Just as a comment regarding what was said in these minutes about Uber rides being 30 to 40% cheaper than taxi rides I can only say that at least here in Canada this is not necessarily true. When I was recently in Calgary I took about 6 or 8 Uber trips. The first I requested when I arrived at the airport and it was to go to Foothills Hospital which is about a 25 to 35 minute ride depending on traffic. UberX showed the ride was going to be $32, then I realized Uber is only allowed to come to the departures area and we had already gone downstairs to arrivals so we ended up taking a taxi just out of convenience and the taxi ride was $40, a $8 difference. In other words, Uber would have been 20% cheaper than the taxi and calculating up from the $32 the taxi was 25% more expensive. A few days later my wife and I took a ride from our hotel to a nearby mall and it was $7 with Uber. When we wanted to go back the exact same route a couple of hours later (now during rush hour) the app said that fares were now higher due to demand and now the ride was suddenly just over $11. We ended up calling a taxi and the taxi ride (it was only about a mile and a half) was $6 so in this case it was a Dollar cheaper to take the taxi even when Uber charged the lower price and it was almost half of what Ueber wanted durng the busier time. My last example was for going back to the airport which was super early in the morning because we had to be there by 5 AM to catch our 6 AM flight. We left the hotel at 4:30 AM on a Sunday morning and the roads were completely empty and it only took 25 minutes. Then Uber charged $28 for the same ride that previously during the day would have been $32, but I am almost sure the taxi ride at that time of the day would also have been only around $35 or $36 since taxi metres take both the duration of the trip and the milage into account. I am not saying Uber isn't a bit cheaper and I totally like using the app and how fast a car is usually there. I also like the fact I can contact the driver, that I know in advance how much the trip is and that I can pay for it and afterwards rate the driver. But if you follow the news a bit and care a bit for how companies behave and what sort of ethical commitment they have, Uber definitely needs to get their act together. Some of what makes it so nice like the upfront price of a ride is actually often bad for the driver as this article indicates: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/uber-drivers-upfront-fares-1.3973342
Lastly, here the link and text of another CBC News article which raises a lot of issues Uber is going to have to deal with: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/uber-lawsuit-rivals-1.4016725 Uber at crossroads, facing lawsuit, mounting criticism and growing rivals - Technology & Science - CBC News Uber was born with brass knuckles. To survive, the ride-hailing company has had to fight taxi unions and entire governments. That brawling culture turned it into a global brand worth as much as $69 billion US. But the company has spent most of 2017 punching itself in the face. First, a former employee made allegations of widespread sexual harassment and abusive behaviour at Uber's head office. Then about 200,000 people deleted the Uber app from their phones, the New York Times reported, after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick agreed to participate in President Donald Trump's economic advisory council and was accused of trying to profit from a New York taxi strike protesting Trump's travel ban. Recently, Kalanick was caught on camera yelling at an Uber driver who said he'd lost money working for the company. The head of Uber's driver experience, Nundu Janakiram, says Kalanick apologized for his outburst. "Travis said in his note that it was completely unacceptable the way that he acted to that driver," Janakiram said at Uber headquarters in San Francisco. As for the alleged culture of sexual harassment, he said Kalanick will make sure everyone at the company is treated with respect. "There's an investigation that's happening internally that will hopefully lead to some change within the company." Google alleges a former employee secretly downloaded 14,000 files, resigned, then launched a self-driving truck startup called Otto, which was later acquired by Uber. (Kim Brunhuber/CBC) Then it was revealed Uber had designed an elaborate tool called Greyball to identify regulators and funnel them onto a fake version of the app which displays ghost cars that would never actually show up. On Wednesday, the company announced it would end that program. Even one of Uber's most promising "good news" stories has gone sour. During the testing of Uber's much-touted self-driving vehicles, the cars ran six red lights. And despite repeated demands from California's Department of Motor Vehicles, Uber refused to apply for a $150 permit to test them in the state. Uber's head of product, Matt Sweeney, said the company will now comply. "We're in constant communication with the DMV and with other regulatory agencies make sure we're doing what needs to be done," Sweeney said. Fabian Geyrhalter, who heads an Los Angeles-area branding agency, says it'll be hard for Uber to recover its image as an authentic, 'cool app that people want to use.' (Kim Brunhuber/CBC) Sweeney points to an array of sensors mounted on a massive truck parked on a San Francisco pier. It's a showpiece for Uber's self-driving truck company called Otto. "We use these different sensor models together to build as robust of a view of the world around the truck as we can," he says. "On the top there, in the center, that's lidar, a scanning laser range finder." But