Uber coming to OKC

[sooner88]

I agree, it's pretty hard to complain.

Three things though:

1) It's hard to imagine being in that much of a hurry to get home that one couldn't wait a little while till pricing became more affordable.

2) Midtown to Edmond is a decent distance, especially to some places in Edmond. The cost wasn't going to be cheap anyway but kudos to your friend for having the foresight to choose to be driven home.

3) Uber needs to add a real-time fare meter inside the app. Right now, there is a small 'bubble' on the destination pin that shows you a) the estimated time till arrival and b) the estimated number of minutes until arrival. You can toggle this but just tapping the bubble on the destination pin. Without adding any clutter to the UI, adding one more metric as the real-time or accrued fare would be an elegant solution within the app and would do wonders to help people make decisions while en route. A huge part of the problem is the sticker shock. I know Brian already mentioned this above and my point is that they've got the UI elements in place already to add it to the application in a way that people could easily use and see. I'd like to see them turn that on.

I wasn't with them so I'm not sure what the hurry was. The distance was 33 miles so it would have been around $60 on a normal day. I agree that adding a real-time fare feature would be nice, but would that change anything? It would be nice to have a ballpark price as you go, but it is not like I'm going to get out of the car if it reaches a certain point.

[OkiePoke]

I agree, it's pretty hard to complain.

Three things though:

1) It's hard to imagine being in that much of a hurry to get home that one couldn't wait a little while till pricing became more affordable. When you walk the wrong direction in a foreign town ending up in the ghetto, that is one situation I encountered on NYE. My own fault admittidly.

2) Midtown to Edmond is a decent distance, especially to some places in Edmond. The cost wasn't going to be cheap anyway but kudos to your friend for having the foresight to choose to be driven home.

3) Uber needs to add a real-time fare meter inside the app. Right now, there is a small 'bubble' on the destination pin that shows you a) the estimated time till arrival and b) the estimated number of minutes until arrival. You can toggle this but just tapping the bubble on the destination pin. Without adding any clutter to the UI, adding one more metric as the real-time or accrued fare would be an elegant solution within the app and would do wonders to help people make decisions while en route. A huge part of the problem is the sticker shock. I know Brian already mentioned this above and my point is that they've got the UI elements in place already to add it to the application in a way that people could easily use and see. I'd like to see them turn that on.

I don't recall seeing the 8.9X surge pricing that I ended up paying. Came out to be $90, definitely worth it though. Then the driver gave me a discount, brought it down to $40. He was pretty cool. Not bad for a 7 minute ride.

[BBatesokc]

I don't recall seeing the 8.9X surge pricing that I ended up paying. Came out to be $90, definitely worth it though. Then the driver gave me a discount, brought it down to $40. He was pretty cool. Not bad for a 7 minute ride.

How in the world did the driver give you a discount? Uber drivers can't set or discount rates that i know of.

[sooner88]

How in the world did the driver give you a discount? Uber drivers can't set or discount rates that i know of.

I've had driver's who have had promotional codes from Uber they hand out from time to time.

[BBatesokc]

I've had driver's who have had promotional codes from Uber they hand out from time to time.

I'm aware of the promo cards. I used one when I signed up. But how did that allow the driver to discount your $90 fare to $40?

The promo codes are only good on brand new accounts and are only up to like $25.

[BBatesokc]

Just got an email that Uber is reducing rates in OKC again...

UberX

Base Fare............ was $1.75 Now $1.00

Per Minute.......... was $.18 Now $.16

Per Mile................ was $1.45 Now $.80

Safe Rides Fee..... was $1.00 Now $1.00

Min. Fare.............. was $5.00 Now $4.00

Cancellation Fee.. was $5.00 Now $5.00



UberXL

Base Fare............ was $3.30 Now $3.00

Per Minute.......... was $.35 Now $.30

Per Mile................ was $2.5 Now $1.60

Safe Rides Fee..... was $1.00 Now $1.00

Min. Fare.............. was $7.00 Now $7.00

Cancellation Fee.. was $5.00 Now $5.00

My email seemed to indicate the rates were starting immediately, but the Uber website still has the old higher rates posted.

