce that I'm aware of. This business is regulated at the local and state level. It would seem Uber will be challenged market by market.

There is new insurance regulation being debated in CA to require ride sharing drivers to have comparable coverage to cabbies.

The fact that Aereo went to Federal Court isn't the important part of my comparison. Yes, the issue will be decided at a local level. The important part is that the disruptive technology runs up against monied interests intent on protecting their turf. At the end of the day, Uber is merely a way to cart someone from Point A to Point B for a fee. They just do so by using unregulated people and vehicles much more efficiently and pleasantly than taxi cab companies. Thus my point about the warning bells to cab companies.

Legislation and regulation is ongoing in many states and municipalities beyond CA, but many are waiting to see how they handle the whole situation.

[77devil]

The fact that Aereo went to Federal Court isn't the important part of my comparison. Yes, the issue will be decided at a local level. The important part is that the disruptive technology runs up against monied interests intent on protecting their turf. At the end of the day, Uber is merely a way to cart someone from Point A to Point B for a fee. They just do so by using unregulated people and vehicles much more efficiently and pleasantly than taxi cab companies. Thus my point about the warning bells to cab companies.

Legislation and regulation is ongoing in many states and municipalities beyond CA, but many are waiting to see how they handle the whole situation.

Aereo is still a bad comparison. Federal copyright law has nothing to do with the regulatory issues being raised against Uber. Again, Air B&B is analogous IMO by using technology to match buyers and sellers outside the established, regulated business model. It too is fighting entrenched interests.

Of course Uber is dealing with many jurisdictions beyond CA. I referred to CA because of developments reported yesterday.

And by the way, Aereo did not go to Federal Court, it was taken there.

[A-Tex Devil]

Uber and Lyft are working in Austin illegally right now with the idea that eventually they will win out. It's risky, but needed.

The cabs in Austin are essentially a cartel at this point. You can't get one when you need one, they are unreliable, expensive, and there aren't enough of them. They preemptively got Uber-like options banned in Austin (unlike cities like Dallas and Houston where Uber got in before they could be legislated against). I have zero sympathy for Uber threatening cab service as we know it as a business model. None.

Austin (and I imagine other cities) has a cabal of cabbies, parking lots/garages, and traffic police that essentially encourage people to drink and drive by not providing viable and available transportation alternatives. Drive downtown and park, then cab it back? Better have your car out by 6AM, or it is towed or booted. Take a cab downtown? If they ever show up to pick you up, good luck finding one to get home. That's not to say folks shouldn't take personal responsibility, but in a town where nightlife and entertainment are huge parts of the local economy, the failure to provide safe transportation alternatives in and out is alarming.

The folks that have used Uber since it's officially come on line here have the same glowing praise as other cities. Hopefully our city council can get its act together and say "No" to the cab union/lobby. Go Uber and its ilk.

[hurleyfor3]

[ppb]Over the last decade-plus the Supes have consistently ruled in favor of large, entrenched corporate and corporate-like interests. I don't see Über being any different.[/ppb]

[YmoBeThere]

Uber is matching buyers and sellers of transportation services outside of an established, regulated business model. Aereo matched buyers and uncompensated sellers of broadcast TV outside of an established, regulated business model. Air BnB is matching buyers and sellers of lodging services outside of an established, regulated business model.

The cabbies and hoteliers will contend that the sellers of the transportation and lodging services aren't entitled to be providers of those services. This is all the broadcasters did to Aereo.

If my reading of the Aereo decision is correct, Aereo could carve out a space where someone records a show on some device and uploads the recording to the cloud and then views the broadcast on another device. However, I don't see what advantage they would have over Amazon or some other cloud service provider. Their advantage was obtaining the broadcast for consumption without compensation to the broadcaster. Now having to compensate the broadcaster, it appears their business model falls apart.

How does this apply to Uber? I believe that ultimately they will in many jurisdictions have to conform to local regs which will raise their costs to much closer to that of the cab companies. This will then put pressure on whether Uber is viable(my guess is yes given better service and low capital investment). FWIW, Yellow Cab in Pittsburgh introduced Yellow-X as a direct competitor to Uber and Lyft who have yet to be approved to provide services by the Public Utility Commission there. Yellow-X was already approved.

[fuse]

Not a huge deal, but after a Uber declined to give me a ride yesterday (out of area) I received an email from Uber this morning announcing their expansion into Durham and Chapel Hill. Timing is everything

[weezie]

Just please EVERYBODY wear your seat belts no matter what you are driving, or being driven, around in.