[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Everyone knows Uber but do you know about Uber Files? Check out The Guardian's article for the details if you are interested. It may not be surprising but it certainly was insightful.

[u][i]Trove of documents leaked to the Guardian cast light on firm’s operations

Thank you @kiku007. There is another thread on this subject of Ubergate but sadly most comments there are on a 'so how does this affect us', 'does it mean fares change', 'if the service is not affected then who cares'. Maybe these views are in the minority, hopefully. But when an organization, more so a global one, indulges in blatant and impudent violations of the law, stick their tongues out metaphorically to the Govt law enforcement agencies they in a very real though indirect way affect us all. This so because it sets a lower and more venal standard for others with unholy intentions to aspire to. And the impudent attitude of willful lying and subterfuge they show to the Govt is the top end of their corporate culture. Without a shred of doubt in my mind the same culture permeates into their interface with their customers - rape protection violations, red button fraud, blocking data sought by the Govt etc. The same then creeps into the relations and dealings with the drivers and other suppliers. Uber in my eyes, while revolutionary in its concept, is a dishonest company run by people short on integrity of any kind.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

There is another thread on this subject of Ubergate but sadly most comments there are on a 'so how does this affect us', 'does it mean fares change', 'if the service is not affected then who cares'.

To be honest I am one of the initial adopters of Uber and back then, even I didn't mind the allegations against Uber since it didn't affect me as a rider. It is kind of a moral dilemma I guess.

They claim to have improved their work culture and approach towards compliance but I don't know how much of that is true but I hope for that to be true for everyone's benefit. I mean, Uber is still good as a ride hailing app (in Australia) so I'd not want them to go bust.

[m8002?]

Even I have stopped using Ola/Uber for airport drops/pickups.

In Bangalore, I used tp book Wega Cabs and they were always on time. Last time I even tried their pick-up from Airport and even that was good. I had to wait 5 min compared to just walking into an Airport Taxi but the cost was way lesser.

[superbad]

To be fair, ride aggregators have revolutionised transport, brought some balance & mellowed down the arrogance & high handedness of the traditional meter (or non meter) driven autos & cabs. Speaking from personal experience, Ola/Uber rates have mostly been competitive. Yes drawbacks exist - unreliability, cancellations, surge pricing etc but those risks exist even for traditional autos & cabs. In any case which service is 100% perfect in today's age?

Speaking about the Uber files, it simply strikes me as any other company ambitious enough to go to any lengths to expand & maximise profits. In today's age, I don't think there is any big company which has not indulged in aggressive lobbying, finding loopholes in laws & covering up as far as possible.
I am not condoning such activities, in fact any contravention of local laws & regulations should be subjected to strictest punishment. Uber files, to me simply looks like the work of a disgruntled employee or employees.
My point is if we dig up the records of every big company in detail, we would be surprised by the outcome. Example - in the food industry, read about how giants like Coca cola, Kellog, Nestle have built entire industries around sugary, highly processed foods & systematically drilled into their consumers that what they're having is in fact healthy & wholesome.

[Neversaygbye]

Am not at all surprised about the skullduggery and lobbying by Uber - most big corporates do that and ethics and business have usually been mutually exclusive words across the world. Plus Uber needs to make money for its investors so I am not surprised that they are cutting corners. Unfortunately, for all their skullduggery, the service they provide used to be convenient once upon a time, but is no longer so. Their rival in In India, Ola, is no better. And this has to do with the fact that the drivers on both platforms are a law unto themselves. In Calcutta, both Ola and Uber are a pain and I avoid using both if I can help it. Invariably the drivers will call to ask where I will be going, and cancel if it doesn't suit them. Some of them stay put at their location and wait for me to cancel since they know that I will have to pay a cancellation penalty if I cancel after some time (I always get the penalty reversed but I doubt everyone does that, else the drivers would not be doing this). The second issue they have is with the payment method - almost all of them will ask how I will be paying for the ride and then ask me to change it to cash. In some cases they give the option of dropping me for the same amount of money but outside of the Uber/Ola platform - which is completely unethical and amounts to cheating the platform. Plus, on average, Uber pricing is also the highest in Calcutta and you will never get a cab when you need it most, and even if you do, it will cost 3-4 times the usual fare. I doubt that Uber or Ola have any kind of control over the driver partners - in fact I have come across multiple cabs that are on both platforms. I dread the days I have to take an Uber or an Ola - I usually don't have a choice if I have a flight to catch, but I don't remember the last time I booked without getting a bad taste in the mouth. When I was in Bangalore I used to travel every month and had become friends with one of the Airport Taxi drivers and he was part of a drivers WA group. Whenever I needed to go to the airport, I would just message him and either he or one of his friends would pick me up and they would charge at 20 bucks per km which was fair to both of us. So I never needed to bother with Ola or Uber except for sudden plans. I am sure there are such WA groups in other cities too - probably befriending some of the drivers in these groups would help make Ola and Uber irrelevant.