[OkiePoke]

How in the world did the driver give you a discount? Uber drivers can't set or discount rates that i know of.

He put in that the wrong route was taken. He was pretty cool.

[gopokes88]

They're doing a round the clock guarantee for drivers as well. $12 an hour always and $22 during peak times.

[cxl144]

I just checked, the new rates are live now. With Yellow Cab and Thunder Cab at $2+ a mile this should get interesting.

[BBatesokc]

They're doing a round the clock guarantee for drivers as well. $12 an hour always and $22 during peak times.

$22/hr guaranteed will be attractive to some. What are considered peak hours? Drive time during the week and weekend nights?

[gopokes88]

$22/hr guaranteed will be attractive to some. What are considered peak hours? Drive time during the week and weekend nights?

5pm-3am Friday and Saturday.

[Plutonic Panda]

Just got an email that Uber is reducing rates in OKC again...

UberX

Base Fare............ was $1.75 Now $1.00

Per Minute.......... was $.18 Now $.16

Per Mile................ was $1.45 Now $.80

Safe Rides Fee..... was $1.00 Now $1.00

Min. Fare.............. was $5.00 Now $4.00

Cancellation Fee.. was $5.00 Now $5.00



UberXL

Base Fare............ was $3.30 Now $3.00

Per Minute.......... was $.35 Now $.30

Per Mile................ was $2.5 Now $1.60

Safe Rides Fee..... was $1.00 Now $1.00

Min. Fare.............. was $7.00 Now $7.00

Cancellation Fee.. was $5.00 Now $5.00

My email seemed to indicate the rates were starting immediately, but the Uber website still has the old higher rates posted.

Is that good or bad? I hope that doesn't mean demand is lower than they though for the city.

[BBatesokc]

Is that good or bad? I hope that doesn't mean demand is lower than they though for the city.

Good and bad. They've been slashing rates all over the country. So, the good is that Uber is now considerably cheaper than a cab.

The bad is that this also means they are slashing driver pay. Which in my opinion means they are going to loose quality drivers and instead passengers are going to start getting a budget cab experience with the types of drivers that drove them away from using cabs to begin with.

I'm really getting the feeling Uber is an excellent concept in incompetent hands.

[no1cub17]

Wow - at these new rates, downtown to the airport is estimated at only $12-16, which is nuts. Usually pay $23-24 now. Makes it a slam dunk to take Uber every time and not park at the airport. As bbates said though, let's see what this does to the supply of drivers. I've been able to get rides to the airport at 4:30 AM without too much trouble, but that may change.

[gopokes88]

Remember uber is now guaranteeing $12/hour always and $22/hour from 5-3am fri and sat

[BBatesokc]

Remember uber is now guaranteeing $12/hour always and $22/hour from 5-3am fri and sat

I know a few drivers and they all ignore the guarantee claims because they say there are too many strings attached and when you deduct gas, wear and tear, turnpike fees, etc. its far less than Uber advertises to pay.

The complaint I hear the most is that OKC is so spread out that you often drive 8-20 minutes to get to a passenger that is only going a few miles and then you often have to drive back to where you started. The recent cuts will make it very hard for a good driver to want to remain working for Uber. I hear Lyft is a bit better but has very little local ridership compared to Uber.

[HOT ROD]

as to the Uber rate cuts, this was a national thing as it was in the news here in Seattle that 28 cities iirc would see the rate cuts.

[BBatesokc]

as to the Uber rate cuts, this was a national thing as it was in the news here in Seattle that 28 cities iirc would see the rate cuts.

Its the typical business model for Uber..... There is hype when they first enter a market. They set the rates higher because everyone wants to try the service and Uber is trying to attract drivers with bogus earnings claims. Once Uber is in a market and the hype starts to die off, Uber suddenly cuts rates by around 30% - usually making the service slightly cheaper than a cab. Then, weeks/months later they cut rates again by 20-30% depending on the market - making their rates significantly cheaper than a cab.