that laser is at the heart of what could be a very expensive controversy, one that an analyst says could even take down the company. Google alleges Otto's co-founder downloaded 14,000 confidential files before he left Google's own self-driving truck company. Google claims he then started Otto based on their technology. Otto was bought by Uber, and now Google is suing. Uber denies the allegations, but Silicon Valley analyst Brian Solis of the Altimeter Group believes the lawsuit could be an existential threat to the company. "That represents a very significant challenge for Uber and could end up either killing the company or resulting in the type of payout that would significantly impact Uber's profits over time," Solis said. Harry Campbell, who writes The Rideshare Guy blog, says he's seen a huge emergence of niche rideshare services competing with Uber. (Kim Brunhuber/CBC) With criticism mounting, Kalanick announced March 7 that he'll hire someone to help him run the company. But Fabian Geyrhalter, who heads Finien, a branding agency for tech startups, thinks the loyalty of many customers and drivers may already have been lost. "They forgot about the one thing that matters the most for any brand, which is people," Geyrhalter said. Lyft saw a big increase in users when hundreds of thousands of people deleted their Uber app. (Kim Brunhuber/CBC) And Uber is now facing more competition, not just from rival Lyft but from smaller companies who market themselves as the "Uber for" other things, says industry watcher Harry Campbell, who writes a blog called The Rideshare Guy. "In the past year, we've seen really a huge emergence in a lot of the more niche services. So whether it's 'Uber for kids' or 'Uber for seniors' or 'Uber for airport rides,' there are a whole host of companies that are basically raising money and trying to focus on these niches." Zum is the Uber for children, one of the many apps competing for a slice of the ridesharing pie. (Kim Brunhuber/CBC) And with this series of public relations disasters, analysts say other companies may be poised to profit from Uber's misfortunes. "Uber's brand is at a crossroads," Solis says. "I think it's inevitable that it's going to have a negative impact on its revenues." Geyrhalter agrees. "There's not so much brand loyalty at this point yet because it's such a young company," he says. "At this point it's very hard to make that shift and still come across as an authentic cool app that people want to use." He says other companies have been quick to market themselves as a more ethical alternative to Uber. "Now there are ridesharing companies coming out that actually care about other things besides being being a ridesharing company," he says. He says the lesson for hyper-aggressive Silicon Valley is this: If you lose sight of what made you cool in the first place, you may not be cool for long. "That's really what will disrupt a company that used to disrupt a whole category." From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Reg Sullivan Sent: Friday, March 17, 2017 4:57 PM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: FW: [GTT-Toronto] Notes from last night's GTT meeting on Uber Folks, The Getting together with Technology group, a bunch of visually impaired and blind folks meet monthly in toronto. Last night we hosted two of Uber’s finest spokes persons from their management team. It was a very informative evening with lots of great questions and positive dialogue. I’m posting the minutes of the meeting below in hopes that they will answer any additional questions that list members may have. As an Uberf client I will also be happy to answer any additional questions that you may have. By the way, the Uber service in Toronto is head and shoulders above any of the Taxi Companies or at least that is my opinion. Best regards….Reg Sullivan From: Gtt-toronto-announce [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jason Fayre via Gtt-toronto-announce Sent: Friday, March 17, 2017 10:29 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Jason Fayre <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Subject: [GTT-Toronto] Notes from last night's GTT meeting on Uber Thanks as always to Christine Malec for preparing these awesome notes! Jason opened the meeting. Tonight we have a representative from Uber to talk with us. Next month’s meeting will be Chelsie talking about Siri tips and tricks. In May or June we’re open for topic suggestions. You can send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with any suggestions. We have Adam Blinnick, Director of Public Affairs for Uber Canada, and Brian Crook, an operations manager for Uber accessibility. After they discuss Uber in broad terms, Jason said he will give a demonstration of how to use the ap. With raised hands, Adam saw that about 3/4 of those present have used Uber. Uber was founded in 2009. It had relatively humble ambitions. Two people had sold their businesses in San Francisco, where it’s hard to get a cab. Initially it was framed as a luxury service, only “black cars.” As the experiment got going, it became clearer that transportation is an issue for many people. Owning a car or taking taxies is expensive, and public transit can be inconvenient. Also, a lot of car-owners are happy to turn their car into a revenue-generating device. Uber is now in over 400 cities worldwide. The flagship product is UberX. The ideal is, giving rides to your neighbours. Uber has been able to increase transportation to parts of cities that were previously inaccessible by transit, or if you didn’t have a car. Calling a taxi was time-consuming and inconvenient, as you had to sit staring out