Why Complain About Uber When They Are Doing Their Best!

Written by JC

If you’ve never hear about the Uber on-demand car service before, I’ll let you into a little secret. This company makes being able to get from A to B as easy as possible. No more waiting for buses that don’t turn up on time, heading down into less than savory subway stations or standing in the rain trying to hail a taxi that speeds by leaving a trail of wet spray in its path.

In recent years the Uber on-demand car service has gone high tech like a lot of other companies, and it’s now even easier to get a ride wherever you are, and whatever time of day it is.

How Uber Works

The first thing you need to do is pay a visit to their website and sign-up for an account. This couldn’t be easier and once done, you can download the app to your mobile device. Incidentally, if you think you need to reach for your wallet at this stage, thing again! This app is available for free from Google Play Store, the Apple App Store and BlackBerry App World.

When you’re ready to use the service, there are several different types of taxi you can opt for and these include, black car, UberX, SUV, LUX and of course your everyday taxi. However, do bear in mind it depends on what city you’re in so you may not get all the options.

Once you’ve selected the type of car you want, simply enter your location and the app will do the rest. Using GPS detection, Uber will find the nearest driver to your location and you don’t have to worry about staring at your phone because they will send you a text when your ride is on its way.

Pricing

Uber couldn’t be more transparent about the way they fix the pricing. If you know your destination, you can easily get a quote for the cab ride before you even book anything. You also don’t need

Talk to your taxi driver

There isn’t anyone who is going to tell you it's time to grow up. Well, there is, but you probably won’t listen to them. I don’t mean growing up in the way of paying your bills, or moving out of your parents' house, or buying your own car. I mean growing up in the sense of knowing who you are, understanding your values and being true to your core.

There is a moment in life when you know it's time to make a change. I call it your “happiness GPS” pointing you in the right direction. Something inside you is telling you, “This is not the right way,” and sometimes, if you continue to go in the wrong direction, the universe will send you a big wake up call. This is what happened to me.

I went to college to be a teacher and entered a five-year bachelor's/master's program when I was 20 years old. Anyone who thinks they know who they are when they are 20 years old is horribly mistaken. When I was 20, I was convinced I was going to be married by 23, have children at 26, and be happily settled with my husband in the suburbs. But my “happiness GPS” had other plans for me.........

A Cab Driver's Challenge To Get Healthy Changed My Life >> Read More

Are All Taxi Drivers Crooks?

By JC

For some, thinking of taxi drivers will conjure up images of crooked swindlers and professional con artists.  People think of characters like Louie De Palma and Danny DeVito's Character from the TV show “Taxi” and, imagine that any person in this profession must be just like them; an opportunistic, greedy, and completely self-serving thief who has no issues with stealing the money off weary travelers.  A few trips through a big city like New York can easily make this stereotype seem like fact.  The problem is the stereotype fails when you ask a single question; if all taxi drivers are crooks, why do people still use their services?

The Scams

People who live in cities rarely have issues with local cabbies that tourists and business people do, simply because the locals know the layout of their home.  In New York for example, the use of cab drivers is practically a tradition; it’s hard to swindle someone who knows what the quickest route is and, knows when their driver has suddenly opted for a longer trip.

What visitors rarely realize is that they often stand out as a tourist.  This makes them attractive customers to the few drivers who are looking for an easy target.  It gives “cabbies” the option to take longer routes that eat the meter, or to “assume” that they were supposed to keep the change as a tip and drive off before the mistake can be corrected.

Do Some Research

With scams like these, it's no wonder that some people regard taxi drivers with such suspicion.  Many drivers, however, are friendly, honest, and forthright.  Often, the problem is that tourists and business professionals who use taxi services unknowingly communicate that they're easy marks.  Some research can go a long way in making sure you get honest cabbies and thwart the couple of sneaks you might come across.

In any area where you’ll be spending a lot of time, do research on the taxi licenses that drivers should have.  Know what they should look like and know where the important information should be displayed upon them.  If the Taxi doesn't have a license don't use their service, most of the more dangerous and threatening cons are pulled off by unlicensed cabs!  Once you determine your cab driver has the right papers and permits write down the name and license numbers, the simple act of recording this information will show any dishonest drivers you may be dealing with that you're paying careful attention to what is going on; many tricks require oblivious or unaware customers.

If you have a smart-phone, use a GPS application to track the route they're taking.  When the driver diverts from the most efficient route promptly ask why.  You don't need to be suspicious right away as there can be completely legitimate reasons (such as closed roads) to change routes.  While you can use a paper map for the same thing, a cell phone is less obtrusive and maps kind of defeat the object of not drawing attention to yourself.

These few steps will help you thwart the handful of dishonest drivers you may come across on your travels.  Just pay attention to any red flags that come up during

Are you talking to ME?!- What Taxi Drivers Don't Like about Passengers

Are you talking to ME ?!!!

