Uber coming to OKC

[Jersey Boss]

In short 'no.'

A volunteer doesn't apply for a burger job or dry cleaning company to work, say one day a week, and have the company make the check out to their non-profit. That just wouldn't be feasible for most companies or worth their efforts.

The closest thing would be the occasional fundraiser where say a Sonic lets some local volunteers be the car hops for the afternoon and their tips go to the non-profit. Or, when Johnnies donates a portion of your purchase if you tell them what organization you are supporting.

This would be different in several key ways. For one, a volunteer could do it on their own schedule. They can also do it solo. And, the volunteer feels more like they had a direct impact on how much they raised. Plus, through some idol chit-chat during the 10-minute car ride they could share some info on the organization they support. And, it would capitalize on the newness and 'cool' factor of the ride-sharing concept. All of those things differentiate it from your examples above.

Uber Probed By Judge On Driver Benefits

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge appeared skeptical on Friday about Uber's bid for a quick pretrial ruling that its drivers are contractors and not employees, a critical question facing Silicon Valley's sharing economy.

App-based ride service Uber, and smaller rival Lyft, face separate lawsuits seeking class action status in San Francisco federal court, brought on behalf of drivers who contend they are employees and entitled to reimbursement for expenses, including gas and vehicle maintenance. The drivers currently pay those costs themselves.

A ruling against either company could significantly raise their costs beyond the lawsuit's scope and force them to pay social security, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance. That could affect the valuations for other startups that rely on large networks of individuals to provide rides, clean houses and other services.

At a court hearing on Friday, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said Uber's bid for a pretrial ruling its drivers are contractors is a "tough argument" to make, given that the drivers serve Uber's business goals.

"The idea that Uber is simply a software platform, a service provider and nothing else, I don't find that a very persuasive argument," Chen said.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Announcing UberPool, Carpooling with Uber | Uber Blog

[blangtang]

Google is preparing to offer its own ride-hailing service

Exclusive: Google and Uber Are Going to War Over Taxis - Bloomberg Business

[BBatesokc]

Google is preparing to offer its own ride-hailing service

Exclusive: Google and Uber Are Going to War Over Taxis - Bloomberg Business

Interesting; Just don't expect driverless cars on the streets anytime soon.

[Jersey Boss]

Interesting; Just don't expect driverless cars on the streets anytime soon.

It appears that UBER is researching that very concept.
Uber Is Researching Driverless Cars
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ride-sharing service Uber is partnering with Carnegie Mellon University on a Pittsburgh research lab they say could lead to the development of driverless cars.

The partnership announced Monday includes Uber funding for faculty chairs and graduate fellowships at the private research university.San Francisco-based Uber says the Uber Advanced Technologies Center will also focus on mapping and safety technologies in support of its ride-sharing mission.

[kevinpate]

Interesting; Just don't expect driverless cars on the streets anytime soon.

True, though I've dodged some recently that likely would have been better off driverless

[gopokes88]

Well there goes the DUI problem.

[Richard at Remax]

I can't wait for Johnny Cabs to start rolling out

[BBatesokc]

It appears that UBER is researching that very concept.
Uber Is Researching Driverless Cars
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ride-sharing service Uber is partnering with Carnegie Mellon University on a Pittsburgh research lab they say could lead to the development of driverless cars.

The partnership announced Monday includes Uber funding for faculty chairs and graduate fellowships at the private research university.San Francisco-based Uber says the Uber Advanced Technologies Center will also focus on mapping and safety technologies in support of its ride-sharing mission.

I get that. You can also find ads decades ago where they were 'researching' and predicting driverless cars then too.

I most definitely think it will happen one day, but its certainly not in the near future (as in, less than 10 years away).

[BBatesokc]

Not soon, but they are both skating to where the puck is going.

And I can't wait. But some people honestly think its something that will be rolled out in the next couple of years.

I predict something much closer to enhanced cruise control as opposed to driverless.

[kevinpate]

Well there goes the DUI problem.

Sadly, not a chance. You'll still have those convinced they drive better with a few under the belt than they ever drive sober.
To date, the number one reason I hear on why someone was driving when they shouldn't is it would have cost too much for a cab. Mama Gump was never more right.

[Jeepnokc]

Interesting article. I like the fact that Uber condones it also.

The Uberpreneur: How An Uber Driver Makes $252,000 A Year - Forbes

[AP]

Uber launched in Stillwater today.