the window. Now, Uber cars often are available within 5 minutes. It also allows you to track the car as it is coming to you. The lower cost of an Uber ride is indisputable; it’s 30-40% cheaper than a conventional taxi, and Uber pool is even cheaper. The ap is free from the ap store. You download it, create a profile, then connect a payment method to it, and you’re ready to go. It’s a seamless experience to when the driver arrives, and you don’t have to pay when you exit the car; the ride is charged to your payment method. Up-front pricing has now been implemented; the price you see before you request the ride is the price you’ll pay. Safety is important in the design of the ap, and during the ride. Adam outlined several policies and procedures implemented with safety in mind. Every driver who wants to drive for Uber must complete a criminal background check. Also, Uber has insurance which covers the rider. When you request a ride, you don’t have to wait outside, as the ap lets you track the driver. This increases your safety. When you request the ride, you get the driver’s name, license number, and a description of their car. You also have an opportunity to contact the driver via phone or text, to give more specific information about your pickup location. During the trip, other safety features are in place. You’re always on the map, being tracked by GPS. You can also use “share my ride,” which allows someone, such as a family member, to track where you are, they don’t need to have the Uber ap in order to do this. You don’t need to have your credit card or cash on you to take the ride. After the ride, you have access to a rating system, which allows you to comment on anything about the driver that concerned you. This allows Uber to track patterns in driver behaviour. There’s 24/7 support if you have an urgent concern about your ride, or left a personal item in the car etc. There’s also a record of every trip you take. You get a copy, and Uber keeps a copy, in case later follow-up is necessary. In Canada, Uber is throughout the GTA, where the average wait time is 5 minutes or less. Most of southwestern Ontario is covered, as well as lots of eastern Ontario. In the west, Uber is operating in the greater Edmonton and Calgary areas. A member raised the point that making a customer service complaint was quite difficult. It took a long time to find the phone number, and he had to leave a message. Adam replied that the best way to file a complaint is through the ap itself. There’s a layer in the “help” feature after your ride, which is called, “there’s a problem with my fair.” Responses to complaints made through the ap are usually within an hour. A member asked if there’s a way to get Uber without a smart phone. Jason answered that there’s a service called GoGo Grandparent<https://gogograndparent.com/https:/gogograndparent.com/>. You sign up with them, give them all your information, then phone them and have them arrange an Uber for you. They charge you 18 cents a minute for your trip, as their service fee. They have an 800 number for information. The number is (855) 464-6872. Adam added that Uber is working on a function that will allow you to request an Uber via a computer. He couldn’t say when this will be in place, but he also added that they are planning on adding the service Jason described themselves. Someone else can order the Uber for you, then send you trip information. A member asked if you can request an Uber using voice. Jason answered that you can, but last time he tried, you can’t specify your pick-up location; it simply uses GPS to determine where you are. You can then contact the driver with your specific address. A member asked about Uber Assist. Brian described that it is an option that insures you a top-quality driver, who has been through a training program for working with people with disabilities. The cost for Uber Assist is the same as an UberX, but you might have to wait a bit longer for a driver. In response to a member question, Adam said that Uber uses Google Maps for their GPS data. If your address isn’t found by Google maps, you can always contact the driver to give them more specific information about where you are. A member asked what Uber does to ensure drivers will accept service animals. Brian answered that drivers are informed of the law, but that he knows cases happen where drivers refuse. There’s work going on in the U.S. about this, and Uber Canada will follow. Uber wants to make transportation as accessible as running water, and when people with service animals are refused service, they’re failing. A member asked if there’s a way to facilitate passengers and drivers finding one another at pick-up. Jason said that at CSUN, he was at a ride-sharing workshop in which it was said that this is being worked on. A member added that it’s very helpful to text or phone the driver from within the ap to tell them that you’re blind, and give them information about how to find you, and ask them to identify themselves to you. This helps a lot. Ian returned to the subject of service animals, to point out that it’s not only a question of Uber’s policies, but that drivers are breaking the law when they refuse service. Adam said that, until now, Uber assist drivers weren’t being notified in a way that distinguished assist calls from non-assist calls. Soon, they will be implementing a pop-up to let the driver know it’s an assist call. Assist is for people who want a door-to-door service. It isn’t necessary to request an Uber Assist if you have a service dog; all cars must take them. Jason then took over to begin a demonstration of using the Uber ap with Voiceover. You can open the ap