The result is a cheaper rate for passengers, but fewer quality drivers on the road. I've already had a friend call for a Uber and the driver called her, asked where she was going and told her she wasn't going far enough (3 miles) and cancelled her request and told her she needed to hail a different Uber car.

[BBatesokc]

Must be an OKC thing. I use Uber a lot for short, quick distances. Also, I very frequently engage in conversations with drivers. Just last week in CA I was talking to a young lady who was a graphic artist and she explained just how much it has helped her and her husband. She's able to Uber in the morning and make enough money for that that she can stay doing her freelance work until her business grows. It's a great story about how it helps folks like her and one I hear pretty often.

300+ rides and still loving it!

Her area just hasn't experienced the over saturation and price cuts then. Also, OKC is still not much of a cab/ride-share city.

Driver's in OKC once could count on making $20-$40/hr, but that was before two huge fare cuts. I'm guessing driver's in OKC are making $8-$12/hr on average now.

[krisb]

I drive for Lyft as a way to supplement gas costs and buy iTunes music, that's about it. Moral of the story, don't quit your day job.

[gopokes88]

Good and bad. They've been slashing rates all over the country. So, the good is that Uber is now considerably cheaper than a cab.

The bad is that this also means they are slashing driver pay. Which in my opinion means they are going to loose quality drivers and instead passengers are going to start getting a budget cab experience with the types of drivers that drove them away from using cabs to begin with.

I'm really getting the feeling Uber is an excellent concept in incompetent hands.

It's either incompetent or brilliant. People already really enjoy Uber paying the high rates, now that its cheaper look out.

[BBatesokc]

It's either incompetent or brilliant. People already really enjoy Uber paying the high rates, now that its cheaper look out.

Idea = Brilliant

Longevity as industry leader under current leadership = Incompetent

What types of drivers will be representing Uber with the reality it only pays $6-$12/hr after expenses in markets with constant fare reductions?

I personally think they should have stayed with Uber as being a step up from a Taxi in all ways - price, quality, professionalism.

They are quickly becoming the Walmart of ridesharing - and not in a good way.

If I was Lyft I would capitalize on all the things Uber is doing wrong. In our market I'd start servicing the Edmond area (believe it or not, they don't right now). I'd also play up the fact they actually meet their driver's and actually take a ride with them before ever putting them on the road. I wouldn't compete on price, I'd compete on quality - something Uber will not be able to sustain. Give the public the feeling a ride with Lyft is a 'safer', 'cooler' ride than with Uber. Problem right now though is, many Lyft driver's also drive for Uber.

[mkjeeves]

Must be an OKC thing. I use Uber a lot for short, quick distances. Also, I very frequently engage in conversations with drivers. Just last week in CA I was talking to a young lady who was a graphic artist and she explained just how much it has helped her and her husband. She's able to Uber in the morning and make enough money for that that she can stay doing her freelance work until her business grows. It's a great story about how it helps folks like her and one I hear pretty often.

300+ rides and still loving it!

Assuming you've taken a cab, did you or do you ever talk to cab drivers? (I'm betting yes in your case.) They all have stories too, usually not graphic artists starting businesses though.

[Bullbear]

More and more people are using Lyft and Uber in OKC. I know many people myself included who use it very regularly now where I never got a cab before due to all the reasons people don't use cabs in this city. its great for the weekends going to the bar or dinner in midtown ( no parking issues ) and you can't beat the price. I wonder why Uber doesn't have a tip factor though on the App. Lyft you can tip the driver over and above the fare. I would think that would help some uber drivers with some extra cash.

[mkjeeves]

More and more people are using Lyft and Uber in OKC. I know many people myself included who use it very regularly now where I never got a cab before due to all the reasons people don't use cabs in this city. its great for the weekends going to the bar or dinner in midtown ( no parking issues ) and you can't beat the price. I wonder why Uber doesn't have a tip factor though on the App. Lyft you can tip the driver over and above the fare. I would think that would help some uber drivers with some extra cash.

I'm sure. FWIW...I've used a cab in OKC maybe twice and I've been here a very long time. Uber 0. Have been in lots of cabs in other cities all over the world though.