Tag Archives: Uber

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Are You A Typical Rideshare Customer?

A new survey of rideshare passengers just came out, and I have to say some of the findings surprised me. The survey, done by Bellhop, Rideguru, and our very own rideshare man-in-the-know, Harry Campbell, The Rideshare Guy, wanted to know whether people felt if and how ridesharing was improving their quality of life.

The survey refers to rideshare as “mobility options”, which is a new term for me as it relates to ridesharing. The survey included both taxi or other services in the same general category of mobility options. Of course, surveys are always a bit suspect because it depends on how questions are worded and how terms are defined. In this case I wish some of the survey terms such as “better life” were more clearly defined. However, taking all this into consideration, if you use ridesharing services it’s interesting to see if you fit into the same categories as the respondents or not. And if like me you rarely use these services but are curious about the business end of them, the survey and article is a quick and easy read and a good glimpse into rideshare customer experience.

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New York City Limits Ride-Hailing Services

Did you know that New York City just became the first major U.S. city to limit ride-hailing services? This news grabbed my attention because of something that happened the last time I was in NYC. As I was walking by City Hall I noticed that it was sealed off. On the front steps a protest was in progress. I saw press coverage and someone was making a speech. I walked around the park for a bit and then as I was leaving the area I saw one of the protestors with a man I assumed was a politician. They were being interviewed by a television station. It was the tail end of the interview so I didn’t catch much. The protest signs said something about taxi drivers committing suicide, but not living in New York City I had no idea what this meant or what story it was referencing. I meant to do some research but forgot about it.

Uber/Lyft car in NYC

Image source: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/09/637008474/new-york-city-temporarily-halts-more-uber-and-lyft-cars-on-the-road

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A Curious Question for Taxi Drivers

If I were a taxi driver, there’s one question I would ask every passenger who got into my taxi: “Why aren’t you using Uber or Lyft?” This may seem like an odd question, but hear me out.  I rarely use Uber or Lyft. When I travel, I walk or use mass transit as much as I can. As you might recall, I do have a taxi service I use to get to the airport, and only on rare occasions have I had anything but good experiences with this service. They charge me a flat fee that’s as good as or better than Uber/Lyft. Continue reading

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Win a Free Copy of The Rideshare Guide by Uber/Lyft Guru Harry Campbell

Updated 8/3 at 6am: Here are the 2 winners, selected at random:

  • Brent Young said, “Keep handy window cleaner, and leather cleaner to protect your seats (if you have leather). Riders love a clean car. As a driver, I don’t accept rides that are more than 8 min away (in suburbs). In the city I would not accept anything greater than 5 min away. I have not worked rural areas yet. Tend to lose money on all others that take longer to get to.
  • Michael H said, “ALWAYS Be polite.

Have you ever thought of driving for Uber or Lyft? Maybe you are already a driver! If so, I’ve got a great giveaway for you. Our Uber insider, Harry Campbell, who keeps TWG readers up-to-date on all things Uber, has a new book out called The Rideshare Guide, and I’m giving away a few copies.

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Use Uber in Athens, Greece to Request & Pay for Local Taxis

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  This is my last post from Athens, Greece, before I head to the Radisson Blu Beach Resort in Milatos, Crete.  If you missed my post yesterday, be sure to read Heading to Athens, Greece? Book the Small-Group Culinary Walking Tour.  In today’s post, I will explain how Uber works in Athens (the only part of Greece that has Uber).  If you are not an Uber rider, join for free (thanks for using my referral link).

Technically, Uber doesn’t exist in Greece, but you can request and pay for taxis with the Uber app (the taxi drivers use the Uber app like all other Uber drivers).  The only thing that is strange is that you cannot see the total price of your Uber ride until after the ride is over.  All the taxis have a set price schedule for rides, so your rides will always be priced right.  Unfortunately, I could not use my Uber credits in Athens, so I paid for all my rides with my Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card (my referral link) since I earn 3x Chase Ultimate Rewards Points on Uber and it has no foreign transaction fees.

We used the Uber app to request a ride from the Athens International Airport (ATH) to our hotel, the InterContinental Athenaeum Athens.  The Uber pickup was a bit tricky, since our ride was in a taxi and there were many taxis waiting at the airport.  Our driver told us where to meet him, but it was still very difficult to find him (he ended up finding us).  Our ride to the hotel took 45 minutes and cost 40.70 Euros ($47.43).  As of June 25, the exchange rate is 1 Euro = 1.16 US Dollars and I will use that exchange rate throughout this post.  In comparison, a shuttle van to/from the airport and the hotel would have cost 100 Euros ($116).

a screenshot of a trip

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