using Ciri if you choose. When you open the ap, you get a hint telling you that you can use a shortcut to specify your pick-up location. From the upper left, swiping down gets you a “where to” button, or you can swipe right to “schedule a ride.” Scheduling gives you a 20-minute pick-up window. Another button invites you to rate your last trip. The ap will remember the last couple of destinations you’ve been to, and is location-aware. It keeps track of places you commonly go from wherever you currently are. From the initial screen, Jason found a button that said “Home,” where he can double tap, to set as your pick-up location. Relying on GPS to determine your pick-up location is sometimes vague, so be careful about counting on it to know exactly where you are. Within the ap, you can designate specific addresses as things like home, work, etc. This makes it easier to arrange your ride. In some aps, including this one, swiping misses options, so sometimes you have to use your finger to explore the screen. Jason said he’s been seeing this in a few aps, so it might be a voiceover bug. After setting your destination, you then choose your monetary range. You see your options, and each associated cost and arrival times. It remembers the last choice you made, X, Assist, Pool etc. On the “economy” button, voiceover invites you to swipe pages for more options. This is a 3-finger sideways swipe, as though you are turning a page. Uber Select and Uber Black are the higher-priced options where you get a nicer car. Uber XL gets you something like a minivan. Jason used sideways swipes to explore. On the page titled “more,” there’s a taxi option. Brian explained that this gets you a standard cab who works for a traditional cab company, but takes Uber passengers as well. This doesn’t allow you to have a fixed price, because the Uber taxi is metered. Payment is still through the ap, but the calculation method is in real time. On this “more” page, you can also find the Assist option. WOV means wheelchair accessible vehicle. Availability of WAV vehicles is not great, due to the lack of available vehicles. In the downtown core, your wait will likely be less than 10 minutes. Outside downtown, there might be no availability. No city in North America has solved this problem. Jason showed that, during the request process, you can switch between multiple payment methods if you’ve registered more than one. Once you request the ride, it begins matching you with nearby drivers. A recent change was made. There used to be a contact and a cancel button on the main screen after you request the ride. Now, you have to double tap on the driver name, then those options pop up. Once you find the “contact driver” button, you have two choices: phone or text. Your text or call doesn’t come from your phone number. It’s a ghost number that vanishes 30 minutes after your trip. This protects your privacy, but allows you to contact the driver shortly after your trip if you’ve left something in the car. Texting the driver to let them know you have a service animal is a good idea because if the driver refuses to take you, there’s an electronic record that Uber can use to discipline the driver. At the upper left corner of the screen, there’s an unlabeled button. If you double tap on it, you’re in the main menu where you can change your payment option, view your promotional code, look at your trip history, or find the “help” button. Double tapping on “help” gives you options related to previous trips. It also gives you information about Uber. You can find a specific trip, then double tap on it to report an issue. The screen offers several options such as lost items, unprofessional behaviour, fair discrepancies etc. A member asked about cancelling. Brian answered that there’s a 5-minute window after requesting the trip, within which you can cancel without being charged. Jason said that you cancel by double tapping on the driver’s name, and there’s a cancel button next to the contact driver button. A member asked what happens to fixed price during a traffic jam. Brian answered that the fixed price remains in place. In extreme cases Uber, will compensate the driver at the back end. A member asked about splitting the fair among riders. Brian answered that it’s possible to do this from within the ap if each rider has the ap. Another member asked about multiple destinations. Brian answered that the ap doesn’t currently provide for this. The way to handle it is to tell the driver when you get in the car, then when you’re close to the first destination, the rider goes into the ap and changes the destination to the second one. The driver can also do this for you from within their ap. Brian explained some of the built-in fees by explaining that, for example, background checks for drivers are paid for by Uber. A member raised the question of safety again. Brian answered that the background checks for Uber drivers and conventional taxi drivers is the same. A member asked whether it’s possible to connect directly with a driver you had a great experience with, and request them specifically. Brian answered that this isn’t possible. The goal of Uber is efficiency, so it’s always best and cheapest to send a driver who’s the closest to you. Uber has a 2-million-dollar liability insurance for all riders through the Intact Insurance company. Jason raised a question about whether you can rate a driver higher than 5 stars. Adam answered that it’s possible to log in on your computer for more rating options. Passengers are rated by drivers as well. This helps to clarify ambiguous situations where complaints are made. 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