[2000rpm]

Bullshit media trial. In a country like India, with regulations taking inspiration from the 1940s case laws, its impossible to launch a disruptive service like Uber.

The rape case was really sad which we should hold the company accountable for and we did. I wish we hold our goverment accountable for similar incidents also, especially with respect to infrastructure (usage of cement in flyovers etc)

I shudder to imagine the Mumbai taxi rides in outdated Padminis now. No AC, unhygienic, poor suspension, poor legroom, no option for size if I had luggage.

We need some companies to put pressure on the system to get it moving in tune of times.

[Dry Ice]

Pathetic ride experiences, no resolutions for support requests - it all makes sense now. When the top bosses are busy gaming the system what else can you expect? So yes, this attitude does impact every customer of Uber in some way.

It was a disruptor alright when it first launched. However, over the years it has become so unreliable that I have completely given up on them for the past 4~5 years or so. I much prefer hiring either a cab or driver from my local operator now.

[anjan_c2007]

Here's the story of a retired man aged 70, Bill, who has been a part time Uber driver in the US for the last 6years and has cancelled 30% of his rides per year.

Bill has taken the system, many wannabe ride aspirants and maybe a host of others in Uber for A REALTIME UBER RIDE by cancelling rides. Doing this, he has earned US $ 28,000, in the very consumer centric promise land, the US of A. With no remorse he says "I love it."

He said, "I spend a lot of time saying no. I don't work unless we have a surge." Bill stated that he and other drivers were able to make up to $50 per hour during the Covid-19 pandemic when some of the drivers had to temporarily stop driving because of health concerns. However, now, with an increase in the number of drivers, he only makes $15 to $20 per hour.

However, Bill said that he employs several strategies to make decent money. He places himself in locations like airports and bars during rush hours between 10:00 pm to 2:30 am on Fridays and Saturdays which helps with surge pricing. He told the outlet, "When a plane lands and people request Ubers the price jumps drastically. A 20-minute ride goes from $10 to $20 to $40 and sometimes $50. The driver gets just short of 50 per cent so a 35-minute ride can get you $30 to $60."

Although Bill hasn't experienced it himself, he has heard of drivers being barred from airport pickups for cancelling long trips. Drivers who cancel more frequently than 10 per cent also lose access to the company's rewards programme which has perks like discounts at specific petrol stations.

The link:
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/uber...ove-it-4549680

[am1m]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Here's the story of a retired man aged 70, Bill, who has been a part time Uber driver in the US for the last 6years and has cancelled 30% of his rides per year.

Bill is just like every Bangalore auto driver I've seen for the past 30 years!

They too refuse rides and make most of their money by working in the pub and mall/IT sectors where they know most people will pay double meter!

They too "spend a lot of time saying no"!

[sandeepmdas]

OT or not OT, but certainly trivial info.

As we know, Uber is basically a software platform, and the first lines of coding for this platform which made it a $44 billon company was written while they were staying at Varkala, Kerala. My hometown

Way back in 2008.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/50631622.cms

[kiku007]

Uber to pay Australian taxi operators A$272 million in class action settlement

Link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-...tors/103599400

• Uber has agreed to pay $272 million to compensate Australian taxi and hire car drivers for loss of income and licence values.
• The settlement is the fifth largest in Australian class action history, the lawyers behind the case say.
• The Supreme Court of Victoria has to formally approve the settlement before it is paid out to plaintiffs.

"He confirmed Maurice Blackburn's fees would be between A$30 million and A$35 million, and the rest of the proceeds would be divvied up between plaintiffs. The money will not be split equally because some group members suffered greater financial losses than others."

"They (Uber) knew full well they were required to have their drivers and their vehicles fully licensed. They chose not to do that, and they did a lot of things that gave them a commercial advantage against the taxi industry, which established their foothold," Mr Barton said.
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IMHO Uber has definitely changed its ways of working after Dara Khosrowshahi replaced Travis Cordell Kalanick. Collaboration over confrontation.

Here's the link to a good article about Uber's Smooth Operator, Dara.