[Bullbear]

Sadly, not a chance. You'll still have those convinced they drive better with a few under the belt than they ever drive sober.
To date, the number one reason I hear on why someone was driving when they shouldn't is it would have cost too much for a cab. Mama Gump was never more right.

Well and I know of two incidents where friends were picked up by a Drunk Uber Driver.. so there is that.
both reported them to Uber which they took very seriously

[no1cub17]

Just curious has anyone tried out UberXL or UberSelect in OKC? With the recent slash in fares, XL doesn't cost too much more than X used to. Just curious. May try it out to the airport next time. We don't pack light!

[jn1780]

And I can't wait. But some people honestly think its something that will be rolled out in the next couple of years.

I predict something much closer to enhanced cruise control as opposed to driverless.

I think the biggest issue is that a computer is going to have a hard time picking up on the signals from the human drivers that are still on the road.
A defensive driver can identify a bad driver a lot faster than a computer can.


What we will see first is more enhanced collision avoidance systems built into newer cars.

[BBatesokc]

Just curious has anyone tried out UberXL or UberSelect in OKC? With the recent slash in fares, XL doesn't cost too much more than X used to. Just curious. May try it out to the airport next time. We don't pack light!

I've done XL a couple of times when we had a larger group to get from A to B and wanted more room. Suburbans mostly. Had one really good driver/vehicle (wish I would have gotten his number for future rides). One was pretty bad.... vehicle not all that clean and smelled of smoke.

Haven't done Uber Select - no real need.

[gopokes88]

Select is basically newer nicer cars. XL is pretty nice if you have a group of 5-6.

[Jersey Boss]

The Golden Rule.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.2127743

Next time you ride Uber, make sure to be nice to your driver or you could end up on the company's blacklist.

Most passengers who request rides from Uber know that they can rate their driver with an in-app feature, but what they don't know is that drivers can also rate passengers.

Uber's rating system, which is based on a one to five scale, is meant to curb disrespectful, threatening or unsafe behavior.

"What we want is for people to respect the driver, and for drivers to respect the customer," Derrick Jennings, Uber driver, told CBS Los Angeles. "They can give us a low rating. It can go both ways. That way, we can police each other."

Uber said that passengers who score a one may sometimes not get picked up since drivers fear it'll be a bad ride or a loss of time and money.

Jennings said that he has had bad experiences with passengers and he has given them a low rating.

"She was talking kind of foul to me on the ride and I noted that on the survey … I gave her a 1," Jennings said.

Passengers with low scoresn earn temporary suspensions, but if they're perpetually disrespectful then they can get permanently suspended.

Uber suggests that passengers be ready for pick up, be polite and tip the driver in order for them to get a solid five on their rating scale.

Uber's app currently doesn't show passengers what their ratings are, but the next update will have an in-app feature that will show them what their rating is in a scale from one to five.

[Bullbear]

Uber suggests you Tip the Driver?..
but on theri webstie it says not to tip the driver?
I thought I had read that you were not to tip the drive as they like for there to be no Cash transacted so Drivers are not carrying cash.
did I dream that?

[AP]

You add the tip through the app.

[Bullbear]

You add the tip through the app.

Lyft always gives me the Tip option. however Uber never has.. hmmm..

[BBatesokc]

You add the tip through the app.

There is no option currently in the Uber app that lets you tip the driver.

I Uber'd this morning from Bob Moore Infiniti service center to my house.

Uber still professes you shouldn't/don't need to tip the driver. I personally think they need to add a 'tip' button that pops up when asked to rate the driver. Or, if you rate the drive 4-5 stars it should pop up and read "I see you really enjoyed your driver, show him/her you appreciate his/her efforts with a tip now."

[BBatesokc]

The Golden Rule.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.2127743

Next time you ride Uber, make sure to be nice to your driver or you could end up on the company's blacklist.

.....

Please, what 'blacklist'??? Sure the driver see's the passenger's rating when the request is received, but ignoring the request (say because the rating is really low) just works against the driver. If they don't maintain a 90% acceptance rate then they don't get their guaranteed pay.

Lyft on the other hand handles this better. If a the passenger or driver rates the other a 3 or less, then those two are not matched up again. This is a great policy. Especially in cases where a passenger or driver were freaked out by the other or felt harassed.

[Jersey Boss]

Have any of the local Uber riders offered a tip to the driver that was declined?