10 Clients Taxi Drivers Hate 
By DA

Driving a taxi in Tampa Bay is different than in Manhattan or Chicago, where clients just flag a taxi down on the street. That gives drivers the chance to ignore people they can tell will be trouble.
Here in Tampa Bay, we mostly rely on dispatching systems to get us calls, either old fashioned radio dispatching or computer system based on GPS. Some companies are toying right now with taxi booking applications for smart phones which supposed to connect potential passenger to nearest cab. The point being, most taxi drivers in Tampa Bay don’t get to choose their customers, which allows Manhattan drivers to avoid some particularly high maintenance customers.
At some point between calling a cab and getting in, many people seem to lose common sense and generally forget how to act like a human being. While many clients are polite and tip, there are a few that we all hate picking up. Here are the top 10 clients taxi drivers hate.


The “Executive”
This person is convinced their time is more valuable than anyone else’s. I get a call and get to the address in five minutes and blow the horn. The “Executive” shows up at the door and says “Give me a sec! I’ll be right there!” After another 5 minutes, I blow the horn again. They stick their head out the door “Give me another minute!” A full 10 minutes later they finally get in the cab with an attitude like I ruined their freaking day. WTF?!

Mother Knows “Best”
I pull up in front of a house and a lady with a baby in her arms tries to get in the cab. I ask, politely, if she has a car seat. She replies “I don't use car sit for my baby and nobody in your company ever ask me to have a car seat!” I say “Ma’am, I cannot take you and your baby without a car seat”. I hear slur of insults followed by "What is your cab number and what is your name? I am going to report you to your company! I am never using your company again!!" She doesn't realize, or doesn't care, that not using a car seat is not just unsafe for a baby, but also illegal!

The “High Roller”
Sorry ass loser comes out of Derby Lane Poker Room and

Future of Taxi Booking Applications

By Athan Rebelos

Are taxi booking apps on death's bed? The troubles of the taxi industry

A lot of noise is being made about taxi and car service booking apps. The saying is that hindsight is 20/20 and thanks to the rapid pace of technology we can already look back at some business models and review them after just four quarters. The app market is on death's bed. Well maybe that's too strong of a statement but maybe not.
It was just a short few years ago when the advent of the iPhone created the market for apps. As we move closer to every phone being a smart phone we see an app for just about everything. There are apps for controlling the locks on the front door of your home, you can start your car from overseas, you can monitor your travel itinerary and you can hail a taxi. It's the last one that we're most interested in so let's just focus on that. What does it mean that I can hail a taxi with my app? Once upon a time taxis could only be had by either hailing them or by locating a taxi stand. When the telephone was invented it became the new way to summon a taxi in many cities. Phones were set up at taxi stands and taxi drivers would answer the phone and then go pick up the fare. Soon after that radio technology became available to taxi companies and the radio dispatched taxi became all the rage. The consumer would call a dispatch center and a taxi would be summoned by the dispatcher. It appears that this model is still in place decades later but in reality it has greatly evolved. At major fleets the number of phone operators has either been limited or they've been replaced by data dispatch systems and interactive voice response systems (IVR). Typically a caller dials an advertised phone number, they are placed into a phone queue and then either a live person answers or an IVR system answers. Once the order is placed it is usually being offered to a taxi within seconds via a GPS or zone based dispatch solution. If there are no empty cabs within a reasonable distance the order becomes a "trouble" order and a dispatcher will usually intervene. Every cab company seems to have their own way of dealing with that latter problem. Customers have two issues with this type of system, waiting on hold and then not getting a cab in a timely manner, if ever.

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Taxi Drivers: Easy Targets

Taxi Drivers: Easy Targets
by Sasha Brown

Taxi cab driver Annuel Delicieux shot during robbery speaks to 10 News

For cab drivers, there is always this one unforgettable ride at least in a day’s work; but for Annuel Delicieux, it was the unforgettable ride of his lifetime. At around 3 am on Dec 18, 2012 in Tampa Florida, two assailants aimed a gun at a cab driver, took his money and shot him. The two shooters, although now sitting in jail have changed his life significantly because the father of three who was just trying to make a living, who fortunately survived the shooting, now has to undergo therapy and could not work for at least a year because of the incident.

According to other cab drivers, Tampa is considered a safe place for taxi drivers. In fact, the city’s crime rate has gone down 46% for the past 6 years. Nevertheless, it does not make it any safer for cabbies working late nights to the wee hours of the morning from robberies or senseless shootings. They may have safety procedures to follow in such circumstances but readings from articles show that most of the taxi related crimes are not solely based on the intent to rob. More than half of taxi driver killings are showing an act of senseless murders due to the assailant acting out for his/her self-esteem. In the case of Mr. Delicieux for example, he already gave the robbers the money they demanded but they still shot him brutally. For wanting to create chaos from the situation, the suspects in this case still killed him even when he followed orders quickly and without a fight.

These taxi drivers working round the clock face risk factors everyday such as being defenseless working alone, late at night with cash in public and high-risk areas.